Mohamed Ahmed stopped the clock at 28 minutes, 21.1 seconds to win the Ottawa 10k on Saturday and claim his first Canadian 10k road race title.
Also making his debut in the race was Cam Levins, who finished second in 28:39.1. Jeremy Kugler (29:31.1) completes the podium.
Natasha Wodak topped the women’s standings with a 32:51 run for back-to-back titles and third overall, following her win in 2019.
Leslie Sexton settled for silver with a time of 33:13.0. Caroline Pomerleau (33:16.1) won the bronze.
The win marks the 32-year-old’s first road race since running a 5K and 8K as a high school senior in St. Catharines, Ont.
It was Somalia-born Ahmed’s opening race and his first since July 24, when he finished fifth in the 5000m final at the IAAF World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
In 2022, Ben Flanagan of Kitchener, Ontario, raced for his second consecutive men’s title.
The Ottawa 10k track record is 27:24, which has been held by Deriba Merga of Ethiopia since 2009. Flanagan claims the Canadian mark of 28:11, which was set last year in Boston.
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