
Canadian runner Mohammed Ahmed faces regular travel headaches
In the world’s current political climate, Mohammed Ahmed has become accustomed to hassles at airport customs counters.
So when he was scheduled to run the 3,000 metres in the prestigious Doha Diamond League track meet in early May, Canada’s top distance runner made a point of being at the Portland airport a good two hours early.
As it turned out, two hours wouldn’t be nearly enough. Ahmed, who is Muslim, was flagged at security and his flight left without him, grounding any chance he had of racing in the Diamond League Final on Aug. 24 in Zurich, and costing him immeasurable experience and exposure.
“He’s losing something, but there’s no way to really quantify it,” said his manager Dan Lilot of Aurum Sports Group. “The winner of that race will get $50,000 (US). I’m not saying he’s going to win that race, I think he could place fairly well. But it’s more that he’s missing out on the opportunity to compete against the best in the world. . . and cement his international reputation as one of the best in the world.”