Pair of Badgers shine in 5000 meters at IAAF World Championships
August 09, 2017 | Men's Track & Field
Ahmed advances to final while McDonald narrowly misses out on finals berth
LONDON – Despite rainy conditions, former Wisconsin men's track and field standout Mohammed Ahmed and current UW junior Morgan McDonald both made their presence known on the world stage in the 5000 meters at the 2017 IAAF World Championships.
Ahmed advanced to the finals thanks to his time of 13 minutes, 22.97 second, the sixth-fastest time of the competition, while running in the second section of the 5000 meters. The Canadian record holder in both the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters, Ahmed is coming off of an eighth-place finish in the 10K at the world meet on Friday. Â
Meanwhile McDonald, making his senior world championship debut for Australia, ran a tremendous last 100 meters to finish seventh in his section with a time of 13:30.73, but was unable to advance to the final. The Sydney, Australia, native needed a top-five finish in his section to advance and missed out by .37 of a second.
"Morgan gave it his best shot in his first world championships," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "He ran in the first heat and put himself in contention but the guys in the second heat knew exactly what they needed to do and got after it from the gun. After talking with Morgan after the race, he's disappointed, but the first thing he told me was that he made a tactical mistake out there, but knows that he belongs on the world stage and can run with those guys.
"For a 21-year old in his first major championship, that's refreshing and very satisfying to hear."
After beginning the race in the middle of the pack, McDonald slipped to the end of the lead pack of 16 runners at the midway point of the race.
McDonald made a gutsy move on the third-to-last lap, moving up all the way to third before falling back toward the back of the pack heading into the bell lap.
But with 100 meters to go, McDonald bolted to the outside and passed numerous runners before ultimately finishing in seventh in his section and 20th overall.
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The finals of the 5000 meters take place on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. CT and can be seen live on NBC.
2016 Olympian and Big Ten decathlon record holder Zach Ziemek is the next Badger in action at the world championships as he will begin the decathlon on Friday at 4 a.m. CT. Portions of the decathlon will be shown on NBCSN while fans can watch the events online via the NBC Sports Gold Package.
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Ahmed advanced to the finals thanks to his time of 13 minutes, 22.97 second, the sixth-fastest time of the competition, while running in the second section of the 5000 meters. The Canadian record holder in both the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters, Ahmed is coming off of an eighth-place finish in the 10K at the world meet on Friday. Â
Meanwhile McDonald, making his senior world championship debut for Australia, ran a tremendous last 100 meters to finish seventh in his section with a time of 13:30.73, but was unable to advance to the final. The Sydney, Australia, native needed a top-five finish in his section to advance and missed out by .37 of a second.
"Morgan gave it his best shot in his first world championships," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "He ran in the first heat and put himself in contention but the guys in the second heat knew exactly what they needed to do and got after it from the gun. After talking with Morgan after the race, he's disappointed, but the first thing he told me was that he made a tactical mistake out there, but knows that he belongs on the world stage and can run with those guys.
"For a 21-year old in his first major championship, that's refreshing and very satisfying to hear."
After beginning the race in the middle of the pack, McDonald slipped to the end of the lead pack of 16 runners at the midway point of the race.
McDonald made a gutsy move on the third-to-last lap, moving up all the way to third before falling back toward the back of the pack heading into the bell lap.
But with 100 meters to go, McDonald bolted to the outside and passed numerous runners before ultimately finishing in seventh in his section and 20th overall.
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It marks the end of a tremendous junior season for McDonald, as he broke the Badgers' school record in the mile, ran the second-fastest 5000 meters in school history and won four Big Ten individual titles between cross country and track.ÂMorgan McDonald's gutsy last lap at the IAAF World Championships in front of 70,000 screaming fans! pic.twitter.com/F9cuadSk7s
— Nate Davis (@CoachNateDavis) August 9, 2017
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That's a wrap for @mrgnmcdnld's 3rd year with the #Badgers, which featured:
— Badger Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) August 9, 2017
5?? UW top-10 marks
5?? #B1G ??
2??0??th-place finish in the ?? pic.twitter.com/lQMrXoRPKd
The finals of the 5000 meters take place on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. CT and can be seen live on NBC.
2016 Olympian and Big Ten decathlon record holder Zach Ziemek is the next Badger in action at the world championships as he will begin the decathlon on Friday at 4 a.m. CT. Portions of the decathlon will be shown on NBCSN while fans can watch the events online via the NBC Sports Gold Package.
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