Canadian 5,000m and 10,000m record holder Moh Ahmed has been spotted with a new training group in Flagstaff, Ariz.
According to a source, Ahmed parted ways with longtime Bowerman Track Club head coach Jerry Schumacher in the fall and is now training with a Nike-sponsored group (Swoosh TC) based in the U.S. high-altitude running hub.
A young Ahmed set the then-5,000m record at the Brussels Diamond League in 2016. Photo: Photorun.net.
On Tuesday, American middle-distance runner Craig Engels posted a video to Strava showing Ahmed completing a treadmill workout in Flagstaff. In the clip, Nike Swoosh TC head coach Mike Smith is overseeing the session.
Smith, the former head coach at Northern Arizona University, currently leads the Swoosh TC group and coaches several top American 1,500m and 5,000m athletes, including Woody Kincaid, NCAA indoor mile record holder Ethan Strand and Engels.
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Ahmed had been a member of the Bowerman Track Club for more than a decade. Schumacher’s guidance led Ahmed to Olympic silver and world championship bronze in the men’s 5,000m. He also helped guide the 34-year-old to three Olympic teams and half a dozen world championship appearances for Canada.
In late 2022, Schumacher took over as head coach for the University of Oregon’s track and field and cross-country programs and moved the Bowerman group from Portland to Eugene, Ore. Ahmed, along with several Bowerman teammates, including Canada’s Justyn Knight, moved to Eugene to continue training with him.
Moh Ahmed in the 5,000m at the 2022 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. Photo: Kevin Morris
Ahmed’s latest season was hampered by injury, forcing him to drop out of the men’s 10,000m at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and later to withdraw from the 5,000m.
It has long been speculated that he would make a move up in distance and onto the roads. But his shift to a middle-distance-oriented coach suggests otherwise. For now, it appears Ahmed still has unfinished business on the track.