Mo Ahmed reinstated to 5,000m final at track world championships
Appeal reverses Canadian's DQ
Canada's Mo Ahmed has been reinstated to the men's 5,000-metre final at the world track and field championships in Beijing after an appeal led to the reversal of his disqualification on Wednesday.
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The St. Catharines, Ont., native finished third in his heat, clocking 13:19.58 to earn an automatic qualifying spot. But he was subsequently disqualified for pushing Ethiopian prodigy Yomif Kejelcha, who then knocked Mo Farah, this week's 10,000 champion from Great Britain. Farah stumbled but gained his footing en route to qualifying.
Athletics Canada launched an appeal of Ahmed's disqualification, and officials decided to reinstate him.
Ahmed won gold in the 10,000m at last month's Pan Am Games.
Canada's Cam Levins crossed the line in 13 minutes 48.72 seconds at the Bird's Nest stadium and failed to qualify for Saturday's final.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old Levins finished 14th in the 10,000.
The runner from Black Creek, B.C., was favoured for a podium finish at last month's Pan Am Games in Toronto and finished fifth in the 5,000.
A bronze medallist at last year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, Levins had a promising start to this season, setting a Canadian record in the 10,000 in 27:07.51.
Close call for Frizell
On the women's side, it was also a tough day for hammer thrower Sultana Frizell, a 2015 Pan Am bronze medallist and 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
The 30-year-old former competitive figure skater from Perth, Ont., narrowly missed qualifying with a throw of 69.66 metres. The 12 best performers advanced and that throw placed Frizell 13th. Alena Sobaleva of Belarus was 12th with a throw of 69.86.
However, it wasn't all doom and gloom for Canada in Wednesday's morning session.
Benson, Bishop move on
In the women's 800, Fiona Benson and Melissa Bishop finished among the top three in their respective heats to advance to Thursday's semifinals at 8:05 a.m. ET.
Benson, 23, followed up her first-place performance at the Canadian track and field championships by clocking 2:00.53.
The 27-year-old Bishop, who lost to Benson at Canadians but rebounded to win gold at the Pan Am Games, stopped the clock in 2:00.23 in Beijing.
In the men's 110 hurdles, Sekou Kaba (Ottawa) and Jonathan Cabral (Peribonka, Que.) qualified for Thursday's semifinals at 7:05 a.m. by stopping the clock in 13.46 and 13.55, respectively.