Mohammed Ahmed ran away with the 2009 St. Catharines Athlete of the Year Award.
"Any time your city recognizes you for your hard work, it means a lot," the St. Catharines Collegiate alumnus said. "I'm honoured and I'm thankful."
The 19-year-old St. Catharines long distance runner hit the ground running last year, capturing a gold medal in the 3,000 metres and a bronze in the 1,500 metres at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations track and field championships in May. What followed was an incredible string of triumphs.
By the time the year was done, his running resume included a gold medal and meet record in the 5,000 metres at the Pan American junior championships; a bronze medal at the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) cross-country championships; a gold medal at the Canadian junior cross country championships; and All-American, first team, All-Big 10 and all-region honours as a scholarship runner with NCAA Division 1 University of Wisconsin.
At Wisconsin, he was fifth in the Big 10 championships, third at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and was the first true freshman across the finish line at the NCAA championships.
"I don't know if it was a surprise because he was a big-time recruit for us and he has a lot of experience," Wisconsin coach Mick Byrne said. "But in saying all that, it's his freshman year and you just don't know what a freshman is going to throw at you moving to a new country, a new environment, a new school and taking on a pretty heavy class load.
"Freshman react in different ways and Mohammed did a great job. He adjusted really quickly."
It will be up to Ahmed to build on his successful freshman season.
"You hope every year he is going to get a little bit better and stronger," Byrne said. "Competing at this top level, with his pedigree, everything indicates he can be a huge contributor for us. And that's what it's all about. Can he get to the top of the podium at NCAA cross country or indoor or outdoor?
"That remains to be seen. As long he keeps improving, I think he will have a great future at Wisconsin.".
Other than hard work, there is no secret to what makes Ahmed a great runner.
"He has a great cardiovascular system and he weighs nothing. His aerobic capacity is amazing and we just have to get him physically stronger and that's what we're going to be working on over the next four or five years," Byrne said.
Ahmed feels the biggest stride he took this year was continuing to gain experience at the international level.
"I've competed internationally six times for Canada and every international experience I've had has shown me there's more to running than what I knew. It's little things like tactics and watching other runners destroy you that makes you humble."
He also has developed self-confidence.
"Sometimes I would race and not believe in myself. It was immaturity and the experience I didn't have. Once I experienced those international races, I learned to believe in myself."
For the native of Mogadishu, Somalia, it was his Pan Am triumph that stood out as the highlight of the year. It was his last chance to run solely for the Niagara Olympic Club and its coaches, Sharon Stewart and Stuart Galloway.
"One of the things I was thinking about for that race was of all the people that had helped me for four years," he said. "It was going to be my last race running for them and I tried to make the best of it.
"It worked out real well."
He was surprisingly calm during the race.
"I let the other people dictate the pace and all the little things that Sharon and Stuart had been teaching me throughout the last two or three years, that was the big payoff right there. To have won it and to have broken the meet record was awesome. And it was another meet that they had fundraised for me."
Ahmed has met one challenge after another with his running career, but it will be fundraising to finance his international trips that will be the most daunting task. The Niagara Olympic Club has spent in excess of $10,000 during the past three years helping Ahmed, and the club is desperate for some assistance from the community. Donations can be made on Ahmed's behalf at the Meridian Credit Union in the Grantham Plaza or mailed to the Niagara Olympic Club, 111 Fourth Ave, RPO Box 30005, St. Catharines, ON L2S 4A1.
Ahmed's humble nature has made it easy to fundraise on his behalf. Collegiate coach Perry Wakulich remembers Ahmed helping clean up at Firemen's Park in Niagara Falls after winning his first OFSAA senior boys gold in cross country in 2008. One running coach from Saskatchewan pays his cell phone bills at Wisconsin and there are many other anonymous donours willing to help out.
Ahmed has had so much help, he worries about forgetting someone,
He started with Galloway, Stewart and the Niagara Olympic Club.
"Without them, I don't think I would be running right now."
Collegiate coaches Wakulich and Alex Acs, and the entire St. Catharines Collegiate teaching staff are also singled out.
"They have just been tremendous and they've been instrumental role models for me. They've guided me when I was down and they picked me up. They helped me to see little things in live."
Ahmed also thanked his parents, his family, his mosque, the Islamic community in Niagara and the Canadian running community.
This year. Ahmed hopes to compete in the NACAC championships in Trinidad and Tobago, the world cross championships in late March and the world junior track and field championships in Moncton, N.B.
"Everything is going to be geared up to world juniors and every little workout I do from now on will be geared to world juniors, running in front of a home crowd and hopefully trying to make them proud and show that Canada distance running is coming,"
His long-term goals are to represent Canada at the Olympics.
"It's all up to God, but it's to keep running and represent Canada at the senior (worlds) level and win medals."
The award will be presented at Monday's city council meeting. It will be accepted by Ahmed's parents, Said Yusuf and Halimo Farah.