Ahmed smashes record; Barber second at Eugene Diamond League

Ahmed continued his 5,000 metre success, breaking his Canadian record of 13 minutes and 10 seconds from last summer. Shocking the field with a gutsy move on the final lap, the Canadian sprinted into first and held onto the lead into the final 200m, before finishing third with a time of 13:01.74s. Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor finished second in 12:59.98s, behind Ethopia’s Muktar Edris, who won with a new world leading time of 12:59.96s. Barber, the defending world champion, finished second in men’s pole vault. Both Barber and the winner Renaud Lavillenie finished with a height of 5.81m, however clearing the height on his first attempt secured the victory for the Frenchman. Poland’s Pawel Wokciechowski claimed third with a jump of 5.71m.This was the Canadian’s best performance at a Diamond League event this season. Barber finished third at last stop in Shanghai with a height of 5.70m, behind Lavillenie (5.83m) and Sam Kendricks (5.88) of the United States.

Genevieve Lalonde, also set a national record in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase finishing 10^th with a time of 9:32.17s.

Next up, Canadians will head to Rome, Italy for the fifth stop on the circuit.