Moh Ahmed aims to shake off rust, end world championship medal drought after calf strain

Moh Ahmed has been undergoing an intense injury rehab the past five weeks, his coach says, to prepare for two events at his seventh World Athletics Championships.

On July 31, the veteran distance runner pulled up about 400 metres from the finish line in the men's 5,000 final, clutching his left calf at the Canadian track and field championships in Ottawa.

Ahmed was later diagnosed with a strained calf, or pulled muscle, confirmed by ultrasound.

The treatment in Oregon, where he lives and trains with Nike's Swoosh Track Club (formerly Bowerman Track Club), has included manual therapy, dry needling and massage three or four times per week. It has also featured progressive loading protocol that involves gradually increasing the physical demand on the injured tissues through pain-free exercise.

Furthermore, Ahmed supported his fitness with cross-training and a Boost microgravity treadmill to run more miles with less impact.

"He has had a great therapy team to manage the injury," Jerry Schumacher, head coach of Swoosh's training hub in Eugene, told CBC Sports.

"Moh has been doing hard track workouts for several weeks now and is rounding into good form."

Ahmed did not respond to an interview request from CBC Sports.

Despite the injury, the 34-year-old Ahmed is scheduled to race the 5,000 and 10,000 at worlds in Tokyo.

"We discussed a few scenarios and what would be an optimal schedule for him, but ultimately, I left the decision up to him," said Schumacher, who also guides the University of Oregon cross-country and track and field program. "He knows his body better than anyone, and I trust him to make that call at this point in his career."

In March, Ahmed was scratched from his debut half marathon in New York City due to back