Mahamed Mahamed (born 18 September 1997) is a British long distance runner. He has represented Great Britain at senior level and is a twice English National Cross Country Champion.

Early life

Mahamed was born in Jarso, Ethiopia and emigrated to Southampton in England with his family in 2011 when he was fourteen years-old. He attended Cantell School in Bassett, Southampton. He also attended

Itchen College Itchen Sixth Form College (also known as Itchen College) is a mixed sixth form college in Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire, England. It was established in 1906 and was originally a mixed secondary school, it later became Itchen Grammar School un ...

and studied for a degree in sports coaching and sports development at Southampton Solent University.

Career

Mahamed won the national U17 cross country title at Parliament Hill, London on 25 February 2015. Running for Southampton AC, Mahamed won both the English U20 National Championship and the Inter-Counties cross country championships in 2018. He won the senior

English National Cross Country Championships The English National Cross Country Championships is an annual England, English cross country running event which takes place in late February following the regional championships (Southern, Midlands and Northern) which all take place on the same we ...

in 2019, and again in 2022. Between those victories, he was selected for the

2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were hosted in the city of Aarhus in Denmark. It was the 43rd edition of the championships and was held on 30 March 2019. A part of the course was run on the grounds and grass roof of the Moesgaard ...

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, and he won the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh in February 2020. In September 2023, he finished second at

The Big Half The Big Half is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance (21.1 km), held in central London, United Kingdom. The event, first held in 2018, initially took place in early March, a few weeks before the London Marathon, but ...

in London behind Jack Rowe and ahead of

Andrew Butchart Andrew Butchart (born 14 October 1991) is a British runner who competed in the 5000 metres event at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the current Scottish record holder in the 3000, 5000 and 10,000 metre events. In June 2023, he broke th ...

and Mo Farah, in his final race. At his debut over the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

distance at the Valencia Marathon in December 2023, he clocked 2:08:42, placing him seventh in the UK all-time rankings. He finished fourth at the 2024 London Marathon in a personal best 2:07.05. This made him the third-fastest Briton ever over the distance and came under the qualifying time for the summer Olympics. On 26 April 2024, he was selected by British Athletics for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

in Paris.

Personal life

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, Mahamed has explained to BBC News how keeping his fitness whilst he observes

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

is a challenge but worthwhile to his faith. His brother Zak Mahamed is also a long-distance runner and was selected to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the

2021 European Cross Country Championships The 2021 European Cross Country Championships was the 27th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes. It was held on 12 December 2021 in Dublin, Ireland. Medal summary Medal table References {{European champio ...

in Fingal-Dublin, Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahamed, Mahamed 1997 births Living people English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners English people of Ethiopian descent Sportspeople of Ethiopian descent Sportspeople from Southampton Alumni of Solent University People educated at Itchen College