Fresh from his duties for his lifelong club Sheffield at the National Six Stage Relays, Mukhtar Mohammed could not have put it more simply.
When asked to reflect upon his 2013 track season, the message was clear: “Outdoors just wasn’t the way I planned it.”
This is coming from an athlete who broke his 600m, 800m and 1500m PBs all in one season, whilst also finishing second at the British World Championships Trials over 800m, behind the older and much more experienced Michael Rimmer.
Indicating with his hands, Mohammed was yet again concise with his point: “Consistent wise it was really not good.” Mohammed cited a frustrating hamstring injury early into the summer which hampered his progression mid-way through the season, but went on to say: “I know I was fitter than last season by a mile, but I was a different person head wise.”
Having said this, the 22-year-old has come a long way since emigrating from Somalia when he was 12 years old. Like many young boys, Mohammed’s passion was football and his dreams were nearly realised when he was signed for Sheffield Wednesday’s football academy. Even now he still holds the proud moment of the signing close to his heart.
After residing in Sheffield, he was persuaded by his best friend to give running a try and realised he had some fantastic natural speed. Sheffield’s famous Don Valley stadium which was unfortunately closed this year, played host to many of Mohammed ‘s early training days.
When his football career eventually didn’t turn out, Mohammed began to take athletics more and more seriously and has since represented Great Britain at various junior and senior championships, as well as winning an England U23 gold and European U23 bronze medal in 2011, which he holds as one of his biggest achievements.
More recently, the Sheffield Harrier won his first senior international medal in March of 2013 by grabbing bronze at the European Indoor Championships in Sweden, something he was probably hoping to build on by gaining World Championship selection in the summer.
By improving his 800m PB to 1.45.67 he is now coming closer to challenging the likes of Andrew Osagie and Rimmer for the UK’S top spot on thepowerof10 rankings.
In the realisation of this, Mohammed holds high hopes for the 2014 season as he aims to make the Great Britain team for both the European and Commonwealth games, as well as gaining a few more senior medals.
But with such ambition comes hard work. This winter Mohammed will have some spells of training out in Kenya over the Christmas period, and he his also hoping to be involved in a training camp with two time world indoor medallist Abubaker Kaki before the outdoor season commences.
The 22-year-olds favourite part of athletics involves traveling the world and meeting new friends. Through diamond league meets and other global competitions he is able to see the sights. He described Rimmer and Charlie Grice as good friends to mess about and have a laugh with during the hours of free time in Kenya.
Outside of athletics, Mohammed has the hobbies of any average young man, playing FIFA on his PlayStation 3. With a grin, Mohammed revealed: “I play as Chelsea but I am a Liverpool supporter, Chelsea has a good squad.”
Mohammed left one final message to all athletes looking to be successful in the sport: “Work hard and be patient.” We wish him the best of luck in pursuing his goals in the 2014 season.
