Gold medallist

Story: Brent Moya

A 13 year old from Firvale school is proving to be a success as a runner despite having only trained for the past year. Essa Ahmed of Firvale began running for the school team after the coach took him under his wing.

Multi-talented Essa Ahmed, who competes in either the 800 or 1000 metres, only began running towards the back end of last year. He also boxes but says his main passion lies in athletics and dreams of going to the Olympics when he's older, “that's my dream, it's what I've always wanted to do in life” said Essa.

Despite his seamless progress on the track he says it takes a lot of hard work to prepare himself for competition:

“It definitely doesn't come easy for me! In the build up to a heat I do a morning jog from 6.30-7.30am followed by training every Tuesday and Friday, it's hard work but definitely worth it.”

He took part in his first heat on the 1st November 2011 (last year) and went on to win the final in Birmingham on the 25th of February despite never entering a competition before. His school teacher Diane Haimeed, who has been particularly impressed with his dedication and hard work, had this to say about him,

“Essa is a lovely kid to teach and is a very talented individual. If he works hard and stays focused he could have a bright future ahead of him.”