An appeal submitted by Canadian distance runner Moh Ahmed was rejected Wednesday shortly after the reigning Olympic silver medallist in the men's 5,000 metres was tripped late in his first-round heat in Paris.

Ahmed, who was boxed in for much of the race, had moved off the rail about 600m from the finish but got tangled with a group of runners and fell about 50 metres from the start of the final lap. He was spotted limping and grimacing after exiting the track at Stade de France.

"People were pus…