5000 metres at the Olympics
| 5000 metres at the Olympic Games |
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The 2012 Olympic men's 5000 m final
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| Overview | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1912 – 2012 Women: 1984 – 2012 |
| Olympic record | |
| Men | 12:57.82 Kenenisa Bekele (2008) |
| Women | 14:40.79 Gabriela Szabo (2000) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  Mo Farah (GBR) |
| Women |  Meseret Defar (ETH) |
The 5000 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the fifth edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 5000 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912. The 3000 metres was the first women's Olympic long-distance track event, making its initial appearance at the 1984 Olympics, and this distance was extended to match the men's event from 1996 onwards. It is the most prestigious 5000 m race at elite level. The competition format typically has two qualifying heats leading to a final between fifteen athletes.
The Olympic records for the event are 12:57.82 minutes for men, set by Kenenisa Bekele in 2008, and 14:40.79 minutes for women, set by Gabriela Szabo in 2000. At the inaugural 1912 Olympic 5000 metres, Hannes Kolehmainen set the first official IAAF world record for the event. However, this remains the only time that the 5000 metres world record has been broken in Olympic competition. The best time recorded for the women's Olympic 3000 m was 8:26.53 minutes by Tetyana Dorovskikh (then Samolenko) at the 1988 Seoul Olympics; the world record for that event was not improved during an Olympic race.
Only two athletes have won multiple titles in the event: Lasse Virén became the first with his back-to-back wins in 1972 and 1976, while Meseret Defar became the first woman to win two titles in 2012, having previously won in 2004. Three athletes have reached the podium on three occasions: Defar was also the 2008 bronze medallist, Tirunesh Dibaba won medals from 2004–2012, and Paavo Nurmi won medals in the period from 1920–1928. Historically, athletes in this event have also had success in the 10,000 metres at the Olympics. The winner of the men's Olympic 5000 m has completed a long-distance track double on eight occasions, the most recent being Mo Farah at the 2012 London Olympics. Tirunesh Dibaba is the only woman to complete this double, having done so at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Ethiopia is the most successful nation in the event, having taken six gold medals and thirteen medals in total. Finland is the next most successful, also with six gold medals, but with a total of twelve overall. Finland's period of great success in the 1920s and 1930s led to the wide usage of the nickname the Flying Finns; Kaarlo Maaninka was the last Finnish athlete to medal over 5000 m, in 1980. Kenya have also won twelve medals in the 5000 m, although John Ngugi is the only Kenyan to have won Olympic gold.
Contents
Medal summary
Men
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lasse Viren |  Finland (FIN) |
1972–1976 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Paavo Nurmi | Finland (FIN) |
1920–1928 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3= | Ville Ritola | Finland (FIN) |
1924–1928 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Lauri Lehtinen | Finland (FIN) |
1932–1936 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Emil Zátopek |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
1948–1952 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Mohammed Gammoudi |  Tunisia (TUN) |
1968–1972 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Dieter Baumann |  Germany (GER) |
1988–1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Kenenisa Bekele | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2004–2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Paul Bitok |  Kenya (KEN) |
1992–1996 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya (KEN) |
2004–2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | Edvin Wide |  Sweden (SWE) |
1924–1928 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medals by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland (FIN) |
6 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
| 2 | Ethiopia (ETH) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 |  Morocco (MAR) |
2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Kenya (KEN) |
1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 5 | Germany (GER)[nb] |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 |  France (FRA) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Great Britain (GBR) |
1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 |  United States (USA) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9= | Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9= |  New Zealand (NZL) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9= | Tunisia (TUN) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 12= |  Belgium (BEL) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  Burundi (BDI) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  Soviet Union (URS) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | West Germany (FRG) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16= |  Algeria (ALG) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16= |  Switzerland (SUI) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16= |  Tanzania (TAN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Sweden (SWE) |
0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 20= |  East Germany (GDR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20= |  Netherlands (NED) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20= |  Poland (POL) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20= |  Portugal (POR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- nb The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the Unified Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.
Women's 3000 metres
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 Los Angeles |
 Maricica Puică (ROU) |
Wendy Smith-Sly (GBR) |
 Lynn Williams (CAN) |
| 1988 Seoul |
Tetyana Samolenko (URS) |
Paula Ivan (ROU) |
Yvonne Murray (GBR) |
| 1992 Barcelona |
 Yelena Romanova (EUN) |
Tetyana Dorovskikh (EUN) |
Angela Chalmers (CAN) |
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tetyana Dorovskikh | Soviet Union (URS) Unified Team (EUN) |
1988–1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= |  Romania (ROU) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | Unified Team (EUN) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Soviet Union (URS) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Great Britain (GBR) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Canada (CAN) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Women's 5000 metres
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Atlanta |
 Wang Junxia (CHN) |
Pauline Konga (KEN) |
 Roberta Brunet (ITA) |
| 2000 Sydney |
Gabriela Szabo (ROU) |
 Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL) |
22x20px Gete Wami (ETH) |
| 2004 Athens |
22x20px Meseret Defar (ETH) | Isabella Ochichi (KEN) |
22x20px Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) |
| 2008 Beijing |
22x20px Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) |  Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR) |
22x20px Meseret Defar (ETH) |
| 2012 London |
Meseret Defar (ETH) |
Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) |
Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) |
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meseret Defar | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2004–2012 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Tirunesh Dibaba | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2004–2012 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethiopia (ETH) |
3 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 2= | China (CHN) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2= | Romania (ROU) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Kenya (KEN) |
0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 5= | Ireland (IRL) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5= | Turkey (TUR) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Italy (ITA) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
References
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's 5000 metres Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Women's 5000 metres Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Women's 3000 metres Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Olympic record progressions
- Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Specific
External links
- IAAF 5000 metres homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News
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