5000 metres at the Olympics
1984 – 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Olympic record | |
| Men | 12:57.82 Kenenisa Bekele (2008) |
| Women | 14:26.17 Vivian Cheruiyot (2016) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) |
| Women |  Sifan Hassan (NED) |
The
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
1988 Seoul Olympics; the world record for that event
was not improved during an Olympic race.
Only three athletes have won multiple titles in the event.
2008 Beijing Olympics
.
Ethiopia is the most successful nation in the event, having taken six gold medals and fifteen medals in total. The next most successful nation, depending on definition, is either Finland or Kenya. In terms of gold medals, Finland is equal with Ethiopia at six, but has a total of twelve overall medals to Ethiopia's 15. 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 won fourteen medals in the 5000 m, second only to Ethiopia in total medals in the event, although John Ngugi and Vivian Cheruiyot are the only Kenyans to have won Olympic gold.
Medal summary
Men
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohamed Farah |
 Great Britain (GBR) |
2012–2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Lasse Viren |
 Finland (FIN) |
1972–1976 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Paavo Nurmi | Finland (FIN) |
1920–1928 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Ville Ritola | Finland (FIN) |
1924–1928 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Lauri Lehtinen | Finland (FIN) |
1932–1936 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Emil Zátopek |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
1948–1952 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Mohammed Gammoudi |  Tunisia (TUN) |
1968–1972 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Dieter Baumann |  Germany (GER) |
1988–1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Kenenisa Bekele |  Ethiopia (ETH) |
2004–2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Paul Bitok |  Kenya (KEN) |
1992–1996 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya (KEN) |
2004–2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | Edvin Wide |  Sweden (SWE) |
1924–1928 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medals by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland (FIN) |
6 | 5 | 2 | 13 |
| 2 | Ethiopia (ETH) |
3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Great Britain (GBR) |
2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 |  Morocco (MAR) |
2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Kenya (KEN) |
1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 6 |  United States (USA) |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Germany (GER)[nb] |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 |  France (FRA) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 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 |
| 12= | Uganda (UGA) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | West Germany (FRG) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 17= |  Algeria (ALG) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17= |  Canada (CAN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17= |  Switzerland (SUI) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17= |  Tanzania (TAN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Sweden (SWE) |
0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 22= |  East Germany (GDR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22= | Netherlands (NED) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22= |  Poland (POL) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22= |  Portugal (POR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- United Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.
Women's 3000 metres
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
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meseret Defar | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2004–2012 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Tirunesh Dibaba | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2004–2012 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Vivian Cheruiyot | Kenya (KEN) |
2012–2016 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Hellen Obiri | Kenya (KEN) |
2016–2020 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethiopia (ETH) |
3 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | Kenya (KEN) |
1 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| 3= |  China (CHN) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3= | Netherlands (NED) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3= | Romania (ROU) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 |  Ireland (IRL) |
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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