The

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

is the longest

track running Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

event held at the

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

. The men's 10,000 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

. The women's event was added to the programme over seventy years later, at the 1988 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 10,000 m race at elite level. The competition format is a straight final between around 30 athletes, although prior to 2004 a qualifying round was held. The

Olympic records Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

for the event were both set by Ethiopians at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

and

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele ( om, Qananiisaa baqqalaa; am, ቀነኒሳ በቀለ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) unti ...

set the men's record at 27:01.17 minutes, while

Almaz Ayana Almaz Ayana Eba ( om, Almaaz Ayyanaa Eebbaa; am, አልማዝ አያና ኤባ, born 21 November 1991) is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze for the 5000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olymp ...

set the women's mark at 29:17.45 minutes. The

10,000 metres world record The official world records in the 10,000 metres are held by Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei with 26:11.00 minutes for men and Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey with 29:01.03 for women. The first world record in the men's 10,000 metres was recognized by the Inte ...

has been broken at the Olympics on two occasions;

Lasse Virén Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paa ...

's winning time of 27:38.35 minutes in 1972 stood as the record for less than a year, and Almaz Ayana knocked 14 seconds off the women's record in 2016. Six men have won the Olympic title twice:

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world r ...

became the first in 1928 and he was followed by

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final m ...

, Lasse Virén,

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

and

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

. Two women have achieved the feat:

Derartu Tulu Derartu Tulu NL COL ( om, Daraartuu Tulluu, Amharic: ደራርቱ ቱሉ; born 21 March 1972) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at ...

won her second title in 2004 and Tirunesh Dibaba had back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2012. Derartu Tulu is the only athlete to have reached the podium on three occasions. Historically, athletes in this event have also had success in the 5000 metres at the Olympics. The winner of the men's Olympic 10,000 m has completed a

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling * Long-distance operator * Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths * Long-distance trail *European long-d ...

track double on nine occasions, the most recent being Farah at the

. Tirunesh Dibaba and Sifan Hassan are the only women to complete this double (at the

and the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

). At the

, Almaz Ayana smashed the world record in a time of 29:17.45. It was the first time four women broke 30 minutes in a single race.

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

is the most successful nation in the event, with ten gold medals among its total of 24.

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

is the next most successful, with six gold medals and thirteen overall. Finland's period of great success in early 20th century led to wide usage of the nickname the

Flying Finn "The Flying Finn" ( fi, Lentävä suomalainen, sv, Flygande finländaren) is a nickname given to several Finnish athletes who were noted for their speed. Originally, it was given to several Finnish middle and long-distance runners. The term was ...

Kaarlo Maaninka Kaarlo Hannes Maaninka (born 25 December 1953) is a Finnish former long-distance runner who won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres and a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He later admitted that he had used blood tran ...

was the last Finnish athlete to medal over 10,000 m, in 1980.

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

has won eleven medals, although

Naftali Temu Nabiba Naftali Temu (20 April 1945 – 10 March 2003) was a Kenyan long-distance runner. He became Kenya's first gold medalist when he won the 10,000 metres race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Biography Temu started systematic traini ...

is the only Kenyan to have won Olympic gold. It was not the first

long-distance track event Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

to feature at an Olympic competition: 5-mile (8 km) races featured at the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...

and the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

before the metric

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

and 10,000 m events were initiated.

Medal summary

Men

Multiple medalists

Medals by country

Women

Multiple medalists

Medalists by country

Five miles

Intercalated Games

The

were held in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and at the time were officially recognised as part of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon. At this event a men's five-mile race was held – the first time a long-distance event featured at an Olympic competition. A British runner,

Henry Hawtrey Henry Courtenay Hawtrey (29 June 1882 – 16 November 1961) was a British track and field athlete, winner of run at the 1906 Summer Olympics. He was born in Southampton and died in Aldershot. The British were the leading force in the long-di ...

, won the event. Two 1908 Olympic participants for Sweden,

John Svanberg Johan Frithiof Isidor "John" Svanberg (1 May 1881 – 11 September 1957) was a Swedish runner. He competed in the 5 miles and marathon at the 1906 Intercalated Games and 1908 Summer Olympics and won two silver and one bronze medals. In 1908 ...

and

Edward Dahl Edward Martin Dahl (3 August 1886, in Bromma – 21 November 1961) was a Swedish athlete. He competed in the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens and in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. At the Intercalated Games in 1906 he won the bronze me ...

, were the minor medalists.Athletics Men's 5 mile Medalists
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.

1908 Olympics

References

;Participation and athlete data

Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.

Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.

Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26. ;Olympic record progressions *Mallon, Bill (2012)
TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS
''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

''. Retrieved on 2014-02-07. ;Specific

External links

IAAF 10,000 metres homepageOfficial Olympics websiteOlympic athletics records
from ''Track & Field News'' {{History of Olympic athletics events

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...