The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a
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 e ...
event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track.
It is debated whether the 3000m should be classified as a middle-distance or long-distance event. In elite-level competition, 3000 m pace is more comparable to the pace found in the longer
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 st ...
event, rather than
mile pace. The
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizati ...
performance for 3000 m equates to a pace of 58.76 seconds per 400 m, which is closer to the 60.43 seconds for 5000 m than the 55.46 seconds for the
mile. However, the 3000 m does require some
anaerobic conditioning, and an elite athlete needs to develop a high tolerance to
lactic acid
Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as natur ...
, as does the mile runner. Thus, the 3000 m demands a balance of
aerobic endurance needed for the 5000 m and lactic acid tolerance needed for the Mile.
In men's athletics, 3000 metres has been an
Olympic discipline only as a team race at the
1912,
1920 and
1924 Summer Olympics. It has not been contested at any of the
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
outdoor championships, but is occasionally hosted at annual elite track and field meetings. It is often featured in indoor track and field programmes and is the longest-distance event present at the
IAAF World Indoor Championships.
In women's athletics, 3000 metres was a standard event in the Olympic Games (
1984 to
1992) and World Championships (1980 to 1993). The event was discontinued at World Championship and Olympic level after the
1993 World Championships in Athletics –
Qu Yunxia being the final
gold medal winner at the event. Starting with the
1995 World Championships in Athletics and the
1996 Olympic Games, it was replaced by 5000 metres, with other IAAF-organized championships following suit.
Skilled runners in this event reach speeds near
vVO2max, for which the oxygen requirements of the body cannot continuously be satisfied, requiring some anaerobic effort.
All-time top 25
The men's world record is 7:20.67 set by
Daniel Komen of
Kenya
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in 1996. Komen also holds the world indoor mark with 7:24.90 minutes set in 1998. The women's world record is 8:06.11 set by
Wang Junxia
Wang Junxia (; born January 19, 1973) is a Chinese former long-distance runner who is the current world record holder at 3,000 meters. She also held the world record for the 10,000 meters for 23 years, between 1993 and 2016. Her best years lay be ...
of
China in 1993. The world indoor women's record is 8:16.60 minutes, set by Ethiopian
Genzebe Dibaba in 2014.
Outdoor men
*Correct as of August 2022.
Outdoor women
*Correct as of May 2022.
Indoor men
*Correct as of February 2022.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal to or superior to 7:33.73.
*
Berihu Aregawi also ran 7:29.24 (2021).
*
Lamecha Girma also ran 7:30.54 (2022).
*
Selemon Barega also ran 7:30.66 (2022) and 7:33.19 (2020).
*
Getnet Wale also ran 7:30.88 (2022) and 7:32.80 (2020).
Indoor women
*Correct as of February 2022.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 8:29.99:
*
Genzebe Dibaba also ran 8:22.50 (2016), 8:24.85+ (2014), 8:26.95 (2013).
*
Meseret Defar also ran 8:24.46 (2010), 8:26.99 (2009), 8:27.93 (2008).
*
Meselech Melkamu
Meselech Melkamu born 27 April 1985 in Debre Marqos) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2008 African Athletics Championships, but she is better known for her 29:53.80 run ov ...
also ran 8:29.48 (2008).
*
Hellen Obiri also ran 8:29.46 (2017), 8:29.99 (2014).
Medalists
Women's Olympic medalists
Women's World Championships medalists
Men's World Indoor Championships medalists
Women's World Indoor Championships medalists
*
Known as the ''World Indoor Games''
Season's bests
Men (outdoor)
Men (indoor)
Women (outdoor)
Women (indoor)
External links
IAAF list of 3000-metres records in XML
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:3000 Metres
Events in track and field
Women's athletics
Long-distance running distances
Middle-distance running
Discontinued Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics