The men's 5000 metres was the second-longest of the seven men's track races in the

Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the athletics competition included 36 events, 24 for men and 12 for women. The women's 400 metres and women's pentathlon events were newly introduced at these Games. There were a total number of 1016 particip ...

program in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. It was held on 16 October and 18 October 1964. 54 athletes from 35 nations entered, with 6 not starting the first round. The first round was held on 16 October and the final on 18 October. The world record holder

Vladimir Kuts Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts ( uk, Володимир Петрович Куц, russian: Владимир Петрович Куц, 7 February 1927 – 16 August 1975) was a Soviet long-distance runner. He won the 5000 and 10000 m races at the 1956 ...

had retired five years earlier. Defending champion

Murray Halberg Sir Murray Gordon Halberg (7 July 1933 – 30 November 2022) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner who won the gold medal in the 5000 metres event at the 1960 Olympics. He also won gold medals in the 3 miles events at the 1958 and 1962 Com ...

didn't make the final. Halberg and

Pyotr Bolotnikov Pyotr Grigoryevich Bolotnikov (russian: Пётр Григо́рьевич Боло́тников; 8 March 1930 – 20 December 2013) was a Soviet Track and field athlete who competed mainly in long-distance running events. Great Russian Encyclope ...

had dominated the event the previous four years but neither was in the final. The top runner of the year was

Bob Schul Robert Keyser "Bob" Schul (born September 28, 1937) is a former American long-distance runner. , he is the only American to have won an Olympic gold medal in the 5000 m, at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Early career Schul, born and raised o ...

from the Compton Invitational. This was

Kip Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino (born 17 January 1940) is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a lo ...

's first Olympic final, but he would gain fame four years later. In the slow, strategic race held in a light rain on a muddy dirt track

Michel Jazy Michel Jazy (born 13 June 1936) is a French former middle-distance runner and long-distance runner. He won the 1500 metres silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, as well as two golds (in 1962 and 1966) and one silver (in 1966) at the Europ ...

was more of a 1500 meter runner and expected to be ready for a fast finish. He kept himself in the lead or close to the lead throughout. Schul found himself on the curb boxed in by a loping Keino who seemed to be marking the field on the outside of the pack that also included future world record holder

Ron Clarke Ronald William Clarke, AO, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable fo ...

. With 600 metres to go

Bill Dellinger William "Bill" Solon Dellinger (born March 23, 1934) is a retired American middle-distance runner. He competed in the 5,000 m at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1964, setting his personal record.Nikolay Dutov Nikolay Dutov (19 December 1938 – 6 January 1992) was a Soviet long-distance runner. He competed in the men's 5000 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an i ...

came around the entire pack to challenge Jazy and Dellinger. Shortly after the bell, Jazy decided to take off, jumping to the lead with

Harald Norpoth Harald Norpoth (born 22 August 1942) is a West German former middle and long distance runner. He won the silver medal over 5000 m at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as a member of the United Team of Germany.Paul Chelimo Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo (born October 27, 1990) is an Kenyan born American track and field athlete. He is the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist in the 5000 meters. Career Born and brought up in Kenya Chelimo initi ...

took silver in 2016.

Results

First round

The top three runners in each of the 4 heats advanced.

First round, heat 1

First round, heat 2

First round, heat 3

First round, heat 4

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics - Men's 5000 metres Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics 5000 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 1964 Summer Olympics