The 10,000 metres at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

as part of the athletics programme were held at

Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...

on Friday 22 September, and Monday 25 September 2000. Without

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 Champion ...

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

would have won everything since the previous Olympics. He was the silver medalist in the previous Olympics and the ensuing two world championships. He was the World Cross Country Champion five times in a row in Gebrselassie's absence. The final broke down to a team race, with three Kenyans vs Ethiopians Gebrselassie and

Assefa Mezgebu Assefa Mezgebu (born June 19, 1978 in Sidamo) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner, most known for winning a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres event at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was also the runner-up at the 2001 World Championships ...

. With a lap to go, John Korir held the lead marked by Gebrselassie, with Tergat marking him. Mezgebu moved from behind Tergat to Gebrselassie's shoulder, boxing Tergat along the rail through the penultimate turn. Down the backstretch, Tergat slowed down a step to get out of the box, then sprinting around the outside, past everyone. The sprint was on. Unlike previous finals, Tergat had the drop on Gebrselassie, making Geb chase, with only Mezgebu able to hold on behind. Down the homestretch both were in full sprint, Tergat ahead, Gebrselassie making progress but not advancing enough to pass. Gebrselassie continued to press, drawing even with less than ten metres to go. Tergat strained, his last several steps losing his balance while Gebrselassie held form to take the gold again.

Records

Medalists

Results

All times shown are in seconds. * Q denotes qualification by place in heat. * q denotes qualification by overall place. * DNS denotes did not start. * DNF denotes did not finish. * DQ denotes disqualification. * NR denotes national record. * OR denotes Olympic record. * WR denotes world record. * PB denotes personal best. * SB denotes season best.

Qualifying heats

The top eight runners in each of the initial two heats automatically qualified for the final. The next four fastest runners from across the heats also qualified. There were a total number of 34 participating athletes. Overall Results Semi-Finals

Final

References

External links

Official Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Men's 10000 Metres 10000 metres, Men's 10,000 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 2000 Summer Olympics