How it works
Runners compete over 12-and-a-half laps of a 400m track. They make bunched standing starts and can break immediately for the inside.
History
The Ancient Greeks organised a number of events akin to today’s long-distance races.
During the mid-19th century, match races for betting purposes became very popular in Great Britain and America.
Every Olympic Games since 1912 has included a men’s 5000m.
Did you know
It wasn’t until 1996 that a women’s version of the 5000m featured at the Olympic Games.
Gold standard
Unquestionably this is the realm of the East Africans, with Kenya and Ethiopia dominating; Tanzania and Uganda are strong, too. North Africans from Morocco and Algeria have also enjoyed success.
Icons
Said Aouita
The versatile Moroccan dominated throughout the mid-to-late 1980s. He won Olympic gold in 1984 and took the world title three years later. He was also the first man to run below 13 minutes for the distance.
Gabriela Szabo
The fast-finishing Romanian landed successive world titles (1997 and 1999) before enjoying Olympic glory in Sydney in 2000.