The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common

long-distance running 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 come two di ...

event in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

and the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

, run over laps of a standard 400 m track, or 25 laps on an indoor 200 m track. The same distance in

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

is called a

5K run The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distinguished from the 5000 me ...

; referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres serves to disambiguate the two events. The 5000 m has been present on the Olympic programme since 1912 for men and since 1996 for women. Prior to 1996, women had competed in an Olympic

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running 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 3000 m sho ...

race since 1984. The 5000 m has been held at each of the

in men's competition and since 1995 in women's. The event is almost the same length as the dolichos race held at the

Ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (, ''ta Olympia''.), or the ancient Olympics, were a series of Athletics (sport), athletic competitions among representatives of polis, city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of ancient Greece. They were held at ...

, introduced in 720 BCE.

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

keeps official records for both outdoor and indoor 5000-metre track events.

3 miles

The 5000 metres is the (slightly longer) approximate metric equivalent of the run, an event common in countries which used the imperial measurement system. The 3-mile event featured in the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

through 1966, and was a championship in the United States in non-Olympic years from 1953 to 1973. It required 12 laps around a track.

Continental records

*Updated 15 June 2025.

All-time top 25

Men (outdoor)

*Updated June 2025.

Women (outdoor)

*Updated June 2025.

Men (indoor)

*Updated 2 March 2025.

Women (indoor)

*Updated 16 February 2025.

Olympic medalists

Men

Two men have won the Olympic 5000 metres on two occasions, both times back-to-back. Lasse Virén of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

was the first to achieve the feat, winning the title in 1972 in Munich, before retaining the title in 1976 in Montreal.

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a Somali-British former long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World tit ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

matched the achievement, winning the title in

2012 in London 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, and retaining it four years later in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. Both men achieved 5000/10000 m doubles on each occasion.

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finland, Finnish middle-distance running, middle-distance and long-distance running, long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" because he dominated distance running in th ...

is the only male runner to have won three Olympic medals at the distance; one gold and two silvers between 1920 and 1928.

Women

Only one woman has won the Olympic 5000 metres title twice,

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

Meseret Defar winning in Athens in 2004, taking silver behind compatriot

Tirunesh Dibaba Tirunesh Dibaba (, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 October 1985) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner athlete who competes in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold meda ...

in 2008, before regaining the title in London in 2012. Defar and Dibaba are the only athletes with three Olympic medals at the distance, with both reaching the podium in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

World Championships medalists

Men

In the World Championships, Great Britain's

stands alone, the most successful and most decorated athlete in the event with three gold medals (2011, 2013 and 2015) and four medals in total (including silver in 2017) between 2011 and 2017. Kenya's

Ismael Kirui Ismael Kirui (born 20 February 1975 in Kapcherop, Marakwet District) is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who won gold medals over 5000 metres at the 1993 and 1995 World Championships in Athletics. His victory in Stuttgart in 1993 was espec ...

was the first athlete to win the title twice in 1993 and 1995, and Ethiopia's

Muktar Edris Muktar Edris (born 14 January 1994) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country races. He is a two-time World champion over 5000 metres. Career Muktar made his first international appearances in 2 ...

the third between 2017 and 2019.

Women

Romania's

Gabriela Szabo Gabriela Szabo (, ; born 14 November 1975) is a retired Romanian runner. She competed in the 1500 m and 5000 m events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal. Szabo is a three-time world champion. She was nam ...

won the title twice between 1995 and 1997. Since then four African runners - two Kenyan, two Ethiopian - have repeated the feat;

and Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and

Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan Long-distance running, long-distance runner. She represented Kenya at the Athletics at the Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning the silver medal i ...

and Hellen Obiri of Kenya. Meseret Defar's five medals - 2 gold, a silver and two bronze won between 2005 and 2013 - are the most won in the event by any athlete.

Season's bests

Men

Women

References

External links

IAAF list of 5000-metres records in XML

{{DEFAULTSORT:5000 Metres Events in track and field Long-distance running disciplines Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics

3 miles

Continental records

All-time top 25

Men (outdoor)

Women (outdoor)

Men (indoor)

Women (indoor)

Olympic medalists

Men

Women

World Championships medalists

Men

Women

Season's bests

Men

Women

See also

References

External links