The 10,000 metres at the Summer Olympics is the longest track running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's 10,000 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912. The women's event was added to the programme over seventy years later, at the 1988 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 10,000 m race at elite level. The competition format is a straight final between around 30 athletes, although prior to 2004 a qualifying round was held.
The Olympic records for the event were both set by Ethiopians at the 2008 Beijing Olympics: Kenenisa Bekele set the men's record at 27:01.17 minutes, while Tirunesh Dibaba set the women's mark at 29:54.66 minutes. The 10,000 metres world record has been broken at the Olympics on only one occasion; Lasse Virén's winning time of 27:38.35 minutes in 1972 stood as the record for less than a year.[1]
Five men have won the Olympic title twice: Paavo Nurmi became the first in 1928 and he was followed by Emil Zátopek, Lasse Virén, Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele. Two women have achieved the feat: Derartu Tulu won her second title in 2004 and Tirunesh Dibaba had back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2012. Derartu Tulu is the only athlete to have reached the podium on three occasions. Historically, athletes in this event have also had success in the 5000 metres at the Olympics. The winner of the men's Olympic 10,000 m has completed a long-distance track double on eight occasions, the most recent being Mo Farah at the 2012 London Olympics. Tirunesh Dibaba is the only woman to complete this double, having done so at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Ethiopia is the most successful nation in the event, with nine gold medals among its total of 21. Finland is the next most successful, with six gold medals and thirteen overall. Finland's period of great success in early 20th century led to wide usage of the nickname the Flying Finns; Kaarlo Maaninka was the last Finnish athlete to medal over 10,000 m, in 1980. Kenya has won nine medals, although Naftali Temu is the only Kenyan to have won Olympic gold.
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The 2012 Olympic women's 10,000 m final
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Overview |
Sport |
Athletics |
Gender |
Men and women |
Years held |
Men: 1912 – 2016 Women: 1988 – 2016 |
Olympic record |
Men |
27:01.17 Kenenisa Bekele (2008) |
Women |
29:17.45 Almaz Ayana (2016) |
Reigning champion |
Men |
Mo Farah (GBR) |
Women |
Almaz Ayana (ETH) |
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