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1996 Olympic Games Atlanta - Women's 5000 m

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Details: Parent Category: Olympic Games (Athletics); Category: 1996 Olympic Games Atlanta - (Athletics); Last Updated: 27 June 2019; Hits: 696

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Host City: Atlanta, United States

Format: Top four in each heat and next three fastest advanced to the final.

Date Started: July 26, 1996

Date Finished: July 28, 1996

(Competitors: 46; Countries: 25; Finalists: 15)

Venue(s): Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Overview by IAAF

Fearsome finisher Sonia O’Sullivan (IRL), the World Champion, and Gabriela Szabo (ROU) were the favourites, but Szabo ran poorly in her heat and was eliminated. The same fate befell Mary Slaney (USA), who had made the US team 23 years after first competing for her country. Slaney’s result was later annulled when a doping violation earlier in 1996 was confirmed. O’Sullivan set the inaugural Olympic record with 15:15.80, but the fastest in the heats was Konga who ran 15:07.01. The lead changed hands a number of times in the early stages of the final, but Konga led at 1000m (3:06.2), 2000m (6:08.9) and 3000m (9:08.02) points. O’Sullivan had held second place in the early stages, but was soon suffering in the heat (28°C) and eventually dropped out. Konga continued to lead, with only Wang able to keep in contact. The 3000m and 10,000m world record holder struck with two laps to go. Her penultimate circuit took 67.5 seconds and gave her a 30m margin. Wang eased down in the last lap, saving herself for the m.

Summary by Sports-reference.com

After three Olympics in which the women had run 3,000 metres as a shorter distance race, the event was moved up to 5,000 metres in 1996, putting them on a par with the men. The 1995 Worlds had been conducted at 5K, won by Sonia O'Sullivan, but the European Championship would not move up to 5,000 until 1998. O'Sullivan had also won the 1994 European 3K and was favored with Romania's Gabriela Szabo. Mary Decker-Slaney (USA) was back, still trying for an Olympic medal after her trauma in 1984 and failure in the 1988 final. But she would not get out of the heats. O'Sullivan did not run well in the Atlanta heat and dropped out of the final. Kenya's Pauline Konga took the lead at 1,000 and held it until two laps to go when Wang Junxia passed her in the decisive move. Wang held on to win the gold medal, Konga not really challenging her on the last lap, but Konga did get the silver medal.

		Results

*5000 m*	Women	Final	28 July

Rank	Mark	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	14.59.88	Wang Junxia	China	CHN	9 Jan 73
2	15.03.49	Pauline Konga	Kenya	KEN	10 Apr 70
3	15.07.52	Roberta Brunet	Italy	ITA	20 May 65
4	15.09.05	Michiko Shimizu	Japan	JPN	22 Sep 70
5	15.13.11	Paula Radcliffe	Great Britain	GBR	17 Dec 73
6	15.14.09	Yelena Romanova	Russia	RUS	20 Mar 63
7	15.16.71	Elena Fidatov	Romania	ROU	24 Jul 60
8	15.17.33	Rose Cheruiyot	Kenya	KEN	21 Jul 76
9	15.17.50	Lynn Jennings	United States	USA	1 Jul 60
10	15.19.77	Amy Rudolph	United States	USA	18 Sep 73
11	15.22.98	Sara Wedlund	Sweden	SWE	27 Dec 75
12	15.28.81	Ayelech Worku	Ethiopia	ETH	12 Jun 79
13	15.29.11	Anne Hare	New Zealand	NZL	7 Jun 64
14	15.44.40	Anita Weyermann	Switzerland	SUI	8 Dec 77
	DNF	Sonia O'Sullivan	Ireland	IRL	28 Nov 69
*5000 m*	Women	Heat 1	26 July

Rank	Mark	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	15.15.80	Sonia O'Sullivan	Ireland	IRL	28 Nov 69
2	15.17.89	Elena Fidatov	Romania	ROU	24 Jul 60
3	15.19.66	Lynn Jennings	United States	USA	1 Jul 60
4	15.19.91	Anita Weyermann	Switzerland	SUI	8 Dec 77
5	15.20.61	Sara Wedlund	Sweden	SWE	27 Dec 75
6	15.22.31	Anne Hare	New Zealand	NZL	7 Jun 64
7	15.37.73	Petra Wassiluk	Germany	GER	27 Oct 69
8	15.40.41	Yang Siju	China	CHN	19 Apr 73
9	15.41.63	Roseli Machado	Brazil	BRA	27 Dec 68
10	15.49.85	Lydia Cheromei	Kenya	KEN	11 May 77
11	15.50.43	Harumi Hiroyama	Japan	JPN	2 Sep 68
12	15.59.42	Marisa Martínez	Spain	ESP	28 Dec 72
13	16.04.29	Luchia Yisak	Ethiopia	ETH	8 Apr 73
14	16.17.83	Kate Richardson	Australia	AUS	5 Nov 73
15	16.24.74	Alison Wyeth	Great Britain	GBR	26 May 64
16	19.17.87	Rachida Mahamane	Niger	NIG	25 Sep 81
*5000 m*	Women	Heat 2	26 July

Rank	Mark	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	15.22.58	Roberta Brunet	Italy	ITA	20 May 65
2	15.23.56	Michiko Shimizu	Japan	JPN	22 Sep 70
3	15.23.90	Paula Radcliffe	Great Britain	GBR	17 Dec 73
4	15.24.28	Wang Junxia	China	CHN	9 Jan 73
5	15.26.87	Rose Cheruiyot	Kenya	KEN	21 Jul 76
6	15.28.35	Claudia Lokar	Germany	GER	9 Feb 64
7	15.47.50	Kathy Butler	Canada	CAN	22 Oct 73
8	15.48.35	Merima Denboba	Ethiopia	ETH	21 Aug 74
9	15.56.38	Nina Christiansen	Denmark	DEN	7 Jun 64
10	15.57.35	Ana Dias	Portugal	POR	15 Jan 74
11	15.58.28	Stela Olteanu	Romania	ROU	25 Feb 72
12	15.59.00	Jeļena Prokopčuka	Latvia	LAT	21 Sep 76
13	15.59.12	Marie Davenport	Ireland	IRL	24 Jan 75
14	16.06.45	Natalie Harvey	Australia	AUS	19 Jan 75
	DQ	Mary Slaney
*5000 m*	Women	Heat 3	26 July

Rank	Mark	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	15.07.01	Pauline Konga	Kenya	KEN	10 Apr 70
2	15.21.59	Ayelech Worku	Ethiopia	ETH	12 Jun 79
3	15.21.90	Amy Rudolph	United States	USA	18 Sep 73
4	15.23.37	Yelena Romanova	Russia	RUS	20 Mar 63
5	15.33.49	Wei Li	China	CHN	29 Jun 72
6	15.33.63	Silvia Sommaggio	Italy	ITA	20 Nov 69
7	15.42.35	Gabriela Szabo	Romania	ROU	14 Nov 75
8	15.48.63	Cristina Petite	Spain	ESP	10 May 72
9	15.55.03	Zahra Ouaziz	Morocco	MAR	20 Dec 69
10	15.55.66	Katy McCandless	Ireland	IRL	22 Jun 70
11	15.57.67	Irina Mikitenko	Kazakhstan	KAZ	23 Aug 72
12	15.58.90	Yoshiko Ichikawa	Japan	JPN	18 Apr 76
13	16.01.92	Sonia McGeorge	Great Britain	GBR	2 Nov 64
14	16.24.49	Robyn Meagher	Canada	CAN	17 Jun 67
15	16.42.78	Martha Portobanco	Nicaragua	NCA	29 Jan 71