5000 metres at the World Athletics Championships
The 5000 metres at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by men since the inaugural edition in 1983 and by women since 1995. Women competed over 3000 metres from 1980 to 1993, in line with championship standards of the time. It is the shortest long-distance running event at the competition, the 10,000 metres and marathon being the other two such events on the programme. It is the second most prestigious title in the discipline after the 5000 metres at the Olympics. The competition format typically has a two-race heats stage that leads directly to a final between fifteen athletes.
| 5000 metres at the World Athletics Championships | |
|---|---|
 Women competing in the 2013 final | |
| Overview | |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1983 – 2019 Women: 1995 – 2019 |
| Championship record | |
| Men | 12:52.79 Eliud Kipchoge (2003) |
| Women | 14:26.72 Hellen Obiri (2019) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) |
| Women |  Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) |
The championship records for the event are 12:52.79 minutes for men, set by Eliud Kipchoge in 2003, and 14:26.72 minutes for women, set by Hellen Obiri in 2019.[1] The world record has never been broken or equalled at the competition by either men or women, reflecting the lack of pacemaking and athletes' more tactical approach to championship races.[2] Similarly the women's 3000 metres world record was not improved during its 13-year history. The championship record for that event was set on its last appearance in 1993, by Yunxia Qu with a time of 8:28.71 minutes.[1]
The women's 3000 m was among the first ever IAAF World Championship events as it was one of two designated events at the 1980 World Championships in Athletics (alongside women's 400 metres hurdles), which was held after the International Olympic Committee refused to add the women's event to the Olympic programme that year.[3]
Mo Farah of Great Britain is the only athlete to win this title three times, between 2011 and 2015. Meseret Defar is the most successful female athlete of the event, having won two world championship titles and reached the medal podium five times consecutively from 2005 to 2013. Vivian Cheruiyot is the next most successful with two golds and one silver. Three other athletes have won the 5000 m championship twice: Ismael Kirui on the men's side, and Gabriela Szabo and Tirunesh Dibaba on the women's side. Tatyana Dorovskikh was also a double champion in the women's 3000 m, and the only woman to win multiple medals over that distance.
Kenya is the most successful nation in the discipline, with seven wins in the men's distance and two in the women's, and has the highest medal total at 21. Ethiopia is the next best performer with four women's titles, one men's title and twenty medal overall. Morocco, Great Britain, Romania and Ireland are the other nations to have won multiple gold medals in the 5000 m. The Soviet Union won the most 3000 m medals during its run, with two titles and four medals. China produced a medal sweep in 1993. Eamonn Coghlan and Jakob Ingebrigtsen are the only non-African-born men to win the 5000 m.
Age edit
- All information from IAAF[4]
| Distinction | Male athlete | Age | Female athlete | Age | 3000 metres | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngest champion | Ismael Kirui | 18 years, 177 days | Tirunesh Dibaba | 17 years, 333 days | Birgit Friedmann | 20 years, 130 days |
| Youngest medalist | Ismael Kirui | 18 years, 177 days | Tirunesh Dibaba | 17 years, 333 days | Birgit Friedmann | 20 years, 130 days |
| Youngest participant | Esam Salah Musleh Juaim | 16 years, 295 days | Wisam Al-Bekheet | 14 years, 281 days | Enh Od Tevdenshigmed | 14 years, 262 days |
| Oldest champion | Bernard Lagat | 32 years, 264 days | Olga Yegorova | 29 years, 136 days | Tatyana Dorovskikh | 30 years, 14 days |
| Oldest medalist | Bernard Lagat | 36 years, 266 days | Edith Masai | 36 years, 148 days | Maricica Puică | 37 years, 34 days |
| Oldest participant | Dieudonné LaMothe | 37 years, 32 days | Nora Rocha | 39 years, 254 days | Maricica Puică | 37 years, 34 days |
Doping edit
The World Championship 5000 metres was unaffected by doping until the 2001, when men's silver medallist Ali Saïdi-Sief of Algeria failed his post-race urine test due to nandrolone traces. He was stripped of his medal.[5] Only one other competitor has been disqualified from the 5000 m for doping: Turkey's Alemitu Bekele Degfa, whose unsuccessful run in the heats in 2011 was annulled retrospectively after biological passport irregularities.[6][7]
Among those failing tests outside the competition was 1983 men's bronze medallist Martti Vainio, who admitted to using testosterone supplements and failed a test for steroids in 1984.[8] Marta Domínguez, the women's runner-up in 2001 and 2003, was banned later in her career for abnormalities in her biological passport readings.[9] In the women's 3000 m, no athletes were banned during World Championships competition but 1983 medallist Tatyana Kazankina ended her career in 1984 by refusing a drug test,[10] while the 1987 and 1991 world champion for the distance Tetyana Dorovskikh also ended her career with a drugs ban in 1993.[11] The 1983 women's champion Mary Decker was another banned for doping later in her career.[12]
Medalists edit
Men edit
Multiple medalists edit
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Period | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mo Farah |  Great Britain (GBR) |
2011–2015 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 2= | Ismael Kirui |  Kenya (KEN) |
1993–1995 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2= | Muktar Edris | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2017–2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2= | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | Norway (NOR)
|
2022-2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Bernard Lagat |  United States (USA) |
2007–2011 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Benjamin Limo | Kenya (KEN) |
2003–2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Kenenisa Bekele | Ethiopia (ETH) |
1999–2005 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Khalid Boulami |  Morocco (MAR) |
1995–1997 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9= | Fita Bayisa | Ethiopia (ETH) |
1991–1993 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9= | Hagos Gebrhiwet | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2013-2015 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9= | Jacob Krop | Kenya (KEN)
|
2022-2023 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medalists by country edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya (KEN) |
7 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| 2 | Ethiopia (ETH) |
3 | 6 | 4 | 13 |
| 3 | Great Britain (GBR) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Morocco (MAR) |
2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Norway (NOR)
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | United States (USA) |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 |  Ireland (IRL) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  East Germany (GDR)  Portugal (POR) Spain (ESP) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 |  Uganda (UGA) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 |  Australia (AUS)  Belgium (BEL)  Finland (FIN)  Qatar (QAT) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women's 5000 metres edit
Multiple medalists edit
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Period | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meseret Defar | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2005–2013 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | Vivian Cheruiyot | Kenya (KEN) |
2007–2011 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3= | Hellen Obiri | Kenya (KEN)
|
2017-2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Gabriela Szabo |  Romania (ROU) |
1997–1999 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Tirunesh Dibaba | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2003–2005 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Almaz Ayana | Ethiopia (ETH) |
2013–2017 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7= | Marta Domínguez | Spain (ESP) |
2001–2003 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7= | Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet | Kenya (KEN) |
2001–2003 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9= | Sifan Hassan |  Netherlands (NED)
|
2017-2023 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9= | Beatrice Chebet | Kenya (KEN)
|
2022-2023 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9= | Fernanda Ribeiro | Portugal (POR) |
1995–1997 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9= | Zahra Ouaziz | Morocco (MAR) |
1995–1999 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | Ayelech Worku | Ethiopia (ETH) |
1999–2001 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medalists by country edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethiopia (ETH) |
6 | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| 2 | Kenya (KEN) |
5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| 3 | Romania (ROU) |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Ireland (IRL)  Russia (RUS) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Spain (ESP) |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Portugal (POR) Morocco (MAR) Netherlands (NED) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 |  Italy (ITA) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  Germany (GER) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women's 3000 metres edit
| Championships | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 Sittard |
Birgit Friedmann (FRG)
|
 Karoline Nemetz (SWE)
|
Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)
|
| 1983 Helsinki |
Mary Decker (USA)
|
Brigitte Kraus (FRG)
|
 Tatyana Kovalenko-Kazankina (URS)
|
| 1987 Rome |
Tetyana Samolenko (URS)
|
 Maricica Puică (ROU)
|
Ulrike Bruns (GDR)
|
| 1991 Tokyo |
Tetyana Dorovskikh (URS)
|
Yelena Romanova (URS)
|
Susan Sirma (KEN)
|
| 1993 Stuttgart |
 Qu Yunxia (CHN)
|
Zhang Linli (CHN)
|
Zhang Lirong (CHN)
|
Multiple medalists edit
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Period | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tatyana Dorovskikh | Soviet Union (URS) |
1987–1991 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Medalists by country edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union (URS) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | China (CHN) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | West Germany (FRG) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | United States (USA) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5= | Romania (ROU) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5= | Sweden (SWE) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7= | East Germany (GDR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7= | Kenya (KEN) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7= | Norway (NOR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Championship record progression edit
Men edit
| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Round | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:43.36 | Markus Ryffel |  Switzerland (SUI)
|
1983 | First round | 10 August |
| 13:32.34 | Markus Ryffel | Switzerland (SUI)
|
1983 | Semi-final | 12 August |
| 13:31.40 | Dmitriy Dmitriyev | Soviet Union (URS)
|
1983 | Semi-final | 12 August |
| 13:28.53 | Eamon Coghlan | Ireland (IRL)
|
1983 | Final | 14 August |
| 13:22.68 | John Ngugi | Kenya (KEN)
|
1987 | Heats | 4 September |
| 13:14.45 | Yobes Ondieki | Kenya (KEN)
|
1991 | Final | 1 September |
| 13:02.75 | Ismael Kirui | Kenya (KEN)
|
1993 | Final | 16 August |
| 12:58.12 | Salah Hissou | Morocco (MAR)
|
1999 | Final | 28 August |
| 12:52.79 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya (KEN)
|
2003 | Final | 31 August |
Women 5000 metres edit
| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Round | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:36.39 | Elena Fidatov | Romania (ROU)
|
1995 | Heats | 10 August |
| 15:13.88 | Sonia O'Sullivan | Ireland (IRL)
|
1995 | Heats | 10 August |
| 14:46.47 | Sonia O'Sullivan | Ireland (IRL)
|
1995 | Final | 10 August |
| 14:41.82 | Gabriela Szabo | Romania (ROU)
|
1999 | Final | 27 August |
| 14:38.59 | Tirunesh Dibaba | Ethiopia (ETH)
|
2005 | Final | 13 August |
| 14:26.83 | Almaz Ayana | Ethiopia (ETH)
|
2015 | Final | 30 August |
| 14:26.72 | Hellen Obiri | Kenya (KEN)
|
2019 | Final | 5 October |
Women 3000 metres edit
| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Round | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:04.7 | Aurora Cunha | Portugal (POR)
|
1980 | Heats | 14 August |
| 9:04.7 | Birgit Friedmann | West Germany (FRG)
|
1980 | Heats | 14 August |
| 8:48.05 | Birgit Friedmann | West Germany (FRG)
|
1980 | Heats | 14 August |
| 8:46.65 | Svetlana Ulmasova | Soviet Union (URS)
|
1983 | Heats | 8 August |
| 8:44.72 | Tatyana Kazankina | Soviet Union (URS)
|
1983 | Heats | 8 August |
| 8:34.62 | Mary Decker | United States (USA)
|
1983 | Final | 8 August |
| 8:28.71 | Qu Yunxia | China (CHN)
|
1993 | Final | 16 August |
References edit
- ^ a b Championships Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-12.
- ^ IAAF World Championships: IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, pp. 595–6 (archived). IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-06.
- ^ Matthews, Peter (2012). Historical Dictionary of Track and Field (pg. 217). Scarecrow Press (eBook). Retrieved on 2013-09-08.
- ^ Butler 2013, p. 34–7.
- ^ Algerian stripped of silver medal. News24 AFP (2001-08-18). Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
- ^ Fuchs, Christian (2013-01-16). Alemitu Bekele verliert EM-Titel (in German). Leichathletik. Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
- ^ Butler 2013, p. 67–9.
- ^ (2004-11-05).Näin siinä kävi. Suomen Urheilulehti/A-lehdet. Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
- ^ O'Riordan, Ian (2013-05-23) . Sonia O’Sullivan’s Munich conqueror has biological passport anomalies. Irish Times. Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
- ^ Records raise doubts over the Orient excess. Herald Scotland (1993-09-13). Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
- ^ "O'Sullivan resigned to long wait in China doping probe". Reuters. 20 May 2016.
- ^ Rowbottom, Mike (1999-04-27). Athletics: Slaney doping ban upheld at IAAF hearing. Retrieved on 2015-08-08.
- ^ Main > Men, 5000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
- ^ Main > Women, 5000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
- ^ Main > Women, 3000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
Bibliography edit
- Butler, Mark (2013). IAAF Statistics Book Moscow 2013 (PDF). IAAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2014.