5000 metres at the World Athletics Championships

Event at the world championships in athletics
5000 metres
at the World Athletics Championships
Women competing in the 2013 final
Overview
GenderMen and women
Years heldMen: 1983 – 2023
Women: 1995 – 2023
Championship record
Men12:52.79 Eliud Kipchoge (2003)
Women14:26.72 Hellen Obiri (2019)
Reigning champion
Men Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
Women Faith Kipyegon (KEN)

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.

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. Six other athletes have won the 5000 m championship twice: Ismael Kirui, Muktar Edris and Jakob Ingebrigtsen on the men's side, and Gabriela Szabo, Tirunesh Dibaba and Hellen Obiri 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 five in the women's, and has the highest medal total at 30. Ethiopia is the next best performer with six women's titles, three men's titles and 30 medals overall. Morocco, Great Britain, Romania, Ireland and Norway 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

Distinction Male Female
Athlete Age Date Athlete Age Date
Youngest champion  Ismael Kirui (KEN) 18 years, 177 days 16 Aug 1993  Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) 17 years, 333 days 30 Aug 2003
Youngest medalist  Ismael Kirui (KEN) 18 years, 177 days 16 Aug 1993  Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) 17 years, 333 days 30 Aug 2003
Youngest finalist  Selemon Barega (ETH) 17 years, 204 days 12 Aug 2017  Sally Barsosio (KEN) 17 years, 144 days 12 Aug 1995
Youngest participant  Abdullah Al-Qwabani (YEM) 16 years, 177 days 26 Aug 2015  Wisam El-Bekheet (PLE) 14 years, 281 days 9 Aug 2001
Oldest champion  Bernard Lagat (USA) 32 years, 264 days 2 Sep 2007  Hellen Obiri (KEN) 29 years, 296 days 5 Oct 2019
Oldest medalist  Bernard Lagat (USA) 36 years, 266 days 4 Sep 2011  Edith Masai (KEN) 36 years, 148 days 30 Aug 2003
Oldest finalist  Bernard Lagat (USA) 38 years, 247 days 16 Aug 2013  Teresa Récio (ESP) 38 years, 35 days 11 Aug 2001
Oldest participant  Bernard Lagat (USA) 38 years, 247 days 16 Aug 2013  Nora Rocha (MEX) 39 years, 254 days 29 Aug 2007

Doping

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] Additionally, 2023 silver medalist Mohamed Katir was suspended in February 2024 for whereabouts failures.[10][11][12]

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,[13] while the 1987 and 1991 world champion for the distance Tetyana Dorovskikh also ended her career with a drugs ban in 1993.[14] The 1983 women's champion Mary Decker was another banned for doping later in her career.[15]

Medalists

Men

Championships Gold Silver Bronze
1983 Helsinki
details
 Eamonn Coghlan (IRL)  Werner Schildhauer (GDR)  Martti Vainio (FIN)
1987 Rome
details
 Saïd Aouita (MAR)  Domingos Castro (POR)  Jack Buckner (GBR)
1991 Tokyo
details
 Yobes Ondieki (KEN)  Fita Bayisa (ETH)  Brahim Boutayeb (MAR)
1993 Stuttgart
details
 Ismael Kirui (KEN)  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)  Fita Bayisa (ETH)
1995 Gothenburg
details
 Ismael Kirui (KEN)  Khalid Boulami (MAR)  Shem Kororia (KEN)
1997 Athens
details
 Daniel Komen (KEN)  Khalid Boulami (MAR)  Tom Nyariki (KEN)
1999 Seville
details
 Salah Hissou (MAR)  Benjamin Limo (KEN)  Mohammed Mourhit (BEL)
2001 Edmonton
details
 Richard Limo (KEN)  Million Wolde (ETH)  John Kibowen (KEN)
2003 Saint-Denis
details
 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)  Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)
2005 Helsinki
details
 Benjamin Limo (KEN)  Sileshi Sihine (ETH)  Craig Mottram (AUS)
2007 Osaka
details
 Bernard Lagat (USA)  Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)  Moses Kipsiro (UGA)
2009 Berlin
details
 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)  Bernard Lagat (USA)  James Kwalia (QAT)
2011 Daegu
details
 Mo Farah (GBR)  Bernard Lagat (USA)  Dejen Gebremeskel (ETH)
2013 Moscow
details
 Mo Farah (GBR)  Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH)  Isiah Koech (KEN)
2015 Beijing
details
 Mo Farah (GBR)  Caleb Ndiku (KEN)  Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH)
2017 London
details
 Muktar Edris (ETH)  Mo Farah (GBR)  Paul Chelimo (USA)
2019 Doha
details
 Muktar Edris (ETH)  Selemon Barega (ETH)  Mohammed Ahmed (CAN)
2022 Eugene
details
 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)  Jacob Krop  (KEN)  Oscar Chelimo (UGA)
2023 Budapest
details
 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)  Mohamed Katir (ESP)  Jacob Krop  (KEN)

Multiple medalists

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
Muktar Edris  Ethiopia (ETH) 2017–2019 2 0 0 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
Hagos Gebrhiwet  Ethiopia (ETH) 2013-2015 0 1 1 2
Jacob Krop  Kenya (KEN) 2022-2023 0 1 1 2

Medalists by country

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) 0 1 0 1
 Portugal (POR) 0 1 0 1
 Spain (ESP) 0 1 0 1
11  Uganda (UGA) 0 0 2 2
12  Australia (AUS) 0 0 1 1
 Belgium (BEL) 0 0 1 1
 Finland (FIN) 0 0 1 1
 Qatar (QAT) 0 0 1 1

Women's 5000 metres

Championships Gold Silver Bronze
1995 Gothenburg
details
 Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL)  Fernanda Ribeiro (POR)  Zahra Ouaziz (MAR)
1997 Athens
details
 Gabriela Szabo (ROU)  Roberta Brunet (ITA)  Fernanda Ribeiro (POR)
1999 Seville
details
 Gabriela Szabo (ROU)  Zahra Ouaziz (MAR)  Ayelech Worku (ETH)
2001 Edmonton
details
 Olga Yegorova (RUS)  Marta Dominguez (ESP)  Ayelech Worku (ETH)
2003 Saint-Denis
details
 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)  Marta Dominguez (ESP)  Edith Masai (KEN)
2005 Helsinki
details
 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)  Meseret Defar (ETH)  Ejegayehu Dibaba (ETH)
2007 Osaka
details
 Meseret Defar (ETH)  Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN)  Priscah Jepleting Cherono (KEN)
2009 Berlin
details
 Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN)  Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet (KEN)  Meseret Defar (ETH)
2011 Daegu
details
 Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN)  Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet (KEN)  Meseret Defar (ETH)
2013 Moscow
details
 Meseret Defar (ETH)  Mercy Cherono (KEN)  Almaz Ayana (ETH)
2015 Beijing
details
 Almaz Ayana (ETH)  Senbere Teferi (ETH)  Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)
2017 London
details
 Hellen Obiri (KEN)  Almaz Ayana (ETH)  Sifan Hassan (NED)
2019 Doha
details
 Hellen Obiri (KEN)  Margaret Kipkemboi (KEN)  Konstanze Klosterhalfen (GER)
2022 Eugene
details
 Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)  Beatrice Chebet (KEN)  Dawit Seyaum (ETH)
2023 Budapest
details
 Faith Kipyegon (KEN)  Sifan Hassan (NED)  Beatrice Chebet (KEN)

Multiple medalists

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
Gabriela Szabo  Romania (ROU) 1997–1999 2 0 0 2
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
Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet  Kenya (KEN) 2001–2003 0 2 0 2
9 Sifan Hassan  Netherlands (NED) 2017-2023 0 1 1 2
Beatrice Chebet  Kenya (KEN) 2022-2023 0 1 1 2
Fernanda Ribeiro  Portugal (POR) 1995–1997 0 1 1 2
Zahra Ouaziz  Morocco (MAR) 1995–1999 0 1 1 2
13 Ayelech Worku  Ethiopia (ETH) 1999–2001 0 0 2 2

Medalists by country

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) 1 0 0 1
 Russia (RUS) 1 0 0 1
6  Spain (ESP) 0 2 0 2
7  Morocco (MAR) 0 1 1 2
 Netherlands (NED) 0 1 1 2
 Portugal (POR) 0 1 1 2
10  Italy (ITA) 0 1 0 1
11  Germany (GER) 0 0 1 1

Women's 3000 metres

Championships Gold Silver Bronze
1980 Sittard
details
 Birgit Friedmann (FRG)  Karoline Nemetz (SWE)  Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)
1983 Helsinki
details
 Mary Decker (USA)  Brigitte Kraus (FRG)  Tatyana Kovalenko-Kazankina (URS)
1987 Rome
details
 Tetyana Samolenko (URS)  Maricica Puică (ROU)  Ulrike Bruns (GDR)
1991 Tokyo
details
 Tetyana Dorovskikh (URS)  Yelena Romanova (URS)  Susan Sirma (KEN)
1993 Stuttgart
details
 Qu Yunxia (CHN)  Zhang Linli (CHN)  Zhang Lirong (CHN)

Multiple medalists

Rank Athlete Nation Period Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Tatyana Dorovskikh  Soviet Union (URS) 1987–1991 2 0 0 2

Medalists by country

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
 Sweden (SWE) 0 1 0 1
7  East Germany (GDR) 0 0 1 1
 Kenya (KEN) 0 0 1 1
 Norway (NOR) 0 0 1 1

Finishing times

Top ten fastest world championships times (5000 metres)

Fastest men's times at the World Championships[16]
Rank Time (sec) Athlete Nation Year Date
1 12:52.79 Eliud Kipchoge  Kenya 2003 2003-08-31
2 12:52.83 Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 2003 2003-08-31
3 12:53.12 Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia 2003 2003-08-31
4 12:54.07 John Kibowen  Kenya 2003 2003-08-31
5 12:57.74 Abraham Chebii  Kenya 2003 2003-08-31
6 12:58.08 Gebregziabher Gebremariam  Ethiopia 2003 2003-08-31
7 12:58.13 Salah Hissou  Morocco 1999 1999-08-28
8 12:58.72 Benjamin Limo  Kenya 1999 1999-08-28
9 12:58.80 Mohammed Mourhit  Belgium 1999 1999-08-28
10 12:58.85 Muktar Edris  Ethiopia 2019 2003-09-30
Fastest women's times at the World Championships[17]
Rank Time (sec) Athlete Nation Year Date
1 14:26.72 Hellen Obiri  Kenya 2019 2019-10-05
2 14:26.84 Almaz Ayana  Ethiopia 2015 2015-08-30
3 14:27.49 Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi  Kenya 2019 2019-10-05
4 14:28.43 Konstanze Klosterhalfen  Germany 2019 2019-10-05
5 14:29.60 Tsehay Gemechu  Ethiopia 2019 2019-10-05
6 14:32.29 Sifan Hassan  Netherlands 2023H 2023-08-26
7 14:32.31 Faith Kipyegon  Kenya 2023H 2023-08-26
8 14:33.23 Ejgayehu Taye  Ethiopia 2023H 2023-08-26
9 14:34.16 Freweyni Hailu  Ethiopia 2023H 2023-08-26
10 14:34.86 Hellen Obiri  Kenya 2017 2017-08-13

Championship record progression

Men

Men's 5000 metres World Championships record progression[18]
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

Women's 5000 metres World Championships record progression[19]
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

Women's 3000 metres World Championships record progression[20]
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

  1. ^ a b Championships Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-12.
  2. ^ IAAF World Championships: IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, pp. 595–6 (archived). IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-06.
  3. ^ Matthews, Peter (2012). Historical Dictionary of Track and Field (pg. 217). Scarecrow Press (eBook). Retrieved on 2013-09-08.
  4. ^ "World Athletics Championships - Budapest 23 Statistical Booklet" (PDF). www.worldathletics.org: 42–45.
  5. ^ Algerian stripped of silver medal. News24 AFP (2001-08-18). Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
  6. ^ Fuchs, Christian (2013-01-16). Alemitu Bekele verliert EM-Titel (in German). Leichathletik. Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
  7. ^ Butler 2013, p. 67–9.
  8. ^ (2004-11-05).Näin siinä kävi. Suomen Urheilulehti/A-lehdet. Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
  9. ^ O'Riordan, Ian (2013-05-23) . Sonia O’Sullivan’s Munich conqueror has biological passport anomalies. Irish Times. Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
  10. ^ Carveth, Jessy (2024-02-08). "Two-Time Word Medalist Mo Katir Suspended For Whereabouts Failure". Marathon Handbook. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  11. ^ "KATIR BANNED FOR 'WHEREABOUTS FAILURES'" (PDF). Athletics Integrity Unit. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Mohamed Katir: World 5,000m silver medallist given two-year ban for anti-doping rule violation". BBC News. 17 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  13. ^ Records raise doubts over the Orient excess. Herald Scotland (1993-09-13). Retrieved on 2015-08-10.
  14. ^ "O'Sullivan resigned to long wait in China doping probe". Reuters. 20 May 2016.
  15. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (1999-04-27). Athletics: Slaney doping ban upheld at IAAF hearing. Retrieved on 2015-08-08.
  16. ^ "Men's 5000m".
  17. ^ "Women's 5000m".
  18. ^ Main > Men, 5000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
  19. ^ Main > Women, 5000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
  20. ^ Main > Women, 3000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.

Bibliography

  • Butler, Mark (2013). IAAF Statistics Book Moscow 2013 (PDF). IAAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2014.

External links

  • Official IAAF website
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