With the sheer volume of 5K races out there, picking a handful of notable ones is challenging but here’s one short list.
Before listing them, the 5K may not carry the adrenaline of the sprint race, or the epic grueling grind plus possible final kick of a marathon (and it’s also difficult to have a “watch party” for a race that’s roughly thirteen to fifteen minutes at the elite levels) but the distance lends itself to strategy and simultaneously has nearly no room for error. This makes it compelling in that the runners will enter with a strategy but if things don’t go according to plan, either based on their own bodies or their competitors doing something unexpected, questions arise of whether one sticks with the original strategy or changes with new circumstances. This can make it very exciting as it’s not just about who may have the fastest time or who historically has a superb tactical strategy.
1. Bob Kennedy’s 2001 USATF victory. Kennedy, the first non-African to run under 13:00 at 5000M, was the top American 5000M runner but was moving towards the end of his career while a younger runner named Adam Goucher was Kennedy’s heir apparent at the distance. Many championship races are about tactics instead of time. (Note that the World Record for 5000M is 12:35 while the Olympic record is 12:57, over 20 seconds slower, which equates to around one-third of a lap at that speed.) In this race, Kennedy employed an unusual tactic of alternating laps between blistering pace and then backing off a little. Not expecting this, Goucher wasn’t able to adjust his strategy and Kennedy emerged victorious. To be fair, Kennedy still needed substantial speed to pull it off but he (or his coach) wisely chose to do something in the event Kennedy’s raw leg speed couldn’t match Goucher’s.
2. 1972 Olympic 5000M. Steve Prefontaine is a legend in American and world running and this was his first and, sadly, last Olympics. In this race, he likely could have surrendered the gold in the final laps and raced for the silver or bronze but he made the lunge to take first. Ultimately, he finished fourth during a thrilling finish.
3. 2021 Tokyo Olympics 5000M. Sifan Hassan had won her heat of the 1,500M earlier that morning. She was attempting a 1500M/5000M/10000M triple but after falling in the earlier round and expending the energy to win, she thought victory here was doubtful at best. However, she put herself into position to win, ripped off a 57 second final lap, and took home the gold.
4. 2003 World Championships. This race was expected to be a duel between Hicham El Guerrouj and Kenenisa Bekele. Similar to the race between Kennedy and Goucher from above, El Guerrouj had been on the world stage for several years, though primarily at shorter distances, and Bekele was relatively new. In this case, the race did turn out to be a thriller between these two except that they finished with silver (El Guerrouj) and bronze (Bekele). A little known runner at the time named Eliud Kipchoge emerged barely victorious in front of both of them. Their last laps were blazing fast at 53 seconds. Ironically, Bekele will always be more firmly linked to the distance but that day belonged to someone else.
Sources used:
1972 OG 5,000 meter Final (youtube.com)
2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men’s 5000 metres – Wikipedia
2021 Tokyo Olympics – Sifan Hassan Wins Women’s 5,000 Meters (runnersworld.com)
5000 metres – Wikipedia
Bob Kennedy (runner) – Wikipedia
World Champs 5000m Final, Paris, 2003. (youtube.com)