{"id":1808,"date":"2024-07-20T12:50:49","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T12:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2024-07-20T12:50:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T12:50:49","slug":"olympics-countdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/20\/olympics-countdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympics countdown…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Olympics start in just under a week. The 5000M features two heats: a first round from which the finalists will be selected, based on their finishes, for the medal race. The women’s will be run on August 2nd and 5th; the men’s on August 7th and 10th. Note the three-day gap, or one mile per day for recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first men’s Olympic 5000M race was in 1912 and the winning time was 14:36.6, a full 91 seconds slower than the current Olympic qualifying standard of 13:05, which is ~30 seconds off the world record of 12:35.36. The last three Olympic winning times for the men have been 12:58 (2021); 13:03 (2016); and 13:41 (2012). The Olympic record is 12:57 (2008).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first women’s Olympic race was run in 1996 and the winning time was 14:59.88. The current Olympic entry standard is 14:52 and the world record is 14:00.21. The last three Olympic winning times have been 14:36 (2021); 14:26 (2016); and 15:04 (2012). The Olympic record is 14:26 (2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, the Olympic races are tactical; it’s absurdly unlikely anyone will go out at a world record pace because they want to strategize maximizing their energy for the final section of the race. It’s a game where each person is considering when to surge to go for the win, whether they can hold that once they’ve made the call, and\/or whether someone behind them has an even stronger and faster kick (ie final sprint) to catch them. It’s a subject I’ve mentioned in prior posts and while it may seem a little odd to someone unfamiliar with the sport, it’s how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the purposes of the Olympics (and world championships) it’s a byproduct of the distance races–for the 800M and shorter, there’s really no choice but to go all out so the likelihood of world records at the Olympics is higher. In 2012, if someone wasn’t familiar with the 5000M but decided to watch it, they may have checked the world record (at the time it was 12:37) and wondered why the winning time for the Olympics was 20 seconds per-mile slower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a good reminder that if you check out the Olympic 5000M, keep in mind that it’s all tactics and that can be fascinating. Will a countries’ runners work together to let one of them rabbit and try to draw out other racers early? Will someone push early knowing others aren’t likely to chase them, and then be able to hold for the win? We’ll know soon.

Sources used:

https:\/\/olympics.com\/en\/news\/athletics-track-combined-events-at-paris-2024-the-entry-standards<\/a>

https:\/\/olympics.com\/en\/paris-2024\/schedule\/athletics?day=31-july<\/a>

https:\/\/www.usatf.org\/events\/2024\/2024-u-s-olympic-team-trials-%E2%80%94-track-field\/qualifying-information<\/a>

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/5000_metres<\/a>

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Athletics_at_the_1912_Summer_Olympics<\/a>

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Athletics_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics<\/a>

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Athletics_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics<\/a>

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Athletics_at_the_2020_Summer_Olympics<\/a>

https:\/\/worldathletics.org\/records\/by-category\/olympic-games-records<\/a>

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Olympics start in just under a week. The 5000M features two heats: a first round from which the finalists will be selected, based on their finishes, for the medal race. The women’s will be run on August 2nd and 5th; the men’s on August 7th and 10th. Note the three-day gap, or one mile … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Olympics countdown…”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9W0ku-ta","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1795,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/15\/more-current-5000s\/","url_meta":{"origin":1808,"position":0},"title":"More current 5000s…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"June 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"There were three interesting 5000Ms this past week. Two of the three were championship races and one of those plus the third race saw a record fall.The first was the men's NCAA 5000M championship. The winner, Parker Wolfe, ran a 1:52 final 800M (which is blazing fast) to win the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1792,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/23\/current-5000\/","url_meta":{"origin":1808,"position":1},"title":"Current 5000…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"May 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"There was a compelling 5000M race in Los Angeles last Friday night. The winning time was 12:51, followed by several others in sub-13:00.\u00a0The article link is here. There are times when a highly anticipated field disappoints in terms of how the race unfolds and the results. Not so this time,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1800,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/30\/the-5000m-by-country\/","url_meta":{"origin":1808,"position":2},"title":"The 5000M by country…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"June 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"(Note from a prior post that the 5000M was not added to the women's Olympic program until 1996 and they started ratifying women's world records in 1981.)The early days of the ratified men's 5000M were dominated by Finland. In his book The Five and Ten Men, Richard Amery acknowledges the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":591,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/14\/new-qualifying-standards\/","url_meta":{"origin":1808,"position":3},"title":"New qualifying standards…*","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"March 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"New Olympic qualifying standards for track & field and the marathon were revealed, unleashing a torrent of opinions. These primarily revolve around the argument that the impact of the US Olympic trials has been lessened. Previously, entry times for the trials matched the Olympic baseline times and for runners who\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1768,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/20\/notable-races\/","url_meta":{"origin":1808,"position":4},"title":"Notable races…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"April 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"With the sheer volume of 5K races out there, picking a handful of notable ones is challenging but here\u2019s 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\u2019s also\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":644,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/americas-best-chance-for-distance-success\/","url_meta":{"origin":1808,"position":5},"title":"America’s best chance for distance success?","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"May 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"LetsRun carries extensive coverage of women\u2019s and men\u2019s marathons and running events and has enthusiasm for, and celebrates the successes of, both genders. 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