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.Championships Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-12. 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.IAAF World Championships: IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, pp. 595–6 (archived). IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-06. 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.

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.Matthews, Peter (2012). Historical Dictionary of Track and Field (pg. 217). Scarecrow Press (eBook). Retrieved on 2013-09-08.

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 All information from World Athletics. DistinctionMaleFemaleAthleteAgeDateAthleteAgeDateYoungest champion18 years, 177 days16 Aug 199317 years, 333 days30 Aug 2003Youngest medalist18 years, 177 days16 Aug 199317 years, 333 days30 Aug 2003Youngest finalist17 years, 204 days12 Aug 201717 years, 144 days12 Aug 1995Youngest participant16 years, 177 days26 Aug 201514 years, 281 days9 Aug 2001Oldest champion32 years, 264 days2 Sep 200729 years, 296 days5 Oct 2019Oldest medalist36 years, 266 days4 Sep 201136 years, 148 days30 Aug 2003Oldest finalist38 years, 247 days16 Aug 201338 years, 35 days11 Aug 2001Oldest participant38 years, 247 days16 Aug 201339 years, 254 days29 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.Algerian stripped of silver medal. News24 AFP (2001-08-18). Retrieved on 2015-08-10. 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.Fuchs, Christian (2013-01-16). Alemitu Bekele verliert EM-Titel . Leichathletik. Retrieved on 2015-08-10.

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.(2004-11-05). Näin siinä kävi. Suomen Urheilulehti/A-lehdet. Retrieved on 2015-08-10. Marta Domínguez, the women's runner-up in 2001 and 2003, was banned later in her career for abnormalities in her biological passport readings.O'Riordan, Ian (2013-05-23) . Sonia O’Sullivan’s Munich conqueror has biological passport anomalies. Irish Times. Retrieved on 2015-08-10. Additionally, 2023 silver medalist Mohamed Katir was suspended in February 2024 for whereabouts failures.

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,Records raise doubts over the Orient excess. Herald Scotland (1993-09-13). Retrieved on 2015-08-10. while the 1987 and 1991 world champion for the distance Tetyana Dorovskikh also ended her career with a drugs ban in 1993. The 1983 women's champion Mary Decker was another banned for doping later in her career.Rowbottom, Mike (1999-04-27). Athletics: Slaney doping ban upheld at IAAF hearing. Retrieved on 2015-08-08.

Medalists Men

Multiple medalists Rank Athlete Nation PeriodGoldSilverBronze Total 1 2011–2015 3 1 0 4 2 1993–1995 2 0 0 2 2017–2019 2 0 0 2Jakob Ingebrigtsen2022-20232002 5 2007–2011 1 2 0 3 6 2003–2009 1 1 0 2 7 1999–2005 1 0 1 2 8 1995–1997 0 2 0 2 9 1991–1993 0 1 1 2 2013-2015 0 1 1 2Jacob Krop 2022-20230112

Medalists by country Rank NationGoldSilverBronze Total 1 7 4 5 16 2 3 6 4 13 3 3 1 1 5 4 2 3 1 652002 6 1 2 1 4 7 1 0 0 1 8 0 1 0 101010101 11 0 0 2 2 12 0 0 1 1001100110011

Women's 5000 metres

Multiple medalists Rank Athlete Nation PeriodGoldSilverBronze Total 1 2005–2013 2 1 2 5 2 2007–2011 2 1 0 33Hellen Obiri2017-20192002 1997–1999 2 0 0 2 2003–2005 2 0 0 2 6 2013–2017 1 1 1 3 7 2001–2003 0 2 0 2 2001–2003 0 2 0 29Sifan Hassan2017-20230112Beatrice Chebet2022-20230112 1995–1997 0 1 1 2 1995–1999 0 1 1 2 13 1999–2001 0 0 2 2

Medalists by country Rank NationGoldSilverBronze Total 1 6 3 8 17 2 5 6 3 14 3 2 0 0 2 4 1 0 0 11001 6 0 2 0 2 7 0 1 1 201120112 10 0 1 0 1 11 0 0 1 1

Women's 3000 metres

Multiple medalists Rank Athlete Nation PeriodGoldSilverBronze Total 1 1987–1991 2 0 0 2

Medalists by country Rank NationGoldSilverBronze Total 1 2 1 1 4 2 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 0 2 4 1 0 0 1 5 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 7 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1

Finishing times Top ten fastest world championships times (5000 metres)

+ Fastest men's times at the World ChampionshipsRankTime (sec)AthleteNationYearDate 1 12:52.79 Eliud Kipchoge 2003 2003-08-31 2 12:52.83 Hicham El Guerrouj 2003 2003-08-31 3 12:53.12 Kenenisa Bekele 2003 2003-08-31 4 12:54.07 John Kibowen 2003 2003-08-31 5 12:57.74 Abraham Chebii 2003 2003-08-31 6 12:58.08 Gebregziabher Gebremariam 2003 2003-08-31 7 12:58.13 Salah Hissou 1999 1999-08-28 8 12:58.72 Benjamin Limo 1999 1999-08-28 9 12:58.80 Mohammed Mourhit 1999 1999-08-28 10 12:58.85 Muktar Edris 2019 2003-09-30

+ Fastest women's times at the World ChampionshipsRankTime (sec)AthleteNationYearDate 1 14:26.72 Hellen Obiri 2019 2019-10-05 2 14:26.84 Almaz Ayana 2015 2015-08-30 3 14:27.49 Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi 2019 2019-10-05 4 14:28.43 Konstanze Klosterhalfen 2019 2019-10-05 5 14:29.60 Tsehay Gemechu 2019 2019-10-05 6 14:32.29 Sifan Hassan 2023H 2023-08-26 7 14:32.31 Faith Kipyegon 2023H 2023-08-26 8 14:33.23 Ejgayehu Taye 2023H 2023-08-26 9 14:34.16 Freweyni Hailu 2023H 2023-08-26 10 14:34.86 Hellen Obiri 2017 2017-08-13

Championship record progression Men + Men's 5000 metres World Championships record progressionMain > Men, 5000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.TimeAthleteNationYearRoundDate 13:43.36 1983 First round 10 August 13:32.34 1983 Semi-final 12 August 13:31.40 1983 Semi-final 12 August 13:28.53 1983 Final 14 August 13:22.68 1987 Heats 4 September 13:14.45 1991 Final 1 September 13:02.75 1993 Final 16 August 12:58.12 1999 Final 28 August 12:52.79 2003 Final 31 August

Women 5000 metres + Women's 5000 metres World Championships record progressionMain > Women, 5000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.TimeAthleteNationYearRoundDate 15:36.39 1995 Heats 10 August 15:13.88 1995 Heats 10 August 14:46.47 1995 Final 10 August 14:41.82 1999 Final 27 August 14:38.59 2005 Final 13 August 14:26.83 2015 Final 30 August 14:26.72 2019 Final 5 October

Women 3000 metres + Women's 3000 metres World Championships record progressionMain > Women, 3000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.TimeAthleteNationYearRoundDate 9:04.7 1980 Heats 14 August 9:04.7 1980 Heats 14 August 8:48.05 1980 Heats 14 August 8:46.65 1983 Heats 8 August 8:44.72 1983 Heats 8 August 8:34.62 1983 Final 8 August 8:28.71 1993 Final 16 August

References

Bibliography

External links Official IAAF website