10,000 metres at the World Athletics Championships

The 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by men since the inaugural edition in 1983 and by women since the subsequent edition in 1987. It is the second most prestigious title in the discipline after the 10,000 metres at the Olympics. The competition format is a straight final with typically between twenty and thirty participants. Before 1999, the event had two qualifying heats leading to a final.

10,000 metres
at the World Athletics Championships
Ibrahim Jeilan and Mo Farah in the 2013 men's final
Overview
GenderMen and women
Years heldMen: 19832023
Women: 19872023
Championship record
Men26:46.31 Kenenisa Bekele (2009)
Women30:04.18 Berhane Adere (2003)
Reigning champion
Men Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)
Women Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)

The championship records for the event are 26:46.31 minutes for men, set by Kenenisa Bekele in 2009, and 30:04.18 minutes for women, set by Berhane Adere in 2003.[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]

Haile Gebrselassie is the most successful athlete of the event with four gold medals and also a silver and a bronze, spanning a period from 1993 to 2003. His Ethiopian compatriot Kenenisa Bekele matched his feat of four consecutive titles in 2009. Tirunesh Dibaba is the most successful woman, with three gold medals to her name (2005, 2007, 2013, plus a silver in 2017).

Ethiopia is by far the most successful nation in the discipline, with fifteen gold medals and 33 medals in total. Kenya is comfortably the next most successful with seven gold and 25 medals overall. Great Britain is the only other nation to have won multiple gold medals, with three in the men's and one in the women's division.

Four winners of the 10,000 m have completed a long-distance double by also winning the 5000 metres at the World Championships in Athletics: Tirunesh Dibaba was the first to do so in 2005, Kenenisa Bekele became the first man to do so in 2009, and Vivian Cheruiyot (2011) and Mo Farah (2013/2015) followed at the subsequent editions. Of these, only Mo Farah has achieved the feat twice, in 2013 and 2015 - either side of which he performed the same feat in consecutive Olympic Games.

One athlete, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, has completed a rare 10,000 metres - 1500 metres double, in 2019.

At 15 years, 153 days, Sally Barsosio won the bronze medal in the women's 10,000 m at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics. This makes her the youngest World Championships medallist in any discipline.

Distinction Male Female
Athlete Age Date Athlete Age Date
Youngest champion   Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 20 years, 126 days 22 Aug 1993   Sally Barsosio (KEN) 19 years, 137 days 5 Aug 1997
Youngest medalist   Richard Chelimo (KEN) 19 years, 183 days 26 Aug 1991   Sally Barsosio (KEN) 15 years, 153 days 21 Aug 1993
Youngest finalist   Assefa Mezgebu (ETH) 17 years, 50 days 8 Aug 1995   Sally Barsosio (KEN) 15 years, 153 days 21 Aug 1993
Youngest participant   Assefa Mezgebu (ETH) 17 years, 47 days 5 Aug 1995   Enh Od Tevdenshigmed (MGL) 14 years, 267 days 19 Aug 1993
Oldest champion   Mo Farah (GBR) 34 years, 134 days 4 Aug 2017   Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) 31 years, 347 days 24 Aug 2015
Oldest medalist   Mo Farah (GBR) 34 years, 134 days 4 Aug 2017   Joanne Pavey (GBR) 33 years, 339 days 25 Aug 2007
Oldest finalist   Carlos Lopes (POR) 36 years, 170 days 7 Aug 1983   Edith Masai (KEN) 38 years, 124 days 6 Aug 2005
Oldest participant   Mohamed Ezzher (FRA) 38 years, 120 days 24 Aug 1999   Sinead Diver (AUS) 42 years, 223 days 28 Sep 2019

Doping

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Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey became the first athlete to be disqualified from the World Championships 10,000 metres for doping. This ban came retrospectively as a 2015 retest of a frozen sample of urine from the 2007 World Championships in Athletics showed the presence of a banned substance. She was stripped of her silver medal.[4]

No other competitors have been banned from the event for doping.[5] Outside of the competition, the 2003 women's bronze medallist Sun Yingjie was banned for doping in 2005.[6]

Medalists

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In the sixteen editions until 2017, the men's race at the World Championships has been dominated by three men; Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele, and Great Britain's Mo Farah - between them, they have won eleven of the sixteen editions held, won silver twice, and bronze once.

Championships Gold Silver Bronze
1983 Helsinki
details
  Alberto Cova (ITA)   Werner Schildhauer (GDR)   Hansjörg Kunze (GDR)
1987 Rome
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  Paul Kipkoech (KEN)   Francesco Panetta (ITA)   Hansjörg Kunze (GDR)
1991 Tokyo
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  Moses Tanui (KEN)   Richard Chelimo (KEN)   Khalid Skah (MAR)
1993 Stuttgart
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  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)   Moses Tanui (KEN)   Richard Chelimo (KEN)
1995 Gothenburg
details
  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)   Khalid Skah (MAR)   Paul Tergat (KEN)
1997 Athens
details
  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)   Paul Tergat (KEN)   Salah Hissou (MAR)
1999 Seville
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  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)   Paul Tergat (KEN)   Assefa Mezgebu (ETH)
2001 Edmonton
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  Charles Kamathi (KEN)   Assefa Mezgebu (ETH)   Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)
2003 Saint-Denis
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  Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)   Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)   Sileshi Sihine (ETH)
2005 Helsinki
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  Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)   Sileshi Sihine (ETH)   Moses Mosop (KEN)
2007 Osaka
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  Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)   Sileshi Sihine (ETH)   Martin Mathathi (KEN)
2009 Berlin
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  Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)   Zersenay Tadese (ERI)   Moses Ndiema Masai (KEN)
2011 Daegu
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  Ibrahim Jeilan (ETH)   Mo Farah (GBR)   Imane Merga (ETH)
2013 Moscow
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  Mo Farah (GBR)   Ibrahim Jeilan (ETH)   Paul Tanui (KEN)
2015 Beijing
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  Mo Farah (GBR)   Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN)   Paul Tanui (KEN)
2017 London
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  Mo Farah (GBR)   Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)   Paul Tanui (KEN)
2019 Doha
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  Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)   Yomif Kejelcha (ETH)   Rhonex Kipruto (KEN)
2022 Eugene
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  Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)   Stanley Mburu (KEN)   Jacob Kiplimo (UGA)
2023 Budapest
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  Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)   Daniel Ebenyo (KEN)   Selemon Barega (ETH)

Medalists by country

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Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1   Ethiopia (ETH) 9 6 4 19
2   Kenya (KEN) 3 6 9 18
3   Uganda (UGA) 3 1 1 5
4   Great Britain (GBR) 3 1 0 4
5   Italy (ITA) 1 1 0 2
6   East Germany (GDR)
  Morocco (MAR)
0 1 2 3
7   Eritrea (ERI) 0 1 0 1

Multiple medalists

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Rank Athlete Nation Period Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Haile Gebrselassie   Ethiopia (ETH) 1993–2003 4 1 1 6
2 Kenenisa Bekele   Ethiopia (ETH) 2003–2009 4 0 0 4
3 Mo Farah   Great Britain (GBR) 2011–2017 3 1 0 4
Joshua Cheptegei   Uganda (UGA) 2017–2023 3 1 0 4
5 Ibrahim Jeilan   Ethiopia (ETH) 2011–2013 1 1 0 2
Moses Tanui   Kenya (KEN) 1991–1993 1 1 0 2
7 Paul Tergat   Kenya (KEN) 1995–1999 0 2 1 3
Sileshi Sihine   Ethiopia (ETH) 2003–2007 0 2 1 3
9 Paul Tanui   Kenya (KEN) 2013–2017 0 0 3 3
10 Richard Chelimo   Kenya (KEN) 1991–1993 0 1 1 2
Khalid Skah   Morocco (MAR) 1991–1995 0 1 1 2
Assefa Mezgebu   Ethiopia (ETH) 1999–2001 0 1 1 2
13 Hansjörg Kunze   East Germany (GDR) 1983–1987 0 0 2 2

Women

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Although no Kenyan or Ethiopian won any of the first four editions of the race, they shared all eleven since, with Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot the dominant athletes, with three wins, and two wins respectively, until the West African dominance was interrupted by Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan. The next highest ranked nation, China, won all but one if its medals in the now discredited era of 'Ma's Army', the distance running program run by Ma Junren.

Championships Gold Silver Bronze
1987 Rome
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  Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)   Yelena Zhupiyeva-Vyazova (URS)   Kathrin Weßel (GDR)
1991 Tokyo
details
  Liz McColgan (GBR)   Zhong Huandi (CHN)   Wang Xiuting (CHN)
1993 Stuttgart
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  Wang Junxia (CHN)   Zhong Huandi (CHN)   Sally Barsosio (KEN)
1995 Gothenburg
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  Fernanda Ribeiro (POR)   Derartu Tulu (ETH)   Tegla Loroupe (KEN)
1997 Athens
details
  Sally Barsosio (KEN)   Fernanda Ribeiro (POR)   Masako Chiba (JPN)
1999 Seville
details
  Gete Wami (ETH)   Paula Radcliffe (GBR)   Tegla Loroupe (KEN)
2001 Edmonton
details
  Derartu Tulu (ETH)   Berhane Adere (ETH)   Gete Wami (ETH)
2003 Saint-Denis
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  Berhane Adere (ETH)   Werknesh Kidane (ETH)   Sun Yingjie (CHN)
2005 Helsinki
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  Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)   Berhane Adere (ETH)   Ejegayehu Dibaba (ETH)
2007 Osaka
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  Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)   Kara Goucher (USA)   Jo Pavey (GBR)
2009 Berlin
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  Linet Masai (KEN)   Meselech Melkamu (ETH)   Wude Ayalew (ETH)
2011 Daegu
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  Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN)   Sally Kipyego (KEN)   Linet Masai (KEN)
2013 Moscow
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  Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)   Gladys Cherono Kiprono (KEN)   Belaynesh Oljira (ETH)
2015 Beijing
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  Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN)   Gelete Burka (ETH)   Emily Infeld (USA)
2017 London
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  Almaz Ayana (ETH)   Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)   Agnes Tirop (KEN)
2019 Doha
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  Sifan Hassan (NED)   Letesenbet Gidey (ETH)   Agnes Tirop (KEN)
2022 Eugene
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  Letesenbet Gidey (ETH)   Hellen Obiri (KEN)   Margaret Kipkemboi (KEN)
2023 Budapest
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  Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)   Letesenbet Gidey (ETH)   Ejgayehu Taye (ETH)

Medalists by country

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Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1   Ethiopia (ETH) 9 9 5 23
2   Kenya (KEN) 4 3 7 14
3   China (CHN) 1 2 2 5
4   Great Britain (GBR) 1 1 1 3
5   Portugal (POR) 1 1 0 2
6   Netherlands (NED) 1 0 0 1
  Norway (NOR) 1 0 0 1
8   United States (USA) 0 1 1 2
9   Soviet Union (URS) 0 1 0 1
10   East Germany (GDR) 0 0 1 1
  Japan (JPN) 0 0 1 1

Multiple medalists

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Rank Athlete Nation Period Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Tirunesh Dibaba   Ethiopia (ETH) 2005–2017 3 1 0 4
2 Vivian Cheruiyot   Kenya (KEN) 2011–2015 2 0 0 2
3 Berhane Adere   Ethiopia (ETH) 2001–2005 1 2 0 3
Letesenbet Gidey   Ethiopia (ETH) 2019-2023 1 2 0 3
5 Fernanda Ribeiro   Portugal (POR) 1995–1997 1 1 0 2
Derartu Tulu   Ethiopia (ETH) 1995–2001 1 1 0 2
Linet Masai   Kenya (KEN) 2009–2011 1 1 0 2
8 Sally Barsosio   Kenya (KEN) 1993–1997 1 0 1 2
Gete Wami   Ethiopia (ETH) 1999–2001 1 0 1 2
10 Zhong Huandi   China (CHN) 1991–1993 0 2 0 2
11 Tegla Loroupe   Kenya (KEN) 1995–1999 0 0 2 2
Agnes Jebet Tirop   Kenya (KEN) 2017-2019 0 0 2 2

Finishing times

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Top ten fastest world championships times

Championship record progression

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Men's 10,000 metres World Championships record progression[9]
Time Athlete Nation Year Round Date
27:45.54 Fernando Mamede   Portugal (POR) 1983 Heats 7 August
27:38.63 Paul Kipkoech   Kenya (KEN) 1987 Final 29 August
27:29.07 Josephat Machuka   Kenya (KEN) 1995 Heats 5 August
27:12.95 Haile Gebrselassie   Ethiopia (ETH) 1995 Final 8 August
26:49.57 Kenenisa Bekele   Ethiopia (ETH) 2003 Final 24 August
26:46.31 Kenenisa Bekele   Ethiopia (ETH) 2009 Final 17 August

Women

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Women's 10,000 metres World Championships record progression[10]
Time Athlete Nation Year Round Date
33:07.92 Kathrin Ullrich   East Germany (GDR) 1987 Heats 31 August
31:05.85 Ingrid Kristiansen   Norway (NOR) 1987 Final 4 September
30:49.30 Wang Junxia   China (CHN) 1993 Final 21 August
30:24.56 Gete Wami   Ethiopia (ETH) 1999 Final 26 August
30:04.18 Berhane Adere   Ethiopia (ETH) 2003 Final 23 August

References

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  1. ^ Championships Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-12.
  2. ^ IAAF World Championships: IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, pp. 595–6 (). IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-06.
  3. ^ "World Athletics Championships - Budapest 23 Statistical Booklet" (PDF). www.worldathletics.org: 42–45.
  4. ^ Coldwell, Ben (13 August 2015). Jo Pavey set for world bronze upgrade as Elvan Abeylegesse positive is confirmed. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  5. ^ Butler, Mark et al. (2013). IAAF Statistics Book Moscow 2013 pp. 67–9. (archived). IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-06.
  6. ^ Sun suspended two years, coach in life ban. People's Daily Online (13 January 2006). Retrieved on 2015-08-16.
  7. ^ "Men's 10000m".
  8. ^ "Women's 10000m".
  9. ^ Main > Men, 10,000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
  10. ^ Main > Women, 10,000 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
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