| Event: | Men's 5000 metres |
| Games: | 1924 Summer |
| Venue: | Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir |
| Dates: | July 8 (semifinals) July 10 (final) |
| Competitors: | 38 |
| Nations: | 21 |
| Longnames: | yes |
| Gold: | Paavo Nurmi |
| Goldnoc: | FIN |
| Silver: | Ville Ritola |
| Silvernoc: | FIN |
| Bronze: | Edvin Wide |
| Bronzenoc: | SWE |
| Prev: | 1920 |
| Next: | 1928 |
The men's 5000 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 8, 1924, and on July 10, 1924. 38 long-distance runners from 21 nations competed.[1]
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 14:28.2 |  Paavo Nurmi | Helsinki (FIN) | June 19, 1924 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 14:36.6 | Hannes Kolehmainen | Stockholm (SWE) | July 10, 1912 |
In the final Paavo Nurmi set a new Olympic record with 14:31.2 minutes.
All semi-finals were held on Tuesday, July 8, 1924.
The best four finishers of every heat qualified for the final.
Semifinal 1
| width=20 | Place | width=240 | Athlete | width=60 | Time | width=50 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15:22.2 | Q | |||||
| 2 | 15:22.2 | Q | |||||
| 3 | 15:23.6 | Q | |||||
| 4 | 15:26.4 | Q | |||||
| 5 | 15:27.4 | ||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 | |||||||
| 11 | |||||||
| 12 | |||||||
| 13 | |||||||
| 14 | 16:36.0 |
Semifinal 2
| width=20 | Place | width=240 | Athlete | width=60 | Time | width=50 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15:28.6 | Q | |||||
| 2 | 15:29.4 | Q | |||||
| 3 | 15:34.6 | Q | |||||
| 4 | 15:37.0 | Q | |||||
| 5 | 15:41.4 | ||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 | |||||||
| 11 | |||||||
| - | DNF |
Semifinal 3
| width=20 | Place | width=240 | Athlete | width=60 | Time | width=50 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15:14.6 | Q | |||||
| 2 | 15:24.0 | Q | |||||
| 3 | 15:32.1 | Q | |||||
| 4 | 15:35.6 | Q | |||||
| 5 | 16:03.0 | ||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 | |||||||
| 11 | |||||||
| 12 | |||||||
| 13 |
The final was held on Thursday, July 10, 1924.
Nurmi had to improve the standing Olympic record to win the gold medal with Ritola only two tenths behind.
| width=20 | Place | width=240 | Athlete | width=60 | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14:31.2 OR | ||||
| 2 | 14:31.4 | ||||
| 3 | 15:01.8 | ||||
| 4 | 15:12.4 | ||||
| 5 | 15:18.4 | ||||
| 6 | 15:29.0 | ||||
| 7 | 15:32.6 | ||||
| 8 | 15:38.0 | ||||
| 9 | 15:39.0 | ||||
| 10 | 15:54.0 | ||||
| 11 | |||||
| 12 |