| Event: | Men's 5000 metres |
| Games: | 1932 Summer |
| Venue: | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Dates: | August 2 and August 5 |
| Competitors: | 18 |
| Nations: | 11 |
| Longnames: | yes |
| Gold: | Lauri Lehtinen |
| Goldnoc: | FIN |
| Silver: | Ralph Hill |
| Silvernoc: | USA |
| Bronze: | Lasse Virtanen |
| Bronzenoc: | FIN |
| Prev: | 1928 |
| Next: | 1936 |
The men's 5000 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, August 2, 1932, and on Friday, August 5, 1932.[1]
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 14:17.0 |  Lauri Lehtinen | Helsinki (FIN) | June 19, 1932 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 14:31.2 | Paavo Nurmi | Paris (FRA) | July 10, 1924 |
In the final Lauri Lehtinen set a new Olympic record with 14:30.0 minutes.
Both semi-finals were held on Tuesday, August 2, 1932, and started at 4:45p.m.
The best seven finishers of every heat qualified for the final.
Semifinal 1
| width=20 | Place | width=240 | Athlete | width=60 | Time | width=50 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14:59.6 | Q | |||||
| 2 | 15:05.5 | Q | |||||
| 3 | 15:06.0 | Q | |||||
| 4 | 15:06.4 | Q | |||||
| 5 | 15:08.2 | Q | |||||
| 6 | 15:14.0 | Q | |||||
| 7 | 15:19.6 | Q | |||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 | DNF | ||||||
Semifinal 2
| width=20 | Place | width=240 | Athlete | width=60 | Time | width=50 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15:25.8 | Q | |||||
| 2 | 15:34.6 | Q | |||||
| 3 | 15:36.4 | Q | |||||
| 4 | 15:37.8 | Q | |||||
| 5 | 15:39.6 | Q | |||||
| 6 | 15:48.5 | Q | |||||
| 7 | 15:56.0 | Q | |||||
| 8 | 16:00.0 |
The final was held on Friday, August 5, 1932, and started at 3:15p.m.
In a controversial move Lehtinen blocked Hill when he tried to pass Lehtinen on the final straight. Both runners broke the Olympic record but Lehtinen finished 30 cm in front.
| width=20 | Place | width=240 | Athlete | width=60 | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:30.0 OR | |||||
| 14:30.0 | |||||
| 14:44.0 | |||||
| 4 | 14:49.6 | ||||
| 5 | 14:54:7 | ||||
| 6 | 14:59.0 | ||||
| 7 | 15:04.4 | ||||
| 8 | 15:08.5 | ||||
| 9 | 15:13.4 | ||||
| 10 | 15:15.0 | ||||
| 11 | 15:24.0 | ||||
| 12 | 17:20.0 | ||||
| — | DNF | ||||
| DNF |