Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres explained

Event:Men's 10,000 metres
Games:2012 Summer
Venue:Olympic Stadium
Date:4 August
Competitors:29
Nations:18
Gold:Mo Farah
Goldnoc:GBR
Silver:Galen Rupp
Silvernoc:USA
Bronze:Tariku Bekele
Bronzenoc:ETH
Win Value:27:30.42
Prev:2008
Next:2016

The Men's 10,000 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 4 August.[1] The race was won by 0.48 seconds by Mo Farah, the reigning 5000 metres World Champion, in a time of 27:30.42.

Summary

From the beginning Farah stayed close to the race leaders, who on the first lap were the defending champion Kenenisa Bekele and his brother Tariku.[2] After six laps, the half marathon world record holder Zersenay Tadese and his Eritrean teammates began to push the pace. At the same time, Moses Kipsiro went down, causing the field to scatter and Farah to fall back in the field with his American training partner Galen Rupp. When Tariku Bekele came up behind Tadese, his attempt to force the pace slowed.[3] The 5000 metre mark was reached in 14:05.79, with Tadese in front, though Bedan Karoki Muchiri took the lead soon after. Thirteen runners remained in the lead pack including three Ethiopians, three Eritreans, two Kenyans, Kipsiro, Kenyan born Polat Kemboi Arikan running for Turkey, Canadian Cameron Levins, Farah and Rupp. Strategic play continued as Tariku elbowed Farah, causing him to step to the outside ready to cover a move. Then the third Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam, ran to the front, but rather than forcing the pace, he seemed to slow it down. With two laps to go, Tariku Bekele regained the lead, with Farah on his shoulder and Moses Ndiema Masai, Rupp and Michuri following in close formation. At the start of the final lap, Farah made his move into the lead. For most of the last lap, Tariku Bekele, Muchuri, Rupp, and Kenenisa Bekele respectively remained in tow until the final turn at which point Farah pulled away for the win with a final lap of 53.48 seconds. With 60m left, Rupp went outside and outsprinted Tariku Bekele to take the silver medal. Tariku Bekele held on for third place just ahead of his older brother and world record holder Kenenisa Bekele.[4]

'Super Saturday'

Farah's gold medal was the final of three gold medals in one evening for the host country, their most successful day in Olympic history.[5]

Competition format

Only a final, without preliminary heats, was held.[6]

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:

World record26:17.53Brussels, Belgium26 August 2005
Olympic record27:01.17Beijing, China17 August 2008
2012 World leading27:01.98Eugene, OR, United States1 June 2012

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Results

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
27:30.42
27:30.90
27:31.43
27:32.44
27:32.94
27:33.51
27:34.76
27:36.34
27:38.81 PB
1027:39.22
1127:40.68
1227:41.34
1327:45.89
1427:56.67 PB
1527:56.78
1627:58.96
1728:07.25
1828:13.91
1928:18.26
2028:32.67
2128:36.19
2228:44.06
2328:49.85
2428:57.46
2529:06.14
2629:32.12

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics . 2012-05-11 . 2012-09-05 . https://archive.today/20120905092430/http://www.london2012.com/athletics/about/ . dead .
  2. Web site: Mo Farah wins Olympic 10,000m gold for Great Britain. 4 August 2012. BBC Sport. 8 June 2015.
  3. Web site: London 2012 Olympics: Mo Farah wins gold medal in the 10,000 metres final. 4 August 2012. Daily Telegraph. 8 June 2015.
  4. Web site: Olympics 2012: Live Report.
  5. http://worldsportsspecial.blogspot.com/2012/08/today-at-olympics-day-9.html World Sports News: Today at the Olympics – Day 9
  6. Web site: Men's 10,000m. London 2012 Organising Committee. 12 June 2012. 14 September 2012. https://archive.today/20120914145851/http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/men-10000m/competition-format/index.html. dead.