WCH Tokyo 25 brushstroke (© World Athletics)
Last three sets of World Athletics Championships medallists
2023 – 1 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 13:11.30, 2 Mohamed Katir (ESP) 13:11.44, 3 Jacob Krop (KEN) 13:12.28
2022 – 1 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 13:09.24, 2 Jacob Krop (KEN) 13:09.98, 3 Oscar Chelimo (UGA) 13:10.20
2019 – 1 Muktar Edris (ETH) 12:58.85, 2 Selemon Barega (ETH) 12:59.70, 3 Mohammed Ahmed (CAN) 13:01.11
Last two sets of Olympic medallists
2024 – 1 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 13:13.66, 2 Ronald Kwemoi (KEN) 13:15.04, 3 Grant Fisher (USA) 13:15.13
2020 – 1 Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) 12:58.15, 2 Mohammed Ahmed (CAN) 12:58.61, 3 Paul Chelimo (USA) 12:59.05
Fastest winning times in World Athletics Championships history
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) – 12:52.79 (2003)
Salah Hissou (MAR) – 12:58.13 (1999)
Muktar Edris (ETH) – 12:58.85 (2019)
Slowest winning time in World Athletics Championships history
Mohamed Farah (GBR) – 13:50.38 (2015)
Best marks on Japanese soil:
12:58.15 1 Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) - Tokyo (Olympics) 06.08.2021
12:58.61 2 Mo Ahmed (CAN) - Tokyo (Olympics) 06.08.2021
12:59.05 3 Paul Chelimo (USA) - Tokyo (Olympics) 06.08.2021
Best marks on Asian soil
12:50.45 1 Berihu Aregawi (ETH) - Shaoxing/Keqiao 03.05.2025
12:50.69 2 Kuma Girma (ETH) - Shaoxing/Keqiao 03.05.2025
12:51.21 1 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) - Doha 14.05.2010
Biggest winning margins
2.70s 2001 – 13:00.77 Richard Limo (KEN), 13:03.47 Million Wolde (ETH)
2.19s 1991 – 13:14.45 Yobes Ondieki (KEN), 13:16.64 Fita Bayissa (ETH)
1.96s 1997 – 13:07.38 Daniel Komen (KEN), 13:09.34 Khalid Boulami (MAR)
Smallest winning margins
0.04s 2003 – 12:52.79 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), 12:52.83 Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
0.13s 2007 – 13:45.87 Bernard Lagat (USA), 13:46.00 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
0.14s 2023 – 13:11.30 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR), 13:11.44 Mohamed Katir (ESP)
Best mark by round
Heat — 13:12.86 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), 2005
Semifinal — 13:31.40 Dmitriy Dmitriyev (URS), 1983
Final — 12:52.79 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), 2003
Multiple winners
1993/95 - Ismael Kirui (KEN)
2011/13/15 - Mo Farah (GBR)
2017/19 - Muktar Edris (ETH)
2022/23 - Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
Winners by country
7 - Kenya
3 - Ethiopia
3 - Great Britain
2 - Morocco
2 - Norway
1 - Ireland
1 - United States
Five historic facts
- With seven gold medals, Kenya is the most successful nation in this event in World Championships history although their last title dates all the way back to 2005
- Likewise, Ethiopia is the second most succesfful nation with three gold medals although they haven't won a medal of any colour in this event since 2019 when Muktar Edris and Selemon Barega took a 1-2
- Kenya won gold in Tokyo in 1991 courtesy of Yobes Ondieki. He broke away from the field with a second lap of 59.88 in 30C heat and high humidity
- Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) still holds the championship record with 12:52.79 from a legendary race in 2003 when he beat Hicham El Guerrouj and Kenenisa Bekele. His winning margin of 0.04 is the smallest in championship history
- The last athlete to complete the world 5000/10,000m double was Mo Farah (GBR) in 2015
Potential storylines
- Can Ethiopia win gold for the first time in the men's 5000m since 2019?
- Ethiopia is in danger of leaving Tokyo without a gold medal at the World Championships. The last time this happened was at the 1991 World Championships...in Tokyo. The men's 5000m is their only shot of a gold medal now
- Biniam Mehary (ETH), who has clocked 12:45.93 this year, is the nephew of Gebre Gebremariam, the former world cross country champion and New York Marathon winner
- Can Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) recapture form to make it through to the final? He hasn't lost a major 5000m final since Doha in 2019
- Can Jimmy Gressier (FRA) cause another surprise in the men's 5000m? France has never won a medal in this event in World Championships history
- Can the United States win gold for just the second time in this event? Their only title so far was won by Bernard Lagat in Osaka in 2007
- 28 of the 49 entrants have broken the sub-13 minute barrier in 2025
