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Unlike many shorter track events, the historical progression of the men’s 5000 metres followed a single and consistent path from the beginning of the twentieth century. As the metric distance became firmly established in international competition, performances were achieved under broadly comparable conditions, allowing the event to develop through one continuous World Record progression.

Before the establishment of the IAAF and the introduction of the official World Record ratification system in 1912, the fastest 5000 metres performances were recognised as world bests by athletics historians, contemporary publications and national governing bodies. Although these marks were not officially ratified at the time, they document the rapid development of long-distance running during the early amateur era and provide the foundation of the event’s historical progression.

Following the creation of the IAAF, the 5000 metres quickly became one of the sport’s premier championship events. The official World Record progression reflects more than a century of continuous improvement, from the pioneering performances of the early twentieth century to the exceptional standards achieved by today’s elite distance runners.

5000m Men World Record Progression – Data Table

Performance	Athlete	Country	Date	Location	Competition	Notes
12:35.36	Joshua Cheptegei	UGA	14/8/2020	Monaco	Herculis Meeting
12:37.35	Kenenisa Bekele	ETH	31/5/2004	Hengelo	Hengelo THALES FBK-Games
12:39.36	Haile Gebreselasie	ETH	13/6/1998	Helsinki	IAAF Ericsson GP II
12:39.74	Daniel Komen	KEN	22/8/1997	Bruxelles	Memorial van Damme
12:41.86	Haile Gebreselasie	ETH	13/8/1997	Z?rich	Weltklasse in Z?rich
12:44.39	Haile Gebreselasie	ETH	16/8/1995	Z?rich	Weltklasse in Z?rich
12:55.30	Moses Kiptanui	KEN	8/6/1995	Roma	Golden Gala
12:56.96	Haile Gebreselasie	ETH	4/6/1994	Hengelo	IAAF Grand Prix II Adriaan Paulen Memorial
12:58.39	Said Aouita	MAR	22/7/1987	Roma	Golden Gala
13:00.40	Said Aouita	MAR	27/7/1985	Oslo	Bislett Games
13:00.41	Dave Moorcroft	GBR	7/7/1982	Oslo	Oslo Games
13:06.20	Henry Rono	KEN	13/9/1981	Knarvik	International Meeting
13:08.4	Henry Rono	KEN	8/4/1978	Berkeley	International Meeting	Since 01/01/1981 the electronic timing in 1/100 second is mandatory
13:12.9	Dick Quax	NZL	5/7/1977	Stockholm	July Games
13:13.0	Emiel Puttemans	BEL	20/9/1972	Bruxelles	International Meeting
13:16.4	Lasse Virén	FIN	14/9/1972	Helsinki	International Meeting
13:16.6	Ron Clarke	AUS	5/7/1966	Stockholm	International Meeting
13:24.2	Kipchoge Keino	KEN	30/11/1965	Auckland	International Meeting
13:25.8	Ron Clarke	AUS	4/6/1965	Los Angeles	Compton Invitational
13:33.6	Ron Clarke	AUS	1/2/1965	Auckland	International Meeting
13:34.8	Ron Clarke	AUS	16/1/1965	Hobart	Meeting
13:35.0	Vladimir Kuts	URS	13/10/1957	Roma	International Meeting
13:36.8	Gordon Pirie	GBR	19/6/1956	Bergen	International Meeting
13:40.6	Sándor Iharos	HUN	23/10/1955	Budapest	Hungarian Championships
13:46.8	Vladimir Kuts	URS	18/9/1955	Beograd	Anniversary Meeting AK Partizan-AK Crvena Zvezda
13:50.8	Sándor Iharos	HUN	10/9/1955	Budapest	Meeting
13:51.2	Vladimir Kuts	URS	23/10/1954	Praha	TCH-URS Int. Match
13:51.6	Chris Chataway	GBR	13/10/1954	London	London-Moskva Inter City Match
13:56.6	Vladimir Kuts	URS	29/8/1954	Bern	European Championships
13:57.2	Emil Zátopek	TCH	30/5/1954	Paris	International Meeting
13:58.2	Gunder Hägg	SWE	20/9/1942	Göteborg	National Meeting
14:08.8	Taisto Mäki	FIN	16/6/1939	Helsinki	International Meeting
14:17.0	Lauri Lehtinen	FIN	19/6/1932	Helsinki	Olympic Qualification
14:28.2	Paavo Nurmi	FIN	19/6/1924	Helsinki	Olympic Test
14:35.4	Paavo Nurmi	FIN	12/9/1922	Stockholm	Stockholm International Meeting
14:36.6	Johannes (Hannes) Kolehmaninen	FIN	10/7/1912	Stockholm	The V Olympic Games