Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 5000 metres
| Men's 5000 metres at the Games of the V Olympiad | ||||||||||
 The finish: Kolehmainen on the way to pass Bouin who is still in the lead. | ||||||||||
| Venue | Stockholm Olympic Stadium | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | July 9 (semifinals) July 10 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 31 from 11 nations | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics  | ||
|---|---|---|
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | |
| 200 m | men | |
| 400 m | men | |
| 800 m | men | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| 5000 m | men | |
| 10,000 m | men | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 4×100 m relay | men | |
| 4×400 m relay | men | |
| 3000 m team race | men | |
| 10 km walk | men | |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | |
| Triple jump | men | |
| High jump | men | |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Standing long jump | men | |
| Standing high jump | men | |
| Shot put | men | |
| Discus throw | men | |
| Hammer throw | men | |
| Javelin throw | men | |
| 2-hand shot put | men | |
| 2-hand discus | men | |
| 2-hand javelin | men | |
| Combined events | ||
| Pentathlon | men | |
| Decathlon | men | |
| Cross-country events | ||
| Individual | men | |
| Team | men | |
The men's 5000 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the debut of the event, which along with the 10000 metre event replaced the 5 mile race held at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, July 9, 1912 and on Wednesday, July 10, 1912.
Thirty-one long distance runners from eleven nations competed.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 14:59.0(*) |  Alfred Shrubb |
Glasgow (GBR) | June 13, 1904 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | - | none | - | - |
(*) unofficial
George Bonhag, in winning the first semifinal, set the Olympic record at 15:22.6. It lasted until the 5th and last semifinal, in which Jean Bouin broke it by finishing in 15:05.0. Unsurprisingly, that record stood only until the next race—Hannes Kolehmainen won the final at 14:36.6 as both he and Bouin (just behind Kolehmainen, at 14:36.7) surpassed the best time of the semifinals. This record became the first official world record for the 5000 metres.
Results
Semifinals
All semi-finals were held on Tuesday, July 9, 1912.
Semifinal 1
| Place | Athlete | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  George Bonhag (USA) | 15:22.6 OR | QF |
| 2 |  Alex Decoteau (CAN) | 15:24.2 | QF |
| 3 | Frederick Hibbins (GBR) | 15:27.6 | QF |
| 4 |  George Hill (ANZ) | 15:56.8 | |
| — |  Klas Lundström (SWE) | Did not finish |
Semifinal 2
| Place | Athlete | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Scott (USA) | 15:23.5 | QF |
| 2 | Joe Keeper (CAN) | 15:28.9 | QF |
| 3 | George Hutson (GBR) | 15:29.0 | QF |
| 4 | Bror Modigh (SWE) | 16:07.1 | |
| — | Eddie Fitzgerald (USA) | Did not finish | |
| Martin Persson (SWE) | Did not finish | ||
| Charles Ruffell (GBR) | Did not finish |
Semifinal 3
| Place | Athlete | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mauritz Carlsson (SWE) | 15:34.6 | QF |
| 2 | Ernest Glover (GBR) | 16:09.1 | QF |
| 3 | Cyril Porter (GBR) | 16:23.4 | QF |
| 4 |  Mikhail Nikolsky (RUS) | 17:21.7 | |
| — | Aarne Lindholm (FIN) | Did not finish | |
| Garnett Wikoff (USA) | Did not finish |
Semifinal 4
| Place | Athlete | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) | 15:38.9 | QF |
| 2 | Henrik Nordström (SWE) | 15:49.1 | QF |
| 3 | Tell Berna (USA) | 15:53.3 | QF |
| 4 | George Lee (GBR) | ||
| — |  Gregor Vietz (GER) | Did not finish |
Semifinal 5
| Place | Athlete | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jean Bouin (FRA) | 15:05.0 OR | QF |
| 2 | Thorild Olsson (SWE) | 15:25.2 | QF |
| 3 | Viljam Johansson (FIN) | 15:31.4 | QF |
| — | Gaston Heuet (FRA) | Did not finish | |
| Wallace McCurdy (USA) | Did not finish | ||
.svg.png){kind=small} Alfonso Orlando (ITA) | Did not finish | ||
 Alfonso Sánchez (CHI) | Did not finish | ||
| Arnold Treble (GBR) | Did not finish |
Final
The final was held on Wednesday, July 10, 1912.
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) | 14:36.6 WR |
| 2 | Jean Bouin (FRA) | 14:36.7 |
| 3 | George Hutson (GBR) | 15:07.6 |
| 4 | George Bonhag (USA) | 15:09.8 |
| 5 | Tell Berna (USA) | 15:10.0 |
| 6 | Alex Decoteau (CAN) | |
| 7 | Mauritz Carlsson (SWE) | 15:18.6 |
| 8-11 | Frederick Hibbins (GBR) | |
| Joe Keeper (CAN) | ||
| Cyril Porter (GBR) | ||
| Louis Scott (USA) | ||
| — | Ernest Glover (GBR) | Did not start |
| Viljam Johansson (FIN) | Did not start | |
| Henrik Nordström (SWE) | Did not start | |
| Thorild Olsson (SWE) | Did not start |
References
- sports-reference.com
- Bergvall, Erik (ed.) (1913). Adams-Ray, Edward (trans.)., ed. The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand.
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 27 August 2006.