| Events at the 1997 World Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | men | women |
| 1500 m | men | women |
| 5000 m | men | women |
| 10,000 m | men | women |
| 100 m hurdles | women | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 400 m hurdles | men | women |
| 3000 m steeplechase | men | |
| 4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 400 m relay | men | women |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | women |
| 10 km walk | women | |
| 20 km walk | men | |
| 50 km walk | men | |
| Field events | ||
| High jump | men | women |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Long jump | men | women |
| Triple jump | men | women |
| Shot put | men | women |
| Discus throw | men | women |
| Hammer throw | men | |
| Javelin throw | men | women |
| Combined events | ||
| Heptathlon | women | |
| Decathlon | men | |
The men's 10,000 metres event featured at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, Greece. There were a total number of 33 participating athletes, with two qualifying heats and the final being held on 6 August 1997.
The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-meter run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics and is common at championship level events. The race consists of 25 laps around an Olympic-sized track. It is less commonly held at track and field meetings, due to its duration. The 10,000 metre track race is usually distinguished from its road running counterpart, the 10K run, by its reference to the distance in metres rather than kilometres.
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations. Athens used the successful organization of the World Championships the next month during the IOC Session in Lausanne during its campaign to host the 2004 Summer Olympics as proof positive of Athens' and Greece's ability and readiness to organize large-scale, international sporting events.
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The question was, how to beat the Olympic Champion and new World Record holder Haile Gebrselassie. The pack, led by Kenyans Paul Koech and Dominic Kirui jogged around the track for almost 15 laps with a few constants; Gebrselassie was marking the leader from second or third place, and everybody else was jockeying for position to be near him. With ten laps to go, previous world record holder Salah Hissou made a more serious move to the front, the pace quickened by four seconds a lap and all the contenders reacted. Hissou only held the lead for a lap before dropping back but the faster trend continued and the pack dwindled to six. Even Kirui dropped off the back, but Koech continued to lead with his teammate Paul Tergat focused on Gebrselassie's back. The pace gradually slowed slightly, while Hissou and Domingos Castro took their turns behind Gebrselassie as the laps diminished. With two laps to go, Hissou and Castro boxed Gebrselassie and moved around him, that lasted for about 100 metres before Gebrselassie simply ran around them assuming a defensive position on Koech's outside shoulder. 550 metres before the finish, Gebrselassie took off, opening up a 10-metre gap before he reached the straightaway. For Gebrselassie, it was an easy last lap, almost a victory lap while still in competition. Tergat and behind him Hissou launched into their best last lap kicks, but it was far too little and too late to catch Gebrselassie. Tergat separated from Hissou for silver.
Haile Gebrselassie is a retired Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon. Further to this, he won four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion.
Paul Koech was a Kenyan distance and marathon runner. He participated at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1998 and finished in first place. He was also a regular competitor in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships with several top-5 positions.
Dominic Kirui is a retired Kenyan runner who specialized in cross country running. He was an individual silver medallist at the 1993 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He represented his country on the track at the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1997 World Championships in Athletics.
