The women's 5000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 20 and 23.
Meseret Defar Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5000 metres. She broke the world record in the event in 2006, broke it again in 2007 and held it until 2008, when fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba beat her time.
Tirunesh Dibaba is an Ethiopian athlete who competes in long-distance track events and international road races. She was the 5000 metres world record holder. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, five World Championship track gold medals, four individual World Cross Country (WCC) adult titles, and one individual WCC junior title. She is nicknamed the "Baby Faced Destroyer."
Ejegayehu Dibaba Keneni is an Ethiopian long-distance runner.
Liliya Bulatovna Shobukhova, née Shagbalova, Divorced name Volkova, is a Russian long-distance runner who competed in marathon races. She previously specialized in the 3000 and 5000 metres track events. She served a doping ban until 23 August 2015.
Meselech Melkamu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2008 African Athletics Championships, but she is better known for her 29:53.80 run over 10,000 metres in 2009, which until August 2016 ranked her second on the all-time list behind world record holder Wang Junxia. She is one of seven woman in history to break the 30-minute barrier and one of four Ethiopians to accomplish the feat.
Genzebe Dibaba Keneni ; is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 1500 m at the Beijing World Championships and a silver medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Olympics. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the 1500 m, the indoor 3000 m, the indoor 5000 m, and the indoor mile. Her 2000 m indoor women's world's best time is the absolute world record, as it is faster than the previous women's outdoor mark. Genzebe holds the distinction of possessing the most world records by one individual in track history, with her current haul of seven, plus one world best.
The women's 5000 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 19–22 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in 1987. Kenyan runners dominated the competition, taking all four individual titles and all four team titles at the competition. Kenyans took the top four spots in both junior men's and junior women's races to finish with a perfect team score.
The women's 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 15 August. The Ethiopian team was particularly strong in the event, with two-time World Champion Tirunesh Dibaba, 5000 metres World Champion Meseret Defar, and African record holder Meselech Melkamu all vying for first place. The 2007 silver medallist Elvan Abeylegesse, Olympic bronze medallist Shalane Flanagan, and the World Cross Country Champion Florence Kiplagat were other athletes with strong medal possibilities.
Feyse Tadese Boru is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the half marathon.
The Women's 5000 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event final was held at the Olympic Stadium on 10 of August.
Ethiopia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's twelfth appearance at the Olympics, having missed three occasions because of the African, Soviet, and North Korean boycott. The Ethiopian Olympic Committee sent a total of 35 athletes to the Games, 18 men and 17 women, to compete only in athletics, specifically in the middle and long-distance running events, and swimming, the nation's Olympic debut.
The Women's 5000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 30, and September 2.
The Women's 10,000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 27.
The 2011 Chicago Marathon was the 34th edition of the annual marathon race in Chicago, Illinois which was held on Sunday, October 9. The men's race was won by Kenya's Moses Mosop in a time of 2:05:38 hours – a course record. Ejegayehu Dibaba, making her marathon distance debut, was the women's winner in 2:22:09. Some 37,400 runners started the event and the final total of 35,670 finishers was the second highest in its history.
The women's 5000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Luzhniki Stadium on 14–17 August.
Almaz Ayana Eba is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner who competes in the 3000 metres, 5000 metres, and 10,000 metres events. She broke the 10,000 metres world record, set in 1993, while winning the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. At the 2017 World Championships in London, Almaz won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres, finishing 46 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
The 5000 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the fifth edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 5000 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912. The 3000 metres was the first women's Olympic long-distance track event, making its initial appearance at the 1984 Olympics, and this distance was extended to match the men's event from 1996 onwards. It is the most prestigious 5000 m race at elite level. The competition format typically has two qualifying heats leading to a final between fifteen athletes.
The women's 5000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 27 and 30 August. The reigning champion from 2013 Meseret Defar was absent from the competition, having not yet returned from a career break to start a family.
