Alistair Ian Cragg is a South African track and field athlete. He has since lived in England and United States where he attended the University of Arkansas. He races for Ireland and competes most often over 3000 metres and 5000 metres. He holds the Irish national records in both the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres. He holds the European road running record in the 5 km in 13:26, set in Carlsbad, California.
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to 3 miles 188 yards or 16,404 feet 2 inches. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over 12+1⁄2 laps of a standard track. The same distance in road running is called a 5K run; referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres serves to disambiguate the two events. The 5000 m has been present on the Olympic programme since 1912 for men and since 1996 for women. Prior to 1996, women had competed in an Olympic 3000 metres race since 1984. The 5000 m has been held at each of the World Championships in Athletics in men's competition and since 1995 in women's.
Joanne Marie Pavey MBE is a British long-distance runner representing Europe, Great Britain and England in a career notable for its longevity, range and consistency. A World, European and Commonwealth medallist, Pavey won her only senior title when she claimed the 10,000 m gold medal at the 2014 European Championships in Zürich, ten months after giving birth to her second child, to become the oldest female European champion in history at the age of 40 years and 325 days.
Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning the silver medal in the 5,000 metres and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2012 London Olympics as well as gold in the 5,000 m and silver in the 10,000 m at the 2016 Rio Olympics, setting a new Olympic record in the former. Cheruiyot won the silver medal in the 5,000 m at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and became the world champion in the event at the 2009 edition, repeating this achievement in 2011, when she also won the 10,000 m. She added gold for the latter event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. After taking a silver in the 3,000 metres at the 2010 World Indoor Championships, Cheruiyot won a number of outdoor 5,000 m titles that year, becoming Commonwealth Games, African and Continental Cup champion, as well as winning the Diamond League title.
Dejen Gebremeskel is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who primarily competes in track events. His personal best of 12:46.81 minutes for the 5,000 metres ranks him as the fifteenth fastest of all time for the distance. He was the 5,000 m silver medallist at the 2012 London Olympics and took the bronze medal over that distance at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.
Hellen Onsando Obiri is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. She is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country. Obiri is a two-time Olympic 5,000 metres silver medallist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000 metres. She is a two-time world champion after winning the 5,000 m in 2017 and again in 2019, when she set a new championship record. Obiri also took world bronze for the 1,500 metres in 2013 and silver in the 10,000 m in 2022. She won the 3,000 metres race at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, claimed silver in 2014, and placed fourth in 2018. She is the 2019 World Cross Country champion. Obiri triumphed in the 2023 Boston Marathon, her second marathon race. She places fifth in the half marathon on the world all-time list.
Mohammed Ahmed is a Canadian long-distance runner. A three-time Olympian, he is his country's most successful athlete in long distance racing, being the first to medal in the 5000 metres at both the World Championships and the Olympic Games.
Cameron Levins is a Canadian long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Levins had the best-Canadian finish ever of fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Championships, setting a new Canadian record. He is the North American record holder for the marathon and the Canadian record holder for the half marathon.
Kemoy Campbell is a retired Jamaican distance runner who competed in various events from 800 meters to 5000 metres. Since competing in the American collegiate circuit, he has developed a reputation for having remarkable range, having competitive experience from the 800 meters to the 10K. Campbell holds multiple Jamaican records in athletics.
Grant Jackson Fisher is an American middle- and long-distance runner. Fisher holds American records in the 3000 m, two mile, 5000 m, and 10,000 m events. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Fisher won bronze medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 m, becoming the first American to medal in both events at an Olympic Games.
Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa is an Ethiopian distance runner. He won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and gold medals for the 3000 metres at the 2016 and 2018 World Indoor Championships. Kejelcha is the world indoor record holder for the mile with a time of 3:47.01, set on 3 March 2019 in Boston.
Emily Sisson is an American long-distance runner. She set the North American record in the marathon on October 9, 2022, when she ran 2:18:29 to finish second at the Chicago Marathon. Sisson also held the American record in the half marathon from May 2022 until July 2023. She represented the United States in the 10000 metres at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships, finishing 9th and 10th. In June 2021, she won the 10000m at the 2020 US Olympic Trials and placed 10th in the 10000m final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2024, she placed second in the marathon at the US Olympic Trials, qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics. She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics Women's marathon on 11 August 2024, where she finished 23rd.
Selemon Barega Shirtaga is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, silver for the 5,000 metres at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Barega is a two-time 3,000 metres World Indoor Championship medallist, taking silver in 2018, and a gold in 2022.
Joe Klecker is an American long-distance runner. After a successful collegiate career with the Colorado Buffaloes he turned professional in 2020 joining the On Athletics Club coached by Dathan Ritzenhein. Klecker holds personal bests of 3:37.00 for 1500m, 7:34.14 for 3000m, 12:54.99 for 5000m, and 27:07.57 for 10000m, all set as a part of the On Athletics Club.
Berihu Aregawi Teklehaimanot is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the current world record holder in the 5000 m road race and the 10,000 m road race.
Freweyni Hailu is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner. She won the gold medal at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships over 1500 metres.
Ejgayehu Taye is an Ethiopian Olympic long-distance runner. She won the bronze medal for the 3000 metres at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. Taye is the current world record holder in the 5 km road race.
Nicolas Young is an American long-distance runner. He is a two-time NCAA champion having won both the 3000 m and 5000 m at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships while competing for Northern Arizona University. He also holds the collegiate records in the 5000 m (12:57.14) and 10,000 m (26:52.72), both set in 2024. He came out as gay in 2022.
Edwin Kurgat is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes for UA Mission Run Dark Sky. He won the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships while competing for Iowa State.
Alex Chesiro Masai is a Kenyan long-distance runner based in the United States and specializing in the 5000 metres. He is the brother of Olympians Moses Masai and Linet Masai, and he finished 6th at the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 5000 m.
South Africa 