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.
Craig Mottram is a former Australian long and middle-distance runner who specialised in the 5000 meter event.
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands, were held at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, 29 July and Monday, 30 July. Eighty-one runners entered, though ultimately seventy-six runners from 32 nations competed. NOCs were limited to 4 competitors each. The event was won by Percy Williams of Canada, taking the nation's first men's 100 metres gold medal. Jack London of Great Britain took silver, marking the third consecutive Games that Great Britain had a medalist in the event. Georg Lammers won bronze, Germany's first medal in the event since 1896. For the first time in modern Olympic history, the United States won no medals in the event.
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.
The men's 400 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Friday, July 12, 1912, and on Saturday, July 13, 1912. Forty-nine runners from 16 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The event was won by Charles Reidpath of the United States, the nation's fourth title in the event. Hanns Braun of Germany took silver, the nation's first medal in the men's 400 metres.
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. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
The men's 5000 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, August 2, 1932, and on Friday, August 5, 1932.
Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning a silver medal at the 5000 m and bronze medal at the 10000 m at the 2012 Olympics, silver medal at the 10000 m and gold medal at the 5000 m at the 2016 Olympics, setting the new Olympic record in 5000 m event. Cheruiyot won a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and became the world champion in the event at the 2009 edition, repeating this achievement at the 2011 World Championships, where she also won the 10000 m.
The men's 200 metres was an event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. It was held on 31 July and 1 August 1928 at the Olympic Stadium. There were 59 competitors from 29 nations. Nations had been limited to 4 athletes each since 1920. The event was won by Percy Williams of Canada, the nation's second victory in the event. The win broke a streak of three victories by the United States; with no Americans on the podium, the nation's six-Games medal streak was broken as well. Walter Rangeley of Great Britain took silver, giving Great Britain a four-Games medal streak in the event. Germany earned its first men's 200 metres medal with Helmut Körnig's bronze.
The men's 800 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held from Sunday, August 15, 1920, to Tuesday, August 17, 1920. Forty runners from 17 nations competed. No nation had more than 4 runners, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by Albert Hill of Great Britain, snapping a three-Games streak of American victories and starting a four-Games streak of British wins. Bevil Rudd, the 400 metres winner in 1920, took bronze to give South Africa its first medal in the 800 metres.
The men's 5000 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Monday, August 16, 1920, and on Tuesday, August 17, 1920. Thirty-eight runners from 16 nations competed.
Linet Chepkwemoi Masai is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.
The men's 5000 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 8, 1924, and on July 10, 1924. 38 long-distance runners from 21 nations competed.
The men's 1500 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Wednesday, July 9, 1924, and on Thursday, July 10, 1924. As for all other races the track was 500 metres in circumference. Forty middle distance runners from 22 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4.
The men's 400 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. This race was depicted in the film Chariots of Fire. The competition was held on Thursday, July 10, 1924, and on Friday, July 11, 1924.
The men's 3000 metres team event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. It was the third and last appearance of a 3000-metre team race event after the debut in 1912, but the sixth time that a team contest was arranged at the Olympics. The competition was held on Friday, July 11, 1924, and on Sunday, July 13, 1924. Forty-four runners from nine nations competed.
The men's long jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, July 31, 1928. Forty-one long jumpers from 23 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4. The event was won by Ed Hamm of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and seventh overall victory in the event. Silvio Cator earned Haiti's first medal in the event by taking silver.
The 100 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 100 metres has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The 100 metres is considered one of the blue ribbon events of the Olympics and is among the highest profile competitions at the games. It is the most prestigious 100 metres race at an elite level and is the shortest sprinting competition at the Olympics – a position it has held at every edition except for a brief period between 1900 and 1904, when a men's 60 metres was contested.
The 10,000 metres at the Summer Olympics is the longest track running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's 10,000 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912. The women's event was added to the programme over seventy years later, at the 1988 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 10,000 m race at elite level. The competition format is a straight final between around 30 athletes, although prior to 2004 a qualifying round was held.
Harry Prowell A.A. was a Guyanese long distance runner who represented Guyana in the Marathon at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. He is known to be one of the greatest long distance runners Guyana and the Caribbean has ever produced, setting the national record in 1968. To date, he is the only Guyanese ever to compete in the Marathon at the Summer Olympic Games and one of the most prominent Indo-Caribbean long distance runners of his time. At the British West Indies Championships he won the gold medal in the Men's 5000m in 1965 and 1960 as well as the Gold in the 10,000m in 1960. He was a silver medalist in the Half-Marathon at the 1965 games and won Silver at both the 1959 and 1958 games in the Men's 5,000m and 10,000m events.
