Tirunesh Dibaba is an Ethiopian athlete who competes in long-distance track events and international road races. 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. Tirunesh was the 5,000 metres world record holder until 2020. She is nicknamed the "baby-faced destroyer."
The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, 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 referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres.
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.
The official world records in the 10,000 metres are held by Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei with 26:11 minutes for men and Kenyan Beatrice Chebet with 28:54.14 for women.
Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second woman to complete an Olympic distance double. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Hassan secured a bronze medal in the women's 5,000 metres.
Emily Infeld is an American long-distance runner. She regularly competes in the 5000 m and 10,000 m distances during her professional career; in her college career she regularly competed in the 4 × 800 meter relay and 1500 m on up to 5000 m.
Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the current world record holder for the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres, and holds the world best time over the 15 kilometres distance. Cheptegei is the former world best holder for the 5 kilometres road run, becoming the first person ever to run that distance in under 13 minutes (12:51) in 2020.
Juliet Chekwel is a Ugandan long-distance runner. She competed in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing placing 17th in a new national record of 32:20.95. She competed in the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Nazret Weldu Gebrehiwet is a female long-distance runner from Eritrea. She competed in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing finishing 24th. In 2019, she competed in the senior women's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark. She finished in 27th place.
Aron Kifle Teklu is an Eritrean long-distance runner. He is the bronze medallist from the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia. Aron is also the silver medallist in the 10000m from both the 2016 World U20 Championships and the 2019 All-African Games.
Alice Aprot Nawowuna is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She was the gold medallist in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 African Games, where she also won the bronze medal in the 5000 metres. Aprot claimed gold and silver in the 10,000 m at the 2016 and 2018 African Championships in Athletics respectively. She earned the silver medal for the senior women's race at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships.
Yasemin Can is a Kenyan female long distance runner representing Turkey who specialises in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. She is the reigning 10,000 m European champion. Can is a six-time European Championship medalist, including three gold medals and the 5000 m/10,000 m double in 2016, and a four-time European Cross Country champion.
Jacob Kiplimo is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the world record holder for the half marathon, which he set on 21 November 2021 in Lisbon with a time of 57:31. He is also the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 10,000 metres bronze medallist and won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Kiplimo earned gold medals for the 5000 metres and 10,000 m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He is the 2020 World Half Marathon champion. He won silver and gold medal at the 2019 and 2023 World Cross Country Championships respectively.
Peruth Chemutai is a Ugandan steeplechase runner. She won the gold medal in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the first Ugandan woman ever to win an Olympic medal. She added a silver medal in this event at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Failuna Abdi Matanga is a Tanzanian long-distance runner. She competed in the women's 10,000 metres at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. In 2019, she competed in the senior women's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark. She finished in 16th place.
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.
Sarah Chelangat is a Ugandan track and field athlete who specializes in long-distance running. She represented Uganda at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, competing in women's 5000 metres.
Katie Hayward is an Australian racewalker. She represented Australia at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar and also at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. At the 2020 Olympics, she came 37th in the women's 20 km walk final with a time of 1:38.11, just on 9 minutes behind the eventual winner Antonella Palmisano.
Glenrose Xaba is a South African long-distance runner. She competed in the senior women's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark, where she finished in 67th place.
Diana Judith Landi Andrade is an Ecuadorian long-distance runner.
