The men's 10,000 metres event at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, 38 events in athletics were contested, 24 for men and 14 for women. There were a total number of 1324 participating athletes from 104 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:*...

in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 was held on 31 August and 3 September. This event featured a qualifying round for the first time since the 1920 Summer Olympics

1920 Summer Olympics

The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....

 in Antwerp. The favorites in the event included Belgium

Belgium at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Belgium competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 88 competitors, 82 men and 6 women, took part in 51 events in 14 sports.- Silver:* Emiel Puttemans — Athletics, Men's 10,000 metres...

's Emiel Puttemans

Emiel Puttemans

Emiel Puttemans is a retired middle- and long-distance runner, who set world records for 3000 metres in 1972, for 2 miles in 1971, and for 5000 metres in 1972....

, Great Britain's Dave Bedford

David Bedford (athlete)

David Colin Bedford is an English former long distance runner, a colourful character whose career spanned the early 1970s. He is now race director of the London Marathon, and a representative for UK Athletics on the IAAF Road Running Committee.Bedford held the world record at 10,000m, improving it...

, and Finland

Finland at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Finland competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 96 competitors, 89 men and 7 women, took part in 75 events in 16 sports.-Medalists:...

's Lasse Virén

Lasse Virén

Lasse Artturi Virén is a former Finnish long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics...

.

The men's 10,000 metres final was notable for Lasse Virén's world record performance. At the start of the race, Bedford led the pace; he maintained a world record pace at the 4000 m mark, and he still led halfway through the race. On the 12th lap, just before the halfway point, Virén and Tunisia

Tunisia at the 1972 Summer Olympics

-Athletics:Men's 800 metres*Mansour Guettaya* Heat — 1:49.4* Semifinals — 1:49.8 Men's 1500 metres*Mansour Guettaya* Heat — 3:43.9 -Boxing:Men's Flyweight * Ali Gharbi* First Round — Bye...

's Mohammed Gammoudi

Mohammed Gammoudi

Mohammed Tlili ben Abdallah , also known as Mohamed Gammoudi, is a former Tunisian athlete, and winner of 5000 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics....

, 10,000 m bronze medalist and 5000 m gold medalist in the 1968 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics

At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, 36 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 12 for women. There were a total number of 1031 participating athletes from 93 countries....

 in Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, tangled into each other and fell onto the track. Both recovered, and while Gammoudi fell out of the race two laps later, Virén caught up to the front and passed Bedford to take the lead at about the 6000 m mark.

With Virén leading for the rest of the race, the lead pack reduced to five competitors with 600 m remaining when he made his charge. He ran the final lap (the last 400 m) in 56.4 seconds; he won the gold medal, beating runner-up Puttemans by 7 m and setting a world record time of 27:38.35. Virén would go on to win the 5000 metres event, where he would set an Olympic record there; he also went on to win both the 10,000 metres and 5000 metres races at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics

At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, 37 events were contested in athletics. There were a total number of 1006 participating athletes from 80 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:**...

 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

.

The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

listed Virén's world record performance as the greatest sport comeback of all time.

Heats

The top four runners in each of the three heats (blue) and the next three fastest (green), advanced to the final round.

Heat one

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Emiel Puttemans Emiel Puttemans Emiel Puttemans is a retired middle- and long-distance runner, who set world records for 3000 metres in 1972, for 2 miles in 1971, and for 5000 metres in 1972....		27:53.28	OR
2	Dave Bedford David Bedford (athlete) David Colin Bedford is an English former long distance runner, a colourful character whose career spanned the early 1970s. He is now race director of the London Marathon, and a representative for UK Athletics on the IAAF Road Running Committee.Bedford held the world record at 10,000m, improving it...		27:53.64
3	Javier Álvarez		28:08.58
4	Abdel Kader Zaddem		28:14.70
5	Josef Jánský		28:23.15
6	Anatoly Badrankov		28:35.84
7	Noël Tijou		28:36.08
8	Werner Dössegger		28:36.4
9	Tadesse Wolde-Medhin		28:45.4
10	Akio Usami		29:24.8
11	Jeff Galloway Jeff Galloway Jeff Galloway is a former American Olympian and the author of Galloway's Book on Running....		29:35.0
12	Naftali Temu Naftali Temu Naftali Temu was a Kenyan athlete, who won the 10.000 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.-Early career:Born in Nyamira District, Naftali Temu started running at the age of 14...		30:19.6
13	Esaie Fongang		31:32.6
14	P.C. Suppiah		31:59.2
15	Crispin Quispe		32:31.8
16	Giuseppe Cindolo		33:03.4
-	Günter Mielke Günter Mielke Günter Mielke was a West German long-distance runner who specialized in the 10,000 metres and marathon.He was born in Berlin. He won the West German championships in marathon in 1975 and 1977 and won silver medals in 10,000 metres in 1971, 1972 and 1974...		DNF
-	Usaia Sotutu Usaia Sotutu Usaia Naiteitei Sotutu is a former runner who represented Fiji at the 1972 Summer Olympics.- Personal life :...		DNF

Heat two

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time
1	Mohammed Gammoudi Mohammed Gammoudi Mohammed Tlili ben Abdallah , also known as Mohamed Gammoudi, is a former Tunisian athlete, and winner of 5000 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics....		27:54.69
2	Mariano Haro Mariano Haro Mariano Haro Cisneros is a former Spanish athlete, competing in the long-distance events. He was born in Becerril de Campos....		27:55.89
3	Frank Shorter Frank Shorter Frank Charles Shorter is a former American long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics. His victory is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States of the 1970s....		27:58.23
4	Lasse Virén Lasse Virén Lasse Artturi Virén is a former Finnish long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics...		28:04.41
5	Paul Mose		28:18.74
6	Rashid Sharafetdinov		28:24.64
7	Wohib Masresha		28:08.2
8	Pedro Miranda		28:35.8
9	Karel Lismont Karel Lismont Karel Lismont is a former Belgian athlete, who competed mostly in the marathon. He won two Olympic medals: a silver medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and a bronze at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in the same event. At the European Championships in Helsinki in 1971, he won a gold...		28:41.8
10	Neil Cusack Neil Cusack Neil Cusack is a retired middle and long distance runner from Ireland.- Early life :Cusack was born in Limerick city in 1951 and attended St.Munchins secondary school. Cusack attended East Tennessee State University...		28:45.8
11	Dave Holt Dave Holt David Bert Holt is an American former catcher, first baseman and manager in professional baseball...		28:46.8
12	Keisuke Sawaki		29:29.0
13	Rafael Pérez		29:36.6
14	Julio Quevedo Julio Quevedo Julio Faustino Quevedo Elias is a former Guatemalan athlete who competed in multiple Summer Olympics. At the 1968 and 1972 Summer Games, he participated in a total of six events. In 1968, he ran in the 1,500 m, 3,000 m steeplechase, and 5,000 m events...		30:08.4
15	Abdel Hamid Khamis		30:19.2
16	Lucien Rosa		30:20.2
-	Richard Mabuza Richard Mabuza Richard Mabuza is a Swazi athlete. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in the men's marathon, where he finished in 17th place.-References:...		DNF
-	Abdi Gulet		DNS
-	Per Halle Per Halle Per Halle was a Norwegian long-distance runner who specialized in the 5000 metres. He represented IF Sturla.At the 1972 Summer Olympics he finished seventh in the 5000 m final in 13:34.4 minutes. At the 1972 European Indoor Championships he finished fifth in 3000 metres. He became Norwegian...		DNS

Heat three

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time
1	Miruts Yifter Miruts Yifter Miruts Yifter ]] is a former Ethiopian athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His name is also sometimes spelled as Muruse Yefter....		28:18.11
2	Willy Polleunis Willy Polleunis Willy Polleunis is a retired male long-distance runner from Belgium, who competed for his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1972 in Munich, West Germany. There he placed fourteenth in the men's 10,000 metres final...		28:19.71
3	Pavlo Andreiev		28:20.97
4	Dane Korica		28:22.24
5	Juan Martínez		28:23.14
6	Lachie Stewart Lachie Stewart Joseph Laughlin Stewart is a Scottish former distance runner, and an inductee in the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame....		28:31.33
7	Arne Risa Arne Risa Arne Risa is a former Norwegian long-distance runner who specialized in 3000 metres steeplechase and 10,000 metres. He represented IL Gular....		28:31.74
8	Jon Anderson Jon Anderson Jon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...		28:34.2
9	Carlos Lopes Carlos Lopes Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH, is a former Portuguese long-distance athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles. He brought home Portugal's first ever Olympic gold medal along with a new Olympic record - 2:09.21.Born in Vildemoinhos, near Viseu, Portugal,...		28:53.6
10	Albrecht Moser		29:05.8
11	Richard Juma		29:13.0
12	Domingo Tibaduiza Domingo Tibaduiza Domingo Tibaduiza Reyes is a former long-distance runner from Gameza, Colombia, who represented his native country at four consecutive Summer Olympics: in the 10,000 metres , the 5,000 metres and in the men's marathon...		29:24.0
13	Shaq Musa Medani		29:32.8
14	Manfred Letzerich		29:27.8
15	Hikmet Şen		29:51.8
16	Anilus Joseph Anilus Joseph Anilus Joseph was a Haitian track and field athlete who competed at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.Joseph was running his first ever 10000 metres at the Olympics and started off with a quick pace, covering the first lap in 59.6 secs. By the eighth lap he was passed by all the others and by the...		DNF
17	Gavin Thorley		DNF
18	Juha Väätäinen Juha Väätäinen Juha Väätäinen is a former Finnish athlete. He is the winner of the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter gold medals at the 1971 European Championships held in Helsinki. He was the eldest of the successful Finnish runners Lasse Virén, Pekka Vasala, Tapio Kantanen, Martti Vainio, and Kaarlo Maaninka who...		DNS
19	Edmundo Warnke		DNS

Final

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
	Lasse Virén Lasse Virén Lasse Artturi Virén is a former Finnish long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics...		27:38.35	WR
	Emiel Puttemans Emiel Puttemans Emiel Puttemans is a retired middle- and long-distance runner, who set world records for 3000 metres in 1972, for 2 miles in 1971, and for 5000 metres in 1972....		27:39.35
	Miruts Yifter Miruts Yifter Miruts Yifter ]] is a former Ethiopian athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His name is also sometimes spelled as Muruse Yefter....		27:40.96
4	Mariano Haro Mariano Haro Mariano Haro Cisneros is a former Spanish athlete, competing in the long-distance events. He was born in Becerril de Campos....		27:48.14
5	Frank Shorter Frank Shorter Frank Charles Shorter is a former American long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics. His victory is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States of the 1970s....		27:51.32
6	Dave Bedford David Bedford (athlete) David Colin Bedford is an English former long distance runner, a colourful character whose career spanned the early 1970s. He is now race director of the London Marathon, and a representative for UK Athletics on the IAAF Road Running Committee.Bedford held the world record at 10,000m, improving it...		28:05.44
7	Dane Korica		28:15.18
8	Abdel Kader Zaddem		28:18.17
9	Josef Jánský		28:23.59
10	Juan Martínez		28:44.08
11	Pavlo Andreiev		28:46.27
12	Javier Álvarez		28:56.38
13	Paul Mose		29:02.87
14	Willy Polleunis Willy Polleunis Willy Polleunis is a retired male long-distance runner from Belgium, who competed for his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1972 in Munich, West Germany. There he placed fourteenth in the men's 10,000 metres final...		29:10.15
15	Mohammed Gammoudi Mohammed Gammoudi Mohammed Tlili ben Abdallah , also known as Mohamed Gammoudi, is a former Tunisian athlete, and winner of 5000 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics....		DNF

Reference

• Official report

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