Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres

The men's 10,000 metres was one of 23 track events of the athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens. It was contested at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 20, by a total of 24 athletes from 14 nations. No preliminary rounds were held at this distance, since the number of competitors allowed a direct final.

The Ethiopians were in control throughout the distance. A leading group of five runners crystallised. As Bekele and Sihine turned up the pace with two kilometres left, Tadese, Kiprop and reigning champion Gebrselassie, who was running with a calf injury, were not able to keep up. Bekele, the world record holder, assured his victory with a brilliant Olympic record finish (27:05.10 minutes), completing the final 400 metres in less than 54 seconds.

Medalists

Qualification

The Olympic qualification period for the athletics ran from January 1, 2003 to August 9, 2004. For this event, each National Olympic Committee (NOC) was permitted to enter up to three athletes, provided they had run below 27:49.00 minutes during this period in IAAF-sanctioned meetings or tournaments. If an NOC had no athletes qualified under this standard, it could enter up to one athlete that had run below 28:06.00 minutes.

Records

World and Olympic records prior to the Games.

Results

All times shown are in minutes. The following abbreviations are used:

• DNF denotes "did not finish"
• OR denotes "Olympic record"
• NR denotes "national record"
• SB denotes......
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