10,000 metres


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 400 m 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.
The 10,000 metres is the longest standard track event, approximately equivalent to or.
File:Taisto Mäki sets 10,000 m world record.jpeg|thumb|Taisto Mäki from Finland breaks the 30-minute barrier in Helsinki on 17 September 1939.
Added to the Olympic programme in 1912, athletes from Finland, nicknamed the "Flying Finns", dominated the event until the late 1940s. In the 1960s, African runners began to come to the fore. In 1988, the women's competition debuted in the Olympic Games.
Official records are kept for outdoor 10,000-metre track events. The world record for men is held by Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda in 26:11.00, set in Valencia, Spain on 7 October 2020. For women, the world record is held by Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, in 28:54.14, set in Eugene, Oregon, on 25 May 2024.
The 10,000 metres demands exceptional levels of aerobic endurance, and elite athletes typically train in excess of 160 km a week.

6 miles

10,000 metres is the slightly longer metric derivative of the run, an event common in countries when they were using the imperial measurement system. 6 miles was used in the Commonwealth Games until 1966 and was a championship in the United States in non-Olympic years from 1953 to 1973. It is 24 laps around a track.

Continental records

  • Updated 25 May 2024.

    All-time top 25

Men

  • Correct as of June 2024.
TimeAthleteNationDatePlace
1126:11.00Joshua Cheptegei7 October 2020Valencia
2226:17.53Kenenisa Bekele26 August 2005Brussels
326:20.31Bekele #28 June 2004Ostrava
3426:22.75Haile Gebrselassie1 June 1998Hengelo
526:25.97Bekele #38 June 2008Eugene
4626:27.85Paul Tergat22 August 1997Brussels
726:28.72Bekele #429 May 2005Hengelo
826:29.22Gebrselassie #25 September 2003Brussels
5926:30.03Nicholas Kemboi5 September 2003Brussels
61026:30.74Abebe Dinkesa29 May 2005Hengelo
71126:31.01Yomif Kejelcha14 June 2024Nerja
81226:31.13Berihu Aregawi14 June 2024Nerja
1326:31.32Gebrselassie #34 July 1997Oslo
91426:33.84Grant Fisher6 March 2022San Juan Capistrano
101526:33.93Jacob Kiplimo19 May 2021Ostrava
111626:34.14Mohammed Ahmed6 March 2022San Juan Capistrano
121726:34.93Selemon Barega14 June 2024Nerja
131826:35.63Micah Kogo25 August 2006Brussels
141926:36.26Paul Koech22 August 1997Brussels
152026:37.25Zersenay Tadese25 August 2006Brussels
162126:37.93Biniam Mehary14 June 2024Nerja
172226:38.08Salah Hissou23 August 1996Brussels
182326:38.76Ahmad Abdullah Hassan5 September 2003Brussels
192426:39.69Sileshi Sihine31 May 2004Hengelo
202526:39.77Boniface Toroitich Kiprop26 August 2005Brussels
2126:41.75Samuel Wanjiru26 August 2005Brussels
2226:42.65Gemechu Dida14 June 2024Nerja
2326:43.98Lucas Rotich7 September 2011Brussels
2426:44.36Galen Rupp30 May 2014Eugene
2526:45.91Tadese Worku5 May 2022Hengelo

Women

  • Correct as of June 2024.
TimeAthleteNationDatePlace
1128:54.14Beatrice Chebet25 May 2024Eugene
2229:01.03Letesenbet Gidey8 June 2021Hengelo
3329:05.92Gudaf Tsegay25 May 2024Eugene
4429:06.82Sifan Hassan6 June 2021Hengelo
5529:17.45Almaz Ayana12 August 2016Rio de Janeiro
6629:26.89Lilian Rengeruk25 May 2024Eugene
7729:27.59Margaret Kipkemboi25 May 2024Eugene
829:29.73Tsegay #223 June 2023Nerja
8929:31.78Wang Junxia8 September 1993Beijing
91029:32.53Vivian Cheruiyot12 August 2016Rio de Janeiro
1129:36.67Hassan #210 October 2020Hengelo
1229:37.80Hassan #33 June 2023Hengelo
1329:39.42Tsegay #38 May 2021Maia
101429:42.56Tirunesh Dibaba12 August 2016Rio de Janeiro
111529:47.42Grace Loibach Nawowuna3 June 2023Hengelo
121629:47.71Fotyen Tesfay14 June 2024Nerja
131729:48.34Tsigie Gebreselama16 March 2024San Juan Capistrano
1829:49.33Gebreselama #214 June 2024Nerja
141929:50.52Ejgayehu Taye14 June 2024Nerja
152029:50.77Kalkidan Gezahegne8 May 2021Maia
162129:53.51Alice Aprot Nawowuna12 August 2016Rio de Janeiro
172229:53.80Meselech Melkamu14 June 2009Utrecht
2329:54.66Dibaba #215 August 2008Beijing
2429:55.32Hassan #47 August 2021Tokyo
2529:56.18Gezahegne #27 August 2021Tokyo
1829:59.03Mizan Alem20 May 2023London
1929:59.15Lemlem Hailu23 June 2023Nerja
2029:59.20Meseret Defar11 July 2009Birmingham
2130:00.86Eilish McColgan4 March 2023San Juan Capistrano
2230:01.09Paula Radcliffe6 August 2002Munich
2330:03.82Alicia Monson4 March 2023San Juan Capistrano
2430:04.18Berhane Adere23 August 2003Saint-Denis
2530:04.97Janeth Chepngetich25 May 2024Eugene