Men · World record

5000 Metres

The current record and its documented progression: 40 ratified records from 1897 to 2020.

Current record

12:35.36

Joshua CheptegeiUGAMonaco · 14 Aug 2020

6 years standing1.99 s improvementAll-time top 50 →

Record progression

Each step is a documented record; red marks the fully automatic timing era

1897 · 16:34.6 George Touquet-Daunis1899 · 16:29.2 George Touquet-Daunis1900 · 15:29.8 Charles Bennett1904 · 14:59.0 Alfred Shrubb1912 · 14:36.6 Hannes Kolehmainen1922 · 14:35.4 Paavo Nurmi1924 · 14:28.2 Paavo Nurmi1932 · 14:17.0 Lauri Lehtinen1939 · 14:08.8 Taisto Mäki1942 · 13:58.2 Gunder Hägg1954 · 13:57.2 Emil Zátopek1954 · 13:56.6 Vladimir Kuts1954 · 13:51.6 Chris Chataway1954 · 13:51.2 Vladimir Kuts1955 · 13:50.8 Sandor Iharos1955 · 13:46.8 Vladimir Kuts1955 · 13:40.6 Sandor Iharos1956 · 13:36.8 Gordon Pirie1957 · 13:35.0 Vladimir Kuts1965 · 13:34.8 Ron Clarke1965 · 13:33.6 Ron Clarke1965 · 13:25.8 Ron Clarke1965 · 13:24.2 Kipchoge Keino1966 · 13:16.6 Ron Clarke1972 · 13:16.4 Lasse Virén1972 · 13:13.0 Emiel Puttemans1977 · 13:12.9 Dick Quax1978 · 13:08.4 Henry Rono1981 · 13:06.20 Henry Rono1982 · 13:00.41 David Moorcroft1985 · 13:00.40 Saïd Aouita1987 · 12:58.39 Saïd Aouita1994 · 12:56.96 Haile Gebrselassie1995 · 12:55.30 Moses Kiptanui1995 · 12:44.39 Haile Gebrselassie1997 · 12:41.86 Haile Gebrselassie1997 · 12:39.74 Daniel Komen1998 · 12:39.36 Haile Gebrselassie2004 · 12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele2020 · 12:35.36 Joshua Cheptegei 12:35.3616:34.60

18971954 · Zátopek 13:57.21965 · Clarke 13:33.61985 · Aouita 13:00.402020 · Cheptegei 12:35.36

Documented records

40 ratified · most recent first · Wikipedia (EN) revision 1352820146, imported 2 Sep 2026

MarkAthleteNationVenueDateStood
12:35.36 Joshua Cheptegei UGA Monaco 14 Aug 2020 6 yrs
12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele ETH Hengelo, Netherlands 31 May 2004 16 yrs
12:39.36 Haile Gebrselassie ETH Helsinki, Finland 13 Jun 1998 5 yrs
12:39.74 Daniel Komen KEN Brussels, Belgium 22 Aug 1997 295 d
12:41.86 Haile Gebrselassie ETH Zürich, Switzerland 13 Aug 1997 9 d
12:44.39 Haile Gebrselassie ETH Zürich, Switzerland 16 Aug 1995 1 yr
12:55.30 Moses Kiptanui KEN Rome, Italy 8 Jun 1995 69 d
12:56.96 Haile Gebrselassie ETH Hengelo, Netherlands 4 Jun 1994 1 yr
12:58.39 Saïd Aouita MAR Rome, Italy 27 Jul 1987 6 yrs
13:00.40 Saïd Aouita MAR Oslo, Norway 27 Jul 1985 2 yrs
13:00.41 David Moorcroft GBR Oslo, Norway 7 Jul 1982 3 yrs
13:06.20 Henry Rono KEN Knarvik, Norway 13 Sep 1981 297 d

Rows link to a profile only where the athlete appears on a published list. Struck marks were rescinded or never ratified, and A marks a performance at altitude; both come from the source article's own key and markers, and eras are kept as it lists them. Nothing is inferred.