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10,000 metres, Men

Date13 October 1968 — 17:00
StatusOlympic
LocationEstadio Olímpico Universitario, Ciudad de México
Participants37 from 23 countries
FormatFinal only.

On 14 July 1965, Ron Clarke won the 10,000 metres at the Bislett Games in Oslo in 27:39.4, bettering his own recognized world record by a Beamon-like 36.2 seconds. His best time in 1968 was 15 seconds faster than the second best time for the year. But the 1968 Olympics were held at the altitude of Ciudad de México, and Clarke had been born and trained at sea-level. The pace was slow, because of the altitude, with 5K passed in 15:00.6, slower than the 1924 final. Mexico’s Juan Martínez took the lead on the 19th lap, delighting the home crowd. With two laps remaining the lead pack of four was Clarke, Kenya’s Naftali Temu, 1966 Commonwealth Games champion, Ethiopia’s Mamo Wolde, and Tunisia’s Mohamad Gammoudi, silver medalist from 1964. Temu and Wolde pulled ahead on the penultimate lap, dropping Gammoudi and Clarke. Wolde shot into the lead at the bell but Temu fought back and caught Wolde on the final straight to win by four metres. Clarke struggled in the last two laps, a victim of the altitude, finishing sixth. He collapsed at the finish line, and was administered to by an Australian doctor who was seen crying at the condition of this great athlete.

Ron Clarke is likely the greatest distance runner never to have won a major international championship, winning a bronze medal in the 1964 Olympic 10K, and four silver medals at the Commonwealth Games. But his world records set new standards and confirmed his greatness. In 1968, he visited Czech distance legend Emil Zátopek at his home in Praha. When Zátopek took him to the airport, he pressed a gift into Clarke’s hands, telling him “You deserve this.” On the plane, Clarke opened it and it was the gold medal Zátopek had won for the 1952 10,000 metres. Wallechinsky wrote that Clarke had commented, “I do know no one cherishes any gift more than I do, my only Olympic gold medal and not because of what it is … but because of the man whose spirit it represents.”

PosNumberCompetitorNOCTime (Hand)Time (Automatic)
1575Naftali TemuKEN29:27.429:27.40Gold
2329Mamo WoldeETH29:28.029:27.75Silver
3781Mohamad GammoudiTUN29:34.2Bronze
4615Juan MartínezMEX29:35.0
5833Nikolay SviridovURS29:43.2
6102Ron ClarkeAUS29:44.8
7404Ron HillGBR29:53.2
8327Wohib MasreshaETH29:57.0
9851Nedo FarčićYUG30:01.2
10183Álvaro MejíaCOL30:10.6
11308Tracy SmithUSA30:14.6
12650Rex MaddafordNZL30:17.2
13426Mike TaggGBR30:18.0
14323Fikru DeguefuETH30:19.4
1569Jürgen HaaseGDR30:24.2
16284Tom LarisUSA30:26.2
17817Leonid MikitenkoURS30:46.0
1828Manfred LetzerichFRG30:48.6
19557Tsugumichi SuzukiJPN30:52.0
20472János SzerényiHUN30:53.6
21788Mustafa MusaUGA30:54.21
22467Lajos MecserHUN30:54.8
2337Lutz PhilippFRG30:57.0
24791Vyacheslav AlanovURS31:01.0
25168Dave EllisCAN31:06.6
26405Jim HoganGBR31:18.6
27554Keisuke SawakiJPN31:25.2
28292Van NelsonUSA31:40.2
29464György KissHUN32:03.2
30197Rafael PérezCRC32:14.6
31333Benjamin Silva-NettoPHI32:35.2
DNF565Kip KeinoKEN
DNF862Rodolfo ErazoHON
DNF651Evan MaguireNZL
DNF717Alifu MassaquoiSLE
DNF139Willy PolleunisBEL
DNF683Edward StawiarzPOL
DNS480Kirpal SinghIND

Split Times

TimeAthlete(s)NOCResultNotes
1000 mJános Szerényi 2:58.5
2000 mNikolay Sviridov 5:57.4
3000 mNikolay Sviridov 8:56.1
4000 mNikolay Sviridov 11:54.8
5000 mWohib Masresha 14:55.0
6000 mJuan Martínez 17:58.6
7000 mJuan Martínez 20:57.1
8000 mRon Hill 23:57.7
9000 mMamo Wolde 26:51.1