| | Event type

5,000 metres, Men

Date	31 July – 3 August 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	37 from 22 countries

Vénuste Niyongabo of Burundi was the first great runner from that nation. He was considered a medal favorite in the 1,500 but withdrew to allow his countryman Dieudonné Kwizéra to run in that event. Niyongabo had only twice before competed at 5K but he had the best speed in the event. The last two World Championships had been won by Kenya’s Ismael Kirui but he did not compete in Atlanta. In August 1995, Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie had shattered the world record by 11 seconds, running 12:44.39, but he chose to run only the 10K in Atlanta. The defending gold and silver medalists, Dieter Baumann (FRG) and Paul Bitok (KEN), were back and qualified for the final.

The final was started at a slow pace, playing into Niyongabo’s speed. America’s Bob Kennedy, a strong runner with no kick, moved to the front after 4,000 metres trying to hold on for a medal, but the attempt was futile. The final lap came down to Niyongabo, Bitok, Baumann, and Morocco’s Khalid Boulami. None of them could match Niyongabo’s speed as he won the gold medal, with Bitok finishing second, as he had in 1992.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	1102	Vénuste Niyongabo	BDI	13:54.53 (3 h3)	14:03.48 (2 h2)	13:07.96 (1)	Gold
2	1790	Paul Bitok	KEN	13:54.45 (2 h3)	13:27.61 (2 h1)	13:08.16 (2)	Silver
3	1902	Khalid Boulami	MAR	13:54.72 (5 h3)	13:29.72 (6 h1)	13:08.37 (3)	Bronze
4	1529	Dieter Baumann	GER	13:52.00 (6 h2)	14:03.75 (3 h2)	13:08.81 (4)
5	1810	Tom Nyariki	KEN	13:51.47 (3 h2)	14:03.21 (1 h2)	13:12.29 (5)
6	2373	Bob Kennedy	USA	13:54.57 (4 h3)	13:27.90 (4 h1)	13:12.35 (6)
7	1359	Enrique Molina	ESP	13:51.55 (4 h2)	14:04.08 (4 h2)	13:12.91 (7)
8	1909	Brahim Lahlafi	MAR	13:51.25 (2 h2)	13:27.73 (3 h1)	13:13.26 (8)
9	807	Shem Kororia	KEN	14:02.75 (2 h1)	13:27.50 (1 h1)	13:14.63 (9)
10	1388	Fita Bayesa	ETH	13:51.61 (1 h2)	13:30.88 (7 h1)	13:18.30 (10)
11	1913	Smail Sghyr	MAR	14:02.71 (1 h1)	14:04.23 (5 h2)	13:22.89 (11)
12	1703	Gennaro Di Napoli	ITA	14:03.56 (4 h1)	13:28.80 (5 h1)	13:28.36 (12)
13	1007	Réda Benzine	ALG	14:03.06 (3 h1)	13:37.52 (8 h1)	13:42.34 (13)
14	1544	Stéphane Franke	GER	14:06.34 (10 h3)	13:40.94 (9 h1)	13:44.64 (14)
15	2478	Aïssa Bel Aout	ALG	13:51.96 (5 h2)	14:04.56 (6 h2)	14:06.52 (15)
7 h2 r2/3	1393	Assefa Mezgebu	ETH	13:54.89 (7 h3)	14:05.48 (7 h2)	–
8 h2 r2/3	1693	Stefano Baldini	ITA	13:55.41 (8 h3)	14:06.45 (8 h2)	–
9 h2 r2/3	1502	John Nuttall	GBR	13:52.16 (7 h2)	14:08.39 (9 h2)	–
10 h1 r2/3	2025	Jonathan Wyatt	NZL	13:52.56 (8 h2)	13:47.81 (10 h1)	–
10 h2 r2/3	1669	Cormac Finnerty	IRL	13:54.01 (10 h2)	14:08.88 (10 h2)	–
11 h1 r2/3	1351	Anacleto Jiménez	ESP	14:16.57 (7 h1)	13:50.90 (11 h1)	–
11 h2 r2/3	2113	Shadrack Hoff	RSA	14:05.97 (6 h1)	14:16.14 (11 h2)	–
12 h1 r2/3	2244	Miroslav Vanko	SVK	13:54.88 (6 h3)	13:51.45 (12 h1)	–
12 h2 r2/3	1057	Julian Paynter	AUS	14:00.25 (11 h2)	14:23.60 (12 h2)	–
13 h1 r2/3	2117	John Morapedi	RSA	13:54.30 (1 h3)	13:54.43 (13 h1)	–
13 h2 r2/3	2398	Jim Spivey	USA	13:53.16 (9 h2)	14:27.72 (13 h2)	–
14 h1 r2/3	1040	Shaun Creighton	AUS	14:04.08 (5 h1)	13:55.23 (14 h1)	–
14 h2 r2/3	1366	Manuel Pancorbo	ESP	13:57.42 (9 h3)	14:39.64 (14 h2)	–
15 h1 r2/3	2077	José Ramos	POR	14:17.26 (8 h1)	14:24.81 (15 h1)	–
9 h1 r1/3	2352	Matt Giusto	USA	14:30.76 (9 h1)	–	–
10 h1 r1/3	1253	William Roldán	COL	14:39.50 (10 h1)	–	–
11 h1 r1/3	1960	Sid'Ahmed Ould Mohamedou	MTN	15:29.16 (11 h1)	–	–
11 h3 r1/3	2070	Luís Jesus	POR	14:08.87 (11 h3)	– (DNS h2)	–
12 h2 r1/3	1166	Adalberto Garcia	BRA	14:28.64 (12 h2)	–	–
12 h3 r1/3	2217	Khamis Abdullah Seifeddine	SUD	14:15.21 (12 h3)	–	–
13 h2 r1/3	2472	Henry Moyo	MAW	14:30.53 (13 h2)	–	–
13 h3 r1/3	2206	Aboukar Hassan Adani	SOM	15:19.80 (13 h3)	–	–
DNS	1103	Aloÿs Nizigama	BDI	– (DNS h2)	–	–
DNS	1391	Haile Gebrselassie	ETH	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	1842	Alyan Al-Qahtani	KSA	– (DNS h3)	–	–
DNS	1934	Armando Quintanilla	MEX	– (DNS h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	31 July 1996
Format	Top 8 in each heat and next six fastest advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (automatic)
1	1909	Brahim Lahlafi	MAR	13:51.25	Q
2	1810	Tom Nyariki	KEN	13:51.47	Q
3	1359	Enrique Molina	ESP	13:51.55	Q
4	1388	Fita Bayesa	ETH	13:51.61	Q
5	2478	Aïssa Bel Aout	ALG	13:51.96	Q
6	1529	Dieter Baumann	GER	13:52.00	Q
7	1502	John Nuttall	GBR	13:52.16	Q
8	2025	Jonathan Wyatt	NZL	13:52.56	Q
9	2398	Jim Spivey	USA	13:53.16	q
10	1669	Cormac Finnerty	IRL	13:54.01	q
11	2117	John Morapedi	RSA	13:54.30	Q
12	1790	Paul Bitok	KEN	13:54.45	Q
13	1102	Vénuste Niyongabo	BDI	13:54.53	Q
14	2373	Bob Kennedy	USA	13:54.57	Q
15	1902	Khalid Boulami	MAR	13:54.72	Q
16	2244	Miroslav Vanko	SVK	13:54.88	Q
17	1393	Assefa Mezgebu	ETH	13:54.89	Q
18	1693	Stefano Baldini	ITA	13:55.41	Q
19	1366	Manuel Pancorbo	ESP	13:57.42	q
20	1057	Julian Paynter	AUS	14:00.25	q
21	1913	Smail Sghyr	MAR	14:02.71	Q
22	807	Shem Kororia	KEN	14:02.75	Q
23	1007	Réda Benzine	ALG	14:03.06	Q
24	1703	Gennaro Di Napoli	ITA	14:03.56	Q
25	1040	Shaun Creighton	AUS	14:04.08	Q
26	2113	Shadrack Hoff	RSA	14:05.97	Q
27	1544	Stéphane Franke	GER	14:06.34	q
28	2070	Luís Jesus	POR	14:08.87	q
29	2217	Khamis Abdullah Seifeddine	SUD	14:15.21
30	1351	Anacleto Jiménez	ESP	14:16.57	Q
31	2077	José Ramos	POR	14:17.26	Q
32	1166	Adalberto Garcia	BRA	14:28.64
33	2472	Henry Moyo	MAW	14:30.53
34	2352	Matt Giusto	USA	14:30.76
35	1253	William Roldán	COL	14:39.50
36	2206	Aboukar Hassan Adani	SOM	15:19.80
37	1960	Sid'Ahmed Ould Mohamedou	MTN	15:29.16
DNS	1391	Haile Gebrselassie	ETH	–
DNS	1934	Armando Quintanilla	MEX	–
DNS	1103	Aloÿs Nizigama	BDI	–
DNS	1842	Alyan Al-Qahtani	KSA	–

Heat #1

Time	21:40

Pos	Start Order	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	8	Smail Sghyr	MAR	14:02.71	Q
2	7	Shem Kororia	KEN	14:02.75	Q
3	6	Réda Benzine	ALG	14:03.06	Q
4	4	Gennaro Di Napoli	ITA	14:03.56	Q
5	13	Shaun Creighton	AUS	14:04.08	Q
6	9	Shadrack Hoff	RSA	14:05.97	Q
7	5	Anacleto Jiménez	ESP	14:16.57	Q
8	10	José Ramos	POR	14:17.26	Q
9	2	Matt Giusto	USA	14:30.76
10	12	William Roldán	COL	14:39.50
11	11	Sid'Ahmed Ould Mohamedou	MTN	15:29.16
DNS	1	Haile Gebrselassie	ETH	–
DNS	3	Armando Quintanilla	MEX	–

Heat #2

Time	22:05

Pos	Start Order	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	14	Fita Bayesa	ETH	13:51.61	Q
2	5	Brahim Lahlafi	MAR	13:51.25	Q
3	9	Tom Nyariki	KEN	13:51.47	Q
4	11	Enrique Molina	ESP	13:51.55	Q
5	10	Aïssa Bel Aout	ALG	13:51.96	Q
6	12	Dieter Baumann	GER	13:52.00	Q
7	1	John Nuttall	GBR	13:52.16	Q
8	7	Jonathan Wyatt	NZL	13:52.56	Q
9	6	Jim Spivey	USA	13:53.16	q
10	13	Cormac Finnerty	IRL	13:54.01	q
11	3	Julian Paynter	AUS	14:00.25	q
12	2	Adalberto Garcia	BRA	14:28.64
13	4	Henry Moyo	MAW	14:30.53
DNS	8	Aloÿs Nizigama	BDI	–

Heat #3

Time	22:30

Pos	Start Order	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	13	John Morapedi	RSA	13:54.30	Q
2	9	Paul Bitok	KEN	13:54.45	Q
3	6	Vénuste Niyongabo	BDI	13:54.53	Q
4	4	Bob Kennedy	USA	13:54.57	Q
5	7	Khalid Boulami	MAR	13:54.72	Q
6	10	Miroslav Vanko	SVK	13:54.88	Q
7	5	Assefa Mezgebu	ETH	13:54.89	Q
8	1	Stefano Baldini	ITA	13:55.41	Q
9	8	Manuel Pancorbo	ESP	13:57.42	q
10	11	Stéphane Franke	GER	14:06.34	q
11	14	Luís Jesus	POR	14:08.87	q
12	3	Khamis Abdullah Seifeddine	SUD	14:15.21
13	2	Aboukar Hassan Adani	SOM	15:19.80
DNS	12	Alyan Al-Qahtani	KSA	–

Semi-Finals

Date	1 August 1996
Format	Top 6 in each heat and next three fastest advanced to the final.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (automatic)
1	807	Shem Kororia	KEN	13:27.50	Q
2	1790	Paul Bitok	KEN	13:27.61	Q
3	1909	Brahim Lahlafi	MAR	13:27.73	Q
4	2373	Bob Kennedy	USA	13:27.90	Q
5	1703	Gennaro Di Napoli	ITA	13:28.80	Q
6	1902	Khalid Boulami	MAR	13:29.72	Q
7	1388	Fita Bayesa	ETH	13:30.88	q
8	1007	Réda Benzine	ALG	13:37.52	q
9	1544	Stéphane Franke	GER	13:40.94	q
10	2025	Jonathan Wyatt	NZL	13:47.81
11	1351	Anacleto Jiménez	ESP	13:50.90
12	2244	Miroslav Vanko	SVK	13:51.45
13	2117	John Morapedi	RSA	13:54.43
14	1040	Shaun Creighton	AUS	13:55.23
15	1810	Tom Nyariki	KEN	14:03.21	Q
16	1102	Vénuste Niyongabo	BDI	14:03.48	Q
17	1529	Dieter Baumann	GER	14:03.75	Q
18	1359	Enrique Molina	ESP	14:04.08	Q
19	1913	Smail Sghyr	MAR	14:04.23	Q
20	2478	Aïssa Bel Aout	ALG	14:04.56	Q
21	1393	Assefa Mezgebu	ETH	14:05.48
22	1693	Stefano Baldini	ITA	14:06.45
23	1502	John Nuttall	GBR	14:08.39
24	1669	Cormac Finnerty	IRL	14:08.88
25	2113	Shadrack Hoff	RSA	14:16.14
26	1057	Julian Paynter	AUS	14:23.60
27	2077	José Ramos	POR	14:24.81
28	2398	Jim Spivey	USA	14:27.72
29	1366	Manuel Pancorbo	ESP	14:39.64
DNS	2070	Luís Jesus	POR	–

Heat #1

Time	21:15

Pos	Start Order	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	1	Shem Kororia	KEN	13:27.50	Q
2	10	Paul Bitok	KEN	13:27.61	Q
3	2	Brahim Lahlafi	MAR	13:27.73	Q
4	15	Bob Kennedy	USA	13:27.90	Q
5	11	Gennaro Di Napoli	ITA	13:28.80	Q
6	5	Khalid Boulami	MAR	13:29.72	Q
7	12	Fita Bayesa	ETH	13:30.88	q
8	6	Réda Benzine	ALG	13:37.52	q
9	8	Stéphane Franke	GER	13:40.94	q
10	9	Jonathan Wyatt	NZL	13:47.81
11	3	Anacleto Jiménez	ESP	13:50.90
12	7	Miroslav Vanko	SVK	13:51.45
13	13	John Morapedi	RSA	13:54.43
14	14	Shaun Creighton	AUS	13:55.23
15	4	José Ramos	POR	14:24.81

Heat #2

Time	21:45

Pos	Start Order	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	5	Tom Nyariki	KEN	14:03.21	Q
2	14	Vénuste Niyongabo	BDI	14:03.48	Q
3	1	Dieter Baumann	GER	14:03.75	Q
4	3	Enrique Molina	ESP	14:04.08	Q
5	11	Smail Sghyr	MAR	14:04.23	Q
6	6	Aïssa Bel Aout	ALG	14:04.56	Q
7	8	Assefa Mezgebu	ETH	14:05.48
8	10	Stefano Baldini	ITA	14:06.45
9	4	John Nuttall	GBR	14:08.39
10	2	Cormac Finnerty	IRL	14:08.88
11	12	Shadrack Hoff	RSA	14:16.14
12	13	Julian Paynter	AUS	14:23.60
13	7	Jim Spivey	USA	14:27.72
14	9	Manuel Pancorbo	ESP	14:39.64
DNS	15	Luís Jesus	POR	–

Final Round

Date	3 August 1996 — 20:40

Pos	Start Order	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	11	Vénuste Niyongabo	BDI	13:07.96
2	14	Paul Bitok	KEN	13:08.16
3	8	Khalid Boulami	MAR	13:08.37
4	13	Dieter Baumann	GER	13:08.81
5	5	Tom Nyariki	KEN	13:12.29
6	7	Bob Kennedy	USA	13:12.35
7	2	Enrique Molina	ESP	13:12.91
8	12	Brahim Lahlafi	MAR	13:13.26
9	4	Shem Kororia	KEN	13:14.63
10	6	Fita Bayesa	ETH	13:18.30
11	1	Smail Sghyr	MAR	13:22.89
12	3	Gennaro Di Napoli	ITA	13:28.36
13	15	Réda Benzine	ALG	13:42.34
14	9	Stéphane Franke	GER	13:44.64
15	10	Aïssa Bel Aout	ALG	14:06.52