A look at the world record progressions for the men’s 10,000 and 5,000 meter runs BY CHARLES HOWE At one time or another, most all sports fans are given to compare the merits of champions and stars from one era to the next. Indeed, it is possible to make a comfortable living as a “sports-talk personality” by moderating and engaging in passionate (if not terribly well-reasoned) debate as to whether Peyton Manning is the better quarterback than Joe Montana or Johnny Unitas, how Muhammad Ali would have fared against Joe Louis, etc. Occasionally one athlete stands head- and-shoulders above all the rest, such as Michael Jordan in basketball, or Eddy Merckx in cycling, but even this does not bring an end to controversy; fueled by subjective opinion and personal devotion, “discussion” continues ad infinitum , generating heat rather than light. After all, this is something that supposedly makes sport “interesting.” Mercifully, the mainstream sporting media pays little or no attention to long-distance running, but any appreciation of its history cannot help but provoke similar questions: were Ron Clarke’s performances superior to those of Emil Zátopek and Paavo Nurmi? Are the records of Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie so far out of line with historic trends that they can only be due to performance-enhancing drugs? By contrast, this article will attempt to objectively evaluate such issues using the succession of world records for the men’s 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs that stretches back over a century. OBSERVATIONS 10,000 meter progression Since the first officially-recognized performance in 1911, the 10,000 meter world record has been improved by an overall margin of 281.3 seconds, or 15.13%, in 38 performances by 24 athletes (Table 1 ). There have been four identifiable periods of rapid improvement in this progression, each largely or entirely attributable to one athlete: 1. The Paavo Nurmi era: from 6/22/1921 through 8/31/24 (3.19 years), the record was lowered by 52.6 seconds (2.83%), in 4 performances by 2 athletes. Nurmi and Ville Ritola each set 2 records, but since Nurmi’s performances were the first and last of the 4, he can be credited with the full improvement. 2. The Emil Zátopek era: from 6/11/1949 through 9/11/56 (7.25 years), the record was lowered by 65.0 seconds (3.66%), in 8 performances by 4 athletes. Zátopek set 5 of the records, totaling 40.2 seconds (2.32%) of improvement. 3. The Ron Clarke era: on 7/14/1965, Clarke broke his 28-day-old record by 34.6 seconds (2.02%), the largest single decrease in the history of the event. Thus, in three performances over 1.57 years, Clarke was responsible for 38.8 seconds (2.28%) of improvement. 4. The Haile Gebrselassie era: from 7/22/1994 through 6/1/98 (4.91 years), the record was lowered by 45.5 seconds (2.79%), in 8 performances by 6 athletes. Gebrselassie set 3 of the records, and the difference between his first and last is 20.8 seconds (1.83%). These four eras, totaling 16.92 years, represent 16.8% of the 100.55 years that had elapsed (as of June 1, 2012) since the start of the progression, yet they account for 70.8% of all improvement. ► Zátopek broke the record 5 times (4 consecutively), Clarke and Gebrselassie 3, with 5 others tied at 2: Pyotr Bolotnikov, Viljo Heino, Taisto Mäki, Nurmi, and Ritola. ► Nurmi’s last record is the longest-standing in the event’s history, at 12.88 years (8/31/1924 through 7/18/37). After that, Jean Bouin’s original record stood 9.60 years; Clarke’s second, 7.13; Bekele’s second, 6.77 (as of 6/1/2012), Gebrselassie’s third, 6.02; and Henry Rono’s, 5.98. Zátopek held the record continuously for 6.73 years, during which he broke it 4 times. Richard Chelimo held the record for the shortest period – 5 days. Nurmi held the record for a combined total of 15.80 years; Bekele 7.99 (as of 6/1/2012); Clarke, 8.71; Gebrselassie, 7.37; Zátopek, 6.95; Mäki, 5.91. The longest period between record performances by the same individual is the 5.02 years separating Viljo Heino’s 2 records, followed by 4.97 years between Zátopek’s first and fifth. ► The youngest record-setters are Chelimo, 21.36 years; Samson Kimobwa, 21.79; and Bekele, 21.99. The oldest are Viljo Heino, 35.50 years, and Ilmari Salminen, 34.82 years. The mean age of all record-setters is 27.64 years. Throughout the progression, this rose initially, leveled off from 1937-65, and has fallen precipitously since then: from 1911-1937, it was 28.81years; from 1937-1966, 29.67 years; since 1966, 25.11 years. ► Mean improvement per record is 7.60 seconds (0.44%). Average record longevity is 2.53 years. ► 6 Finns, 6 Kenyans, 2 Ethiopians, 2 Russians, 1 Aussie, 1 Briton, 1 Czech, 1 Frenchman, 1 Hungarian, 1 Mexican, 1 Moroccan, and 1 Portuguese have held the record. After the initial record in the progression, 5 of the next 6 improvements were made by Finns, meaning this nation was in possession of the record for all but 80 days of the 28.33 year period from 6/22/21 through 10/22/49. Finland has held the record a total of 28.97 years; Ethiopia, for 15.36 years as of 6/1/2012; Kenya, 9.70; France, 9.60; Australia, 8.70; Russia, 7.27; and Czechoslovakia, 6.95. 5,000 meter progression Since the first officially-recognized performance in 1912, the 5,000 meter world record has been lowered by an overall margin of 119.2 seconds, or 13.60%, in 34 performances by 22 athletes (Table 2 ). There have been three periods of rapid improvement in this progression, each with multiple performances by several athletes, but driven primarily by one individual in particular: 1. The Vladimir Kuts era: from 5/30/1954 through 10/13/57 (3.37 years), the record was lowered by 23.2 seconds (2.77%), in 9 performances by 5 athletes. Kuts set 4 of the records, and the difference between his first and last is 21.6 seconds (2.58%). 2. The Ron Clarke era: from 1/16/1965 through 7/5/66 (1.46 years), the record came down by 18.4 seconds (2.27%), in 5 performances by 2 athletes. Clarke set 4 of the records, and can be credited with all the improvement, since his performances were the first and last in the period. 3. The Haile Gebrslassie era: from 6/4/1994 through 6/13/98 (4.02 years), the record was lowered by 19.0 seconds (2.44%), in 6 performances by 3 athletes. Gebrselassie set 4 of the records, and can be credited with all of the improvement, since his performances were the first and last in the period. 2 These three eras, totaling 8.86 years, represent 9.4% of the 99.89 years that had elapsed since the start of the progression through June 1, 2012, yet they account for 50.5% of all improvement. ► Kuts, Clarke, and Gebrselassie all broke the record 4 times, with 4 others tied at 2: Nurmi, Sándor Iharos, Henry Rono, and Saïd Aouita. ► Aided by the competitive interregnum of World War II, Gunder Hägg’s record is the longest- standing in the event’s history, at 11.69 years (9/20/1942 through 5/30/54), followed by Hannes Kolehmainen’s original record, at 10.17 years; Bekele’s, at 8.00 (as of June 1, 2012); Kuts’s fourth, 7.26; Lauri Lehtinen’s, 6.99; Aouita’s second, 6.87; Clarke’s fourth, 6.20; and Gebrselassie’s fourth, 5.97 years. Lasse Viren held the record for only 6 days, Iharos, 8; and Chris Chataway, 10. Nurmi held the record for a combined total of 9.77 years; Kuts, 9.02; Gebrselassie, 8.99; Aouita, 8.85; Clarke, 7.07. The longest period between record performances by the same individual is 4.02 years separating Gebrselassies’s first and fourth, followed by 3.12 years between Kuts’s first and fourth. ► The youngest record-setters are Gebrselassie, 21.13 years, and Bekele, 21.97. The oldest are Zátopek, 31.69 years, and Kuts, 30.68 years. The mean age of all record-setters is 26.10 years. Throughout the progression, mean age rose slowly but gradually until 1987, when it stood at 26.89 years. The mean age since then is 22.98 years. ► 5 Finns, 4 Kenyans, 2 Ethiopians, 1 Aussie, 1 Belgian, 1 Briton, 1 Czech, 1 Hungarian, 1 Moroccan, 1 New Zealander, 1 Russian, and 1 Swede have held the record. Finland has held the record a total of 30.21 years, including the first 30.20 years of its official existence; Ethiopia, for 17.00 years as of 6/1/2012; Sweden, 11.69; Russia, 9.02; Morocco, 8.85; and Australia, 7.07. ► 8 men have held both the 10,000 and 5,000 meter records, all simultaneously: Bekele, Gebrselassie, Clarke, Kuts, Mäki, Rono, Viren, and Zátopek. Iharos held the 5,000 and 1,500 meter records simultaneously, then the 10,000 and 1,500 meter records at once, while Nurmi held all three at the same time – and set the latter two marks on the same day. Aouita and Hägg held the 5,000 and 1,500 meter records simultaneously.