Olympic Games Men’s 10,000 meters
Paris, France
Friday, August 2nd | 3:20pm ET (9:20pm local)
LIVE VIEWING INFO
RACE PREVIEW: The Men’s 10,000 will be the first final on the track at the 2024 Olympic Games and it promises to kick things off with a bang. The field is littered with many of the world’s best distance runners, several of whom are in great form heading into the Games. The favorites on paper are 5,000 and 10,000 meter world record holder Joshua Cheptegei, two-time World Cross Country champion Jacob Kiplimo and reigning Olympic Champion Selemon Barega. But they’ll have plenty of competition. Check out the bios below for every single runner in the field and decide for yourself who you think will end up on the podium:
RUNNER BY RUNNER PREVIEW:
Mo Ahmed, Canada (26:34.14) – Sixth at the Tokyo Olympics in this event and a silver medalist in the 5,000, Ahmed should most definitely be a factor up front tomorrow night.
Berihu Aregawi, Ethiopia (26:31.13) – Twice a runner-up at the World Cross Country Championships but never a World Championship or Olympic medalist on the track, one would expect Aregawi to be pushing the pace from a ways out.
Birhanu Balew, Bahrain (27:07.49) – Sixth in Tokyo over 5,000 meters, Balew has had mostly good but not great results thus far in 2024.
Selemon Barega, Ethiopia (26:34.93) – One of the clear favorites, Barega possesses a lethal kick–one that he used to win the gold medal in this event in Tokyo. He did, however, only finish third in June at the Ethiopian Trials–behind Yomif Kejelcha and Aregawi.
Joshua Cheptegei, Uganda (26:11.00) – A three-time world champion in this event (2019, 2022, 2023) and the world record holder, Cheptegei is clearly a favorite tomorrow. But he’s been at least somewhat vulnerable this year–racing only four times with zero wins.
Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed, Athlete Refugee Team (28:09.80) – Mohammed fled the violence in his native Sudan when he was 17, crossing the Sinai Desert on foot and eventually settling in Israel where he was granted refugee status.
Grant Fisher, USA (26:33.84) – Fisher has been knocking on the door of a global medal with three top-six finishes since 2021. His dominating victory over this distance at the U.S. Trials in June certainly passed the eyeball test. He should have a real shot at the podium tomorrow.
Jimmy Gressier, France (27:24.51) – One of two French athletes in the field, he’ll no doubt have the crowd behind him.
Jun Kasai, Japan (27:17.46) – Winner of the Japanese 10,000 meter championships in May, Kasai got into the field based on his world ranking (23rd).
Yomif Kejelcha, Ethiopia (26:31.01) – Kejelcha won the Ethiopian Championships in June which pretty much automatically makes him one of the favorites here. His range (3:47.01 for the mile to 57:41 for the half marathon) suggests he could win in any number of ways.
Bernard Kibet, Kenya (26:51.09) – Kibet set his PB en route to a third-place finish on May 25 at the Kenyan Trials held in Eugene, Oregon. So he certainly belongs, but not much else on his CV suggests he’ll be a medal contender.
Isaac Kimeli, Belgium (27:07.97) – Kimeli is one of several athletes in this field whose PB came at The Ten in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. on March 16. He got into the field via his world ranking (19th), but a 14th-place finish in this event at the European Championships in June does not bode well for his chances tomorrow.
Woody Kincaid, USA (26:57.57) – American fans are likely familiar with Kincaid’s world class last laps. They’ve earned him two national championships at this distance and one over 5,000 meters. He’ll need to be there with 400 to go, however, and that’s a big ask against this field.
Nicholas Kipkorir, Kenya (26:50.94) – Kipkorir was second at the Kenyan Trials in a personal best time so it would be fair to say he’s in the best 10,000 meter shape of his life. Whether that will be good enough to contend tomorrow remains to be seen.
Jacob Kiplimo, Uganda (26:33.93) – Kiplimo has to be considered one of the top contenders for a medal on Friday night. What color is the question. The two-time World Cross Country champion and one-time World Half Marathon champ has done no better than bronze in global championships on the track.
Martin Kiprotich, Uganda (28:46.1) – Kiprotich took advantage of the system that guaranteed qualification to a certain number of athletes who accumulated enough points during the 2023-2024 cross country season to make it to the starting line here. His 14th-place finish at the World Cross Champs in March was particularly impressive but doesn’t necessarily indicate a similar finish will be possible tomorrow.
Rodrigue Kwizera, Burundi (27:25.47) – Another qualifier via his cross country ranking, Kwizera’s track resume’ would suggest he’s unlikely to be around for the business end of these proceedings.
Daniel Mateiko, Kenya (26:50.81) – Mateiko was the winner of the Kenyan Trials on May 25 in Eugene. His previous competition was a DNF at the London Marathon in April and his 5,000 meter best is only 13:13.45. As such, it’s hard to say what to expect tomorrow.
Merhawi Mebrahtu, Eritrea (26:55.51) – Only 28th at the World Cross Country Championships in March, Mebrahtu dipped under the automatic standard of 27:00 with his 26:55 on June 14. At just 20 years old, he’s light on experience at this big a stage.
Célestin Ndikumana, Burundi (27:42.94) – Only ranked 250th in the world over 10,000 meters, he’s ranked sixth in cross country after racing six times on the grass in the 2023-2024 season. That’s how he got in.
Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Spain (27:26.57) – Ndikumwenayo raced five times from May 22 to June 28–including a bronze at the European Championships at 10,000 meters and a win at the Spanish nationals at 5,000 meters. He’ll either be sharp or tired.
Yves Nimubona, Rwanda (28:02.23) – Not to discount those who got in based on their cross country ranking (like Nimubona did) but in many cases their track times just don’t suggest they’ll be much of a factor.
Tomoki Ota, Japan. (27:12.53) – Ota earned his way into the field via a runner-up finish at the Japanese Championships and a high-enough world ranking (13th). When he faced a number of the athletes in this field at The Ten back in March…he was 17th.
Abdessamad Oukhelfen, Spain (27:36.23) – Another entrant via the cross country rankings, Oukhelfen would appear to be a bit overmatched in this one.
Yann Schrub, France (27:47.13) – The second French entrant, Schrub is a two-time medalist in this event at the European Championships and could very well outperform his seed time tomorrow.
Adriaan Wildschutt, South Africa (26:55.54) – Wildschutt has been on a tear in 2024, setting PBs at 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters (all national records). After a 14th-place finish at last year’s World Championships, expect the U.S.-based athlete to be a part of the story for an awful long time tomorrow night.
Nico Young, USA (26:52.72) – Despite a long NCAA season that saw him win national titles indoors at both 3,000 and 5,000 meters, Young was able to finish third over 10,000 meters at the U.S. Trials to qualify for Paris. He is rightly considered a prodigy and could very well hang in there even against this field.
MORE ON ADRIAAN (goes by Adrian): If you follow HOKA NAZ Elite closely you know how amazing Adrian’s pro career has been so far. If not, please allow us to share some stats. Adrian signed with NAZ in the summer of 2022 after a successful collegiate career at Coastal Carolina and then Florida State (where he was a runner-up at the NCAA Cross Country Championships). His first two races as a pro were the 2022 World Championships where he was eliminated in the rounds of the 5,000 meters and the Commonwealth Games a few weeks later where he was an impressive fifth in 27:41.04. He officially moved to Flagstaff in 2023 and it’s been one heck of a run since then. He’s raced a total of 11 times, coming away with six wins, four South African national records, a national title, and personal bests/team records at 3,000 (7:36.77), 5,000 (12:56.67) and 10,000 meters (26:55.54). He has quite simply become one of the best distance runners in the world and one of the best South Africans of all time.
Adrian’s preparation for the Games has been very calculated. He and Coach Jack Mullaney planned out his entire season with August 2nd in mind. His only race indoors was a thrilling win in the 5,000 meters at the BU Terrier Classic where he out-kicked fellow Flagstaff resident and now Olympian Nico Young (video here). His 12:56.76 there ended up being the second-fastest indoor 5,000 meter time in the world in 2024. The next time he lined up was at The Ten in March to knock out his Olympic qualifying time. The race ended up being arguably the deepest 10,000 meters on U.S. soil…ever. Adrian finished sixth in 26:55.54, another national record. In April he traveled back to South Africa and won a national title at 5,000 meters over a strong field. He didn’t race again until the end of May at the Oslo Diamond League where he ran 12:56.67 for 5,000 meters, breaking his own national outdoor record. Three days later he broke the 3,000 record, running 7:36.77 to finish sixth at the Stockholm Diamond League.
After the two Diamond League races, Adrian took an easy week before building back up toward the Games. His sessions in Flagstaff in June included a tremendous amount of high-end aerobic work including progressive long runs, 3 x 3 miles, and a double threshold day where he ran 3 x 2 miles in the morning and 20 x 400 in the afternoon. In July, in addition to continued high-end aerobic work, he knocked out a couple of very 10k specific sessions and some serious speed work (including the fastest 600 he’s ever done in training). It all culminated in a trip to New York for some heat and humidity training where he ran a 4k time trial (closing the final 1600 in 4:05) and a smooth 10 mile tempo two days later in 48:46. You can check out all of Adrian’s training courtesy of our partners at Final Surge HERE.
Stay tuned to all of the HOKA NAZ Elite social media accounts for more pre and post-race coverage of Adrian’s race on Friday.