Epic Men's 5,000m

Updated with mind-boggling 400m splits and split analysis from the epic Brussels 5,000m race in which 18-year-old Selemon Barega ran the 4th fastest time in history: 12:43.02. 

Special thanks to Track and Field News for making these available to Trackerati. 

Please scroll down for the original post. 

Here are the lap-by-lap 400m splits with the closing 200m; highlighting is mine:

1. 59.4

2. 62.6

3. 62.0

4. 63.4

5. 64.9

6. 61.2

7. 60.7

8. 60.6

9. 60.7

10. 60.5

11. 60.8

12. 58.5

                                                 Last 200m - 27.7

kilometer (1000m) splits
2:31.66
5:11.57
7:44.56
10:15.76

1600m splits
1st 1600m - 4:07.0
2nd 1600m - 4:07.4
3rd 1600m - 4:00.5

Note the difference between the first half of the race and the second.

The average for the first 6 laps is 62.25 seconds per lap.

The average for the last 6 full laps is 60.3 seconds per lap.

The 3rd 1600m split of 4:00.5 is simply astonishing. 
Warm up with a two-mile to the tune of 8:14/15 and then run a 4-minute mile. 

But what for me is the most mind-boggling stat of all is this:

The last 6 laps plus the last half lap = 13 x 200m segments.

These 13 segments (2600m) were run at an average of 29.96 per 200m,
or 59.92 per lap. 

As a point of comparison, in his two-mile world record 7:58.61, Daniel Komen averaged 29.91 per 200m.

4:01.1 average pace per mile for the last six and one-half laps. 

3:59.88 per mile pace for the last 5 laps!

For Barega, this was truly a Komenesque performance.

Special thanks to Jon Mulkeen @Statman_Jon of IAAF for his kind assistance with this update and for providing the final two corrected stats. 

Original Post from 8/31/2018

Staggering Stats from Brussels 

Cyrus Rutto became the answer to a track and field trivia question today.

In the deepest 5,000m in history, who was the only finisher not to set a personal or seasonal best?

That would be young Mr. Rutto of Kenya, whose 13:28.25 left him a staggering 45.23 seconds behind the winner.

And who might that be? 

18-year-old Selemon Barega of Ethiopia, whose stunning 12:43.02 is the world leader, Diamond League record, and - need we say it? - personal best. And this is a World Junior/U-20 record.

Barega is now the #4 performer with the #4 performance of all-time. 

Ahead of him? Legends Daniel Komen, Haile Gebrselassie, and Kenenisa Bekele.

The top five finishers all hail from Ethiopia. Imagine running 12:56.27, as Abadi Hadis did, and being fifth on your team.

Imagine running breaking the 13:00 barrier with 12:59.58, as Ethiopia's Getaneh Yator did, and finishing 8th.

It had been a slow year in the men's 5,000m. No one in the world had broken 13:00 minutes for the distance, though there were some memorably competitive races, especially in championship races.

This was the exceptional championship race, the one in which time was attacked from the start. 

It was 3rd place finisher Yomif Kejelcha who made the race. He upped the ante to a 7:44.56 3000m split, and kept it going with 10:15.76 for 4000m. 

It was evident that the pace was fast, but it was when the clock read 11:44...45... as Kejelcha, Barega, and Hagos Gebrhiwhet stormed by with a lap to go that it became clear that not only would 13:00 be broken, but 12:50 as well. 

Kejelcha used everything in his arsenal to hold off Barega, but in the end, Kejelcha was passed first by Barega and then, in the closing strides, by Gebrhiwhet. 

But credit Kejelcha: without him, no one would be checking all-time lists tonight.

Paul Chelimo (US) made his long-awaited voyage into sub-13:00 territory with his 12:57.55, but it must be said that with Barega over 12 seconds ahead, Chelimo was not part of the competitive conversation of this race.

Let's conclude where we began, with Cyrus Rutto. He finished 13th among the 13 finishers. Of the 12 ahead of him, 9 set personal bests and 3 set seasonal ones.

Who did you say didn't PR/SR in this race?

Selemon Barega Making History in Brussels
Photo Courtesy Diamond League Brussels

Selemon Barega after winning the U20 3000m championship in 2017.
Photo Credit: Getty Images for 2017 IAAF