Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 5000 metres



The men's 5000 metres event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place July 31 and August 2. The final was won by Gaston Reiff of Belgium. The Belgian Gaston Reiff became the Olympic champion ahead of the Czechoslovakian Emil Zátopek. Willem Slijkhuis from the Netherlands won bronze.

Records
Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

The following new Olympic record was set during this competition:

Schedule
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1).

Results
The first four runners from each heat qualified to the final.

Heats
Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Final
Key: DNF = Did not finish, OR = Olympic record