The men's 5000 metres at the 1978 European Athletics Championships was held in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, at Stadion Evžena Rošického on 31 August and 2 September 1978.
Medalists Gold Venanzio Ortis Silver Markus Ryffel Silver Aleksandr Fedotkin
Results Final 2 September Most of this final was run at a slow and tactical pace. 1,000 metres was passed in 2:44.6, with the Soviet Union's Enn Sellik leading the race. Soon thereafter, West Germany's Christoph Herle took the lead. His teammate Frank Zimmermann passed Herle before 1,600 metres. Zimmermann led the leading group at 2,000 metres in 5:28.1. Only Portugal's Fernando Mamede, a talented but notably nervous runner, lost contact with the main group already soon after 1,000 metres. Before 3,000 metres, Britain's Nick Rose surged into the lead, dropping West Germany's Christoph Herle, and reaching 3,000 metres in 8:09.5. During the next kilometre, despite the rather slow pace, also West Germany's Karl Fleschen and Frank Zimmermann, East Germany's Jörg Peter, Belgium's Léon Schots, the Soviet Union's Boris Kuznetsov, and his team mate Enn Sellik dropped from the lead group. Vainio was leading at 4,000 metres in 10:53.3. He was followed by Rose, Romania's Ilie Floroiu, Italy's Venanzio Ortis, the Soviet Union's Aleksandr Fyodotkin, Switzerland's Markus Ryffel, and Ireland's John Treacy. Sellik tried to catch the leading group, but could not. At 4,600 metres, reached in about 12:30–12:31, the seven-runner leading group was still tightly together. Around 4,700 metres, Floroiu suddenly rushed past Vainio who could, however, still increase his pace. Rose started to drop from the lead group, and for a few crucial seconds, Treacy lingered behind him. Vainio managed to keep his lead until the second half of the final bend, when Ryffel, Ortis, and Fyodotkin sprinted past him. During the first half of the home straight, also Floroiu and Treacy managed to pass Vainio. While Ortis narrowly but decisively passed Ryffel and Fyodotkin, Treacy kicked past Floroiu, and kept closing in on the three leading runners. Despite his narrow victory, Ortis raised his arms in triumph, while Fyodotkin and Ryffel crossed the finish line so tied that even the finish-line camera could not separate them. This was a very tight finish for a major championship final; the first four runners crossed the line 0.31 seconds apart, the first five runners in 0.8 seconds, and the first six runners in 1.2 seconds.See Tapio Pekola et al. (eds.), EM-Praha 1978 (European Championships in Prague 1978), Kaarina, Finland: Juoksija-lehti (Runner Magazine), 1978; Our Sports' Faces (Urheilumme kasvot), Finland, c. 1978; Steven Mills – YouTube – Men's 5000m final-1978 European Championships; John Treacy Archives https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nh6t6zsUc8
Rank Name Nationality Time Notes Venanzio Ortis 13:28.52 Markus Ryffel 13:28.60 Aleksandr Fedotkin 13:28.60 4 John Treacy 13:28.83 5 Ilie Floroiu 13:29.27 6 Martti Vainio 13:29.67 7 Nick Rose 13:32.8 8 Enn Sellik 13:35.8 9 Boris Kuznetsov 13:36.5 10 Frank Zimmermann 13:39.1 11 Léon Schots 13:47.4 12 Jörg Peter 13:48.6 13 Karl Fleschen 13:50.3 14 Christoph Herle 13:55.4 15 Fernando Mamede 13:58.2
Heats 31 August
Heat 1 Rank Name Nationality Time Notes 1 Frank Zimmermann 13:32.42 Q 2 Martti Vainio 13:33.6 Q 3 Léon Schots 13:34.1 Q 4 Jörg Peter 13:34.3 Q 5 Boris Kuznetsov 13:34.8 q 6 Brendan Foster 13:38.3 7 Knut Kvalheim 13:43.6 8 Radhouane Bouster 14:09.3 9 John Charvetto 14:18.4 NR Karel Gaba DNF
Heat 2 Rank Name Nationality Time Notes 1 Karl Fleschen 13:34.45 Q 2 Fernando Mamede 13:34.8 Q 3 Nick Rose 13:35.7 Q 4 Enn Sellik 13:36.2 Q 5 Gerard Tebroke 13:37.0 6 Fernando Cerrada 13:40.4 7 Pierre Levisse 13:44.1 8 Stanislav Tábor 13:45.0 9 Dietmar Millonig 13:50.4 10 Necdet Ayaz 13:55.7 Justin Gloden DNF
Heat 3 Rank Name Nationality Time Notes 1 Aleksandr Fedotkin 13:24.10 Q 2 Markus Ryffel 13:24.71 Q 3 Venanzio Ortis 13:26.67 Q 4 John Treacy 13:28.85 Q 5 Christoph Herle 13:30.59 q 6 Ilie Floroiu 13:32.5 q 7 Mike McLeod 13:42.9 8 Jerzy Kowol 13:49.1 9 Aniceto Simões 13:52.1 10 Willy Polleunis 14:24.5 Klaas Lok DNF
Participation According to an unofficial count, 32 athletes from 21 countries participated in the event.
(1) (2) (2) (1) (1) (2) (1) (1) (1) (1) (2) (1) (1) (2) (1) (3) (1) (1) (1) (3) (3)
References