Is the US the best 5,000m country in the world for men? (video)

as someone who came to age running in late 90s / early 2000s, it is crazy to think the USA is now this good at the 5K.

As very ridiculous claim as are you intoxicated as no way as bad journeylism

its gonna be pretty hard to beat the trio of gebrihiwet, kejelcha and aregawi. Fisher can compete (and probably beat) them, but the other american athletes probably cant. The season has just started.

As Hocker Teare will be hard to beat!

The 2025 v 2024 comparison is apples v oranges.

If Ethiopians prioritized running at BU like Americans did and had the funds, they’d double or maybe triple our sub 13 count.

Do these comparisons at the New Year, and then it will be sound.

True. But as Jon points out in the video, they somehow have managed to not medal in the event since 2019.

It's crazy how much drug testing has made an impact on the results.

America is still far from perfect, but it's obvious that Kenya was the most doped up nation aside from Russia. Ethiopia is probably a close third right behind Kenya.

Jakob hasn't broken 13 since 2021.

true. number of sub 13s isn't the best criteria, but as rojo mentioned they haven't medaled since 2019

It's still early in the outdoor season and the US sub-13s were indoors where East Africans didn't run.

Lazy take. Does drug testing only work on men? Does it not work on the roads where Kenya is the best road racing nation? Or in the 800 where they are also quite successful? Does it not work on Ethiopians either when they run crazy fast?
The biggest factor is the US just plain getting better. You could give the embrace of altitude and threshold training a big hand here.
That being said, the Ethiopians have the best 5,000m stable. Their best guys don’t often run the 5,000 in Championships which doesn’t help their medal count. They also are clueless tactically.

I wouldn't just look at sub-13s. Ethiopia had five guys under 12:50 last year, including two under 12:40. Additionally, their runners were #s 1, 2, 4, 5, and 8 on the 2024 fastest times list. They're clearly the best, and it's not close.

That said, as Gault pointed out, Ethiopia's guys have underperformed in 5,000m championship races this decade. Here's their highest finish in the last four championship years:

• 2021: 10th
• 2022: 8th
• 2023: 5th
• 2024: 5th

The U.S. has had a higher finish in three of those four years, including two medalists. So, we have that bragging right over them.

No.

worst post I have ever seen from you.

Disappointing.

-David Christ

This does sound like a hard team to make. Especially when you throw Eric Holt from Empire Elite Track Club in the mix. He is a 3:51 miler and recently ran 8:03 in a 3k at BU, just short of his 7:40 goal. I think when things start clicking for him we could see him steal a spot from guys like Hocker, Fisher, and Young.

If we are talking about depth, Ethiopia is #1 and it's not close. About half of the top ten 5000m runners in the world right now are Ethiopian and with three great teenagers in the mix, they will be a force for years to come. Ethiopia has performed very poorly at global championships, however.

If we are talking about global championship performance, I'd go with Norway, which has won the gold medal in this event in every global championship since 2022. Norway obviously lacks Ethiopia's depth, but did field two finalists at the Olympics last year. Kenya has medaled at the last three global championships, compared theUS with just one medal.

Overall, combining depth and performances at recent global championships (2022-24) as well as the current landscape, I'd rank the countries as follows: Ethiopia, Norway, Kenya, United States.

Wow, this is true including both Worlds and Olympics. Not a single medal in 4 championships since 2019.

Can you really not write better than this?

This is not a mistaken description. The mens Ethiopian championship teams will often race as a team in Oly/WC finals, but they don't have a cohesive plan that is bold and feasible. And even when they do, a veteran like Gebrhiwet manages to blow it because he tries to reinvent the 400m kick of a Olympic 5k by doing it 200m early ...After being at the Oly/WC final almost every year since 2012...Is it bold? Yes. Feasible...NOPE!! He didn't have a feasible plan for this race, after having medaled in Oly/WC 3 times prior.

The most recent great Ethiopian track racers are Ibrahim Jeilan, Muktar Edris. Tamirat Tola followed Jeilan up well at 10k finals for a few years before graduating to and becoming the reigning marathon KING!

Tamirat Tola has no shortcomings tactically.