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10,000 

Close to 70,000 spectators endured the sweltering heat at London’s White City to watch the 10,000 final—even though there was no home favorite for this event.  Viljo Heino, the Finnish favorite and world-record holder (29:35.4), was expected to take gold.  However, there was a promising 5,000 runner from Czechoslovakia, Emil Zatopek, who had placed 5^th in the European 5,000 in 1946 and had come within 3 seconds of Heino’s WR three weeks earlier. 

Heino took the lead from the start, although he was not in top form after an injury. He led at a fast pace through the first K in 2:55.6 (29:16 pace). Heino maintained the pace to 2K (5:52) but then slowed a little to 8:31.0 at 3,000. As storm clouds built up in the stifling heat, the Czech runner in a faded orange vest, who had stayed well back in the early laps, moved through the field from 17^th and into the lead on the 10^th lap.  Emil Zatopek was about to put his stamp on distance-running history. His style of running was very unorthodox, with his rolling head and swaying shoulders. His continual grimacing suggested he was always about to crack.  But he didn’t. 

Zatopek wins by over half a lap.

Heino, whose elegant running style contrasted the Czech’s, was back in the lead at the halfway point (14:57). The fast early pace was beginning to tell. When Zatopek went back into the lead, Heino held on to him for six laps. The pace was slowing to 3:05 and 3:03, but Heino was in trouble and he dropped out just before the 7K mark with stomach trouble. For the last eight laps Zatopek was on his own. No doubt initiated by his fellow countrymen, a chant of Za-to-pek, Za-to-pek was soon swirling around the stadium. The new Czech hero ran he last 3K in 8:55 to post a 47-second lead at the end. His time of 29:59.6 was 12 seconds inside the Olympic record. 

Behind Zatopek, Alain Mimoun-o-Kacha was the only one in the top six to run a PB. The Algerian-born Frenchman had a comfortable 6-second margin over Sweden’s Albertsson in becoming the first North African (of many to come!) to win a distance track medal. It would be easy to think that Mimoun had an advantage with the heat, but he went on to show that this fine run was no lucky break. He became one of the great distance runners of the 1950s. 

1. Emil Zatopek CZE 29:59.6; 2. Alain Mimoun FRA 30:47.4; 3. Bertil Albertsson SWE 30:53.6; 4. Martin Stokken NOR 30:58.6; 5. Severt Dennolf  SWE 31:05.0; 6. Abadallah Ben Said FRA 31:07.8.