1978 European Athletics Championships – Men's 5000 metres

None Men's 5000 metres European Athletics Championships 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. European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 – STATISTICS HANDBOOK http://www.european-athletics.org/mm/Document/EventsMeetings/General/01/27/31/44/StatisticsHandbookZ%C3%BCrich2014_Neutral.pdf 427–435 European Athletics Association 13 August 2014 Medalists Gold Venanzio Ortis ITASilver Markus Ryffel SUISilver Aleksandr Fedotkin URS 1955 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 ITA 13:28.52 Markus Ryffel SUI 13:28.60 Aleksandr Fedotkin URS 1955 13:28.60 4 John Treacy IRL 13:28.83 5 Ilie Floroiu ROU 1965 13:29.27 6 Martti Vainio FIN 13:29.67 7 Nick Rose GBR 13:32.8 8 Enn Sellik URS 1955 13:35.8 9 Boris Kuznetsov URS 1955 13:36.5 10 Frank Zimmermann FRG 13:39.1 11 Léon Schots BEL 13:47.4 12 Jörg Peter GDR 13:48.6 13 Karl Fleschen FRG 13:50.3 14 Christoph Herle FRG 13:55.4 15 Fernando Mamede POR 13:58.2 Heats 31 August Heat 1 Rank Name Nationality Time Notes 1 Frank Zimmermann FRG 13:32.42 Q 2 Martti Vainio FIN 13:33.6 Q 3 Léon Schots BEL 13:34.1 Q 4 Jörg Peter GDR 13:34.3 Q 5 Boris Kuznetsov URS 1955 13:34.8 q 6 Brendan Foster GBR 13:38.3 7 Knut Kvalheim NOR 13:43.6 8 Radhouane Bouster FRA 14:09.3 9 John Charvetto GIB 14:18.4 NR 10 Karel Gaba TCH DNF Heat 2 Rank Name Nationality Time Notes 1 Karl Fleschen FRG 13:34.45 Q 2 Fernando Mamede POR 13:34.8 Q 3 Nick Rose GBR 13:35.7 Q 4 Enn Sellik URS 1955 13:36.2 Q 5 Gerard Tebroke NED 13:37.0 6 Fernando Cerrada ESP 1977 13:40.4 7 Pierre Levisse FRA 13:44.1 8 Stanislav Tábor TCH 13:45.0 9 Dietmar Millonig AUT 13:50.4 10 Necdet Ayaz TUR 13:55.7 11 Justin Gloden LUX DNF Heat 3 Rank Name Nationality Time Notes 1 Aleksandr Fedotkin URS 1955 13:24.10 Q 2 Markus Ryffel SUI 13:24.71 Q 3 Venanzio Ortis ITA 13:26.67 Q 4 John Treacy IRL 13:28.85 Q 5 Christoph Herle FRG 13:30.59 q 6 Ilie Floroiu ROU 1965 13:32.5 q 7 Mike McLeod GBR 13:42.9 8 Jerzy Kowol POL 13:49.1 9 Aniceto Simões POR 13:52.1 10 Willy Polleunis BEL 14:24.5 11 Klaas Lok NED DNF Participation According to an unofficial count, 32 athletes from 21 countries participated in the event. 22em AUT (1) BEL (2) TCH (2) GDR (1) FIN (1) FRA (2) GIB (1) IRL (1) ITA (1) LUX (1) NED (2) NOR (1) POL (1) POR (2) ROU 1965 (1) URS 1955 (3) ESP 1977 (1) SUI (1) TUR (1) GBR (3) FRG (3) References Category:5000 metres at the European Athletics Championships Category:Men's events at the 1978 European Athletics Championships