Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's 5000 metres
These are the official results of the Men's 5.000 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The final was held on Friday July 30, 1976, after the three qualifying heats were run on Wednesday July 28, 1976. Summary At first, the Soviet Union's Enn Sellik led this final, but then he let the other Soviet runner, Boris Kuznetsov, pass him. Before 400 metres, one of the pre-race favourites, Britain's Brendan Foster, took the lead. He led the field through 1,000 metres in 2:41.25 and at 2,000 metres in 5:26.39. After 2,100 metres, the three-time Olympic champion Lasse Virén of Finland passed Foster, but surprisingly slowed the pace down. He jogged the next two laps in the lead, passing 3,000 metres in 8:16.23. At once after 3,000 metres, Foster accelerated into the lead, sprinting the next 200 metres in about 30 seconds. After that burst of speed, he slowed down, and was passed by West Germany's Klaus-Peter Hildenbrand before 3,400 metres. At that point, Norway's Knut Kvalheim rose to the second place. Around 3,700 metres, Finland's Pekka Päivärinta dropped from the leading group. Before 3,800 metres, Virén accelerated into the second place. After 3,900 metres, Hildenbrand let Virén