| Date | 26 – 28 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Participants | 46 from 25 countries |
After three Olympics in which the women had run 3,000 metres as a shorter distance race, the event was moved up to 5,000 metres in 1996, putting them on a par with the men. The 1995 Worlds had been conducted at 5K, won by Sonia O’Sullivan, but the European Championship would not move up to 5,000 until 1998. O’Sullivan had also won the 1994 European 3K and was favored with Romania’s Gabriela Szabo. Mary Decker-Slaney (USA) was back, still trying for an Olympic medal after her trauma in 1984 and failure in the 1988 final. Unfortunately for her, she would not get out of the heats.
O’Sullivan did not run well in the Atlanta heat and dropped out of the final. Kenya’s Pauline Konga took the lead at 1,000 and held it until two laps to go, when Wang Junxia passed her in the decisive move. Wang held on to win the gold medal, Konga not really challenging her on the last lap, although she would get the silver medal.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wang Junxia |  CHN | 15:24.28 (4 h2) | 14:59.88 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Pauline Konga |  KEN | 15:07.01 (1 h3) | 15:03.49 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Roberta Brunet |  ITA | 15:22.58 (1 h2) | 15:07.52 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Michiko Shimizu |  JPN | 15:23.56 (2 h2) | 15:09.05 (4) | |||
| 5 | Paula Radcliffe |  GBR | 15:23.90 (3 h2) | 15:13.11 (5) | |||
| 6 | Yelena Romanova |  RUS | 15:23.37 (4 h3) | 15:14.09 (6) | |||
| 7 | Elena Fidatov |  ROU | 15:17.89 (2 h1) | 15:16.71 (7) | |||
| 8 | Rose Cheruiyot | KEN | 15:26.87 (5 h2) | 15:17.33 (8) | |||
| 9 | Lynn Jennings |  USA | 15:19.66 (3 h1) | 15:17.50 (9) | |||
| 10 | Amy Rudolph | USA | 15:21.90 (3 h3) | 15:19.77 (10) | |||
| 11 | Sara Wedlund |  SWE | 15:20.61 (5 h1) | 15:22.98 (11) | |||
| 12 | Ayelech Worku |  ETH | 15:21.59 (2 h3) | 15:28.81 (12) | |||
| 13 | Anne Hare |  NZL | 15:22.31 (6 h1) | 15:29.11 (13) | |||
| 14 | Anita Weyermann |  SUI | 15:19.91 (4 h1) | 15:44.40 (14) | |||
| AC r2/2 | Sonia O'Sullivan |  IRL | 15:15.80 (1 h1) | – ( | |||
| 5 h3 r1/2 | Wei Li | CHN | 15:33.49 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/2 | Claudia Lokar |  GER | 15:28.35 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/2 | Silvia Sommaggio | ITA | 15:33.63 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/2 | Petra Wassiluk | GER | 15:37.73 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/2 | Kathy Butler |  CAN | 15:47.50 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h3 r1/2 | Gabriela Szabo | ROU | 15:42.35 (7 h3) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r1/2 | Yang Siju | CHN | 15:40.41 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r1/2 | Merima Denboba | ETH | 15:48.35 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h3 r1/2 | Cristina Petite |  ESP | 15:48.63 (8 h3) | – | |||
| 9 h1 r1/2 | Roseli Machado |  BRA | 15:41.63 (9 h1) | – | |||
| 9 h2 r1/2 | Nina Christiansen |  DEN | 15:56.38 (9 h2) | – | |||
| 9 h3 r1/2 | Zohra Ouaziz |  MAR | 15:55.03 (9 h3) | – | |||
| 10 h1 r1/2 | Lydia Cheromei | KEN | 15:49.85 (10 h1) | – | |||
| 10 h2 r1/2 | Ana Dias |  POR | 15:57.35 (10 h2) | – | |||
| 10 h3 r1/2 | Katy McCandless | IRL | 15:55.66 (10 h3) | – | |||
| 11 h1 r1/2 | Harumi Hiroyama | JPN | 15:50.43 (11 h1) | – | |||
| 11 h2 r1/2 | Stela Olteanu | ROU | 15:58.28 (11 h2) | – | |||
| 11 h3 r1/2 | Irina Mikitenko |  KAZ | 15:57.67 (11 h3) | – | |||
| 12 h1 r1/2 | Isabel Martínez | ESP | 15:59.42 (12 h1) | – | |||
| 12 h2 r1/2 | Jeļena Čelnova |  LAT | 15:59.00 (12 h2) | – | |||
| 12 h3 r1/2 | Yoshiko Ichikawa | JPN | 15:58.90 (12 h3) | – | |||
| 13 h1 r1/2 | Luchia Yishak | ETH | 16:04.29 (13 h1) | – | |||
| 13 h2 r1/2 | Marie McMahon | IRL | 15:59.12 (13 h2) | – | |||
| 13 h3 r1/2 | Sonia McGeorge | GBR | 16:01.92 (13 h3) | – | |||
| 14 h1 r1/2 | Kate Anderson |  AUS | 16:17.83 (14 h1) | – | |||
| 14 h2 r1/2 | Natalie Harvey | AUS | 16:06.45 (14 h2) | – | |||
| 14 h3 r1/2 | Robyn Meagher | CAN | 16:24.49 (14 h3) | – | |||
| 15 h1 r1/2 | Alison Wyeth | GBR | 16:24.74 (15 h1) | – | |||
| 15 h3 r1/2 | Martha Portobanco |  NCA | 18:42.78 (15 h3) | – | |||
| 16 h1 r1/2 | Rachida Mahamane |  NIG | 19:17.87 (16 h1) | – | |||
| Mary Decker-Slaney | USA | [15:41.30] (DQ h2) | – | 1 | |||
| Carolyn Schuwalow | AUS | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| Gwen Griffiths |  RSA | – (DNS h2) | – |
| Date | 26 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 4 in each heat and next three fastest advanced to the final. |
| Time | 19:50 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sonia O'Sullivan | IRL | 15:15.80 | ||
| 2 | Elena Fidatov | ROU | 15:17.89 | ||
| 3 | Lynn Jennings | USA | 15:19.66 | ||
| 4 | Anita Weyermann | SUI | 15:19.91 | ||
| 5 | Sara Wedlund | SWE | 15:20.61 | ||
| 6 | Anne Hare | NZL | 15:22.31 | ||
| 7 | Petra Wassiluk | GER | 15:37.73 | ||
| 8 | Yang Siju | CHN | 15:40.41 | ||
| 9 | Roseli Machado | BRA | 15:41.63 | ||
| 10 | Lydia Cheromei | KEN | 15:49.85 | ||
| 11 | Harumi Hiroyama | JPN | 15:50.43 | ||
| 12 | Isabel Martínez | ESP | 15:59.42 | ||
| 13 | Luchia Yishak | ETH | 16:04.29 | ||
| 14 | Kate Anderson | AUS | 16:17.83 | ||
| 15 | Alison Wyeth | GBR | 16:24.74 | ||
| 16 | Rachida Mahamane | NIG | 19:17.87 |
| Time | 20:20 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roberta Brunet | ITA | 15:22.58 | ||
| 2 | Michiko Shimizu | JPN | 15:23.56 | ||
| 3 | Paula Radcliffe | GBR | 15:23.90 | ||
| 4 | Wang Junxia | CHN | 15:24.28 | ||
| 5 | Rose Cheruiyot | KEN | 15:26.87 | ||
| 6 | Claudia Lokar | GER | 15:28.35 | ||
| 7 | Kathy Butler | CAN | 15:47.50 | ||
| 8 | Merima Denboba | ETH | 15:48.35 | ||
| 9 | Nina Christiansen | DEN | 15:56.38 | ||
| 10 | Ana Dias | POR | 15:57.35 | ||
| 11 | Stela Olteanu | ROU | 15:58.28 | ||
| 12 | Jeļena Čelnova | LAT | 15:59.00 | ||
| 13 | Marie McMahon | IRL | 15:59.12 | 4 | |
| 14 | Natalie Harvey | AUS | 16:06.45 | ||
| Mary Decker-Slaney | USA | [15:41.30] | 5 | ||
| Gwen Griffiths | RSA | – |
| Time | 20:50 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pauline Konga | KEN | 15:07.01 | ||
| 2 | Ayelech Worku | ETH | 15:21.59 | ||
| 3 | Amy Rudolph | USA | 15:21.90 | ||
| 4 | Yelena Romanova | RUS | 15:23.37 | ||
| 5 | Wei Li | CHN | 15:33.49 | ||
| 6 | Silvia Sommaggio | ITA | 15:33.63 | ||
| 7 | Gabriela Szabo | ROU | 15:42.35 | ||
| 8 | Cristina Petite | ESP | 15:48.63 | ||
| 9 | Zohra Ouaziz | MAR | 15:55.03 | ||
| 10 | Katy McCandless | IRL | 15:55.66 | ||
| 11 | Irina Mikitenko | KAZ | 15:57.67 | ||
| 12 | Yoshiko Ichikawa | JPN | 15:58.90 | ||
| 13 | Sonia McGeorge | GBR | 16:01.92 | ||
| 14 | Robyn Meagher | CAN | 16:24.49 | ||
| 15 | Martha Portobanco | NCA | 18:42.78 | ||
| Carolyn Schuwalow | AUS | – |
| Date | 28 July 1996 — 20:45 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wang Junxia | CHN | 14:59.88 | ||
| 2 | Pauline Konga | KEN | 15:03.49 | ||
| 3 | Roberta Brunet | ITA | 15:07.52 | ||
| 4 | Michiko Shimizu | JPN | 15:09.05 | ||
| 5 | Paula Radcliffe | GBR | 15:13.11 | ||
| 6 | Yelena Romanova | RUS | 15:14.09 | ||
| 7 | Elena Fidatov | ROU | 15:16.71 | ||
| 8 | Rose Cheruiyot | KEN | 15:17.33 | ||
| 9 | Lynn Jennings | USA | 15:17.50 | ||
| 10 | Amy Rudolph | USA | 15:19.77 | ||
| 11 | Sara Wedlund | SWE | 15:22.98 | ||
| 12 | Ayelech Worku | ETH | 15:28.81 | ||
| 13 | Anne Hare | NZL | 15:29.11 | ||
| 14 | Anita Weyermann | SUI | 15:44.40 | ||
| Sonia O'Sullivan | IRL | – |
| Time | Athlete(s) | NOC | Result | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 m | Pauline Konga | | 3:06.15 | ||
| 2000 m | Pauline Konga | | 6:08.9 | ||
| 3000 m | Pauline Konga | | 9:08.02 | ||
| 4000 m | Pauline Konga | | 12:05.25 |
