1978 European Athletics Championships – Men's 5000 metres

2 September Most of this final was run at a slow and tactical pace. 1,000 metres was passed approximately in 2:44, while 2,000 metres took around 5:28. Finland's Martti Vainio, who had stunned many long-distance running fans on the opening day by winning the 10,000-metre race, shared the lead with West Germany's Frank Zimmermann. Only Portugal's Fernando Mamede, a talented but notably nervous runner, started to lose contact at this stage. 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.)

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
	Venanzio Ortis	Italy	13:28.52
	Markus Ryffel	Switzerland	13:28.60
	Aleksandr Fedotkin	Soviet Union	13:28.60
4	John Treacy	Ireland	13:28.83
5	Ilie Floroiu	Romania	13:29.27
6	Martti Vainio	Finland	13:29.67
7	Nick Rose	Great Britain	13:32.8
8	Enn Sellik	Soviet Union	13:35.8
9	Boris Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	13:36.5
10	Frank Zimmermann	West Germany	13:39.1
11	Léon Schots	Belgium	13:47.4
12	Jörg Peter	East Germany	13:48.6
13	Karl Fleschen	West Germany	13:50.3
14	Christoph Herle	West Germany	13:55.4
15	Fernando Mamede	Portugal	13:58.2

31 August