Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games:

A team race had been contested at the 1900 Olympics over 5,000 metres. A 3,000 metre team race was held at the Olympics in 1912, 1920, and 1924. In 1912, the event was decided by teams of five runners each, with the places of the best three runners constituting the team score.

In a major upset in heat one of the first round, the United States defeated Finland, which was led by the redoubtable Hannes Kolehmainen. In the final, the United States won the gold medal, with Sweden second and Britain third. Great Britain’s bronze medal was earned despite the fact that they did not defeat a single team in the event - in round one, they received a walkover, and in the final, they finished last.