Athletics at the 1972 München Summer Games:

For the first time since 1920, a qualifying round was contested. The favorites in the final were Lasse Virén (FIN), Dave Bedford (GBR), and Belgium's Miel Puttemans. Bedford was known for his fast pace-setting though he had little sprint speed. He took the pace out in the final at a world record pace for 4K, and still led at 5K, though the pace was slowing slightly. On the 12th lap, Virén and Mohamad Gammoudi (TUN), the 1964 silver medalist and 1968 bronze medalist, became entangled and fell to the track though they both recovered quickly. At 6K, Virén, having caught the leaders, took over the pace. He began to apply pressure on the penultimate lap, dropping all but Puttemans. Virén ran his last lap in 56.4 to distance Puttemans and win by seven metres in a world record 27:38.35, surely the only track world record set by somebody who fell during the race.