Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games:

The 1982 European Champion and 1983 World Champion was Patriz Ilg (FRG) but injuries kept him out of the Olympics. The favorite was Kenyan Julius Korir, who had won the 1982 Commonwealth Games. But he was expected to be challenged by American Henry Marsh, not known for his fast times, but a great racer who usually ran from the back of the pack thru the early laps. On the second lap of the final, a fan leapt from the crowd and tried to start running as the field came to the water jump. He could not keep up and was quickly removed. The pace in the final was slow, set by Peter Renner (NZL) thru the first two kilometers. By the bell lap, Korir led with Marsh on his shoulder. But Korir kicked at 220 metres and pulled away to win the gold medal. Marsh, whose strength had been sapped by a virus in the last few weeks, fell off the pace and out of the medals, finishing fourth.