| Final 19:30 |   | time |   |  | 1. Bruce Tulloh |  GBR | 14:00.6 |   |  | 2. Kazimierz Zimny |  POL | 14:01.8 |   |  | 3. Pyotr Bolotnikov |  URS | 14:02.6 |   |  | 4. Lech Boguszewicz |  POL | 14:03.4 |   |  | 5. Michel Bernard |  FRA | 14:03.8 |   |  | 6. John Anderson |  GBR | 14:04.2 |   |  | 7. Siegfried Herrmann |  GDR | 14:05.0 |   |  | 8. Robert Bogey |  FRA | 14:06.8 |   |  | 9. Peter Kubicki |  FRG | 14:11.4 |   |  | 10.Valentin Samoilov |  URS | 14:11.8 |   |  | 11.Yuriy Nikitin |  URS | 14:14.6 |   |  | 12.Miroslav Jurek |  TCH | 14:19.2 |   |   
 | 
| History Men 5000m |  | World and European Record: Kuts (URS) 13:35.0 |   
 |  
|
  Heats - Thursday 13.09 |  | First 4 progress to Final. |   
| Heat 1 |   | time |   |  | 1. Bruce Tulloh |  GBR | 14:14.4 | Q |  | 2. Lech Boguszewicz |  POL | 14:19.2 | Q |  | 3. Siegfried Herrmann |  GDR | 14:20.0 | Q |  | 4. Yuriy Nikitin |  URS | 14:20.2 | Q |  | 5. Sven-Olov Larsson |  SWE | 14:21.2 |   |  | 6. Jean Vaillant |  FRA | 14:36.8 |   |  | 7. Béla Szekeres |  HUN | 14:38.4 |   |  | 8. Eugène Allonsius |  BEL | 14:44.4 |   |  | 9. Fevzi Pakel |  TUR | 14:47.6 |   |  | 10.Jean Aniset |  LUX | 14:48.2 |   |   
 | 
 | 
| Heat 2 |   | time |   |  | 1. John Anderson |  GBR | 14:15.0s | Q |  | 2. Michel Bernard |  FRA | 14:15.6s | Q |  | 3. Valentin Samoilov |  URS | 14:15.8s | Q |  | 4. Kazimierz Zimny |  POL | 14:15.8s | Q |  | 5. Manuel de Oliveira |  POR | 14:16.2s |   |  | 6. István Kiss |  HUN | 14:28.8s |   |  | 7. Josef Tomáš |  TCH | 14:39.4s |   |  | 8. Friedrich Janke |  GDR | 14:41.4s |   |  | -. Ambu |  ITA | DNS |   |   
 | 
 
| Heat 3 |   | time |   |  | 1. Peter Kubicki |  FRG | 13:53.4 | CR Q |  | 2. Pyotr Bolotnikov |  URS | 13:53.4 | CR Q |  | 3. Robert Bogey |  FRA | 13:53.6 | Q |  | 4. Miroslav Jurek |  TCH | 13:53.8 | Q |  | 5. Edward Strong |  GBR | 13:56.4 |   |  | 6. Andrei Barabaş |  ROU | 14:14.2 |   |  | 7. Sándor Iharos |  HUN | 14:41.0 |   |  | 8. Johann Hiestand |  SUI | 15:10.2 |   |  | -. Jim Hogan |  IRL | DNF |   |   
 | 
 | 
 |  
 |