The Greatest Race You’ve Never Heard Of
By Jonathan Gault
February 1, 2015
(Editor’s note: Sunday, February 1, 2015, marks the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest race finishes in track and field history – the final of the 1990 Commonwealth Games 5000. We became aware of the race while reading this messageboard thread last year: Best come from behind wins ever – and decided to the research necessary to tell the story of the epic race).
As the 14 finalists toed the line on February 1, 1990, for the final of the men’s 5,000 meters at the Commonwealth Games, there was no indication that the fans in Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium were about to witness one of the most exciting races of all time. A Kenyan sweep seemed the most likely outcome: Kenyan