The men's distance events at the 2016 Olympic Games begin with the 10K on Saturday, August 13. Below, catch up on the biggest storylines heading into the 5K and 10K in Rio de Janeiro. 

5,000m

Last three podiums:
2015 Worlds: 1. Mo Farah, 2. Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku, 3. Hagos Gebrhiwet 
2013 Worlds: 1. Mo Farah, 2. Hagos Gebrhiwet, 3. Isiah Kiplangat Koech 
2012 Olympics: 1. Mo Farah, 2. Dejen Gebremeskel, 3. Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa

Team USA with 2016 season's bests
Bernard Lagat (13:14), Hassan Mead (13:04), Paul Chelimo (13:21)

Team Kenya
Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku, Isaiah Kiplangat Koech

Team Ethiopia
Muktar Edris, Dejen Gebremeskel, Hagos Gebrhiwet

2016 World Leaders
1. Mo Farah (Great Britain) -- 12:59
2. Muktar Edris (Ethiopia) -- 12:59
3. Dejen Gebremeskel (Ethiopia) -- 12:59
4. Geoffrey Kamworor (Kenya) -- 12:59
5. Hagos Gebrhiwet (Ethiopia) -- 13:00

How are America's chances?

The U.S. is bringing an exciting squad to the Olympics, highlighted by a jaw-dropping 5K final at the Olympic Trials. 41-year-old Bernard Lagat unleashed a 52-second last lap to overthrow Galen Rupp, and lead Hassan Mead and Paul Chelimo on to their first Olympic team. The victory marked Lagat's fifth qualification to compete at the Games. After the race, Lagat told FloTrack he couldn't remember the last time he kicked so hard and so fast. 



Out of the three American representatives, Lagat's experience and trajectory give him the best chance at a podium finish, and HE'S 41 YEARS OLD! For the past five Olympics, Lagat has found himself either on the podium or in contention for a top-three finish, with the exception of Beijing. 

2000 -- 1500m bronze
2004 -- 1500m silver
2008 -- Didn't make the 1500m final 
2012 -- Fourth in 5K

Lagat has consistently managed to defy the rules of aging, and 2016 has been no exception. For the first time, Lagat focused on a longer distance and took a crack at the 10K. The gamble paid off as he notched an Olympic standard and broke the master's world record with a 27:49 victory at the Payton Jordan Invitational.  

With a strong base of training, Lagat entered the 5K and the 10K at the Trials. Unfortunately, the extreme heat affected him in the 10K, which forced him (and six others) to drop out of the race. But experience and a positive outlook on his favorite event, the 5K, carried him to victory in a tactical, sit-and-kick final. 

After the Trials, Lagat competed in the London Diamond League meeting, where he finished third in 13:14 to Mo Farah and Andrew Butchart. The performance is Lagat's fastest 5K of the season and his fastest time since 2014. 

Mead may lack years of international championship experience, but brings a strong competitive edge to the table. 

His 15th-place finish in the 10K at the 2015 World Championships marked his first international title. He suffered the same fate as Lagat in the 10K, but managed to return for a gutsy runner-up finish in the 5K. Prior to the Trials, he contended with the best in the world in the 5K by finishing sixth at the Prefontaine Classic against a field that could make up a majority of the Olympic 5K final. Muktar Edris of Ethiopia won Pre in 12:59, and was followed by a pack of seven men under 13:05--including Mead, who finished sixth in a season's best of 13:04. 

Chelimo doesn't have the credentials to match Lagat and Mead, but his 2016 performances indicate he can put himself in good position in a championship race. Chelimo showed his racing prowess when he qualified to represent the U.S. at the world indoor championship by finishing second in a personal best of 7:39. He went on to finish seventh in the 3K final. During the outdoor season, Chelimo set a PR of 13:21 in the 5K at the Pre Classic. Although his personal best is nowhere close to the world leaders, Chelimo has a ton of untapped potential. 

Who will win or medal?

Barring disaster, Farah should have this race on lock. The double Olympic champion hasn't lost an international championship race (5K or 10K) since 2012, and is looking fit as ever heading into his third Games. 

Farah recently returned to the London Olympic stadium to capture the world-leading time of 12:59 in a solo victory. The next closest competitor was Butchart, who finished 15 seconds later.



Prior to London, Farah set the national record in the 3K by running 7:32 at the Birmingham Diamond League meeting. 

His biggest competition will come from the lethal Ethiopian and Kenyan squads. Muktar Edris, Dejen Gebremeskel, and Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia all notched season's bests of 13:00 or faster. Edris earned bronze at the world cross country championships last year and competed in the 10K final at the world outdoor championships. Olympic silver medalist Gebremeskel ran a 12:59 PR in a four-person race in Boston alongside teammate Gebrhiwet, who finished second in 13:00. 

Kenya will be represented by world silver medalist Caleb Ndiku, who also the star of his own rap music video, "Run Caleb Ndiku."

Since last winter, Ndiku finished fifth in the 3K at World Indoors, and notched a season's best of 13:12 at Pre. 2013 world bronze medalist Isiah Koech will also be in the mix after notching a season's best of 13:08 at the Pre Classic. 

10,000m

Last Three Podiums:
2015 Worlds: 1. Mo Farah 2. Geoffrey Kamworor, 3. Paul Tanui
2013 Worlds: 1. Mo Farah, 2. Ibrahim Jeilan, 3. Paul Tanui
2012 Olympics: 1. Mo Farah, 2. Galen Rupp, 3. Tariku Bekele

Team USA with 2016 season's bests:
Galen Rupp (27:55), Shadrack Kipchirchir (27:58), Leonard Korir (27:58)

Team Kenya:
Paul Tanui, Geoffrey Kamworor, Bedan Muchiri

Team Ethiopia:
Yigrem Demelash, Abadi Hadis, Tamirat Tola

2016 world leaders:
1. Yigrem Demelash (Ethiopia) -- 26:51
2. Mo Farah (Great Britain) -- 26:53
3. William Malel Sitonik (Kenya) -- 26:54 (not competing)
4. Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia) -- 26:57 (not competing)
5. Abadi Hadis (Ethiopia) -- 26:57

How are America's chances?

The U.S. will be led by seasoned veteran Galen Rupp, who will attempt the otherworldly 10K/marathon double at the Games. The 10K will be the first of the two races, which presents a good opportunity for medal contention. 

Rupp famously earned silver behind his Nike Oregon Project teammate Farah at the 2012 Olympics, but has yet to capture another medal at the world championships since. He just missed the medal stand in 2013 with a fourth-place finish, and again last summer with fifth-place finishes in the 5K and 10K. Although he came up short in the last two international championships, Rupp is training like never before to prepare for these Games. 

John Brant of Runner's World spoke to Rupp and his coach, Alberto Salazar, about their 10K/marathon preparation, which has incorporated a meticulous form of strength training. The disappointment in Beijing last summer prompted the training change, and ultimately, Rupp's transition to the marathon. The jump to 26.2 paid off for Rupp when he won the Olympic Marathon Trials in his first-ever attempt at the distance. At the track Trials in July, Rupp dominated the 10K by winning his eighth U.S. title of his career. He also competed in the 5K, but fell to Lagat's furious kick. 

Rupp's third Games could be his most exciting yet--he gets to compete in his signature event, the 10K, while also testing his abilities against the world's best in a new challenge: the marathon.



Rupp will be joined by American teammates and U.S. Army athletes Shadrack Kipchirchir and Leonard Korir. The latter two competed in the NCAA system, and joined the U.S. Army team to earn their American citizenship. Kipchirchir qualified to represent the United States at last year's world championships, and finished 16th overall. He clocked a season's best of 27:58 at the Stanford Invitational to finish runner-up to Korir, who also ran a season's best of 27:58. Last year, Korir tore it up on the roads, and collected a New York City Half Marathon victory. 

Who will win and who will medal?

Farah should claim the 5K and the 10K victories, but the task could be much more difficult in the longer distance. Last year in Beijing, Farah unleashed a kick that took down the Kenyan trio of Geoffrey Kamworor, Paul Tanui, and Bedan Muchiri, but the Olympic champion had to really work for it as Kamworor led the team who was right on his heels: 27:01.13 to 27:01.76. 

The entire Kenyan team that competed at last year's championship with the hope of dethroning Farah will return again in an attempt to claim gold. A three-time world champion, Kamworor claimed a 5K season's best of 12:59 and won the world half marathon championships in 59:10. Tanui has earned two world championship bronze medals, and recently set a season's best of 27:22 in the 10K. Muchiri owns two world championship silver medals in cross country, and finished second at this year's world half marathon championships. 

World leader Yigrem Demelash leads a stacked Ethiopian team ready to grab at podium spots. Demelash is fresh off setting a world lead and personal best of 26:51 in Hengelo in June. Rio will mark the 2012 world junior champion's first Olympics. The 22-year-old leads Tamirat Tola and Abadi Hadis, who are No. 4 and No. 5 on the world list. Tola notched a personal best of 26:57 on his way to a third-place finish at Pre in May. Hadis also clocked a personal best this year at the Ethiopian Olympic Trials, where he ran 26:57. The 18-year-old not only set a personal best, but a world junior record as well.