The men's 10,000 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 30 July 2021 at the Japan National Stadium.

No other athlete showed interest in the early breakaway, allowing Kissa to open up as much as a 70 metre gap on the field in the first mile.

Employing team tactics similar to bicycle racing, the second Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo held the leading position on the pack while world record holder Joshua Cheptegei cruised along near the back of the pack.

After 5 laps, Selemon Barega decided to pull in the breakaway, with Rhonex Kipruto tagging along for the chase.

With the peloton following the bridging duo, Barega fell back to the pack with Kipruto continuing to try to chase down Kissa.

Barega opened up a small gap, chased by the more gangly sprinting of his Ethiopian teammate Berihu Aregawi, indoor mile world record holder Yomif Kejelcha, Kiplimo and Cheptegei.

Kejelcha couldn't handle the speed, Ahmed fell back, leaving only the two Ugandans to chase the two Ethiopians.

Barega crossed the finish line with arms outstretched taking gold over the world record holder, his final lap 53.94.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the period was suspended from 6 April 2020 to 30 November 2020, with the end date extended to 29 June 2021.