| Final | time | | | 1. Lauri Lehtinen |  Finland | 14:30.0 | OR | | 2. Ralph Hill |  United States | 14:30.0 | | | 3. Lauri Virtanen | Finland | 14:44.0 | | | 4. John Wiiliam Savidan |  New Zealand | 14:49.6 | | | 5. Jean-Gunnar Lindgren |  Sweden | 14:54:7 | | | 6. Max Syring |  Germany | 14:59.0 | | | 7. James Alexander Burns |  Great Britain | 15:04.4 | | | 8. Daniel E. Dean | United States | 15:08.5 | | | 9. Erik Pettersson | Sweden | 15:13.4 | | | 10.John Alexander Hillhouse |  Australia | 15:15.0 | | | 11.Robert Scotty Rankine |  Canada | 15:24.0 | | | 12.Shoichiro Takenaka |  Japan | 17:20.0 | | | -. Paul E. Rekers | United States | DNF | | | -. Roger Rochard |  France | DNF | |
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| | | Venue: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 100,000. | | 18 competitors from 11 nations. |
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| World Record: | 14:17.0 | Lauri Lehtinen |  Finland | Helsinki, Finland June 19, 1932 | | Olympic Record: | 14:31.2 | Paavo Nurmi | Finland | Paris, France July 10, 1924 |
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Heats - Tuesday 02.08 | | First 7 from each Heat advanced to Final. |
| Heat 1 | time | | | 1. Ralph Hill | United States | 14:59.6 | Q | | 2. Lauri Lehtinen | Finland | 15:05.5 | Q | | 3. Jean-Gunnar Lindgren | Sweden | 15:06.0 | Q | | 4. Lauri Joahannes Virtanen | Finland | 15:06.4 | Q | | 5. John William Savidan | New Zealand | 15:08.2 | Q | | 6. John Alexander Hillhouse | Australia | 15:14.0 | Q | | 7. Daniel E. Dean | United States | 15:19.6 | Q | | 8. George William Bailey | Great Britain | | | | 9. Masamichi Kitamoto | Japan | | | | 10.Juan Morales Rodriguez |  Mexico | DNF | |
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| Heat 2 | time | | | 1. James Alexander Burns | Great Britain | 15:25.8 | Q | | 2. Paul E. Rekers | United States | 15:34.6 | Q | | 3. Erik Pettersson | Sweden | 15:36.4 | Q | | 4. Roger Rochard | France | 15:37.8 | Q | | 5. Robert Scotty Rankine | Canada | 15:39.6 | Q | | 6. Max Syring | Germany | 15:48.5 | Q | | 7. Shoichiro Takenaka | Japan | 15:56.0 | Q | | 8. Valentín González Avila | Mexico | 16:00.0 | |
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