Ritola's last Olympic appearance was in the 5,000 m. Both Ritola and Nurmi had hurt themselves in the steeplechase qualification competitions. Nurmi had a sore hip and Ritola a sore ankle. However, Ritola again took the lead at 2,500m. At 600m before the finish, only Ritola and Nurmi were left in the leading group. This time, Ritola pulled away from Nurmi in the final curve and won by 12 metres - 3 seconds. Wide nearly caught Nurmi, and Nurmi only held on to silver by a 0.2s margin. This victory brought Ritola's career total to five Olympic gold medals and three silver medals.