The European Championship record, which had existed since 1978 , remained unchanged at these European championships.
Preliminary round
August 21, 1998
The preliminary round was carried out in five runs. The first two athletes per run - highlighted in light blue - as well as the six fastest runners - highlighted in light green - qualified for the semi-finals.
In each of the two semi-finals, the first three athletes - highlighted in light blue - and the two fastest runners - highlighted in light green - qualified for the final.
Run 1
Wilson Kirwa was sixth in his semi-final race and was eliminated
Nils Schumann (here in third position in a race in 2008) surprisingly became European champion
Wilson Kipketer (on the photo after his world record the year before) finished eighth in this final after a collision with Schumann in the finish curve