You need some context. It was over 70f and humid, and that was a night race, so track and stands would have absorbed and radiated a lot of heat. Sweat was pouring off the leaders early on, i.e. not ideal conditions for hammering, and most champ races are tactical so they won't hammer the pace anyways. So running 27 hi is pretty good given all that.
Finishing in 55,say, at a 40min 10k easy run pace bites, but finishing in 55 when most of the speed is last 250, in that heat, is pretty good. Also, the last 800m was about 2min flat, Rupps AR last 800 was 1:58, not much faster, so running 60+, followed by 55, hammering last 220 is harder then just saying "oh, he only finished in 55, that's as lame as his NCAA days".
Cam ran pretty smart as others mentioned, staying at back of pack till near then end. Also he pulled a very alert tactical move with about 220 to go, bursting ahead of backmarker, forcing East Africans to go wide. did anyone see Ahmed stumble with about 300 to go, i think he, and everyone else, was drained from the heat. Also, smaller men, like Kipsiro, have an easier time with heat then bigger men (less volume/mass -> faster cooling), i've seen Cam up close and he's actually pretty muscular/strong compared to most. Maybe his Jewfro acts like cooling fins on a CPU, i'm sure Salazar has worked out that efficiency.
All in all, the finishing order was what it should have been. I think Cam would not be overly happy to move up a medal simply by blocking someone. Kipsiro is known to have a monster kick, and the quicker man won.