1500 metres at the Olympics
1500 metres at the Olympic Games | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Sport | Athletics |
Gender | Men and women |
Years held | Men: 1896 – 2016 Women: 1972 – 2016 |
Olympic record | |
Men | 3:28.32 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (2021) |
Women | 3:53.11 Faith Kipyegon (2021) |
Reigning champion | |
Men | Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) |
Women | Faith Kipyegon (KEN) |
The 1500 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 1500 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was not introduced until over seventy years later, but it has been a permanent fixture since it was first held in 1972. The Olympic final and the World Athletics Championship final are the most prestigious 1500 m races at an elite level. The competition format comprises three rounds: a heats stage, semi-finals, then a final typically between twelve athletes.
The 1500 meters was one of four individual events documented exclusively by Olympic documentary filmmaker Bud Greenspan.[1]
The Olympic records for the event are 3:28.32 minutes for men, set by Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 2021, and 3:53.11 minutes for women, set by Faith Kipyegon in 2021. The 1500 metres world record has been broken several times at the Olympics: the men's record was beaten in 1900, 1936, and 1960, while the women's record was improved in 1972 (three times) and in 1980.[2]
Only two athletes have defended the Olympic 1500 m title: Tatyana Kazankina became the first person to win two gold medals in the event in 1980 (repeating her 1976 win) and, soon after, Sebastian Coe became the first man to do so in 1980 and 1984. No athlete of either sex has won more than two medals. Historically, athletes in this event have also had success in the 800 metres at the Olympics. Kelly Holmes was the last athlete to win both events at the same Olympics in 2004. 2012 1500m gold medalist Taoufik Makhloufi made both podiums without winning gold in 2016.
Great Britain is the most successful nation in the event, having won six gold medals and a total of fourteen. Kenya has the next highest number of gold medals, with five, while the United States has the next highest medal total with thirteen. The United States is the only nation to have swept the medals in the event, having done so in St. Louis in 1904, albeit in a final between seven Americans and two foreigners.
Medal summary[]
Men[]
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
1896 Athens |
Edwin Flack Australia |
Arthur Blake United States |
Albin Lermusiaux France |
1900 Paris |
Charles Bennett Great Britain |
Henri Deloge France |
John Bray United States |
1904 St. Louis |
Jim Lightbody United States |
Frank Verner United States |
Lacey Hearn United States |
1908 London |
Mel Sheppard United States |
Harold Wilson Great Britain |
Norman Hallows Great Britain |
1912 Stockholm |
Arnold Jackson Great Britain |
Abel Kiviat United States |
Norman Taber United States |
1920 Antwerp |
Albert Hill Great Britain |
Philip Baker Great Britain |
Lawrence Shields United States |
1924 Paris |
Paavo Nurmi Finland |
Willy Schärer Switzerland |
H. B. Stallard Great Britain |
1928 Amsterdam |
Harri Larva Finland |
Jules Ladoumègue France |
Eino Purje Finland |
1932 Los Angeles |
Luigi Beccali Italy |
Jerry Cornes Great Britain |
Phil Edwards Canada |
1936 Berlin |
Jack Lovelock New Zealand |
Glenn Cunningham United States |
Luigi Beccali Italy |
1948 London |
Henry Eriksson Sweden |
Lennart Strand Sweden |
Willem Slijkhuis Netherlands |
1952 Helsinki |
Josy Barthel Luxembourg |
Bob McMillen United States |
Werner Lueg Germany |
1956 Melbourne |
Ron Delany Ireland |
Klaus Richtzenhain United Team of Germany |
John Landy Australia |
1960 Rome |
Herb Elliott Australia |
Michel Jazy France |
István Rózsavölgyi Hungary |
1964 Tokyo |
Peter Snell New Zealand |
Josef Odložil Czechoslovakia |
John Davies New Zealand |
1968 Mexico City |
Kipchoge Keino Kenya |
Jim Ryun United States |
Bodo Tümmler West Germany |
1972 Munich |
Pekka Vasala Finland |
Kipchoge Keino Kenya |
Rod Dixon New Zealand |
1976 Montreal |
John Walker New Zealand |
Ivo Van Damme Belgium |
Paul-Heinz Wellmann West Germany |
1980 Moscow |
Sebastian Coe Great Britain |
Jürgen Straub East Germany |
Steve Ovett Great Britain |
1984 Los Angeles |
Sebastian Coe Great Britain |
Steve Cram Great Britain |
José Manuel Abascal Spain |
1988 Seoul |
Peter Rono Kenya |
Peter Elliott Great Britain |
Jens-Peter Herold East Germany |
1992 Barcelona |
Fermín Cacho Spain |
Rachid El Basir Morocco |
Mohamed Suleiman Qatar |
1996 Atlanta |
Noureddine Morceli Algeria |
Fermín Cacho Spain |
Stephen Kipkorir Kenya |
2000 Sydney |
Noah Ngeny Kenya |
Hicham El Guerrouj Morocco |
Bernard Lagat Kenya |
2004 Athens |
Hicham El Guerrouj Morocco |
Bernard Lagat Kenya |
Rui Silva Portugal |
2008 Beijing |
Asbel Kiprop Kenya |
Nick Willis New Zealand |
Mehdi Baala France |
2012 London |
Taoufik Makhloufi Algeria |
Leonel Manzano United States |
Abdalaati Iguider Morocco |
2016 Rio de Janeiro |
Matthew Centrowitz Jr. United States |
Taoufik Makhloufi Algeria |
Nick Willis New Zealand |
2020 Tokyo |
Jakob Ingebrigtsen Norway |
Timothy Cheruiyot Kenya |
Josh Kerr Great Britain |
Multiple medalists[]
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sebastian Coe | Great Britain (GBR) | 1980–1984 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2 | Kipchoge Keino | Kenya (KEN) | 1968–1972 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2 | Fermin Cacho | Spain (ESP) | 1992–1996 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2 | Hicham El Guerrouj | Morocco (MAR) | 2000–2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2 | Taoufik Makhloufi | Algeria (ALG) | 2012–2016 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
6 | Luigi Beccali | Italy (ITA) | 1932–1936 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
7 | Bernard Lagat | Kenya (KEN) | 2000–2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
7 | Nick Willis | New Zealand (NZL) | 2008-2016 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medals by country[]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Great Britain (GBR) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
2 | Kenya (KEN) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
3 | United States (USA) | 3 | 7 | 4 | 14 |
4 | New Zealand (NZL) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
5 | Finland (FIN) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
6 | Algeria (ALG) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
7 | Australia (AUS) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
8 | Morocco (MAR) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
9 | Spain (ESP) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
10 | Sweden (SWE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
11 | Italy (ITA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
12= | Ireland (IRL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
12= | Luxembourg (LUX) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
12= | Norway (NOR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
15 | France (FRA) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
16= | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
16= | Germany (GER)[nb] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
18= | Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
18= | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
18= | Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
21 | West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
22= | Canada (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
22= | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
22= | Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
22= | Portugal (POR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
22= | Qatar (QAT) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- nb The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the United Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.
Women[]
Multiple medalists[]
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1= | Tatyana Kazankina | Soviet Union (URS) | 1976–1980 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1= | Faith Kipyegon | Kenya (KEN) | 2016–2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
3 | Gunhild Hoffmeister | East Germany (GDR) | 1972–1976 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
4 | Gabriela Szabo | Romania (ROU) | 1996–2000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medalists by country[]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Soviet Union (URS) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
2 | Kenya (KEN) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
3 | Algeria (ALG) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
4 | Romania (ROU) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
5= | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
5= | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
7 | Italy (ITA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
8 | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
9 | Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
10= | Unified Team (EUN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10= | Turkey (TUR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10= | Ethiopia (ETH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
13= | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
13= | Bahrain (BRN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
13= | China (CHN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
13= | Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
13= | United States (USA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Intercalated Games[]
The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon.[4]
At this event a men's 1500 m was held and the reigning 800 metres and 1500 m champion from the 1904 Olympics, James Lightbody, was the winner. Two 1908 Olympic participants, Britain's John McGough and Sweden's Kristian Hellström were the silver and bronze medalists.[5]
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
1906 Athens |
James Lightbody (USA) | John McGough (GBR) | Kristian Hellström (SWE) |
References[]
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's 1500 metres Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Women's 1500 metres Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Olympic record progressions
- Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Specific
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 549. Archived from the original (pdf) on June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
- ^ On 17 August 2015, the Court of Arbitration for Sport says it approved a settlement agreed to by Turkish athlete Aslı Çakır Alptekin and the IAAF. Alptekin has agreed to forfeit her 1500 metres Olympic title and serve an eight-year ban for blood doping.12 On 29 March 2017, Turkish athlete Gamze Bulut was banned for doping and lost her Olympic silver medal. Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain was advanced to gold, the silver medal was awarded to Tatyana Tomashova of Russia, and the bronze medal was awarded to Abeba Aregawi of Ethiopia. Tomashova was earlier found guilty of doping and missed the 2008 Olympics because of that, and was banned after the Olympics for failing another drug test.3
- ^ 1906 Athina Summer Games. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
- ^ Athletics at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's 1500 metres. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
External links[]
- IAAF 1500 metres homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News
- 1500 metres at the Olympics
- 1500 metres
- Athletics events at the Olympics