Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

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Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Olympic Athletics.png
Olympic Athletics
VenueSeoul Olympic Stadium
Dates29 September – 1 October
Competitors59 from 46 nations
Winning time3:35.96
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Peter Rono
 Kenya
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Peter Elliott
 Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Jens-Peter Herold
 East Germany
← 1984
1992 →

The men's 1500 metres event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 59 competitors from 46 nations, with four qualifying heats (59) and two semi-finals (26), before the final (12) took place on Saturday October 1, 1988.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Peter Rono of Kenya, the nation's first title in the event since 1968 and second overall.

Summary[]

This race typified the tactical running of miles and 1500s of this era. Nobody really cared about leading early or pushing the pace. Marcus O'Sullivan took the point by default. The British new guard of Peter Elliott and Steve Cram were just behind Omer Khalifa marking the lead. Just before two laps to go, the Kenyan team decided to change position led by Peter Rono moving out to lane 2 and from dead last running past the entire field into first place. He was soon joined by Joseph Chesire, who served as a Kenyan wall at the front. The first challenge to the wall was Jeff Atkinson, who managed to get around Chesire but could not get past Rono. Cheshire's weakness exposed, the entire pack went around him, everybody aiming to be just off the lead at the bell, the ever-present Steve Scott behind Atkinson, the Britons, with Jens-Peter Herold, Han Kulker and Kipkoech Cheruiyot all jockeying for position behind Rono on the backstretch. Atkinson faded while Elliott, Cram and Herold emerged toward the front, still behind Rono who was watching over his shoulder. Cram poised himself on Elliott's shoulder to make the big move coming off the turn with Scott, Kulker and Cheruiyot showing similar aspirations a step behind. But the only big move was Herold sneaking past Elliott on the inside while Elliott was concerned with Cram on his outside. Nobody's big move really advanced their position, Elliott using his best sprinting to just edge back ahead of Herold by the finish line for silver, Rono untested ahead of everyone.

Background[]

This was the 21st appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five finalists from 1984 returned: silver medalist Steve Cram of Great Britain, fourth-place finisher Joseph Chesire of Kenya, sixth-place finisher Peter Wirz of Switzerland, eighth-place finisher Omar Khalifa of Sudan, and tenth-place finisher Steve Scott of the United States. Sebastian Coe, the two-time defending gold medalist, "was not chosen for the British team" after the British trials. Abdi Bile of Somalia, the 1987 World Champion, withdrew due to a tibial stress fracture. Saïd Aouita of Morocco, who had set the world record in 1985, did compete.[2]

Andorra, Angola, the People's Republic of China, Cyprus, Djibouti, Fiji, Mauritania, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Qatar, and North Yemen each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 20th appearance, most of all nations (having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games).

Competition format[]

The competition was again three rounds (used previously in 1952 and since 1964). The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964 was used for both the first round and semifinals. The 12-man finals introduced in 1984 continued to be used, but the semifinals expanded to 13 runners each.

There were four heats in the first round, each with 15 runners (before one withdrawal left a heat with 14 runners). The top five runners in each heat, along with the next six fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 26 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals, each with 13 runners. The top five men in each semifinal, plus the next two fastest overall, advanced to the 12-man final.[2][3]

Records[]

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics.

World record  Saïd Aouita (MAR) 3:29.46 West Berlin, West Germany 23 August 1985
Olympic record  Sebastian Coe (GBR) 3:32.53 Los Angeles, United States 11 August 1984

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule[]

All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)

Date Time Round
Thursday, 29 September 1988 15:15 Round 1
Friday, 30 September 1988 12:40 Semifinals
Saturday, 1 October 1988 13:10 Final

Results[]

Round 1[]

First 5 of each heat (Q) and next 6 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.

Heat 1[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Steve Cram  Great Britain 3:40.89 Q
2 Steve Scott  United States 3:41.57 Q
3 Rémy Geoffroy  France 3:41.68 Q
4 Joseph Chesire  Kenya 3:41.72 Q
5 Gennaro Di Napoli  Italy 3:41.85 Q
6 Marcus O'Sullivan  Ireland 3:42.01 q
7 Ari Suhonen  Finland 3:43.61
8 José Luíz Barbosa  Brazil 3:44.46
9 Branko Zorko  Yugoslavia 3:45.52
10 Michael Watson  Bermuda 3:46.49
11 Melford Homela  Zimbabwe 3:47.38
12 Hoche Yaya Aden  Djibouti 3:51.56
13 Eugénio Katombi  Angola 3:54.25
14 Modupe Jonah  Sierra Leone 3:55.15
15 Mohamed Ould Khayar  Mauritania 4:12.18

Heat 2[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Kipkoech Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:39.98 Q
2 Mark Deady  United States 3:41.91 Q
3 Mogens Guldberg  Denmark 3:42.01 Q
4 Saïd Aouita  Morocco 3:42.18 Q
5 Mario Silva  Portugal 3:42.24 Q
6 Marcus Rapp  Switzerland 3:42.64
7 David Campbell  Canada 3:42.97
8 Mohamed Suleiman  Qatar 3:44.43
9 Duan Xiuquan  China 3:44.88
10 Pat Scammell  Australia 3:45.21
11 Jama Aden  Somalia 3:49.84
12 Ramón López  Paraguay 3:53.31
13 Kenneth Dzekedzeke  Malawi 4:02.61
14 Bernardo Elonga  Equatorial Guinea 4:16.40
 Liberia DNS

Heat 3[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Peter Rono  Kenya 3:37.65 Q
2 Jeff Atkinson  United States 3:38.33 Q
3 Peter Elliott  Great Britain 3:38.60 Q
4 Markus Hacksteiner  Switzerland 3:39.05 Q
5 Mostafa Lachal  Morocco 3:39.20 Q
6 Rachid Kram  Algeria 3:39.90 q
7 Joaquim Cruz  Brazil 3:40.92 q
8 Mbiganyi Thee  Botswana 3:41.97 q
9 Spyros Spyrou  Cyprus 3:42.32 q
10 Gerry O'Reilly  Ireland 3:43.23
11 Jo Jin-Saeng  South Korea 3:45.63
12 Jan Kubista  Czechoslovakia 3:46.41
13 Moses Zarak Khan  Fiji 4:03.20
14 Awad Saleh Ahmed  North Yemen 4:03.86
15 Johnd Siguria  Papua New Guinea 4:07.04

Heat 4[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Jens-Peter Herold  East Germany 3:40.87 Q
2 Han Kulker  Netherlands 3:40.90 Q
3 Steve Crabb  Great Britain 3:41.12 Q
4 Peter Wirz  Switzerland 3:41.26 Q
5 Omer Khalifa  Sudan 3:41.46 Q
6 Abdelmajide Moncif  Morocco 3:41.73 q
7 Mahmoud Kalboussi  Tunisia 3:43.72
8 Dale Jones  Antigua and Barbuda 3:51.22
9 Hameed Al-Dousari  Saudi Arabia 3:51.53
10 Eulucane Ndagijimana  Rwanda 3:51.61
11 Josep Graells  Andorra 3:52.68
12 Zeki Öztürk  Turkey 3:54.26
13 Douglas Consiglio  Canada 3:55.31
14 Seid Gayaplé  Chad 3:58.46
15 Haribahadur Rokaya  Nepal 4:01.17

Overall results for round 1[]

Rank Heat Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Peter Rono  Kenya 3:37.65 Q
2 3 Jeff Atkinson  United States 3:38.33 Q
3 3 Peter Elliott  Great Britain 3:38.60 Q
4 3 Markus Hacksteiner  Switzerland 3:39.05 Q
5 3 Mostafa Lachal  Morocco 3:39.20 Q
6 3 Rachid Kram  Algeria 3:39.90 q
7 2 Kipkoech Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:39.98 Q
8 4 Jens-Peter Herold  East Germany 3:40.87 Q
9 1 Steve Cram  Great Britain 3:40.89 Q
10 4 Han Kulker  Netherlands 3:40.90 Q
11 3 Joaquim Cruz  Brazil 3:40.92 q
12 4 Steve Crabb  Great Britain 3:41.12 Q
13 4 Peter Wirz  Switzerland 3:41.26 Q
14 4 Omer Khalifa  Sudan 3:41.46 Q
15 1 Steve Scott  United States 3:41.57 Q
16 1 Rémy Geoffroy  France 3:41.68 Q
17 1 Joseph Chesire  Kenya 3:41.72 Q
18 4 Abdelmajide Moncif  Morocco 3:41.73 q
19 1 Gennaro Di Napoli  Italy 3:41.85 Q
20 2 Mark Deady  United States 3:41.91 Q
21 3 Mbiganyi Thee  Botswana 3:41.97 q
22 1 Marcus O'Sullivan  Ireland 3:42.01 q
22 2 Mogens Guldberg  Denmark 3:42.01 Q
24 2 Saïd Aouita  Morocco 3:42.18 Q
25 2 Mario Silva  Portugal 3:42.24 Q
26 3 Spyros Spyrou  Cyprus 3:42.32 q
27 2 Marcus Rapp  Switzerland 3:42.64
28 2 David Campbell  Canada 3:42.97
29 3 Gerry O'Reilly  Ireland 3:43.23
30 1 Ari Suhonen  Finland 3:43.61
31 4 Mahmoud Kalboussi  Tunisia 3:43.72
32 2 Mohamed Suleiman  Qatar 3:44.43
33 1 José Luíz Barbosa  Brazil 3:44.46
34 2 Duan Xiuquan  China 3:44.88
35 2 Pat Scammell  Australia 3:45.21
36 1 Branko Zorko  Yugoslavia 3:45.52
37 3 Jo Jin-Saeng  South Korea 3:45.63
38 3 Jan Kubista  Czechoslovakia 3:46.41
39 1 Michael Watson  Bermuda 3:46.49
40 1 Melford Homela  Zimbabwe 3:47.38
41 2 Jama Aden  Somalia 3:49.84
42 4 Dale Jones  Antigua and Barbuda 3:51.22
43 4 Hameed Al-Dousari  Saudi Arabia 3:51.53
44 1 Hoche Yaya Aden  Djibouti 3:51.56
45 4 Eulucane Ndagijimana  Rwanda 3:51.61
46 4 Josep Graells  Andorra 3:52.68
47 2 Ramón López  Paraguay 3:53.31
48 1 Eugénio Katombi  Angola 3:54.25
49 4 Zeki Öztürk  Turkey 3:54.26
50 1 Modupe Jonah  Sierra Leone 3:55.15
51 4 Douglas Consiglio  Canada 3:55.31
52 4 Seid Gayaplé  Chad 3:58.46
53 4 Haribahadur Rokaya  Nepal 4:01.17
54 2 Kenneth Dzekedzeke  Malawi 4:02.61
55 3 Moses Zarak Khan  Fiji 4:03.20
56 3 Awad Saleh Ahmed  North Yemen 4:03.86
57 3 Johnd Siguria  Papua New Guinea 4:07.04
58 1 Mohamed Ould Khayar  Mauritania 4:12.18
59 2 Bernardo Elonga  Equatorial Guinea 4:16.40
2  Liberia DNS

Semifinals[]

The semifinals were held on Friday September 30, 1988.

Semifinal 1[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Kipkoech Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:38.09 Q
2 Steve Cram  Great Britain 3:38.30 Q
3 Peter Elliott  Great Britain 3:38.56 Q
4 Han Kulker  Netherlands 3:39.06 Q
5 Jeff Atkinson  United States 3:39.12 Q
6 Joseph Chesire  Kenya 3:39.17 q
7 Mogens Guldberg  Denmark 3:39.86
8 Remi Geoffroy  France 3:40.96
9 Rachid Kram  Algeria 3:41.39
10 Spyros Spyrou  Cyprus 3:43.49
Abdelmajide Moncif  Morocco DNF
Peter Wirz  Switzerland DNF
Joaquim Cruz  Brazil DNS

Semifinal 2[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Steve Scott  United States 3:38.20 Q
2 Peter Rono  Kenya 3:38.25 Q
3 Omer Khalifa  Sudan 3:38.40 Q
4 Mario Silva  Portugal 3:38.56 Q
5 Jens-Peter Herold  East Germany 3:38.59 Q
6 Marcus O'Sullivan  Ireland 3:38.84 q
7 Markus Hacksteiner  Switzerland 3:39.18
8 Mark Deady  United States 3:39.47
9 Steve Crabb  Great Britain 3:39.55
10 Mbiganyi Thee  Botswana 3:42.62
11 Gennaro Di Napoli  Italy 3:43.58
12 Mostafa Lachal  Morocco 3:45.65
Saïd Aouita  Morocco DNS

Final[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Peter Rono  Kenya 3:35.96
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Peter Elliott  Great Britain 3:36.15
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Jens-Peter Herold  East Germany 3:36.21
4 Steve Cram  Great Britain 3:36.24
5 Steve Scott  United States 3:36.99
6 Han Kulker  Netherlands 3:37.08
7 Kipkoech Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:37.94
8 Marcus O'Sullivan  Ireland 3:38.39
9 Mario Silva  Portugal 3:38.77
10 Jeff Atkinson  United States 3:40.80
11 Joseph Chesire  Kenya 3:40.82
12 Omer Khalifa  Sudan 3:41.07

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 2, pp. 226–27.

External links[]

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