The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost
middle distance track event in
athletics. The distance has been contested at the
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
since 1896 and the
World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately miles. The event is closely associated with its slightly longer cousin, the
mile race
The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race.
The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...
, from which it derives its nickname "the metric mile".
The demands of the race are similar to that of the
800 metres, but with a slightly higher emphasis on aerobic endurance and a slightly lower sprint speed requirement. The 1500 metre race is predominantly
aerobic, but
anaerobic conditioning is also required.
Each lap run during the world-record race run by
Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 in
Rome, Italy
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
averaged just under 55 seconds (or under 13.8 seconds per 100 metres).
1,500 metres is three and three-quarter laps around a 400-metre track. During the 1970s and 1980s this race was dominated by
British runners, along with an occasional
Finn
The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland.
Finn may also refer to:
Places
* Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States
* Finn Township, Logan County, Nor ...
, American, or
New Zealander. Through the 1990s, many African runners began to win Olympic medals in this race, especially runners from
Kenya,
Ethiopia, and East Africa, as well as North African runners from
Morocco and
Algeria. In the 2020s, European runners began to emerge again in the men's event, with
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the youngest of a dynasty of Norwegian middle-distance runners, winning Olympic Gold in 2021, and Scottish and British runner
Jake Wightman winning the World Championship title the following year at the head of an all-European podium.
Faith Kipyegon
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (born 10 January 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in the 1500 metres. A 2016 Rio Olympic and 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion with the Games record at the latter, she is the second woman in history t ...
of Kenya maintained Africa's grip on the global titles in the female event in the same time period, although here again, Europeans
Sifan Hassan and
Laura Muir, and Americans such as
Jenny Simpson also contended for the podium.
In the
Modern Olympic Games, the men's 1,500-metre race has been contested from the beginning, and at every Olympic Games since. The first winner, in 1896, was
Edwin Flack of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, who also won the first gold medal in the 800-metre race. The women's 1,500-metre race was first added to the
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
in 1972, and the winner of the first gold medal was
Lyudmila Bragina of the
Soviet Union. During the Olympic Games of 1972 through 2008, the women's 1,500-metre race has been won by three
Soviets plus one
Russian, one
Italian, one
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
, one
Briton, one
Kenyan, and two
Algerians. The 2012 Olympic results are still undecided as a result of multiple
doping cases. The best women's times for the race were controversially set by
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
runners, all set in the same race on just two dates four years apart at the
Chinese National Games
The National Games of the People's Republic of China (), sometimes known as the All China Games (though not to be confused with the All-China Games), is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually held once every four yea ...
. At least one of those top Chinese athletes has admitted to being part of a doping program. This women's record was finally broken by
Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia in 2015.
In American
high schools
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, the 1,600-metre run, also colloquially referred to as "
metric mile
A metric mile is a colloquial term used in some countries for the 1500 meters, the premier middle distance running event in international track and field. The term 'metric mile' (0.93 statute miles) was applied to this distance because it appr ...
", is the designated official distance by the
National Governing Body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...
the
NFHS. Because of the legacy, since
US customary units are better-known in America, the
mile run (which is 1609.344 metres in length) is more frequently run than the 1,500-metre run. For convenience, national rankings are standardized by converting all 1,500-metre run times to their mile run equivalents.
Strategy
Many 1500 metres events, particularly at the championship level, turn into slow, strategic races, with the pace quickening and competitors jockeying for position in the final lap to settle the race in a final sprint. Such is the difficulty of maintaining the pace throughout the duration of the event, most records are set in planned races led by
pacemakers or "rabbits" who sacrifice their opportunity to win by leading the early laps at a fast pace before dropping out.
Continental records
*Updated 19 August 2021.
All-time top 25
Men
*Correct as of July 2022.
Women
*Correct as of August 2022.
Annulled marks
*
Mariem Selsouli
Mariem Alaoui Selsouli ( ar, مريم علوي سلسولي, born July 8, 1984) is a Moroccan middle- and long-distance runner. She was born in Marrakech.
At the 2009 World Athletics Final in Berlin, Selsouli withdrew from the 1500m final afte ...
(
Morocco) ran 3:56.15 (2012), this performance was annulled due to doping offence.
Olympic medalists
Men
Women
World Championships medalists
Men
Women
European Championships medalists
Men
Women
World Indoor Championships medalists
Men
Women
*
Known as the ''World Indoor Games''
Season's bests
Men
Women
*"i" indicates performance on 200m indoor track
Other sports
1,500 metres is also an event in
swimming,
speed skating, and
wheelchair racing. The world records for the distance in swimming for men are 14:31.02 (swum in a 50-metre pool) by
Sun Yang
Sun Yang (; ; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding competitive swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic swimming gold medal. Sun is the first male swimmer in history to earn Ol ...
, 14:08.06 (swum in a 25-metre pool) by
Gregorio Paltrinieri
Gregorio Paltrinieri (born 5 September 1994) is an Italian competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer. He is a former List of world records in swimming, world record holder in the short course World record progression 1500 metres freestyle, 1500 metr ...
; and by women 15:25.48 (swum in a 50-metre pool)
by
Katie Ledecky
Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. Ledecky's six individual gold medals at ...
, and 15:19.71 (swum in a 25-metre pool) by
Mireia Belmonte García
]
Mireia Belmonte García (born 10 November 1990) is a Spanish Olympic, world, and European champion Swimming (sport), swimmer. She is the world record holder in the short course 200-metre butterfly and 400-metre individual medley. Formerl ...
.
The
List of world records in speed skating, world records for the distance in
speed skating are 1:40.17 by
Kjeld Nuis
Kjeld Nuis (; born in Leiden 10 November 1989) is a Dutch speed skater.
Nuis specializes over the middle distances of 1000 and 1500 meters. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, he won the gold medal at the 1500 m and 1000 m events. At th ...
and 1:49.83 by
Miho Takagi.
The
records for wheelchair racing vary by disability classification:
*
T51: 4:53.50 by
Hélder Mestre Hélder is a given name in Portuguese. The unrelated German-Jewish surname "Helder" is also given the accent in Portuguese, such as the Portuguese poet Herberto Hélder (1930-).
The name is sometimes confused with Heitor. People named Hélder incl ...
*
T52: 3:29.79 by
Raymond Martin
*
T53 and
T54: 2:51.84 by
Brent Lakatos
Notes and references
External links
IAAF list of 1500-metres records in XML
{{DEFAULTSORT:1500 Metres
Events in track and field
Middle-distance running
Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics