The men's 1500 metre event at the 1928

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

took place between August 1 & August 2. Forty-four athletes from 19 nations competed. NOCs were limited to 4 competitors each.Official Report, p. 374. The event was won by

Harri Larva Harry Edvin "Harri" Larva (born Lagerström; 9 September 1906 – 15 November 1980) was a Finnish athlete who won the 1500 m race at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He never excelled in this event nationally and was the Finnish champion in the 800 m i ...

of Finland, the nation's second consecutive victory in the 1500 metres. France won its first medal in the event since 1900, with Jules Ladoumègue's silver matching the nation's best result.

Background

This was the eighth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Sixth-place finisher Lloyd Hahn of the United States was the only finalist from the 1924 Games to return. Defending champion

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finland, Finnish middle-distance running, middle-distance and long-distance running, long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" because he dominated distance running in th ...

of Finland was in Amsterdam, but competed only in longer distances this Games. Finland was still well-represented, however, as Eino Purje and

were among the favorites, along with Jules Ladoumègue of France and world-record holder

Otto Peltzer Otto Paul Eberhard Peltzer (8 March 1900 – 11 August 1970) was a German middle distance runner who set world records in the 1920s. Over the 800 m Peltzer improved Ted Meredith's long-standing record by 0.3 seconds to 1:51.6 min in London in J ...

of Germany. Argentina and Yugoslavia each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its eighth appearance, the only nation to have competed in the men's 1500 metres at each Games to that point.

Competition format

The competition consisted of two rounds, the format used since 1908. As in 1924, there were six semifinals, this time with anywhere between 6 and 9 runners in each, and once again the top two runners in each heat advanced to the final, for a 12-man final race.Official Report, pp. 417–20.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics. In the final

set a new Olympic record at 3:53.2.

Schedule

Results

Semifinals

The top two runners from each of the six heats advanced to the Final Round.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Semifinal 3

Semifinal 4

Semifinal 5

Semifinal 6

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1928 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 Metres Men's 1500 metre 1500 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 1928 Summer Olympics