The men's 1500 metres event at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

was held on 18 to the 20 of October. Fifty-four athletes from 37 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Kenyan Kip Keino, who beat World record holder

Jim Ryun James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican Party (United States), Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a si ...

, who struggled to adapt to the altitude of Mexico City. It was the first medal for Kenya in the 1500 metres. Ryun's silver was the United States's first medal in the event since 1952. Bodo Tümmler took bronze, the first medal for West Germany as a separate nation. As of 2023, the winning margin of 2.98 seconds remains the only time the men's 1500 metres has been won at the Olympics by more than two seconds since the introduction of fully automatic timing.

Summary

While this Olympics was the emergence of Kenyan runners, Kip Keino was not an unknown quantity, he had won the 1966 Commonwealth Games and 1965 African Championships. In the final, it was

Ben Jipcho Benjamin Wabura Jipcho (1 March 1943 – 24 July 2020) was a track and field Athletics (sport), athlete from Kenya, who won the silver medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1972 Summer Olympics, behind teammate Kipchoge Keino. Jipcho won ...

who took the first lap out fast, with Keino lagging to the back of the field. Keino moved up toward the front, but didn't take the lead until two laps to go. When he moved forward, he did so decisively, creating a 30-meter gap on the field. Ryun was known for his last lap

kicks A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of a ...

. He held back waiting for the bell. At the bell he took off in chase, but Bodo Tümmler was also intent on racing. Ryun was able to beat Tümmler down the backstretch but his last lap kick was no match for the still more than 20 meter lead Keino held onto the final straightaway.

Background

This was the 16th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Two finalists from 1964 returned: silver medalist Josef Odložil of Czechoslovakia and eighth-place finisher Michel Bernard of France. The favourite at the start of the year was

of the United States, a 1964 Olympic semifinalist who had beaten the world record by 2.5 seconds in 1967. But Ryun had a case of

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

during training (particularly damaging because the 1968 Games were at high altitude, requiring specific training and acclimatization), and was only a "slight favorite" by the time of the race. Kip Keino of Kenya had been beaten by Ryun by 4 seconds in a dual meet in July 1967 (the race where Ryun took the world record). Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Morocco, Puerto Rico, and Senegal each made their first appearance in the event; West Germany made its first appearance as a separate nation. The United States made its 16th appearance, the only nation to have competed in the men's 1500 metres at each Games to that point.

Competition format

The competition was again three rounds (a format used previously in 1952 and 1964). The 1968 competition did not use the "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964, resulting in uneven semifinals. The competition also returned to a 12-man final, after two Games used 9 in 1960 and 1964. There were five heats in the first round, each with 11 or 12 runners (before withdrawals). The top five runners in each heat advanced to the semifinals. The 25 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals, one of 12 runners and one of 13. The top six men in each semifinal advanced to the 12-man final.Official Report, vol. 3, p. 523.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1968 Summer Olympics. In the final, Kip Keino set a new Olympic record at 3:34.91.

Schedule

All times are

Central Standard Time The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, and a few Caribbean Islands, Caribbean islands. In parts of that zone (20 states in the US, three provinces or territorie ...

( UTC-6)

Results

Round 1

Top 5 in each heat advance to semifinal.

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Heat 5

Semifinals

Top six in each heat advance to final.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 metres Men's 1500 metres 1500 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 1968 Summer Olympics