The men's
1500 metres
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 since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...
was a
middle-distance running
Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...
event on the
athletics programme at the
1900 Summer Olympics
The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. It was held on July 15, 1900. The race was held on a track of 500 metres in circumference. Nine athletes from six nations competed.
The event was won by
Charles Bennett of Great Britain, the nation's first medal in the brief history of the event.
Background
This was the second appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the runners from 1896 returned.
John Bray of the United States was the unofficial world record holder, but the field was otherwise undistinguished.
John Cregan,
Alexander Grant, and
George Orton
George Washington F. Orton (January 10, 1873 – June 24, 1958) was a Canadian middle and long-distance runner. In 1900, he became the first Canadian to win a medal at an Olympic Games. He won a bronze in the 400 metre hurdles, and then, 45 ...
were among the top runners at the distance and competed in the 1900 Games in other events, but did not run the 1500 metres (possibly due to the event being held on a Sunday.)
Austria, Bohemia, Denmark, and Great Britain made their first appearance in the event. France and the United States were the only two countries to have previously competed in 1896 and return in 1900.
Competition format
The competition consisted of a single round, with one three-lap race around the 500-metre stadium.
[
]
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics.
Charles Bennett set a new Olympic record and a new unofficial world record at 4:06.2.
Schedule
Results
Bennett Bennett may refer to:
People
*Bennett (name), including a list of people with the surname and given name
Places Canada
* Bennett, Alberta
*Bennett, British Columbia
*Bennett Lake, in the British Columbia and Yukon Territory
** Bennett Range
** Ben ...
, who had led the entire distance by a small margin over Deloge, broke off in the final lap, and ran last 500 metres in a time of 1:10.2 to set an unofficial world record, finishing five yards ahead of Deloge. John Bray edged out David Hall by two yards.
References
Sources
International Olympic Committee
* De Wael, Herman. ''Herman's Full Olympians'': "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically a
.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 metres
Men's 1500 metres
1500 metres at the Olympics