The men's 1500 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The o ...

. The competition was held on Wednesday, July 9, 1924, and on Thursday, July 10, 1924. As for all other races the track was 500 metres in circumference. Forty middle distance runners from 22 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4. The event was won by

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official worl ...

of Finland, the first of his 5 gold medals in 1924. He had previously won 3 gold medals and a silver in 1920 in longer distances and would go on to win another gold and 2 more silvers in 1928; this event would be the shortest distance at which Nurmi won a medal. He would race again in the 5000 metres less than an hour later. Nurmi's victory was Finland's first in the men's 1500 metres. Switzerland also earned its first 1500 metres medal with

Willy Schärer Wilhelm "Willy" Schärer (20 September 1903 – 26 November 1982) was a Swiss middle-distance runner who won a silver medal over 1500 m at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924. The race was won by Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 Jun ...

's silver. The United States missed the podium for the first time, having taken at least bronze in each of the prior six editions of the event.

H. B. Stallard Hyla Bristow Stallard (28 April 1901 – 21 October 1973), published as H. B. Stallard and familiarly known as Henry Stallard, was an English middle-distance runner and ophthalmologist. Stallard was educated at Sherborne School (1914–1919), ...

's bronze gave Great Britain a medal in each of its five appearances, though the nation had not competed in the event in 1896 or 1904.

Background

This was the seventh appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Ninth-place finisher

Léon Fourneau Léon Fourneau (born 17 March 1900, date of death unknown) was a Belgian middle-distance runner. He competed in the 1500 metres at the 1920 Summer Olympics and the 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été ...

of Belgium was the only finalist from the 1920 Games to return.

of Finland was dominant in both middle and long distances; he had broken the world record in the 1500 metres a few weeks before the Olympics. Bulgaria, Egypt, India, Mexico, Poland, and Switzerland each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its seventh 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. The field was larger than in 1920, moving back towards more semifinals with fewer qualifiers from each. Six semifinals were held, with anywhere between 5 and 8 runners in each. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the final, for a 12-man final race.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics. In the final

set a new Olympic record at 3:53.6.

Schedule

Results

Semifinals

All semifinals were held on Wednesday, July 9, 1924. The best two finishers of every heat qualified for the final.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Semifinal 3

Semifinal 4

Semifinal 5

Semifinal 6

Final

The final was held on Thursday, July 10, 1924. Less than 45 minutes after his win in this race Nurmi started in the 5000 metre event and also won that gold medal.

References

External links

Olympic Report
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1924 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 Metres Men's 01500 metres 1500 metres at the Olympics