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 ...

event at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 o ...

had an entry list of 59 competitors from 46 nations, with four qualifying heats (59) and two semi-finals (26), before the final (12) took place on Saturday October 1, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by

Peter Rono Peter Kipchumba Rono (born 31 July 1967) is a former Kenyan athlete, who won the 1,500 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Career Born in Kamobo village, near Kapsabet, Rono won the gold medal at the Africa Cross Country Championships i ...

of Kenya, the nation's first title in the event since 1968 and second overall.

Summary

This race typified the tactical running of miles and 1500s of this era. Nobody really cared about leading early or pushing the pace.

Marcus O'Sullivan Marcus O'Sullivan (born in Cork, Ireland on 22 December 1961) is an Irish retired middle-distance runner. He competed for Ireland at four Summer Olympics. After Steve Scott and John Walker, he is the third all-time by total of sub-4 minute ...

took the point by default. The British new guard of Peter Elliott and Steve Cram were just behind

Omer Khalifa Omer Khalifa (born 18 December 1956) is a Sudanese retired middle distance runner who set a national record of 3:33.28 minutes over 1500 meters in Grosseto of 1986. Prior to this, he won silver medals in the 800 m and 1500 m races at t ...

marking the lead. Just before two laps to go, the Kenyan team decided to change position led by

moving out to lane 2 and from dead last running past the entire field into first place. He was soon joined by

Joseph Chesire Joseph Chesire (born November 12, 1957) is a former Kenyan middle-distance runner who represented his country in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics. He came fourth in Los Angeles and Barcelona. Cheshire also won the 1500 m at the London Gra ...

, who served as a Kenyan wall at the front. The first challenge to the wall was Jeff Atkinson, who managed to get around Chesire but could not get past Rono. Cheshire's weakness exposed, the entire pack went around him, everybody aiming to be just off the lead at the bell, the ever-present Steve Scott behind Atkinson, the Britons, with

Jens-Peter Herold Jens-Peter Herold (born 2 June 1965 in Neuruppin) is a retired German middle-distance runner who participated in several international championships in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the 1987 World Championships he came sixth over 1500 me ...

Han Kulker Johannes ("Han") Nicolaas Maria Kulker (born 15 August 1959 in Leidschendam, South Holland) is a former Dutch middle distance runner, who won a bronze medal at the 1986 European Championships in Athletics in Stuttgart over 1500 metres. The ...

and Kipkoech Cheruiyot all jockeying for position behind Rono on the backstretch. Atkinson faded while Elliott, Cram and Herold emerged toward the front, still behind Rono who was watching over his shoulder. Cram poised himself on Elliott's shoulder to make the big move coming off the turn with Scott, Kulker and Cheruiyot showing similar aspirations a step behind. But the only big move was Herold sneaking past Elliott on the inside while Elliott was concerned with Cram on his outside. Nobody's big move really advanced their position, Elliott using his best sprinting to just edge back ahead of Herold by the finish line for silver, Rono untested ahead of everyone.

Background

This was the 21st appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five finalists from 1984 returned: silver medalist Steve Cram of Great Britain, fourth-place finisher

of Kenya, sixth-place finisher Peter Wirz of Switzerland, eighth-place finisher Omar Khalifa of Sudan, and tenth-place finisher Steve Scott of the United States. Sebastian Coe, the two-time defending gold medalist, "was not chosen for the British team" after the British trials.

Abdi Bile Abdi Bile ( so, Cabdi Bile Cabdi, ar, عبد بلي عبد ; born 28 December 1962) is a former middle distance runner. He holds the highest number of national records in athletics in Somalia across various disciplines. He is currently Somalia' ...

of Somalia, the 1987 World Champion, withdrew due to a tibial stress fracture.

Saïd Aouita Saïd Aouita ( ar, سعيد عويطة; born November 2, 1959) is a former Moroccan track and field athlete. He is the only athlete in history to have won a medal in each of the 800 meters and 5000 meters at the Olympic games. He won the 5000 mete ...

of Morocco, who had set the world record in 1985, did compete. Andorra, Angola, the People's Republic of China, Cyprus, Djibouti, Fiji, Mauritania, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Qatar, and North Yemen each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 20th appearance, most of all nations (having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games).

Competition format

The competition was again three rounds (used previously in 1952 and since 1964). The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964 was used for both the first round and semifinals. The 12-man finals introduced in 1984 continued to be used, but the semifinals expanded to 13 runners each. There were four heats in the first round, each with 15 runners (before one withdrawal left a heat with 14 runners). The top five runners in each heat, along with the next six fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 26 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals, each with 13 runners. The top five men in each semifinal, plus the next two fastest overall, advanced to the 12-man final.Official Report, vol. 2, pp. 226–27.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics. No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (

UTC+10 UTC+10:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +10:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Port Moresby, Dededo, Saipan'' North Asia *Russia – ...

)

Results

Round 1

First 5 of each heat (Q) and next 6 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Overall results for round 1

Semifinals

The semifinals were held on Friday September 30, 1988.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

References

External links

*
Official Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1988 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 Metres 1 1500 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 1988 Summer Olympics