The men's

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

middle-distance event at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

took place on August 3 and August 4 at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

. Twenty-four athletes from 14 nations competed. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes.Official Report, p. 377. The event was won by

Luigi Beccali Luigi Beccali (19 November 1907 – 29 August 1990) was the first Italian to win an Olympic gold medal in running, in the 1500 metres at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and the first Italian to win a European Championship title in athletics. Biograp ...

of Italy, earning the nation's first medal in the 1500 metres. Canada also won its first 1500 metres medal, with Phil Edwards's bronze.

Background

This was the ninth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Despite the low attendance in 1932 generally, the 1500 metres had a strong field. Returning finalists from 1928 were Finland's medalists, gold winner Harri Larva and bronze winner Eino Purje, along with sixth-place finisher

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

of Switzerland. Other top runners included Jack Lovelock of New Zealand,

of Italy, Glenn Cunningham of the United States, and Phil Edwards of Canada. Brazil and New Zealand each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its ninth 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. With fewer runners than in previous Games, the number of semifinals was reduced to three (with between 7 and 9 runners each after withdrawals). The top four runners in each heat advanced to the final, maintaining the 12-man final race.Official Report, pp. 417–19.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics. In the final

set a new Olympic record at 3:51.2.

Schedule

Results

Semifinals

Three heats were held; the fastest four runners from each heat advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Semifinal 3

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 metres Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics 1500 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 1932 Summer Olympics