The men's 1,500m metres was an event at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. The final was held on Sunday 10 September 1972 and was contested by 10 athletes. The semi-finals were held on Saturday 9 September 1972 and were contested by 27 athletes. The heats were held on Friday 8 September 1972 and 71 athletes entered, with 66 runners from 46 nations competing. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by

Pekka Vasala Pekka Antero Vasala (born 17 April 1948) is a retired Finnish middle-distance Athletics (sport), athlete who won an Olympic Games, Olympic gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Vasala had a brilliant three-month period in 1972 when h ...

of Finland, the nation's first championship in the 1500 metres since back-to-back wins in 1924 and 1928.

Kipchoge Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a long line of successful m ...

of Kenya came half a second short of becoming the first man to successfully defend Olympic gold in the event; instead, his silver made him just the second man to win two medals of any color in the 1500 metres.

Background

This was the 17th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All three medalists from 1968 (

of Kenya,

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 ...

of the United States, and

Bodo Tümmler Bodo Tümmler (born 8 December 1943) is a German former middle-distance runner. He competed for West Germany at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics in the 1500 meter event, and won a bronze medal in 1968. Biography Tümmler was born in Toruń (Thorn), pa ...

of West Germany) returned, along with two other finalists: sixth-place finisher Jacky Boxberger of France and seventh-place finisher

Henryk Szordykowski Henryk Jan Szordykowski (3 June 1944 – 25 December 2022) was a Polish runner who specialized in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. He was born in Iłowo-Osada and represented the club Wawel Kraków.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 had played a strategic role helping Keino in the 1968 final, but was now a legitimate contender himself) and

Marty Liquori Martin William Liquori (born September 11, 1949) is a retired American Middle distance track event, middle distance Athletics (sport), athlete. Liquori rose to fame when he became the List of high school students who have run a four minute mile, ...

out with injury. A third Kenyan, Mike Boit, was also a challenger, but was more of an 800 metres specialist.

Rod Dixon Rodney Phillip Dixon (born 13 July 1950) is a former New Zealand middle- to long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, and in 1983 won the New York City Marathon. Biography Dixon was ...

of New Zealand and

of Finland were also strong challengers. Sixteen nations made their 1500 metres debut in 1972: Algeria, Burma, Cameroon, East Germany, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Panama, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. The United States made its 17th 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 (used previously in 1952, 1964, and 1968). The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964, but not used in 1968, returned; once again the semifinals were balanced. Now, however, the semifinal heats and final were set at 10 men each, rather than the 8 or 12 previously. There were seven heats in the first round, each with 10 or 11 runners (before withdrawals). The top four runners in each heat, along with the next two fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 30 semifinalists were divided into three semifinals, each with 10 runners. The top three men in each semifinal, plus the fastest fourth-placer, advanced to the 10-man final.Official Report, vol. 3, pp. 51–52.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1972 Summer Olympics. No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are

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(

UTC+1 +01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in: *Central European Time * West Africa Time * Western European Summer Time **Brit ...

)

Results

Round 1

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Both Ryun and Fordjour fell when the latter clipped the former's heel, knocking both out of contention for advancement. The United States appealed, asserting that Ryun was tripped. Although the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) acknowledged that a foul had occurred, U.S. appeals to have Ryun reinstated in the competition were denied.

Heat 5

Heat 6

Heat 7

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Semifinal 3

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 metres 1 1500 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 1972 Summer Olympics