These are the official results of the Women's 1500 metres 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 ...

. The competition was held on 4 of September & 9 of September. This was the first time this distance was held for women at the Olympics.

Lyudmila Bragina Lyudmila Ivanovna Bragina (, born 24 July 1943) is a retired Soviet and Russian middle distance runner. She competed for the Soviet Union in the 1500 m at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics; she won the event in 1972 and finished fifth in 1976. In July ...

had just set the world record a month and a half earlier, knocking two and a half seconds off of Karin Burneleit's previous record. Burneleit was in the field, as were previous record holders Jaroslava Jehličková and Paola Pigni. In the first heat, Bragina improved upon her world record by .4. A step behind her, seventeen year old

Glenda Reiser Glenda Reiser, (16 June 1955 – 6 January 2008) was a Canadian middle-distance runner who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Biography Reiser was born in Ottawa and was a member of the Ottawa Kinsmen Harriers. She switched from swimming to ...

set the world junior record, also running faster than the world record at the start of that race. Reiser's time would also qualify as the World Youth Best. In the first semi final, Reiser was not so lucky, not only did she not run as fast, but she didn't qualify for the final. In the second semi final, Bragina again improved the world record by almost a second and a half, while Jehličková was eliminated. In the final, Berny Boxem was the early leader, while Bragina languished in dead last place. After the first 600 metres, Bragina decided to change that, moving to the outside and running past the field at a quicker tempo. Only long striding Berny Boxem was able to go with her as Bragina opened up a 10-metre lead on the field. After another 300 metres, Boxem began to fade and was quickly swallowed up by the front of the pack led by Sheila Carey. At the bell Ellen Tittel dropped out, collapsing onto the high jump apron while Bragina continued to expand her lead. Gunhild Hoffmeister moved past Carey into second place but they all were losing ground to Bragina. Several places back, Pigni launched into her

kick A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of ...

, passing Burneleit, Keizer, Carey and almost catching Hoffmeister. But Hoffmeister noticed and defended her position, battling to stay ahead. Twice on the home stretch, with her arms flailing, Pigni looked to draw even with Hoffmeister, but each time Hoffmeister edged ahead to take the silver medal. Not only did Bragina set a third consecutive world record, but the next four competitors behind her beat her world record from two days earlier. Even sixth place Keizer was only .06 behind the previous record, at a time when records were only accurate to .1 of a second. In total, eight women ran times in Munich faster than the pre-Olympic world record.

Heats

The top four runners in each heat (blue) and the next two fastest (pink), advanced to the semifinal round.

Heat one

Heat two

Heat three

Heat four

Semifinals

The top four runners in each heat (blue) and the next two fastest (pink), advanced to the final round.

Heat one

Heat two

Final

Key: WR = world record; OR = Olympic record; DNS = did not start; DNF = did not finish

References

External links

Official report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics - Women's 1500 metres Women's 1500 metres 1500 metres at the Olympics 1972 in women's athletics Women's events at the 1972 Summer Olympics