Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1500 m came about as a result of running 3 3⁄4 laps of a 400 m outdoor track or 7 1⁄2 laps of a 200 m indoor track, which were commonplace in continental Europe in the 20th century.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 24 to 28.
The 1500 metres or 1,500-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 kilometers or approximately 15⁄16 miles.
Genzebe Dibaba Keneni ; is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 1500 m at the Beijing World Championships and a silver medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Olympics. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the 1500 m, the indoor 3000 m, the indoor 5000 m, and the indoor mile. Her 2000 m indoor women's world's best time is the absolute world record, as it is faster than the previous women's outdoor mark. Genzebe holds the distinction of possessing the most world records by one individual in track history, with her current haul of seven, plus one world best.
Shannon Rowbury is an American middle-distance runner from San Francisco, California. She represented the United States at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. She also represented the United States at the World Championships in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 winning the bronze medal in the 1500 meters in 2009. On May 2, 2015 at the IAAF World Relays Rowbury was a member of the distance medley relay team that broke the world record. On March 12, 2016 Shannon Rowbury won Women 3000 meters in 8:55.65 at 2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and then went on to become World Indoor Bronze medalist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships behind Genzebe Dibaba and Meseret Defar in the same event. Rowbury was the former American record holder in the 1500 meters, breaking Mary Slaney's 32-year record on July 17, 2015, with a time of 3:56.29. Rowbury competed for Duke University and currently trains under Pete Julian.
Jennifer Simpson is an American middle distance runner and steeplechaser. She represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics. She is a former American record holder for the 3000 metres steeplechase. In the 1500 metres, she won a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
The women's 1500 metres competition was an event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The competition was held at the Olympic Stadium from 6–10 August. The top two finishers were later found to have used prohibited drugs during this period, and subsequently disqualified. The current silver medalist, Tatyana Tomashova, had served a two-year doping ban (2008-2010) for manipulating samples; and the 7th-place finisher Natallia Kareiva and the 9th-place finisher Yekaterina Kostetskaya were later disqualified after being found guilty of doping.
Abeba Aregawi Gebretsadik is an Ethiopian-born middle-distance runner from Tigray, who specialised in the 1500 metres. Her personal best for the event is 3:56.54. Aregawi is the 2013 world champion over 1500 metres. She represented Ethiopia and Sweden internationally.
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon is a Kenyan middle-distance runner and the current Olympic champion in the 1500 m women's having won the Rio Olympics on 16 August 2016. She won the gold medal at the 2017 World Championships and the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Luzhniki Stadium on 11–15 August.
Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She won two gold medals at the 2019 World Championships, in the 1500 metres and 10,000 metres events, becoming the only athlete in history to win both events at a single World Championships or Olympic Games.
The women's 1500 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 12–16 August at the Olympic Stadium.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 27, 28 and 30 August.
The women's 5000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 27 and 30 August. The reigning champion from 2013 Meseret Defar was absent from the competition, having not yet returned from a career break to start a family.
The women's 3000 metres at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on March 20, 2016.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 4−5 and 7 August.
The women's 3000 metres at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on 1 March 2018.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on 2 and 3 March 2018.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 3 to 6 October 2019.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, from 2 to 5 October 2019.
