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.
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5000 m.
The 400 metres, or 400-metre dash, is a sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440-yard dash (402.336 m)—which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the 'quarter-mile'—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.
Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat is a Kenyan-American middle and long-distance runner.
The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the World Indoor Games in 1985 in Paris, France and were subsequently renamed to IAAF World Indoor Championships in 1987. The current name was adapted with the name change of the sports governing body in 2019.
Yuriy Mikhailovich Borzakovskiy is a Russian middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 metres.
Duane Renard Solomon is a retired American Olympic track athlete, primarily known for racing the 800 meters. He ran for his home country in the IAAF World Championships in 2007 and 2013 as well as in the 2012 Olympic Games. He also took the gold medal at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Under 23 Championships in 2006.
Matthew Centrowitz Jr. is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 meters. He became a prominent figure in U.S. running when he won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. A seasoned competitor with a potent finishing kick, he competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 1500 meters—where he finished 4th by only 0.04 seconds. At the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Centrowitz improved on his bronze medal performance with a silver in the same event. At the 2016 World Indoor Championships, he won his first major international championship in the 1500 meters. He then won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with the slowest winning time since 1932, becoming the first U.S. runner to win the event since 1908.
Erik Sowinski is an American middle-distance runner. He competed in the 800 metres event at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships and 2015 World Championships. He holds the former American indoor record in the 600 meters.
The men's 1500 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 16–20 August at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Forty-two athletes from 26 nations competed. The event was won by Matthew Centrowitz, Jr. of the United States, the nation's first title in the event since 1908 and third overall. Taoufik Makhloufi and Nick Willis became the seventh and eighth men to win a second medal in the event, with Willis the only one to do so in non-consecutive Games.
Craig Engels is an American middle-distance runner. He competed for the United States at the 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, where he won the men's 1500 meters. In the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Engels was focused on making the semi-finals of the 800m and was listed as an alternate for the 1500m. He finished 4th in the 800m final and 5th in the 1500m final, barely missing out on the Olympics in both events.
The World Athletics Indoor Tour, formerly the IAAF World Indoor Tour, is an annual series of indoor track and field meetings, held since 2016. It was designed to create an IAAF Diamond League-style circuit for indoor track and field events, to raise the profile of indoor track and field, and replaced the IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings series.
The women's 800 metres at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on March 19 and 20, 2016.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on March 18 and 20, 2016.
The women's pentathlon at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on March 18, 2016.
The masters women's 800 metres was an exhibition event for women in the W55 division at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships held on 19 March 2016.
Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo is an Kenyan–born American track and field athlete. He is the 2016 Olympic silver medalist at 5000 meters.
The men's 400 metres at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on 2 and 3 March 2018.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on 3 and 4 March 2018.
The men's 800 metres at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on 2 and 3 March 2018.
