The men's 1500 metres event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 59 competitors from 46 nations, with four qualifying heats (59) and two semi-finals (26), before the final (12) took place on Saturday October 1, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Peter Rono of Kenya, the nation's first title in the event since 1968 and second overall.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 15–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Forty-eight athletes from 30 nations competed.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium between 15–19 August. Among the favoured athletes in the event were defending champion Bernard Lagat, European champion Mehdi Baala, and the Kenyan season leaders Asbel Kiprop, Haron Keitany and Augustine Choge.
The men's 1500 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–7 August. Forty-three athletes from 29 nations competed. The event was won by Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria, the nation's first title and medal in the event since 1996. Leonel Manzano's silver was the first medal for the United States in the men's 1500 metres since 1968. Morocco earned its fourth medal in six Games with Abdalaati Iguider's bronze. Kenya's four-Games podium streak ended.
The Men's 1500 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 30 and September 1 & 3.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Luzhniki Stadium on 14–18 August.
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.
The men's 800 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22, 23 and 25 August.
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 men's 5000 metres at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 9−12 August. This race was announced as the last track race of Mo Farah's career as he intends to focus on marathon running and road racing. Farah had been in every final since 2007, winning three straight since 2011.
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 12 August.
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 steeplechase at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 9 and 11 August.
The men's 1500 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 3 and 7 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. Approximately fifty athletes were expected to compete; the exact number depended on how many nations used universality places to enter athletes in addition to the 45 qualifying through time or ranking. 47 competitors from 27 nations competed. Jakob Ingebrigtsen set a new Olympic record on his way to the gold medal, Norway's first medal in the men's 1500 metres. Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya took silver, returning that nation to the podium for the first time since a four-Games medal streak ended in 2008. Josh Kerr earned bronze, Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1988.
The women's 5000 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 30 July and 2 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. Approximately 45 athletes competed; the exact number was dependent on how many nations use universality places to enter athletes in addition to the 42 qualifying through time or ranking.
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 men's 5000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 27 to 30 September 2019.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene from 16 to 19 July 2022.
The men's 5000 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene from 21 to 24 July 2022.
