Athletics at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

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Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the VIII Olympiad
Venue Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir
DatesJuly 9, 1924 (semifinals)
July 10, 1924 (final)
Competitors40 from 22 nations
Winning time3:53.6 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Paavo Nurmi
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Silver medal icon.svg Willy Schärer
Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
Bronze medal icon.svg H. B. Stallard
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
  1920
1928  

The men's 1500 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Wednesday, July 9, 1924, and on Thursday, July 10, 1924. As for all other races the track was 500 metres in circumference. Forty middle distance runners from 22 nations competed. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4.

The event was won by Paavo Nurmi of Finland, the first of his 5 gold medals in 1924. He had previously won 3 gold medals and a silver in 1920 in longer distances and would go on to win another gold and 2 more silvers in 1928; this event would be the shortest distance at which Nurmi won a medal. He would race again in the 5000 metres less than an hour later. Nurmi's victory was Finland's first in the men's 1500 metres. Switzerland also earned its first 1500 metres medal with Willy Schärer's silver. The United States missed the podium for the first time, having taken at least bronze in each of the prior six editions of the event. H. B. Stallard's bronze gave Great Britain a medal in each of its five appearances, though the nation had not competed in the event in 1896 or 1904.

Background

This was the seventh appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Ninth-place finisher Léon Fourneau of Belgium was the only finalist from the 1920 Games to return. Paavo Nurmi of Finland was dominant in both middle and long distances; he had broken the world record in the 1500 metres a few weeks before the Olympics. [2]

Bulgaria, Egypt, India, Mexico, Poland, and Switzerland each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its seventh appearance, the only nation to have competed in the men's 1500 metres at each Games to that point.

Competition format

The competition consisted of two rounds, the format used since 1908. The field was larger than in 1920, moving back towards more semifinals with fewer qualifiers from each. Six semifinals were held, with anywhere between 5 and 8 runners in each. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the final, for a 12-man final race. [2]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of Finland.svg  Paavo Nurmi  (FIN)3:52.6 Helsinki, Finland 19 June 1924
Olympic recordFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Arnold Jackson  (GBR)3:56.8 Stockholm, Sweden 10 July 1912

In the final Paavo Nurmi set a new Olympic record at 3:53.6.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Wednesday, 9 July 192416:00Semifinals
Thursday, 10 July 192414:45Final

Results

Semifinals

All semifinals were held on Wednesday, July 9, 1924.

The best two finishers of every heat qualified for the final.

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 René Wiriath Flag of France.svg  France 4:13.8Q
2 Jaakko Luoma Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4:14.8Q
3 Ferdinand Friebe Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 4:15.8
4 Mohamed El-Sayed Flag of Egypt (1922-1953).svg  Egypt Unknown
5 István Grósz Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946; 3-2 aspect ratio).svg  Hungary Unknown

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Willy Schärer Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 4:06.6Q
2 Douglas Lowe Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 4:07.2Q
3 William Spencer US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 4:08.4
4 Léon Fourneau Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Unknown
5 Pala Singh British Raj Red Ensign.svg  India Unknown
Clifford Davis Red Ensign of South Africa (1912-1951).svg  South Africa DNF

Semifinal 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Paavo Nurmi Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4:07.6Q
2 Sonny Spencer Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 4:09.0Q
3 Albert Larsen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 4:11.5
4 René Jubeau Flag of France.svg  France 4:14.5
5 Aleksander Antson Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Unknown
6 Ferruccio Bruni Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy Unknown
7 Daniel Eslava Flag of Mexico (1916-1934).svg  Mexico Unknown
8 Józef Jaworski Flag of Poland (1919-1928).svg  Poland 4:28.4

Semifinal 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Arvo Peussa Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4:17.4Q
2 Ray Watson US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 4:17.9Q
3 Disma Ferrario Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 4:18.5
4 Jan Zeegers Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 4:21.0
5 Jack Newman Flag of Australia.svg  Australia Unknown
6 Joseph Van der Wee Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Unknown
7 Stefan Kostrzewski Flag of Poland (1919-1928).svg  Poland 4:29.0

Semifinal 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 H. B. Stallard Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 4:11.8Q
2 Ray Buker US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 4:12.8Q
3 Rolph Barnes Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 4:13.1
4 Louis Philipps Flag of France.svg  France 4:13.4
5 Angelo Davoli Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy Unknown
6 Lyuben Karastoyanov Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Unknown

Semifinal 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Lloyd Hahn US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 4:06.8Q
2 Frej Liewendahl Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4:07.4Q
3 Cyril Ellis Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 4:08.1
4 Robert Chottin Flag of France.svg  France 4:14.8
5 Malcolm Boyd Flag of Australia.svg  Australia Unknown
6 Vilém Šindler Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 4:23.6
7 Ömer Besim Koşalay Flag of the Ottoman Empire.svg  Turkey Unknown
Giovanni Garaventa Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy DNF

Final

The final was held on Thursday, July 10, 1924.

Less than 45 minutes after his win in this race Nurmi started in the 5000 metre event and also won that gold medal.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Paavo Nurmi Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 3:53.6 OR
2 Willy Schärer Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 3:55.0
3 H. B. Stallard Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 3:55.6
4 Douglas Lowe Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 3:57.0
5 Ray Buker US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 3:58.6
6 Lloyd Hahn US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 3:59.0
7 Ray Watson US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 4:00.0
8 Frej Liewendahl Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4:00.3
9 Arvo Peussa Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4:00.6
10 René Wiriath Flag of France.svg  France 4:02.8
11 Sonny Spencer Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 4:03.7
12 Jaakko Luoma Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4:03.9

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1924 Paris Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 August 2020.