Sir John George Walker, is a former middle-distance runner from New Zealand who won the gold medal in the men's 1500 m event at the 1976 Olympics. He was also the first person to run the mile in under 3:50. In more recent years, Walker has been active in local government, as an Auckland Councillor and representing the Manurewa-Papakura ward.
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.
Stephen Michael James Ovett, is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Ovett set five world records for 1500 metres and the mile run, and a world record at two miles. He won 45 consecutive 1500 and mile races from 1977 to 1980.
Hicham El Guerrouj is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world record holder for the 1500 metres and mile events, and the former world record holder in the 2000 metres. He is the only man since Paavo Nurmi to win a gold medal in both the 1500 m and 5000 metres at the same Olympic Games.
Sonia O'Sullivan is an Irish former track and field athlete. She won a gold medal in the 5000 metres at the 1995 World Championships, and a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 2000 Olympic Games. Her 2000 m world record of 5:25.36, set in 1994 stood until 2017.
Gabriela Szabo is a retired Romanian runner. She competed in the 1500 m and 5000 m events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal.
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. The event is closely associated with its slightly longer cousin, the mile race, from which it derives its nickname "the metric mile".
Daniel Steven Kowalski is an Australian former middle- and long-distance swimmer specialising in freestyle events. He competed in the Olympic Games in 200-, 400- and 1,500-metre individual freestyle events and in the 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, he was the first man in 92 years to earn medals in all of the 200-, 400- and 1500-metre freestyle events. Kowalski, alongside Livinia Nixon, hosted the short-lived TV show Plucka's Place in 1997. Kowalski is perhaps best known for having been a perpetual runner-up to fellow Australians Kieren Perkins and Grant Hackett, who were, respectively, the world's best 1500-metre freestyle competitors during the earlier and later parts of Kowalski's career. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. Daniel's coaches included Denis Cotterell and Bill Nelson.
Lidia Chojecka-Leandro is a retired Polish middle- and long-distance runner who mainly competed in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres. She won bronze medals in the 1500 m at the 1997 and 1999 World Indoor Championships, and for the 3000 m at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. Chojecka is a six-time European Indoor Championships medallist in the 1500 m and 3000 m events, earning three golds and three silvers. She took the double at the 2007 European Indoor Championships, becoming the first runner, male or female, to win both events at the same championships. She had been one of the most consistent middle-distance runners in Europe throughout the 1990s, and finished fifth and sixth in back-to-back Olympic 1500 m finals in 2000 and 2004.
Hudson Santos de Souza is a retired Brazilian middle-distance runner who mostly competed over 1500 metres. He broke a number of South American records in middle-distance events.
The Turnbull Stakes is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race, for horses four years old and older, run under set weights with penalties conditions over a distance of 2,000 metres. The race is held at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in early October. Total prize money is A$1,000,000.
James Nolan is an Irish athletics coach and a former international runner for the Republic of Ireland from 1996 until 2008. He was a two time Olympian who specialized in the 800 metres between 1996 and 2000 before changing to the 1500 metres later that year.
Mark Carroll is a former Irish runner that went to school in The North Monastery, who specialized in the 5000 metres. He was the 1991 European junior champion over 5,000m; 2000 European Indoor champion over 3,000m and won a bronze medal in the 1998 European Championships over 5,000m.
Joyce Esther SmithMBE is a British former long-distance runner. She broke the world record in the 3000 metres in 1971 and is a three-time medallist at the International/World Cross Country Championships, including winning in 1972. She went on to twice win the London Marathon, becoming the first British woman in history to run under 2:30 when winning in 1981 with 2:29:57, before further improving the British record to 2:29:43 when winning in 1982. She also competed in the 1500 metres at the 1972 Munich Olympics and finished 11th in the marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, aged 46.
Robert Tomlinson "Bob" Wheeler, III was an American athlete in track & field who specialized in the mile. Born in Timonium, Maryland, he went to Dulaney High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, and attended Duke University. He represented the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where he ran the 1500 metres. He is still the Duke record holder at the mile (indoor), the 1500 metres (outdoor), and the 1000 metres (indoor), records he ran between 1971 and 1973.
Axumawit Alem Embaye is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner, who specialises in the 1500 metres. She is a two-time World Indoor Championship silver medallist from 2014 and 2022.
Gudaf Tsegay Desta is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She is the current world record holder for 5,000 m (14:00.21), set at the 2023 final Diamond League event, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene is also where she won the World Athletics Championships on 5,000 m in 2022. At the World Athletics Championships, Tsegay also won the gold medal for 10,000 metres in 2023; a bronze for the 1,500 metres in 2019, and silver in 2022. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist in the women's 5,000 metres. She is a two-time World Indoor Championship 1,500 m medallist, claiming bronze in 2016 and gold in 2022. She is also the world indoor record holder for the 1,500 m, setting previously in this event world under-18 (current) and U20 (former) records.
Isireli Naikelekelevesi is a Fijian former middle-distance runner who specialised in the 800 metres. He is the Fijian national record holder in that event.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner. Ingebrigtsen is the current world record holder for the indoor 1500 metres and the 2000 metres, and holds the world best time over the two mile distance. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 metres in 2022 and 2023 and a four-time European champion, winning gold medals in the 1500 m and 5000 m in 2018 and 2022. He also won a gold medal in the 1500 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an Olympic and European record. In addition to the 1500 m, Ingebrigtsen holds European records in the mile and 5000 m, and is one of only three men to run a sub-3:30 1500 m, sub-7:30 3000 m and a sub-12:50 5000 m.
Gaia Sabbatini is an Italian middle distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 2021 European Under-23 Championships. Sabbatini is the Italian indoor record holder for the 1000 metres.
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