The 1500 metres races were part of the Summer Paralympics program in 1980. The event was contested by both men and women.
| Class | Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | 1980 | Petra Schad  West Germany | Lina Franzese  Italy | Only two competitors |
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente (five) and -athlon (competition). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the long jump, javelin throwing, and discus throwing, followed by the stadion and wrestling. Pentathletes were considered to be among the most skilled athletes, and their training was often part of military service—each of the five events in the pentathlon was thought to be useful in war or battle.
The 1976 Summer Paralympics, branded as Torontolympiad – 1976 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled, was the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were hosted by Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 3 to 11 August 1976, marking the first time a Paralympics was held in the Americas and in Canada. The games began three days after the close of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Kurt Harry Fearnley, is an Australian wheelchair racer, who has won gold medals at the Paralympic Games and crawled the Kokoda Track without a wheelchair. He has a congenital disorder called sacral agenesis which prevented fetal development of certain parts of his lower spine and all of his sacrum. In Paralympic events he is classified in the T54 classification. He focuses on long and middle-distance wheelchair races, and has also won medals in sprint relays. He participated in the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, finishing his Paralympic Games career with thirteen medals. He won a gold and silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and was the Australian flag bearer at the closing ceremony.
Christie Dawes is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair racing athlete. She has won three medals in athletics at seven Paralympics from 1996 to 2021.
Wheelchair racing at the Summer Olympics featured as demonstration competitions at the multi-sport event, appearing within the Olympic athletics programme from 1984 to 2004. On each occasion two track races were held: a men's 1500 metres race and a women's 800 metres race. This was the first time events for disabled athletes have featured at the Summer Olympic Games, with the Paralympic Games being the traditional venue for top level para-athletics. The wheelchair races were the second Olympic exhibition event for disabled athletes, following on from the disabled skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics, held earlier that year.
Ethiopia's participation in the Paralympic Games has been sporadic. The country made its Paralympic début at the 1968 Summer Games in Tel Aviv, sending two competitors who both competed in both athletics and table tennis. Ethiopia was then absent from the Games for almost a decade, returning in 1976 with a one-man delegation Abraham Habte, who entered athletics, lawn bowls and table tennis. In 1980, Habte was again Ethiopia's only representative, this time competing only in lawn bowls. Ethiopia then entered a prolonged period of absence, before sending a single runner to the 2004 Games. In 2008, the country entered a two-man delegation in athletics. In 2012, Wondiye Fikre Indelbu became the first Ethiopian to win a medal in the Paralympic Games, winning a silver in the men's 1500 meters - T46 event in athletics.
Jake Lappin is an Australian para-athlete competing as a wheelchair racer. He represented Australia at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics and at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Michael Roeger is an Australian T46 athletics competitor. He competed at the 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Paralympics in athletics in middle distance and marathon running events. He has won one gold, one silver and four bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships and a silver and bronze medal at the Paralympics. His gold in the Men's T46 marathon at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was held as part of the London Marathon, set a new world record.
Matthew Silcocks is an Australian athletics competitor. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics. He finished sixth in the 1500m, in a time of 3:59.79.
Hannah Lucy Cockroft is a British wheelchair racer specialising in sprint distances in the T34 classification and TV presenter.
Malika Al-Akkaoui is a Moroccan middle-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's 800 metres. At the 2016 Olympics, she competed in the 800 and 1500 m.
Federica Del Buono is an Italian middle-distance runner who competes mainly in track events. She was the bronze medallist in the 1500 metres at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 2015.
Ciara Mageean is a middle-distance runner from Portaferry in Northern Ireland who specialises in the 1500 metres. She is the 2024 European Athletics Championships gold medalist at the distance, the first individual Irish European champion since Sonia O'Sullivan.
Lucas Bruchet is a Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the middle-distance events, predominantly the 5,000m event. He competed in the 5000 metres at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where he finished 8th.
Nathan "Nate" Riech is a Canadian Paralympic athlete who competes in middle-distance running events in international level events. He has a dual citizenship with Canada and the United States.
Ingrid Lauridsen is a Danish TW3 classified wheelchair racer who competed in the Paralympic Games and the IPC Athletics World Championships. She won a silver medal at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem and took six gold medals and one bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Paralympics in New York and Stoke Mandeville. Lauridsen finished third in the women's 800 metres wheelchair event at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome. She took two gold medals and three bronze medals at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul and four silver medals at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona. Lauridsen won three medals at the 1994 IPC Athletics World Championships in Berlin.
Mónica Olivia Rodríguez Saavedra is a Mexican Paralympic athlete who competes in middle-distance running events at international elite competitions. She is a Parapan American Games and World champion in the 1500 metres.
Azeddine Habz is a French middle- and long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.
Nathan Maguire is a British wheelchair racer. He won multiple medals at both the 2018 and 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships, and also won the 400 metres mixed class race at multiple British Athletics Championships. Maguire competed in the 4 × 400 metres relay T53/T54 at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and competed in the 400 metres T54, 800 metres T54 and mixed 4 × 100 metres relay events at the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics. He was part of the British team that won a silver medal in the 2020 Paralympic mixed 4 × 100 metres relay. He also competed for England at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and won the 1500 metres T54 event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
