Hand timing
(a) Sometimes given as 3:47.5.
(b) Sometimes given as 3:40.5.
The following table shows the European record progression in the men's 1500 metres, as ratified by the EAA. [1] [2]
The current European record is 3:27.14 by Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, pending ratification. The record was set on 16 July 2023 at the 2023 Kamila Skolimowska Memorial. [3]
(a) Sometimes given as 3:47.5.
(b) Sometimes given as 3:40.5.
| Ratified | |
| Not ratified | |
| Ratified but later rescinded | |
| Pending ratification |
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:32.03 (a) | Sebastian Coe |  United Kingdom | Zürich, Switzerland | August 15, 1979 |
| 3:32.09 (a) | Steve Ovett | United Kingdom | Oslo, Norway | July 15, 1980 |
| 3:31.36 | Steve Ovett | United Kingdom | Koblenz, Germany | August 27, 1980 |
| 3:30.77 | Steve Ovett | United Kingdom | Rieti, Italy | September 4, 1983 |
| 3:29.67 | Steve Cram | United Kingdom | Nice, France | July 16, 1985 |
| 3:28.95 | Fermín Cacho |  Spain | Zürich, Switzerland | August 13, 1997 |
| 3:28.81 | Mo Farah | United Kingdom | Monaco | July 19, 2013 |
| 3:28.68 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen |  Norway | Monaco | August 14, 2020 |
| 3:28.32 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | Norway | Tokyo, Japan | August 7, 2021 |
| 3:27.95 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | Norway | Oslo, Norway | June 15, 2023 |
| 3:27.14 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | Norway | Chorzów, Poland | July 16, 2023 |
| 3:26.73 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | Norway | Monaco | July 12, 2024 |
(a) = Timed electronically at a time when records were ratified at intervals of one tenth of a second, these were considered equivalent performances.
The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and is now part of the Diamond League. The meet is one of the few international competitions to host the imperial distances of the Mile run and 2 Mile run.
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".
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to 3 miles 188 yards or 16,404 feet 2 inches. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over 12+1⁄2 laps of a standard 400 m track, or 25 laps on an indoor 200 m track. The same distance in road running is called a 5K run; referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres serves to disambiguate the two events. The 5000 m has been present on the Olympic programme since 1912 for men and since 1996 for women. Prior to 1996, women had competed in an Olympic 3000 metres race since 1984. The 5000 m has been held at each of the World Championships in Athletics in men's competition and since 1995 in women's.
The mile run is a middle-distance foot race.
The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions.
Henrik Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle-distance runner who competes mainly in the 1500 metres. He represented Norway at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. His younger brothers, Filip Ingebrigtsen and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, are also middle-distance runners, the latter of which won the 1500m gold at the 2020 games.
Filip Mangen Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle-distance runner who represents Sandnes Idrettslag. In 2016, Ingebrigtsen became European Champion at 1500 meters during the European Championships in Amsterdam, and took bronze over the same distance at the World Championships in 2017 in London. He previously held the Norwegian 1500m record with the time 3:30.01, set at a Diamond League meet in Monaco on 20 July 2018. At the 2019 London Diamond League Ingebrigtsen finished second to Samuel Tefera in the mile. With a time of 3:49.60 Ingebrigtsen ran a national record and new personal best.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner who is the current world record holder in the short track 1500 metres, the 2000 metres and the 3000 metres, and holds the world best time over the two mile distance. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time Olympic champion, having won gold medals in the 1500 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting what was then an Olympic and European record, and in the 5000 metres at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He is also a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 m in 2022 and 2023 and a six-time European champion, winning gold medals in the 1500 m and 5000 m in 2018, 2022, and 2024. In addition to the 1500 m, Ingebrigtsen holds European records in the mile, 3000 m, and 5000 m.
Josh Kerr is a British middle-distance runner who competes primarily in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2023 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships. Indoors he is the 2024 World Indoor champion in the 3000 metres. He holds the world best time in the short track 2 mile, the European record in the short track mile & 3000 m, and the British record in the outdoor 1500m and mile.
Femke Bol is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in hurdling and sprinting. She specialises in the 400 metres hurdles, where she is the 2023 World Champion, and in the 400 metres, where she is the 2024 World Indoor Champion and the short track world record holder. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team and the 2024 Olympic Champion with the Dutch mixed team.
Cole Hocker is an American middle- and long-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 meters. He won the gold medal in the event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting an Olympic record and a North American area record of 3:27.65.
Yared Nuguse is an American professional middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 meters. He was the 2019 NCAA Division I champion in the event and bronze medalist from the 2024 Summer Olympics. Nuguse is the North American outdoor record holder over the one mile distance, and the North American indoor record holder for the 1500 meters, one mile and 3000 meters.
The following table is an overview of national records in the 1500 metres.
The 2023 Prefontaine Classic was the 48th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Held on 16-17 September at Hayward Field, it served as the finals of 2023 Diamond League – the highest-level international track and field circuit. It was the first time that the Diamond League finals were held in the United States.