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Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

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Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad
VenueStade de France, Paris, France[1]
Dates
  • 2 August 2024 (heats)
  • 3 August 2024 (repechage round)
  • 4 August 2024 (semi-finals)
  • 6 August 2024 (final)
Winning time3:27.65 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Cole Hocker  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Josh Kerr  Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Yared Nuguse  United States
← 2020
2028 →

The men's 1500 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, between 2 and 6 August 2024. This was the 30th time that the men's 1500 metres was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 45 athletes were able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.

Summary

[edit]

Given the rivalry between Norway's Olympic 1500-metre champion, and World 5000-metre champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Great Britain's World 1500-metre champion, and World indoor 3000-metre champion, Josh Kerr, the men's 1500 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics had been billed as a "Race for the Ages" by World Athletics President, middle-distance great, and double Olympic champion over the 'metric mile', Sebastian Coe.[2]

Ingebrigtsen had won the Olympic title three years earlier and his confidence and high expectations had affected his race strategy in recent years. After comfortably winning every race he entered, at the 2022 World Championships, Ingebrigtsen was in the lead of the 1500 metres, expecting to continue to the finish. However, Great Britain's Jake Wightman, who had tracked every move but never put his face in the wind, sprinted around him in the last 200 metres to take the World gold. Ingebrigtsen then entered his secondary event, the 5000 meters, with a chip on his shoulder, where his speed from the shorter distance overwhelmed the distance oriented runners.

Again at the 2023 World Championships, as Ingebrigtsen was in the lead, expecting to continue to the finish and regain his title, Kerr, a clubmate of Wightman since their childhoods, repeated almost exactly the Wightman tactic, tracking Ingebrigtsen while sheltering from the front, before attacking at 200 metres to go and sprinting around to take the gold.

Again Ingebrigtsen entered the 5000 meters with a point to prove, and again he won.

Ingebrigtsen came to a major championship again, the Olympic Games, as the world leader, his 3:26.73 came close to Hicham El Guerrouj's 26 year old world record of 3:26.00. Behind him the reigning World Champion, Kerr who had won the one major race between them that year, the Bowerman Mile; the returning Olympic silver medalist Timothy Cheruiyot, Brian Komen, Yared Nuguse, Cole Hocker, Neil Gourley and World Championship bronze medalist Narve Gilje Nordås.[3] Wightman was injured before the British trials, and had indeed carried injuries since 2022, having been unable to defend his title in 2023. All of the others, however, were in Paris, and qualified safely through the rounds to the final avoiding the repechage.

From the gun, Ingebrigtsen ran around the outside to take the lead as they entered the first turn. This move was immediately shadowed by Cheruiyot, Kerr, Komen, Nuguse, Hocker and Hobbs Kessler largely in a row. This was not to be a slow, strategic race that usually plagues championship finals, 54.9 for the first 400 was one of the fastest in history. On the second lap, Ingebrigtsen kept pushing splitting 1:51.5 opening up a gap stringing out suitors in same order, it had become clear Ingebrigtsen meant to run the race hard and take the sprint legs away from his would-be opponents, as he had done many times on the Diamond League circuit. Although the field was strung out by the infernal pace of the Norwegian, Cheruiyot resolutely tailed the Norwegian, and the other runners were able to take single file shelter behind the two leaders. As a result the line of runners stretched, but did not break.

The clock read 2:33.5 at the bell as the pace did not ease, and at this point Kerr, having sheltered behind the Kenyan while Ingebrigtsen had taken all of the wind, began moving up on the turn. Hocker moved around Nuguse and the Kenyans to get in position for his own ferocious final kick to be effective. As they entered the final turn Hocker started to apply his speed getting close behind. Kerr moved onto Ingebrigtsen's shoulder so Ingebrigtsen instinctively drifted out to make Kerr run farther. Hocker was headed for a hole along the rail but Ingebrigtsen moved back closing the door, leaving Hocker in a box, having to slow to look for an opening. As they entered the home stretch, the expected duel between Kerr and Ingebrigtsen appeared to come to fruition, with the Scotsman once again looking marginally the stronger.

Kerr began to pass Ingebrigtsen, who drifted away from the rail again to ease Kerr off the shortest distance line to the finish, but in doing so, he again opened the inside lane door for the wild card, Hocker, who seeing his chance reappear, sped through with a brutal finishing kick. Ingebrigtsen was by now fading badly from his early exertions, as it became a race of the 'kickers' over the last 50 metres between the American and Kerr, but Hocker now had far more momentum, passing 20 meters before the finish to take gold. As Kerr's kick faded in the last few metres Nuguse, who had missed most of the front-of-race action, kept coming, almost nipping past the disappointed Kerr on the line for silver, the two being separated by only one hundredth of a second, but being rewarded with the Olympic bronze.[4]

Ingebrigtsen, undone by his focus on Kerr and a forlorn attempt to run the legs out of his opponents without the help of the pacemakers who facilitated the tactic on the circuit (while the same opponents were able to use Cheruiyot to pace themselves) faded out of the medals altogether in fourth.

With Hocker's gold and Nuguse's bronze, the 2024 1500 meter final was the first time in 112 years that two Americans made it on the Olympic podium in the event. Another American, Hobbs Kessler, made it into and competed well in the final, finishing 5th in a new personal best. The result edged the United States just ahead of Great Britain on the all-time medal table for the event.

Ingebrigtsen went on to win the 5000 metres four days later.

Background

[edit]

The men's 1500 metres has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the inaugural edition in 1896.

Global records before the 2024 Summer Olympics
Record Athlete (nation) Time (s) Location Date
World record  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 3:26.00[5] Rome, Italy 14 July 1998
Olympic record  Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 3:28.32 Tokyo, Japan 7 August 2021
World leading 3:26.73[6] Fontvieille, Monaco 12 July 2024
Area records before the 2024 Summer Olympics[7]
Area record Athlete (nation) Time (s)
Africa (records)  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 3:26.00 WR
Asia (records)  Rashid Ramzi (BHR) 3:29.14
Europe (records)  Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 3:26.73
North, Central America
and Caribbean
(records)
 Yared Nuguse (USA) 3:29.02
Oceania (records)  Oliver Hoare (AUS) 3:29.41
South America (records)  Hudson de Souza (BRA) 3:33.25

Qualification

[edit]

For the men's 1500 metres event, the qualification period was between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.[8] 45 athletes were able to qualify for the event, with a maximum of three athletes per nation, by running the entry standard of 3:33.50 seconds or faster or by their World Athletics Ranking for this event.[8]

Results

[edit]

Heats

[edit]

The heats were held on 2 August, starting at 11:05 (UTC+2) in the morning.[1] The first 6 in each heat (Q) advanced to the semi-final, while all others (Re) advanced to the repechage round (except DNS, DNF, DQ).

Heat 1

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Josh Kerr  Great Britain 3:35.83 Q, SB
2 Brian Komen  Kenya 3:36.31 Q
3 Narve Gilje Nordås  Norway 3:36.41 Q
4 Anass Essayi  Morocco 3:36.44 Q
5 Yared Nuguse  United States 3:36.56 Q
6 Robert Farken  Germany 3:36.62 Q
7 Jochem Vermeulen  Belgium 3:36.66
8 Samuel Pihlström  Sweden 3:36.80
9 Cathal Doyle  Ireland 3:37.82
10 Mario García  Spain 3:37.90
11 Filip Rak  Poland 3:38.12
12 Ryan Mphahlele  South Africa 3:38.48
13 Oliver Hoare  Australia 3:39.11
14 Abdisa Fayisa  Ethiopia 3:39.67
15 Ossama Meslek  Italy 3:39.96

[9]

Heat 2

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ermias Girma  Ethiopia 3:35.21 Q
2 Cole Hocker  United States 3:35.27 Q
3 Pietro Arese  Italy 3:35.30 Q
4 Niels Laros  Netherlands 3:35.38 Q, SB
5 Timothy Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:35.39 Q
6 Isaac Nader  Portugal 3:35.44 Q
7 Marius Probst  Germany 3:35.65
8 Luke McCann  Ireland 3:35.73
9 Adel Mechaal  Spain 3:35.81
10 George Mills  Great Britain 3:35.99
11 Stewart Mcsweyn  Australia 3:36.55
12 Ruben Verheyden  Belgium 3:36.62
13 Tshepo Tshite  South Africa 3:36.87
14 Charles Philibert-Thiboutot  Canada 3:36.92
15 Maël Gouyette  France 3:37.87

[10]

Heat 3

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Stefan Nillessen  Netherlands 3:36.77 Q
2 Hobbs Kessler  United States 3:36.87 Q
3 Jakob Ingebrigtsen  Norway 3:37.04 Q
4 Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:37.12 Q
5 Neil Gourley  Great Britain 3:37.18 Q
6 Samuel Tefera  Ethiopia 3:37.34 Q
7 Ignacio Fontes  Spain 3:37.50
8 Adam Spencer  Australia 3:37.68
9 Azeddine Habz  France 3:37.95
10 Kieran Lumb  Canada 3:38.11
11 Raphael Pallitsch  Austria 3:38.20
12 Maciej Wyderka  Poland 3:38.79
13 Sam Tanner  New Zealand 3:39.87
14 Federico Riva  Italy 3:41.78
15 Andrew Coscoran  Ireland 3:42.07

[11]

Repechage round

[edit]

The repechage round was held on 3 August, and started at 19:05 (UTC+2) in the evening.[1] The first 3 in each Repechage heat (Q) advanced to the semi-final, while all others were eliminated.

Heat 1

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Cathal Doyle  Ireland 3:34.92 Q
2 Azeddine Habz  France 3:35.10 Q
3 Ossama Meslek  Italy 3:35.32 Q
4 Tshepo Tshite  South Africa 3:35.35
5 Kieran Lumb  Canada 3:35.76
6 Jochem Vermeulen  Belgium 3:36.14
7 Luke McCann  Ireland 3:36.50
8 Marius Probst  Germany 3:36.54
9 Maciej Wyderka  Poland 3:36.79
10 Abdisa Fayisa  Ethiopia 3:36.82
11 Mario García  Spain 3:37.01
12 Stewart Mcsweyn  Australia 3:37.49
13 Raphael Pallitsch  Austria 3:39.32

[12]

Heat 2

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Federico Riva  Italy 3:32.84 Q, PB
2 Charles Philibert-Thiboutot  Canada 3:33.53 Q, SB
3 George Mills  Great Britain 3:33.56 Q
4 Samuel Pihlström  Sweden 3:33.58 PB
5 Oliver Hoare  Australia 3:34.00
6 Adam Spencer  Australia 3:34.45 SB
7 Filip Rak  Poland 3:34.53
8 Ignacio Fontes  Spain 3:35.04
9 Maël Gouyette  France 3:35.42
10 Ruben Verheyden  Belgium 3:36.06
11 Ryan Mphahlele  South Africa 3:36.64
12 Andrew Coscoran  Ireland 3:39.45
13 Sam Tanner  New Zealand 3:40.71
14 Adel Mechaal  Spain 3:42.79

[13]

Semi-finals

[edit]

The semi-finals were held on 4 August, and started at 21:15 (UTC+2) in the evening.[1] The first 6 in each heat (Q) advanced to the final.

Heat 1

[edit]
Yared Nuguse, the 2024 bronze medalist, pictured at the 2023 World Championships.
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Yared Nuguse  United States 3:31.72 Q
2 Hobbs Kessler  United States 3:31.97 Q
3 Neil Gourley  Great Britain 3:32.11 Q
4 Niels Laros  Netherlands 3:32.22 Q
5 Timothy Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:32.30 Q
6 Narve Gilje Nordås  Norway 3:32.34 Q
7 Anass Essayi  Morocco 3:32.49 PB
8 Ossama Meslek  Italy 3:32.77 PB
9 Samuel Tefera  Ethiopia 3:33.02
10 Cathal Doyle  Ireland 3:33.15 PB
11 Charles Philibert-Thiboutot  Canada 3:33.29
12 Azeddine Habz  France 3:34.35

[14]

Heat 2

[edit]
Pre-race favorites Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen pictured at the 2023 World Championships, finishing 2nd and 4th respectively in the 2024 Olympic 1500m final
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Jakob Ingebrigtsen  Norway 3:32.38 Q
2 Josh Kerr  Great Britain 3:32.46 Q
3 Cole Hocker  United States 3:32.54 Q
4 Brian Komen  Kenya 3:32.57 Q
5 Stefan Nillessen  Netherlands 3:32.73 Q, PB
6 Pietro Arese  Italy 3:33.03 Q
7 Robert Farken  Germany 3:33.35
8 Isaac Nader  Portugal 3:34.75
9 Federico Riva  Italy 3:35.26
10 Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:35.32
11 George Mills  Great Britain 3:37.12
12 Ermias Girma  Ethiopia 3:40.27

[15]

Final

[edit]

The final was held on 6 August at 20:50 (UTC+2) in the evening.[1]

The race, as expected, was led by the defending Olympic champion and Olympic record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen nearly wire-to-wire. However in the final 100 metres, Josh Kerr began to move quickly on the outside. As Kerr attempted to pass, Ingebrigtsen drifted slightly from the rail to force Kerr to run wide, allowing Cole Hocker of the United States, known for his finishing kick, to pass on the inside.[16] Kerr appeared to be in position to pull away and win down the home stretch, but Hocker, having run less distance out of the turn, caught him with about 10 metres remaining to win.[17]

Start of the race

Yared Nuguse took third, nearly catching Kerr, with Ingebrigtsen shockingly having finished out of a medal position.

Cole Hocker, the 2024 Olympic Champion, pictured winning the 1500m at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Cole Hocker  United States 3:27.65 OR, AR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Josh Kerr  Great Britain 3:27.79 NR
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Yared Nuguse  United States 3:27.80 PB
4 Jakob Ingebrigtsen  Norway 3:28.24
5 Hobbs Kessler  United States 3:29.45 PB
6 Niels Laros  Netherlands 3:29.54 NR, AU20R
7 Narve Gilje Nordås  Norway 3:30.46 SB
8 Pietro Arese  Italy 3:30.74 NR
9 Stefan Nillessen  Netherlands 3:30.75 PB
10 Neil Gourley  Great Britain 3:30.88
11 Timothy Cheruiyot  Kenya 3:31.35
12 Brian Komen  Kenya 3:35.59

[18]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Paris 2024 - Olympic Schedule - Athletics", Olympics.com. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  2. ^ "'A race for the ages' | Seb Coe revels in Jakob Ingebrigtsen v Josh Kerr in 1500m". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  3. ^ "1500 Metres - men - senior - all - 2024".
  4. ^ "Men's 1500m - Final race analysis" (PDF). Olympics. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  5. ^ "All time Top lists – Senior – 1500 Metres men", World Athletics, 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Season Top Lists – Senior 2024 – 1500 Metres men", World Athletics, 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Records – 1500 Metres men". World Athletics. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b Sean McAlister, "How to qualify for athletics at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained", Olympics.com, 20 December 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Men's 1500m - Round 1 - Heat 1/3 results" (PDF). Olympics. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Men's 1500m - Round 1 - Heat 2/3 results" (PDF). Olympics. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Men's 1500m - Round 1 - Heat 3/3 results" (PDF). Olympics. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Men's 1500m - Repechage - Heat 1/2 results" (PDF). Olympics. 3 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Men's 1500m - Repechage - Heat 2/2 results" (PDF). Olympics. 3 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Men's 1500m - Semi-Final 1/2 results" (PDF). Olympics. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Men's 1500m - Semi-Final 2/2 results" (PDF). Olympics. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Cole Hocker stuns Kerr and Ingebrigtsen to win shock Olympic 1500m gold". Guardian. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  17. ^ Poole, Harry (6 August 2024). "GB's Kerr takes 1500m silver as Hocker claims shock gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Men's 1500m - Final results" (PDF). Olympics. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.