Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres
| Men's 1500 metres at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad | |
|---|---|
| File:Olympic Athletics.png Olympic Athletics | |
| Venue | Centennial Olympic Stadium |
| Dates | 29 July 1996 (heats) 1 August 1996 (semi-finals) 3 August 1996 (final) |
| Competitors | 57 from 37 nations |
| Winning time | 3:35.78 |
| Medalists | |
| Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Olympic Athletics.png | ||
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | men | women |
| 1500 m | men | women |
| 5000 m | men | women |
| 10,000 m | men | women |
| 100 m hurdles | women | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 400 m hurdles | men | women |
| 3000 m steeplechase | men | |
| 4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 400 m relay | men | women |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | women |
| 10 km walk | women | |
| 20 km walk | men | |
| 50 km walk | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | women |
| Triple jump | men | women |
| High jump | men | women |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Shot put | men | women |
| Discus throw | men | women |
| Javelin throw | men | women |
| Hammer throw | men | |
| Combined events | ||
| Heptathlon | women | |
| Decathlon | men | |
| Wheelchair races | ||
The men's 1500 metres was an event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There were 57 competitors from 37 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event took place between 29 July and 3 August.[1] The event was won by 0.62 seconds by Noureddine Morceli of Algeria, the nation's first championship in the men's 1500 metres. Fermín Cacho of Spain was unable to repeat as gold medalist, but took silver to become the fourth man to win two medals in the event.
Summary
Algerian Noureddine Morceli had dominated the 1500 for five years, holding the world record and winning the previous three world championships. But Hicham El Guerrouj, from neighboring Morocco was the rising star, who had chased Morceli in the most recent world championships. This was expected to be the match race. While Morceli had led the semi-finals in close to Olympic record time, the final race was much slower and entirely strategic. Approaching the bell at the end of the third lap, Morceli had moved into the lead with El Guerrouj sprinting up to his shoulder. Morceli held him off with El Guerrouj having to cede position and move in behind Morceli squeezing in front of defending champion, master tactician Fermin Cacho who was perfectly positioned directly behind Morceli. Two strides later El Guerrouj tripped and fell. Morceli took off sprinting at the same moment the rest of the field had to evade El Guerrouj's body on the track. Cacho was forced to leap over the fallen El Guerrouj, almost stepping on him. Next in line Abdi Bile had to jump off the track to the infield. Morceli opened up 2 meters in the process, which he widened to 5 down the backstretch. Cacho and Bile held that gap onto the final straight. Bile faded while Cacho held on until he could see it was futile to catch Morceli, jogging in for silver. Stephen Kipkorir led two other Kenyan teammates around Bile to take bronze. After quickly staggering to his feet, El Guerrouj chased the field but shocked and disheartened, he was unable to catch anybody.
Background
This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All three medalists (Fermín Cacho of Spain, Rachid El Basir of Morocco, and Mohamed Suleiman of Qatar) from 1992 returned, along with seventh-place finisher Noureddine Morceli of Algeria and ninth-place finisher Graham Hood of Canada. Morceli had been favored in Barcelona, and was again a favorite in Atlanta; he had won the last three world championships and broken the world record twice. Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco was a rising star expected to challenge Morceli; he had come in second at the 1995 world championships and would go on to win the next four and break the world record himself. Vénuste Niyongabo of Burundi would have been another contender but chose not to enter in order to focus on the 5000 metres.[2] Burundi, Dominica, the Maldives, the Solomon Islands, and Ukraine each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 22nd appearance, most of all nations (having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games).
Competition format
The competition was again three rounds (used previously in 1952 and since 1964). The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964 was used for both the first round and semifinals. The 12-man semifinals and finals introduced in 1984 and used again in 1992 were used. There were five heats in the first round, each with 11 or 12 runners. The top four runners in each heat, along with the next four fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 24 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals, each with 12 runners. The top five men in each semifinal, plus the next two fastest overall, advanced to the 12-man final.[2][3]
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.
| World record | File:Flag of Algeria.svg Noureddine Morceli (ALG) | 3:27.37 | Nice, France | 12 July 1995 |
| Olympic record | File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Sebastian Coe (GBR) | 3:32.53 | Los Angeles, United States | 11 August 1984 |
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.
Schedule
All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, 29 July 1996 | 10:45 | Round 1 |
| Wednesday, 31 July 1996 | 19:55 | Semifinals |
| Saturday, 3 August 1996 | 19:50 | Final |
Results
Round 1
Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laban Rotich | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:35.88 | Q |
| 2 | Marko Koers | File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands | 3:36.18 | Q |
| 3 | Niall Bruton | File:Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg Ireland | 3:37.42 | Q |
| 4 | Kevin McKay | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 3:38.02 | Q |
| 5 | Ovidiu Olteanu | File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania | 3:38.33 | |
| 6 | Vyacheslav Shabunin | File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia | 3:38.56 | |
| 7 | Edgar de Oliveira | File:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil | 3:40.70 | |
| 8 | Steve Agar | File:Flag of Dominica.svg Dominica | 3:43.02 | |
| 9 | Brian Hyde | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | 3:48.20 | |
| 10 | Andriy Bulkovskiy | File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine | 3:53.30 | |
| 11 | Tawai Keiruan | File:Flag of Vanuatu.svg Vanuatu | 4:02.78 |
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Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noureddine Morceli | File:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria | 3:41.95 | Q |
| 2 | John Mayock | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 3:42.31 | Q |
| 3 | Abdi Bile | File:Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia | 3:42.32 | Q |
| 4 | Reyes Estévez | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 3:42.48 | Q |
| 5 | Rachid El Basir | File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco | 3:42.85 | |
| 6 | Julius Achon | File:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda | 3:43.08 | |
| 7 | Luis Jesus | File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | 3:44.65 | |
| 8 | Joaquim Cruz | File:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil | 3:45.32 | |
| 9 | João N'tyamba | File:Flag of Angola.svg Angola | 3:46.41 | |
| 10 | Ali Ibrahim | File:Flag of Djibouti.svg Djibouti | 3:46.62 | |
| 11 | Michael Gottschalk | File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany | 3:56.46 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Hakimi | File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia | 3:36.58 | Q |
| 2 | Stephen Kipkorir | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:36.70 | Q |
| 3 | Balázs Tölgyesi | File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary | 3:36.71 | Q |
| 4 | Driss Maazouzi | File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco | 3:37.08 | Q |
| 5 | Shane Healy | File:Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg Ireland | 3:37.28 | q |
| 6 | Branko Zorko | File:Civil ensign of Croatia.svg Croatia | 3:37.35 | q |
| 7 | Mohammed Suleiman | File:Flag of Qatar (3-2).svg Qatar | 3:37.70 | q |
| 8 | Mickaël Damian | File:Flag of France.svg France | 3:39.21 | |
| 9 | Jason Pyrah | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | 3:39.91 | |
| 10 | António Travassos | File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | 3:42.01 | |
| 11 | Martin Johns | File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand | 3:44.91 | |
| 12 | Hussain Riyaz | File:Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives | 4:15.14 |
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Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hicham El Guerrouj | File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco | 3:37.66 | Q |
| 2 | William Tanui | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:37.72 | Q |
| 3 | Kader Chekhemani | File:Flag of France.svg France | 3:37.81 | Q |
| 4 | Isaac Viciosa | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 3:37.93 | Q |
| 5 | Luís Feiteira | File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | 3:38.09 | q |
| 6 | Marcus O'Sullivan | File:Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg Ireland | 3:38.16 | |
| 7 | Peter Philipp | File:Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland | 3:41.60 | |
| 8 | Werner Edler-Muhr | File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria | 3:45.02 | |
| 9 | Alexis Sharangabo | File:Flag of Rwanda (1962-2001).svg Rwanda | 3:46.42 | |
| 10 | Ali Mabruk Ezayedi | File:Flag of Libya (1977–2011).svg Libya | 3:51.49 | |
| — | Graham Hood | File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada | DNF |
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Heat 5
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fermín Cacho | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 3:39.84 | Q |
| 2 | Paul McMullen | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | 3:39.94 | Q |
| 3 | Christophe Impens | File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium | 3:40.16 | Q |
| 4 | Anthony Whiteman | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 3:40.74 | Q |
| 5 | Andrey Loginov | File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia | 3:40.99 | |
| 6 | Dieudonne Kwizera | File:Flag of Burundi.svg Burundi | 3:41.45 | |
| 7 | Ahmed Krama | File:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria | 3:42.09 | |
| 8 | Bahadur Prasad | File:Flag of India.svg India | 3:46.16 | |
| 9 | Eric Dubus | File:Flag of France.svg France | 3:47.01 | |
| 10 | Thomas Ebner | File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria | 3:48.38 | |
| 11 | Paul Cleary | File:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | 3:52.85 | |
| 12 | Selwyn Kole | File:Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg Solomon Islands | 4:03.44 |
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Overall results for round 1
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noureddine Morceli | File:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria | 3:32.88 | Q |
| 2 | Fermín Cacho | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 3:33.12 | Q |
| 3 | Abdi Bile | File:Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia | 3:33.30 | Q |
| 4 | William Tanui | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:33.57 | Q |
| 5 | Laban Rotich | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:33.73 | Q |
| 6 | Driss Maazouzi | File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco | 3:34.35 | q |
| 7 | John Mayock | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 3:34.55 | q |
| 8 | Kader Chekhemani | File:Flag of France.svg France | 3:34.84 | |
| 9 | Branko Zorko | File:Civil ensign of Croatia.svg Croatia | 3:35.14 | |
| 10 | Balázs Tölgyesi | File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary | 3:35.57 | |
| 11 | Luís Feiteira | File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | 3:40.31 | |
| 12 | Niall Bruton | File:Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg Ireland | 3:42.88 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hicham El Guerrouj | File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco | 3:35.29 | Q |
| 2 | Stephen Kipkorir | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:35.53 | Q |
| 3 | Ali Hakimi | File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia | 3:35.91 | Q |
| 4 | Mohammed Suleiman | File:Flag of Qatar (3-2).svg Qatar | 3:36.01 | Q |
| 5 | Marko Koers | File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands | 3:36.06 | Q |
| 6 | Isaac Viciosa | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 3:36.11 | |
| 7 | Anthony Whiteman | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 3:36.11 | |
| 8 | Christophe Impens | File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium | 3:37.64 | |
| 9 | Paul McMullen | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | 3:37.81 | |
| 10 | Reyes Estévez | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 3:39.44 | |
| 11 | Shane Healy | File:Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg Ireland | 3:39.81 | |
| 12 | Kevin McKay | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 3:43.61 |
Overall results for semifinals
Final
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place, gold medalist(s) | Noureddine Morceli | File:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria | 3:35.78 |
| 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | Fermín Cacho | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 3:36.40 |
| 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) | Stephen Kipkorir | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:36.72 |
| 4 | Laban Rotich | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:37.39 |
| 5 | William Tanui | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 3:37.42 |
| 6 | Abdi Bile | File:Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia | 3:38.03 |
| 7 | Marko Koers | File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands | 3:38.18 |
| 8 | Ali Hakimi | File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia | 3:38.19 |
| 9 | Mohammed Suleiman | File:Flag of Qatar (3-2).svg Qatar | 3:38.26 |
| 10 | Driss Maazouzi | File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco | 3:39.65 |
| 11 | John Mayock | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 3:40.18 |
| 12 | Hicham El Guerrouj | File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco | 3:40.75 |
See also
References
- ↑ "Athletics at the 1996 Atlanta Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ↑ Official Report, vol. 3, pp. 76–77.
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