Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

The men's 1500 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics program. It was the third time the event was held. 9 runners from 3 nations participated. The competition was held on September 3, 1904.[1] The event was won by Jim Lightbody of the United States, completing his 1904 treble (800 metres, 1500 metres, and 2590 metres steeplechase). It was the first championship in the event for the United States. The Americans, with 7 of the 9 runners, swept the medals.

Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the III Olympiad
Gold medalist Jim Lightbody at the finish line
VenueFrancis Field
DateSeptember 3
Competitors9 from 3 nations
Winning time4:05.4 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Jim Lightbody
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Frank Verner
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Lacey Hearn
 United States
← 1900
1908 →

Background

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This was the third appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the runners from 1900 returned. The field again was fairly undistinguished; 1903 and 1904 AAA champion Alfred Shrubb of Great Britain and multiple AAU one-mile champion Alexander Grant of the United States did not compete. David Curtiss Munson, the 1904 AAU champion, was the favorite going into the Games, though Jim Lightbody's victories in the 800 metres and 2590 metres steeplechase made him a likely contender.[2]

Canada made its first appearance in the event. The United States made its third appearance, the only nation to have also previously competed in 1896 and 1900.

Competition format

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The competition consisted of a single race.[2]

The track was a cinder track The track was a cinder track 13 mile (536.448m) in length, with one long straightaway.[3]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1904 Summer Olympics.

World record   Charles Bennett (GBR) 4:06.2 (u) Paris, France 15 July 1900
Olympic record   Charles Bennett (GBR) 4:06.2 Paris, France 15 July 1900

Jim Lightbody set a new Olympic record and a new unofficial world record at 4:05.4.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Saturday, 3 September 1904 Final

Results

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
  James Lightbody   United States 4:05.4 WR
  Frank Verner   United States 4:06.8
  Lacey Hearn   United States Unknown
4 David Munson   United States Unknown
5 Johannes Runge   Germany Unknown
6 Peter Deer   Canada Unknown
7 Howard Valentine   United States Unknown
8 Harvey Cohn   United States Unknown
9 Charles Bacon   United States Unknown
George Bonhag   United States DNS
Edward P. Carr   United States DNS
John Daly   Great Britain DNS
Bernard Gallagher   United States DNS
Alexander Grant   United States DNS
Will Gunn   New Zealand DNS

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1904 St. Louis Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 September 2001.

Sources

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