Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

The men's 1500 metre event at the 1928 Olympic Games took place between August 1 & August 2.[1] Forty-four athletes from 19 nations competed.[2] NOCs were limited to 4 competitors each.[3] The event was won by Harri Larva of Finland, the nation's second consecutive victory in the 1500 metres. France won its first medal in the event since 1900, with Jules Ladoumègue's silver matching the nation's best result.

Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the IX Olympiad
Olympic Athletics
VenueOlympic Stadium
DatesAugust 1 (heats)
August 2 (final)
Competitors44 from 19 nations
Winning time3:53.2 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Harri Larva
 Finland
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Jules Ladoumègue
 France
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Eino Purje
 Finland
← 1924
1932 →

Background edit

This was the eighth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Sixth-place finisher Lloyd Hahn of the United States was the only finalist from the 1924 Games to return. Defending champion Paavo Nurmi of Finland was in Amsterdam, but competed only in longer distances this Games. Finland was still well-represented, however, as Eino Purje and Harri Larva were among the favorites, along with Jules Ladoumègue of France and world-record holder Otto Peltzer of Germany.[2]

Argentina and Yugoslavia each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its eighth appearance, the only nation to have competed in the men's 1500 metres at each Games to that point.

Competition format edit

The competition consisted of two rounds, the format used since 1908. As in 1924, there were six semifinals, this time with anywhere between 6 and 9 runners in each, and once again the top two runners in each heat advanced to the final, for a 12-man final race.[2][4]

Records edit

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.

World record   Otto Peltzer (GER) 3:51.0 Berlin, Germany 11 September 1926
Olympic record   Paavo Nurmi (FIN) 3:53.6 Paris, France 10 July 1924

In the final Harri Larva set a new Olympic record at 3:53.2.

Schedule edit

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 1 August 1928 16:15 Semifinals
Thursday, 2 August 1928 15:30 Final

Results edit

Semifinals edit

The top two runners from each of the six heats advanced to the Final Round.

Semifinal 1 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Hans Wichmann   Germany 4:03.0 Q
2 Adolf Kittel   Czechoslovakia Unknown Q
3 József Marton   Hungary Unknown
4 Luigi Becalli   Italy Unknown
5 Guus Zeegers   Netherlands Unknown
6 George Hyde   Australia Unknown
7 Józef Jaworski   Poland 4:14.0
8 Séra Martin   France Unknown
Gerry Coughlan   Ireland DNS
Joquin Miquel   Spain DNS

Semifinal 2 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Herbert Böcher   Germany 3:59.6 Q
2 William Whyte   Australia 3:59.9 Q
3 Armas Kinnunen   Finland 4:01.5
4 Albert Larsen   Denmark 4:01.5
5 Reidar Jørgensen   Norway 4:01.6
6 Jack Walter   Canada Unknown
Frédéric du Hen   Netherlands DNF
Gyula Belloni   Hungary DNF
Lloyd Hahn   United States DNF
Andreas Paouris   Greece DNS

Semifinal 3 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Eino Purje   Finland 4:00.8 Q
2 Jules Ladoumègue   France Unknown Q
3 Stan Ashby   Great Britain Unknown
4 Vilém Šindler   Czechoslovakia Unknown
5 Serafín Dengra   Argentina Unknown
6 Luka Predanić   Yugoslavia 4:27.0
7 Pete Walter   Canada Unknown
8 Jan Zeegers   Netherlands Unknown
Grigorios Georgakopoulos   Greece DNS
Gábor Gyulay   Hungary DNS

Semifinal 4 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Paul Martin   Switzerland 4:00.8 Q
2 Harri Larva   Finland 4:02.0 Q
3 Reg Thomas   Great Britain Unknown
4 David Griffin   Canada Unknown
5 Leopoldo Ledesma   Argentina Unknown
Sid Robinson   United States DNF
Antonios Mangos   Greece DNS
Georges Baraton   France DNS
Ömer Besim Koşalay   Turkey DNS
Robert Masino   Monaco DNS

Semifinal 5 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ray Conger   United States 4:02.6 Q
2 Jean Keller   France 4:02.7 Q
3 Edvin Wide   Sweden Unknown
4 Otto Peltzer   Germany Unknown
5 Alex Docherty   Canada Unknown
6 Reggie Bell   Great Britain Unknown
Vasilios Stavrinos   Greece DNS
Ciro Chapa   Mexico DNS
Philippe Coenjaerts   Belgium DNS
Juichi Nagatani   Japan DNS

Semifinal 6 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Cyril Ellis   Great Britain 4:01.8 Q
2 Hans-Helmuth Krause   Germany Unknown Q
3 Nick Carter   United States Unknown
4 Leo Helgas   Finland 4:06.0
5 Danie Jacobs   South Africa Unknown
6 Czesław Foryś   Poland 4:11.5
7 Wilhelm Effern   Netherlands Unknown
Jesús Oyarbide   Spain DNS
Gurbachan Singh   India DNS

Final edit

 
Finish of the 1500 m final: first Harri Larva, second Jules Ladoumègue
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
  Harri Larva   Finland 3:53.2 OR
  Jules Ladoumègue   France 3:53.8
  Eino Purje   Finland 3:56.4
4 Hans Wichmann   Germany 3:56.8
5 Cyril Ellis   Great Britain 3:57.6
6 Paul Martin   Switzerland 3:58.4
7 Hans-Helmuth Krause   Germany 3:59.0
8 Adolf Kittel   Czechoslovakia 4:00.4
9 William Whyte   Australia 4:00.4
10 Ray Conger   United States Unknown
11 Jean Keller   France Unknown
Herbert Böcher   Germany DNF

References edit

  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1928 Amsterdam Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 374.
  4. ^ Official Report, pp. 417–20.