Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

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.

Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Olympic Athletics
VenueCentennial Olympic Stadium
Dates29 July 1996 (heats)
1 August 1996 (semi-finals)
3 August 1996 (final)
Competitors57 from 37 nations
Winning time3:35.78
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Noureddine Morceli
 Algeria
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Fermín Cacho
 Spain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Stephen Kipkorir
 Kenya
← 1992
2000 →

Summary

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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

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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

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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

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These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.

World record   Noureddine Morceli (ALG) 3:27.37 Nice, France 12 July 1995
Olympic record   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

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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

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Round 1

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Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Laban Rotich   Kenya 3:35.88 Q
2 Marko Koers   Netherlands 3:36.18 Q
3 Niall Bruton   Ireland 3:37.42 Q
4 Kevin McKay   Great Britain 3:38.02 Q
5 Ovidiu Olteanu   Romania 3:38.33
6 Vyacheslav Shabunin   Russia 3:38.56
7 Edgar de Oliveira   Brazil 3:40.70
8 Steve Agar   Dominica 3:43.02
9 Brian Hyde   United States 3:48.20
10 Andriy Bulkovskiy   Ukraine 3:53.30
11 Tawai Keiruan   Vanuatu 4:02.78

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Noureddine Morceli   Algeria 3:41.95 Q
2 John Mayock   Great Britain 3:42.31 Q
3 Abdi Bile   Somalia 3:42.32 Q
4 Reyes Estévez   Spain 3:42.48 Q
5 Rachid El Basir   Morocco 3:42.85
6 Julius Achon   Uganda 3:43.08
7 Luis Jesus   Portugal 3:44.65
8 Joaquim Cruz   Brazil 3:45.32
9 João N'tyamba   Angola 3:46.41
10 Ali Ibrahim   Djibouti 3:46.62
11 Michael Gottschalk   Germany 3:56.46

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ali Hakimi   Tunisia 3:36.58 Q
2 Stephen Kipkorir   Kenya 3:36.70 Q
3 Balázs Tölgyesi   Hungary 3:36.71 Q
4 Driss Maazouzi   Morocco 3:37.08 Q
5 Shane Healy   Ireland 3:37.28 q
6 Branko Zorko   Croatia 3:37.35 q
7 Mohammed Suleiman   Qatar 3:37.70 q
8 Mickaël Damian   France 3:39.21
9 Jason Pyrah   United States 3:39.91
10 António Travassos   Portugal 3:42.01
11 Martin Johns   New Zealand 3:44.91
12 Hussain Riyaz   Maldives 4:15.14

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Hicham El Guerrouj   Morocco 3:37.66 Q
2 William Tanui   Kenya 3:37.72 Q
3 Kader Chekhemani   France 3:37.81 Q
4 Isaac Viciosa   Spain 3:37.93 Q
5 Luís Feiteira   Portugal 3:38.09 q
6 Marcus O'Sullivan   Ireland 3:38.16
7 Peter Philipp   Switzerland 3:41.60
8 Werner Edler-Muhr   Austria 3:45.02
9 Alexis Sharangabo   Rwanda 3:46.42
10 Ali Mabruk Ezayedi   Libya 3:51.49
Graham Hood   Canada DNF

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Fermín Cacho   Spain 3:39.84 Q
2 Paul McMullen   United States 3:39.94 Q
3 Christophe Impens   Belgium 3:40.16 Q
4 Anthony Whiteman   Great Britain 3:40.74 Q
5 Andrey Loginov   Russia 3:40.99
6 Dieudonne Kwizera   Burundi 3:41.45
7 Ahmed Krama   Algeria 3:42.09
8 Bahadur Prasad   India 3:46.16
9 Eric Dubus   France 3:47.01
10 Thomas Ebner   Austria 3:48.38
11 Paul Cleary   Australia 3:52.85
12 Selwyn Kole   Solomon Islands 4:03.44

Overall results for round 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Laban Rotich   Kenya 3:35.88 Q
2 Marko Koers   Netherlands 3:36.18 Q
3 Ali Hakimi   Tunisia 3:36.58 Q
4 Stephen Kipkorir   Kenya 3:36.70 Q
5 Balázs Tölgyesi   Hungary 3:36.71 Q
6 Driss Maazouzi   Morocco 3:37.08 Q
6 Shane Healy   Ireland 3:37.28 q
8 Branko Zorko   Croatia 3:37.35 q
9 Niall Bruton   Ireland 3:37.42 Q
10 Hicham El Guerrouj   Morocco 3:37.66 Q
11 Mohammed Suleiman   Qatar 3:37.70 q
12 William Tanui   Kenya 3:37.72 Q
13 Kader Chekhemani   France 3:37.81 Q
14 Isaac Viciosa   Spain 3:37.93 Q
15 Kevin McKay   Great Britain 3:38.02 Q
16 Luís Feiteira   Portugal 3:38.09 q
17 Marcus O'Sullivan   Ireland 3:38.16
18 Ovidiu Olteanu   Romania 3:38.33
19 Vyacheslav Shabunin   Russia 3:38.56
20 Mickaël Damian   France 3:39.21
21 Fermín Cacho   Spain 3:39.84 Q
22 Jason Pyrah   United States 3:39.91
23 Paul McMullen   United States 3:39.94 Q
24 Christophe Impens   Belgium 3:40.16 Q
25 Anthony Whiteman   Great Britain 3:40.74 Q
26 Peter Philipp   Switzerland 3:41.60
27 Noureddine Morceli   Algeria 3:41.95 Q
28 John Mayock   Great Britain 3:42.31 Q
29 Abdi Bile   Somalia 3:42.32 Q
30 Reyes Estévez   Spain 3:42.48 Q
31 Edgar de Oliveira   Brazil 3:40.70
32 Andrey Loginov   Russia 3:40.99
33 Dieudonne Kwizera   Burundi 3:41.45
34 António Travassos   Portugal 3:42.01
35 Ahmed Krama   Algeria 3:42.09
36 Rachid El Basir   Morocco 3:42.85
37 Steve Agar   Dominica 3:43.02
38 Julius Achon   Uganda 3:43.08
39 Luis Jesus   Portugal 3:44.65
40 Martin Johns   New Zealand 3:44.91
41 Werner Edler-Muhr   Austria 3:45.02
42 Joaquim Cruz   Brazil 3:45.32
43 Bahadur Prasad   India 3:46.16
44 João N'tyamba   Angola 3:46.41
45 Alexis Sharangabo   Rwanda 3:46.42
46 Ali Ibrahim   Djibouti 3:46.62
47 Eric Dubus   France 3:47.01
48 Brian Hyde   United States 3:48.20
49 Thomas Ebner   Austria 3:48.38
50 Ali Mabruk Ezayedi   Libya 3:51.49
51 Paul Cleary   Australia 3:52.85
52 Andriy Bulkovskiy   Ukraine 3:53.30
53 Michael Gottschalk   Germany 3:56.46
54 Tawai Keiruan   Vanuatu 4:02.78
55 Selwyn Kole   Solomon Islands 4:03.44
56 Hussain Riyaz   Maldives 4:15.14
Graham Hood   Canada DNF

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Noureddine Morceli   Algeria 3:32.88 Q
2 Fermín Cacho   Spain 3:33.12 Q
3 Abdi Bile   Somalia 3:33.30 Q
4 William Tanui   Kenya 3:33.57 Q
5 Laban Rotich   Kenya 3:33.73 Q
6 Driss Maazouzi   Morocco 3:34.35 q
7 John Mayock   Great Britain 3:34.55 q
8 Kader Chekhemani   France 3:34.84
9 Branko Zorko   Croatia 3:35.14
10 Balázs Tölgyesi   Hungary 3:35.57
11 Luís Feiteira   Portugal 3:40.31
12 Niall Bruton   Ireland 3:42.88

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Hicham El Guerrouj   Morocco 3:35.29 Q
2 Stephen Kipkorir   Kenya 3:35.53 Q
3 Ali Hakimi   Tunisia 3:35.91 Q
4 Mohammed Suleiman   Qatar 3:36.01 Q
5 Marko Koers   Netherlands 3:36.06 Q
6 Isaac Viciosa   Spain 3:36.11
7 Anthony Whiteman   Great Britain 3:36.11
8 Christophe Impens   Belgium 3:37.64
9 Paul McMullen   United States 3:37.81
10 Reyes Estévez   Spain 3:39.44
11 Shane Healy   Ireland 3:39.81
12 Kevin McKay   Great Britain 3:43.61

Overall results for semifinals

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Noureddine Morceli   Algeria 3:32.88 Q
2 Abdi Bile   Somalia 3:33.30 Q
3 William Tanui   Kenya 3:33.57 Q
4 Fermín Cacho   Spain 3:33.12 Q
5 Laban Rotich   Kenya 3:33.73 Q
6 Driss Maazouzi   Morocco 3:34.35 q
7 John Mayock   Great Britain 3:34.55 q
8 Kader Chekhemani   France 3:34.84
9 Branko Zorko   Croatia 3:35.14
10 Hicham El Guerrouj   Morocco 3:35.29 Q
11 Stephen Kipkorir   Kenya 3:35.53 Q
12 Balázs Tölgyesi   Hungary 3:35.57
13 Ali Hakimi   Tunisia 3:35.91 Q
14 Mohammed Suleiman   Qatar 3:36.01 Q
15 Marko Koers   Netherlands 3:36.06 Q
16 Isaac Viciosa   Spain 3:36.11
17 Anthony Whiteman   Great Britain 3:36.11
18 Christophe Impens   Belgium 3:37.64
19 Paul McMullen   United States 3:37.81
20 Reyes Estévez   Spain 3:39.44
21 Shane Healy   Ireland 3:39.81
22 Luís Feiteira   Portugal 3:40.31
23 Niall Bruton   Ireland 3:42.88
24 Kevin McKay   Great Britain 3:43.61

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time
  Noureddine Morceli   Algeria 3:35.78
  Fermín Cacho   Spain 3:36.40
  Stephen Kipkorir   Kenya 3:36.72
4 Laban Rotich   Kenya 3:37.39
5 William Tanui   Kenya 3:37.42
6 Abdi Bile   Somalia 3:38.03
7 Marko Koers   Netherlands 3:38.18
8 Ali Hakimi   Tunisia 3:38.19
9 Mohammed Suleiman   Qatar 3:38.26
10 Driss Maazouzi   Morocco 3:39.65
11 John Mayock   Great Britain 3:40.18
12 Hicham El Guerrouj   Morocco 3:40.75

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "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. ^ a b "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, pp. 76–77.
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