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Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Men's 1500 metres; at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad
	Olympic Athletics
Venue	Seoul Olympic Stadium
Dates	29 September – 1 October
Competitors	59 from 46 nations
Winning time	3:35.96
Medalists
	← 1984 1992 →

The men's 1500 metres event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 59 competitors from 46 nations, with four qualifying heats (59) and two semi-finals (26), before the final (12) took place on Saturday October 1, 1988.^[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.19 seconds by Peter Rono of Kenya, the nation's first title in the event since 1968 and second overall.

Summary

This race typified the tactical running of miles and 1500s of this era. Nobody really cared about leading early or pushing the pace. Marcus O'Sullivan took the point by default. The British new guard of Peter Elliott and Steve Cram were just behind Omer Khalifa marking the lead. Just before two laps to go, the Kenyan team decided to change position led by Peter Rono moving out to lane 2 and from dead last running past the entire field into first place. He was soon joined by Joseph Chesire, who served as a Kenyan wall at the front. The first challenge to the wall was Jeff Atkinson, who managed to get around Chesire but could not get past Rono. Cheshire's weakness exposed, the entire pack went around him, everybody aiming to be just off the lead at the bell, the ever-present Steve Scott behind Atkinson, the Britons, with Jens-Peter Herold, Han Kulker and Kipkoech Cheruiyot all jockeying for position behind Rono on the backstretch. Atkinson faded while Elliott, Cram and Herold emerged toward the front, still behind Rono who was watching over his shoulder. Cram poised himself on Elliott's shoulder to make the big move coming off the turn with Scott, Kulker and Cheruiyot showing similar aspirations a step behind. But the only big move was Herold sneaking past Elliott on the inside while Elliott was concerned with Cram on his outside. Nobody's big move really advanced their position, Elliott using his best sprinting to just edge back ahead of Herold by the finish line for silver, Rono untested ahead of everyone.

Background

This was the 21st appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five finalists from 1984 returned: silver medalist Steve Cram of Great Britain, fourth-place finisher Joseph Chesire of Kenya, sixth-place finisher Peter Wirz of Switzerland, eighth-place finisher Omar Khalifa of Sudan, and tenth-place finisher Steve Scott of the United States. Sebastian Coe, the two-time defending gold medalist, "was not chosen for the British team" after the British trials. Abdi Bile of Somalia, the 1987 World Champion, withdrew due to a tibial stress fracture. Saïd Aouita of Morocco, who had set the world record in 1985, competed, and qualified for the semi-finals but withdrew before the start of the race: having been nursing a hamstring injury through winning the bronze medal in the 800m a few days before, in the attempt to double up on both distances.^[2]

Andorra, Angola, the People's Republic of China, Cyprus, Djibouti, Fiji, Mauritania, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Qatar, and North Yemen each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 20th 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 finals introduced in 1984 continued to be used, but the semifinals expanded to 13 runners each.

There were four heats in the first round, each with 15 runners (before one withdrawal left a heat with 14 runners). The top five runners in each heat, along with the next six fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 26 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals, each with 13 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 1988 Summer Olympics.

World record	Saïd Aouita (MAR)	3:29.46	West Berlin, West Germany	23 August 1985
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

All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)

Date	Time	Round
Thursday, 29 September 1988	15:15	Round 1
Friday, 30 September 1988	12:40	Semifinals
Saturday, 1 October 1988	13:10	Final

Results

Round 1

First 5 of each heat (Q) and next 6 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.

Heat 1

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Steve Cram	Great Britain	3:40.89	Q
2	Steve Scott	United States	3:41.57	Q
3	Rémy Geoffroy	France	3:41.68	Q
4	Joseph Chesire	Kenya	3:41.72	Q
5	Gennaro Di Napoli	Italy	3:41.85	Q
6	Marcus O'Sullivan	Ireland	3:42.01	q
7	Ari Suhonen	Finland	3:43.61
8	José Luíz Barbosa	Brazil	3:44.46
9	Branko Zorko	Yugoslavia	3:45.52
10	Michael Watson	Bermuda	3:46.49
11	Melford Homela	Zimbabwe	3:47.38
12	Hoche Yaya Aden	Djibouti	3:51.56
13	Eugénio Katombi	Angola	3:54.25
14	Modupe Jonah	Sierra Leone	3:55.15
15	Mohamed Ould Khayar	Mauritania	4:12.18

Heat 2

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Kipkoech Cheruiyot	Kenya	3:39.98	Q
2	Mark Deady	United States	3:41.91	Q
3	Mogens Guldberg	Denmark	3:42.01	Q
4	Saïd Aouita	Morocco	3:42.18	Q
5	Mario Silva	Portugal	3:42.24	Q
6	Marcus Rapp	Switzerland	3:42.64
7	David Campbell	Canada	3:42.97
8	Mohamed Suleiman	Qatar	3:44.43
9	Duan Xiuquan	China	3:44.88
10	Pat Scammell	Australia	3:45.21
11	Jama Aden	Somalia	3:49.84
12	Ramón López	Paraguay	3:53.31
13	Kenneth Dzekedzeke	Malawi	4:02.61
14	Bernardo Elonga	Equatorial Guinea	4:16.40
—	Nimley Twegbe	Liberia	DNS

Heat 3

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Peter Rono	Kenya	3:37.65	Q
2	Jeff Atkinson	United States	3:38.33	Q
3	Peter Elliott	Great Britain	3:38.60	Q
4	Markus Hacksteiner	Switzerland	3:39.05	Q
5	Mostafa Lachal	Morocco	3:39.20	Q
6	Rachid Kram	Algeria	3:39.90	q
7	Joaquim Cruz	Brazil	3:40.92	q
8	Mbiganyi Thee	Botswana	3:41.97	q
9	Spyros Spyrou	Cyprus	3:42.32	q
10	Gerry O'Reilly	Ireland	3:43.23
11	Jo Jin-Saeng	South Korea	3:45.63
12	Jan Kubista	Czechoslovakia	3:46.41
13	Moses Zarak Khan	Fiji	4:03.20
14	Awad Saleh Ahmed	North Yemen	4:03.86
15	Johnd Siguria	Papua New Guinea	4:07.04

Heat 4

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Jens-Peter Herold	East Germany	3:40.87	Q
2	Han Kulker	Netherlands	3:40.90	Q
3	Steve Crabb	Great Britain	3:41.12	Q
4	Peter Wirz	Switzerland	3:41.26	Q
5	Omer Khalifa	Sudan	3:41.46	Q
6	Abdelmajide Moncif	Morocco	3:41.73	q
7	Mahmoud Kalboussi	Tunisia	3:43.72
8	Dale Jones	Antigua and Barbuda	3:51.22
9	Hameed Al-Dousari	Saudi Arabia	3:51.53
10	Eulucane Ndagijimana	Rwanda	3:51.61
11	Josep Graells	Andorra	3:52.68
12	Zeki Öztürk	Turkey	3:54.26
13	Douglas Consiglio	Canada	3:55.31
14	Seid Gayaplé	Chad	3:58.46
15	Haribahadur Rokaya	Nepal	4:01.17

Overall results for round 1

Rank	Heat	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	3	Peter Rono	Kenya	3:37.65	Q
2	3	Jeff Atkinson	United States	3:38.33	Q
3	3	Peter Elliott	Great Britain	3:38.60	Q
4	3	Markus Hacksteiner	Switzerland	3:39.05	Q
5	3	Mostafa Lachal	Morocco	3:39.20	Q
6	3	Rachid Kram	Algeria	3:39.90	q
7	2	Kipkoech Cheruiyot	Kenya	3:39.98	Q
8	4	Jens-Peter Herold	East Germany	3:40.87	Q
9	1	Steve Cram	Great Britain	3:40.89	Q
10	4	Han Kulker	Netherlands	3:40.90	Q
11	3	Joaquim Cruz	Brazil	3:40.92	q
12	4	Steve Crabb	Great Britain	3:41.12	Q
13	4	Peter Wirz	Switzerland	3:41.26	Q
14	4	Omer Khalifa	Sudan	3:41.46	Q
15	1	Steve Scott	United States	3:41.57	Q
16	1	Rémy Geoffroy	France	3:41.68	Q
17	1	Joseph Chesire	Kenya	3:41.72	Q
18	4	Abdelmajide Moncif	Morocco	3:41.73	q
19	1	Gennaro Di Napoli	Italy	3:41.85	Q
20	2	Mark Deady	United States	3:41.91	Q
21	3	Mbiganyi Thee	Botswana	3:41.97	q
22	1	Marcus O'Sullivan	Ireland	3:42.01	q
22	2	Mogens Guldberg	Denmark	3:42.01	Q
24	2	Saïd Aouita	Morocco	3:42.18	Q
25	2	Mario Silva	Portugal	3:42.24	Q
26	3	Spyros Spyrou	Cyprus	3:42.32	q
27	2	Marcus Rapp	Switzerland	3:42.64
28	2	David Campbell	Canada	3:42.97
29	3	Gerry O'Reilly	Ireland	3:43.23
30	1	Ari Suhonen	Finland	3:43.61
31	4	Mahmoud Kalboussi	Tunisia	3:43.72
32	2	Mohamed Suleiman	Qatar	3:44.43
33	1	José Luíz Barbosa	Brazil	3:44.46
34	2	Duan Xiuquan	China	3:44.88
35	2	Pat Scammell	Australia	3:45.21
36	1	Branko Zorko	Yugoslavia	3:45.52
37	3	Jo Jin-Saeng	South Korea	3:45.63
38	3	Jan Kubista	Czechoslovakia	3:46.41
39	1	Michael Watson	Bermuda	3:46.49
40	1	Melford Homela	Zimbabwe	3:47.38
41	2	Jama Aden	Somalia	3:49.84
42	4	Dale Jones	Antigua and Barbuda	3:51.22
43	4	Hameed Al-Dousari	Saudi Arabia	3:51.53
44	1	Hoche Yaya Aden	Djibouti	3:51.56
45	4	Eulucane Ndagijimana	Rwanda	3:51.61
46	4	Josep Graells	Andorra	3:52.68
47	2	Ramón López	Paraguay	3:53.31
48	1	Eugénio Katombi	Angola	3:54.25
49	4	Zeki Öztürk	Turkey	3:54.26
50	1	Modupe Jonah	Sierra Leone	3:55.15
51	4	Douglas Consiglio	Canada	3:55.31
52	4	Seid Gayaplé	Chad	3:58.46
53	4	Haribahadur Rokaya	Nepal	4:01.17
54	2	Kenneth Dzekedzeke	Malawi	4:02.61
55	3	Moses Zarak Khan	Fiji	4:03.20
56	3	Awad Saleh Ahmed	North Yemen	4:03.86
57	3	Johnd Siguria	Papua New Guinea	4:07.04
58	1	Mohamed Ould Khayar	Mauritania	4:12.18
59	2	Bernardo Elonga	Equatorial Guinea	4:16.40
—	2	Nimely Twegbe	Liberia	DNS

Semifinals

The semifinals were held on Friday September 30, 1988.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Kipkoech Cheruiyot	Kenya	3:38.09	Q
2	Steve Cram	Great Britain	3:38.30	Q
3	Peter Elliott	Great Britain	3:38.56	Q
4	Han Kulker	Netherlands	3:39.06	Q
5	Jeff Atkinson	United States	3:39.12	Q
6	Joseph Chesire	Kenya	3:39.17	q
7	Mogens Guldberg	Denmark	3:39.86
8	Remi Geoffroy	France	3:40.96
9	Rachid Kram	Algeria	3:41.39
10	Spyros Spyrou	Cyprus	3:43.49
—	Abdelmajide Moncif	Morocco	DNF
	Peter Wirz	Switzerland	DNF
	Joaquim Cruz	Brazil	DNS

Semifinal 2

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Steve Scott	United States	3:38.20	Q
2	Peter Rono	Kenya	3:38.25	Q
3	Omer Khalifa	Sudan	3:38.40	Q
4	Mario Silva	Portugal	3:38.56	Q
5	Jens-Peter Herold	East Germany	3:38.59	Q
6	Marcus O'Sullivan	Ireland	3:38.84	q
7	Markus Hacksteiner	Switzerland	3:39.18
8	Mark Deady	United States	3:39.47
9	Steve Crabb	Great Britain	3:39.55
10	Mbiganyi Thee	Botswana	3:42.62
11	Gennaro Di Napoli	Italy	3:43.58
12	Mostafa Lachal	Morocco	3:45.65
—	Saïd Aouita	Morocco	DNS

Final

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time
	Peter Rono	Kenya	3:35.96
	Peter Elliott	Great Britain	3:36.15
	Jens-Peter Herold	East Germany	3:36.21
4	Steve Cram	Great Britain	3:36.24
5	Steve Scott	United States	3:36.99
6	Han Kulker	Netherlands	3:37.08
7	Kipkoech Cheruiyot	Kenya	3:37.94
8	Marcus O'Sullivan	Ireland	3:38.39
9	Mario Silva	Portugal	3:38.77
10	Jeff Atkinson	United States	3:40.80
11	Joseph Chesire	Kenya	3:40.82
12	Omer Khalifa	Sudan	3:41.07

References

^ "Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
^ Official Report, vol. 2, pp. 226–27.