1500_metres_world_record_progression

1500 metres world record progression

1500 metres world record progression

Timeline of world records

The 1500-metre run became a standard racing distance in Europe in the late 19th century, perhaps as a metric version of the mile, a popular running distance since at least the 1850s in English-speaking countries.[1]

Paavo Nurmi breaks the 1,500 m world record in Helsinki in 1924.

A distance of 1500 m sometimes is called the "metric mile". The French had the first important races over the distance, holding their initial championship in 1888.

When the Olympic Games were revived in 1896, metric distances were run, including the 1500; however, most of the best milers in the world were absent, and the winning time of 4:33 1/5 by Australian Edwin Flack was 17 4/5 seconds slower than the amateur mile record, despite the fact one mile is 109.344 metres longer than 1500 metres.

The 1900 Olympics and 1904 Olympics showed improvements in times run, but it was not until the 1908 Olympics that a meeting of the top milers over the distance took place, and not until the 1912 Olympics that a true world-class race over the distance was run.[2]

The distance has now almost completely replaced the mile in major track meets.

Men (outdoors)

Pre-IAAF

More information Time, Athlete ...

IAAF era

The first world record in the 1500 m for men (athletics) was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as World Athletics, in 1912. To July 17, 2015, the IAAF has ratified 38 world records in the event.[3]

Ratified
Not ratified
Ratified but later rescinded
Pending ratification
More information Time, Auto ...

The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th of a second, depending on the rules then in place.

Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m from 1981.[3] Hence, Steve Ovett's record at 3:31.4 was rendered as 3:31.36 from that year.

Women (outdoors)

Pre-IAAF

More information Time, Athlete ...

IAAF era

The first world record in the 1,500 m for women (athletics) was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as World Athletics, in 1967.

To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 13 world records in the event.[4]

More information Time, Auto ...

+ - En route time during mile race.

The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th of a second, depending on the rules then in place.

The IAAF accepted records to the hundredth of a second starting in 1981.

References

General
Specific
  1. [1]
    Nelson, Cordner; Quercetani, Roberto (1985). The Milers. Tafnews Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-911521-15-1.
  2. [2]
    Nelson, Cordner; Quercetani, Roberto (1985). The Milers. Tafnews Press. p. 21. ISBN 0-911521-15-1.
  3. [3]
    "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 549. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  4. [4]
    "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 642. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  5. [5]
    "IAAF Diamond League Monaco - 1500m Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  6. [6]
    "1500m Result" (PDF). sportresult.com. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.

Further reading

  • Cordner Nelson and Roberto Quercetani, The Milers, Tafnews Press, 1985, ISBN 0-911521-15-1
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1500_metres_world_record_progression, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.