Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 metres

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Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m		men
200 m		men
400 m		men
800 m		men
1500 m		men
5 miles		men
110 m hurdles		men
400 m hurdles		men
3200 m steeplechase		men
Medley relay		men
3 mile team race		men
Road events
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10 mile walk	men
Field events
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Triple jump	men
High jump	men
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Standing long jump	men
Standing high jump	men
Shot put	men
Discus throw	men
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Greek discus	men
Freestyle javelin	men

The men's 1500 metres was an Olympic event for the fourth times at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 13, 1908 and on July 14, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres=¹⁄₃ mile in circumference. There were eight heats of the first round, with the winners of those heats competing in the final.

44 runners from 15 nations competed.

[edit] Medallists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Mel Sheppard United States (USA)	Harold A. Wilson Great Britain (GBR)	Norman Hallows Great Britain (GBR)

[edit] Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World Record	3:59.8(*)	Harold A. Wilson	London (GBR)	May 30, 1908
Olympic Record	4:05.4(**)	Jim Lightbody	St. Louis (USA)	September 3, 1904

(*) unofficial

(**) This track was 536.45 metres=¹⁄₃ mile in circumference.

In the second semifinal Mel Sheppard set a new Olympic record with 4:05.0 minutes only to be improved in the next run by Norman Hallows who ran 4:03.4 minutes. In the final Mel Sheppard equalized this time when he also ran 4:03.4 minutes.

[edit] Results

[edit] Semifinals

The semifinals of the 1500 metres were the first competitions of the athletics programme held, on Monday, July 13, 1908. The fastest runner in each semifinal heat advanced to the final the next day while all other runners were eliminated.

Semifinal 1

Meadows, de Fleurac, Smith, and Lightbody each lead during the race, but it was Sullivan who was in front at the finish line.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	James P. Sullivan (USA)	4:07.6	Q
2	Jim Lightbody (USA)	4:08.6
3	Frederick Meadows (CAN)	4:12.2
4	Francis Knott (GBR)	Unknown
5	Joseph M. Smith (GBR)	Unknown
6	Louis de Fleurac (FRA)	Unknown
7	Nils Dahl (NOR)	Unknown
8	Ödön Bodor (HUN)	Unknown
9	Jacques Keyser (NED)	Unknown

Semifinal 2

Butterfield and Lee were ahead of Sheppard and Halstead at the bell, but the American pair proved the better runners on the straight and passed the English duo. Sheppard's time set a new Olympic record, with Halstead just behind him clocking in at the old record time.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Mel Sheppard (USA)	4:05.0 OR	Q
2	John Halstead (USA)	4:05.6
3	George Butterfield (GBR)	4:11.8
4	John W. Lee (GBR)	(4:12.4)
5	Joseph Lynch (ANZ)	Unknown
6	Kjeld Nielsen (DEN)	Unknown
7	Arno Hesse (GER)	Unknown

Semifinal 3

Cartasegna took the lead early, eventually losing it to Lunghi. Lunghi subsequently was passed by Hallows, who led by a bare two yards at the line. Both Hallows and Lunghi beat the Olympic record set by Sheppard in the previous heat.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Norman Hallows (GBR)	4:03.4 OR	Q
2	Emilio Lunghi (ITA)	4:03.8
—	Evert Björn (SWE)	Did not finish
	Massimo Cartasegna (ITA)	Did not finish
	Frank Riley (USA)	Did not finish
	Charles Swain (ANZ)	Did not finish

Semifinal 4

McGough led for the greater part of the race, with Loney and Coe passing him late and battling to the finish.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Vincent Loney (GBR)	4:08.4	Q
2	Harry Coe (USA)	4:09.2
3	John McGough (GBR)	4:16.4
4	Stefanos Dimitrios (GRE)	Unknown
5	Joseph Dreher (FRA)	Unknown

Semifinal 5

Tait won easily, leading by fifty yards as he finished.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	John Tait (CAN)	4:12.2	Q
2	József Nagy (HUN)	4:19.6
3	Fredrik Svanström (FIN)	4:25.2
—	Gaston Ragueneau (FRA)	Did not finish

Semifinal 6

Deakin's win was even easier than Tait's, as he led the entire way and finished fully seventy-five yards ahead of Breynck.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Joseph Deakin (GBR)	4:13.6	Q
2	Andreas Breynck (GER)	4:30.0
3	Arie Vosbergen (NED)	4:38.6

Semifinal 7

Galbraith led most of the race, but was passed by Wilson en route to a relatively comfortable 30-yard victory by Wilson.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Harold A. Wilson (GBR)	4:11.4	Q
2	Jean Bouin (FRA)	4:17.0
3	William Galbraith (CAN)	4:20.2

Semifinal 8

Braun, Dahl, and Crawford were the clear frontrunners for the entire race. Crawford pulled in front late, winning by four yards.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford (GBR)	4:09.2	Q
2	Edward Dahl (SWE)	4:10.4
3	Hanns Braun (GER)	4:18.2
4	Oscar Larsen (NOR)	Unknown
5	François Delloye (BEL)	Unknown
6	Axel Andersson (SWE)	Unknown
7	John E. Fitzgerald (CAN)	Unknown

[edit] Final

The final was held on Tuesday, July 14, 1908.

The start of the final.

Crawford went out fast, leading for the first 500 metres. He tired, however, and most of the rest of the race was primarily between Wilson, Hallows, and Sheppard. Those three runners were in that order going into the final straight, but Sheppard's late burst powered him to the front. He won by about 2 yards as he tied the Olympic record that Hallows had set in the first round.

Mel Sheppard winning the final.

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Mel Sheppard (USA)	4:03.4 =OR
2	Harold A. Wilson (GBR)	4:03.6
3	Norman Hallows (GBR)	4:04.0
4	John Tait (CAN)	4:06.8
5	Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford (GBR)	4:07.6
6	Joseph Deakin (GBR)	4:07.9
—	Vincent Loney (GBR)	Did not finish
	James P. Sullivan (USA)	Did not finish

[edit] References

• Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association. 
• De Wael, Herman (2001). Athletics 1908. Herman's Full Olympians. Retrieved on 30 July, 2006.
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich. Retrieved on 30 July, 2006. (Polish)