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

The men's 1500 metres was an Olympic event for the fourth time at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 13, 1908 and on July 14, 1908.[1] 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.

Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
VenueWhite City Stadium
DatesJuly 13 (semifinals)
July 14 (final)
Competitors44 from 15 nations
Medalists
Mel Sheppard  United States
Harold Wilson  Great Britain
Norman Hallows  Great Britain
Athletics at the
1908 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 mmen
200 mmen
400 mmen
800 mmen
1500 mmen
5 milesmen
110 m hurdlesmen
400 m hurdlesmen
3200 m steeplechasemen
Medley relaymen
3 mile team racemen
Road events
Marathonmen
3500 m walkmen
10 mile walkmen
Field events
Long jumpmen
Triple jumpmen
High jumpmen
Pole vaultmen
Standing long jumpmen
Standing high jumpmen
Shot putmen
Discus throwmen
Hammer throwmen
Javelin throwmen
Greek discusmen
Freestyle javelinmen

44 runners from 15 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[2]

Records

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

World Record 3:59.8(*) Harold Wilson London (GBR) May 30, 1908
Olympic Record 4:05.4(**) James 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.

Results

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 all had the lead during the race. Sullivan won by six yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1James Sullivan United States4:07.6Q
2James Lightbody United States4:08.6
3Frederick Meadows Canada4:12.2
4Francis Knott Great BritainUnknown
5Joseph M. Smith Great BritainUnknown
6Louis de Fleurac FranceUnknown
7Nils Dahl NorwayUnknown
8Ödön Bodor HungaryUnknown
9Jacques Keyser NetherlandsUnknown

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.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Mel Sheppard United States4:05.0Q, OR
2John Halstead United States4:05.6
3George Butterfield Great Britain4:11.8
4John W. Lee Great Britain(4:12.4)
5Joseph Lynch AustralasiaUnknown
6Kjeld Nielsen DenmarkUnknown
7Arno Hesse GermanyUnknown

Semifinal 3

Lunghi was passed by Hallows on the last lap, who won by two yards. Both Hallows and Lunghi beat the Olympic record set by Sheppard in the previous heat; the pace caused the remaining four competitors to drop out.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Norman Hallows Great Britain4:03.4Q, OR
2Emilio Lunghi Italy4:03.8
—Evert Björn SwedenDNF
Massimo Cartasegna ItalyDNF
Frank Riley United StatesDNF
Charles Swain AustralasiaDNF

Semifinal 4

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

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Ernest Loney Great Britain4:08.4Q
2Harry Coe United States4:09.2
3John McGough Great Britain4:16.4
4Stefanos Dimitrios GreeceUnknown
5Joseph Dreher FranceUnknown

Semifinal 5

Raugeneau dropped out on the second lap. Tait won by fifty yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1John Tait Canada4:12.2Q
2József Nagy Hungary4:19.6
3Fredrik Svanström Finland4:25.2
—Gaston Ragueneau FranceDNF

Semifinal 6

Deakin won by seventy-five yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Joe Deakin Great Britain4:13.6Q
2Andreas Breynck Germany4:30.0
3Arie Vosbergen Netherlands4:38.6

Semifinal 7

Galbraith led most of the race, but was passed by Wilson, who won by 30 yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Harold A. Wilson Great Britain4:11.4Q
2Jean Bouin France4:17.0
3William Galbraith Canada4:20.2

Semifinal 8

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

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford Great Britain4:09.2Q
2Edward Dahl Sweden4:10.4
3Hanns Braun Germany4:18.2
4Oscar Larsen NorwayUnknown
5François Delloye BelgiumUnknown
6Axel Andersson SwedenUnknown
7James Fitzgerald CanadaUnknown

Final
The start of the final.
Mel Sheppard winning the final.

The final was held on Tuesday, July 14, 1908. Crawford went out fast, leading for the first 500 metres before tiring badly. Wilson, Hallows, and Sheppard led out going into the final straight, but Sheppard's late burst powered him to the front. He won by about 2 yards and equalled the Olympic record that Hallows had set in the first round.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Mel Sheppard United States4:03.4=OR
Harold A. Wilson Great Britain4:03.6
Norman Hallows Great Britain4:04.0
4John Tait Canada4:06.8
5Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford Great Britain4:07.6
6Joe Deakin Great Britain4:07.9
—Ernest Loney Great BritainDNF
James Sullivan United StatesDNF

References
  1. "Athletics at the 1908 London Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. Official report, p. 32.

Sources
  • 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 30 July 2006.
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 30 July 2006.
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