Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

These are the official results of the Men's 1500 metres event at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The competition was held on 18 to the 20 of October. The Gold was won by Kenyan Kip Keino, who beat World record holder Jim Ryun, who struggled to adapt to the altitude of Mexico City.[1]

Men's 1500 metres at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
Venue	Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City
Date	18 October 1968 to 20 October 1968
Medalists
Kip Keino  Kenya Jim Ryun  United States Bodo Tümmler  West Germany

Official Video Highlights

Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m	men	women
200 m	men	women
400 m	men	women
800 m	men	women
1500 m	men
5000 m	men
10,000 m	men
80 m hurdles		women
110 m hurdles	men
400 m hurdles	men
3000 m steeplechase	men
4×100 m relay	men	women
4×400 m relay	men
Road events
Marathon	men
20 km walk	men
50 km walk	men
Field events
Long jump	men	women
Triple jump	men
High jump	men	women
Pole vault	men
Shot put	men	women
Discus throw	men	women
Javelin throw	men	women
Hammer throw	men
Combined events
Pentathlon		women
Decathlon	men

While this Olympics was the emergence of Kenyan runners, Kip Keino was not an unknown quantity, he had won the 1966 Commonwealth Games and 1965 African Championships. In the final, it was Ben Jipcho who took the first lap out fast, with Keino lagging to the back of the field. Keino moved up toward the front, but didn't take the lead until two laps to go. When he moved forward, he did so decisively, creating a 30-meter gap on the field. Ryun was known for his last lap kicks. He held back waiting for the bell. At the bell he took off in chase, but Bodo Tümmler was also intent on racing. Ryun was able to beat Tümmler down the backstretch but his last lap kick was no match for the still more than 20 meter lead Keino held onto the final straightaway.