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Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

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Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Olympic Athletics
VenueCentennial Olympic Stadium
Dates29 July 1996 (heats)
1 August 1996 (semi-finals)
3 August 1996 (final)
Competitors57 from 37 nations
Winning time3:35.78
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Noureddine Morceli
 Algeria
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Fermín Cacho
 Spain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Stephen Kipkorir
 Kenya
← 1992
2000 →

The men's 1500 metres was an event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There were 57 competitors from 37 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event took place between 29 July and 3 August.[1] The event was won by 0.62 seconds by Noureddine Morceli of Algeria, the nation's first championship in the men's 1500 metres. Fermín Cacho of Spain was unable to repeat as gold medalist, but took silver to become the fourth man to win two medals in the event.

Summary

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Algerian Noureddine Morceli had dominated the 1500 for five years, holding the world record and winning the previous three world championships. But Hicham El Guerrouj, from neighboring Morocco was the rising star, who had chased Morceli in the most recent world championships. This was expected to be the match race. While Morceli had led the semi-finals in close to Olympic record time, the final race was much slower and entirely strategic. Approaching the bell at the end of the third lap, Morceli had moved into the lead with El Guerrouj sprinting up to his shoulder. Morceli held him off with El Guerrouj having to cede position and move in behind Morceli squeezing in front of defending champion, master tactician Fermin Cacho who was perfectly positioned directly behind Morceli. Two strides later El Guerrouj tripped and fell. Morceli took off sprinting at the same moment the rest of the field had to evade El Guerrouj's body on the track. Cacho was forced to leap over the fallen El Guerrouj, almost stepping on him. Next in line Abdi Bile had to jump off the track to the infield. Morceli opened up 2 meters in the process, which he widened to 5 down the backstretch. Cacho and Bile held that gap onto the final straight. Bile faded while Cacho held on until he could see it was futile to catch Morceli, jogging in for silver. Stephen Kipkorir led two other Kenyan teammates around Bile to take bronze. After quickly staggering to his feet, El Guerrouj chased the field but shocked and disheartened, he was unable to catch anybody.

Background

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This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All three medalists (Fermín Cacho of Spain, Rachid El Basir of Morocco, and Mohamed Suleiman of Qatar) from 1992 returned, along with seventh-place finisher Noureddine Morceli of Algeria and ninth-place finisher Graham Hood of Canada. Morceli had been favored in Barcelona, and was again a favorite in Atlanta; he had won the last three world championships and broken the world record twice. Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco was a rising star expected to challenge Morceli; he had come in second at the 1995 world championships and would go on to win the next four and break the world record himself. Vénuste Niyongabo of Burundi would have been another contender but chose not to enter in order to focus on the 5000 metres.[2]

Burundi, Dominica, the Maldives, the Solomon Islands, and Ukraine each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 22nd appearance, most of all nations (having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games).

Competition format

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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 semifinals and finals introduced in 1984 and used again in 1992 were used.

There were five heats in the first round, each with 11 or 12 runners. The top four runners in each heat, along with the next four fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 24 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals, each with 12 runners. The top five men in each semifinal, plus the next two fastest overall, advanced to the 12-man final.[2][3]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.

World record  Noureddine Morceli (ALG) 3:27.37 Nice, France 12 July 1995
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

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All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

Date Time Round
Monday, 29 July 1996 10:45 Round 1
Wednesday, 31 July 1996 19:55 Semifinals
Saturday, 3 August 1996 19:50 Final

Results

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Round 1

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Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Laban Rotich  Kenya 3:35.88 Q
2 Marko Koers  Netherlands 3:36.18 Q
3 Niall Bruton  Ireland 3:37.42 Q
4 Kevin McKay  Great Britain 3:38.02 Q
5 Ovidiu Olteanu  Romania 3:38.33
6 Vyacheslav Shabunin  Russia 3:38.56
7 Edgar de Oliveira  Brazil 3:40.70
8 Steve Agar  Dominica 3:43.02
9 Brian Hyde  United States 3:48.20
10 Andriy Bulkovskiy  Ukraine 3:53.30
11 Tawai Keiruan  Vanuatu 4:02.78

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Noureddine Morceli  Algeria 3:41.95 Q
2 John Mayock  Great Britain 3:42.31 Q
3 Abdi Bile  Somalia 3:42.32 Q
4 Reyes Estévez  Spain 3:42.48 Q
5 Rachid El Basir  Morocco 3:42.85
6 Julius Achon  Uganda 3:43.08
7 Luis Jesus  Portugal 3:44.65
8 Joaquim Cruz  Brazil 3:45.32
9 João N'tyamba  Angola 3:46.41
10 Ali Ibrahim  Djibouti 3:46.62
11 Michael Gottschalk  Germany 3:56.46

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ali Hakimi  Tunisia 3:36.58 Q
2 Stephen Kipkorir  Kenya 3:36.70 Q
3 Balázs Tölgyesi  Hungary 3:36.71 Q
4 Driss Maazouzi  Morocco 3:37.08 Q
5 Shane Healy  Ireland 3:37.28 q
6 Branko Zorko  Croatia 3:37.35 q
7 Mohammed Suleiman  Qatar 3:37.70 q
8 Mickaël Damian  France 3:39.21
9 Jason Pyrah  United States 3:39.91
10 António Travassos  Portugal 3:42.01
11 Martin Johns  New Zealand 3:44.91
12 Hussain Riyaz  Maldives 4:15.14

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 3:37.66 Q
2 William Tanui  Kenya 3:37.72 Q
3 Kader Chekhemani  France 3:37.81 Q
4 Isaac Viciosa  Spain 3:37.93 Q
5 Luís Feiteira  Portugal 3:38.09 q
6 Marcus O'Sullivan  Ireland 3:38.16
7 Peter Philipp  Switzerland 3:41.60
8 Werner Edler-Muhr  Austria 3:45.02
9 Alexis Sharangabo  Rwanda 3:46.42
10 Ali Mabruk Ezayedi  Libya 3:51.49
Graham Hood  Canada DNF

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Fermín Cacho  Spain 3:39.84 Q
2 Paul McMullen  United States 3:39.94 Q
3 Christophe Impens  Belgium 3:40.16 Q
4 Anthony Whiteman  Great Britain 3:40.74 Q
5 Andrey Loginov  Russia 3:40.99
6 Dieudonne Kwizera  Burundi 3:41.45
7 Ahmed Krama  Algeria 3:42.09
8 Bahadur Prasad  India 3:46.16
9 Eric Dubus  France 3:47.01
10 Thomas Ebner  Austria 3:48.38
11 Paul Cleary  Australia 3:52.85
12 Selwyn Kole  Solomon Islands 4:03.44

Overall results for round 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Laban Rotich  Kenya 3:35.88 Q
2 Marko Koers  Netherlands 3:36.18 Q
3 Ali Hakimi  Tunisia 3:36.58 Q
4 Stephen Kipkorir  Kenya 3:36.70 Q
5 Balázs Tölgyesi  Hungary 3:36.71 Q
6 Driss Maazouzi  Morocco 3:37.08 Q
6 Shane Healy  Ireland 3:37.28 q
8 Branko Zorko  Croatia 3:37.35 q
9 Niall Bruton  Ireland 3:37.42 Q
10 Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 3:37.66 Q
11 Mohammed Suleiman  Qatar 3:37.70 q
12 William Tanui  Kenya 3:37.72 Q
13 Kader Chekhemani  France 3:37.81 Q
14 Isaac Viciosa  Spain 3:37.93 Q
15 Kevin McKay  Great Britain 3:38.02 Q
16 Luís Feiteira  Portugal 3:38.09 q
17 Marcus O'Sullivan  Ireland 3:38.16
18 Ovidiu Olteanu  Romania 3:38.33
19 Vyacheslav Shabunin  Russia 3:38.56
20 Mickaël Damian  France 3:39.21
21 Fermín Cacho  Spain 3:39.84 Q
22 Jason Pyrah  United States 3:39.91
23 Paul McMullen  United States 3:39.94 Q
24 Christophe Impens  Belgium 3:40.16 Q
25 Anthony Whiteman  Great Britain 3:40.74 Q
26 Peter Philipp  Switzerland 3:41.60
27 Noureddine Morceli  Algeria 3:41.95 Q
28 John Mayock  Great Britain 3:42.31 Q
29 Abdi Bile  Somalia 3:42.32 Q
30 Reyes Estévez  Spain 3:42.48 Q
31 Edgar de Oliveira  Brazil 3:40.70
32 Andrey Loginov  Russia 3:40.99
33 Dieudonne Kwizera  Burundi 3:41.45
34 António Travassos  Portugal 3:42.01
35 Ahmed Krama  Algeria 3:42.09
36 Rachid El Basir  Morocco 3:42.85
37 Steve Agar  Dominica 3:43.02
38 Julius Achon  Uganda 3:43.08
39 Luis Jesus  Portugal 3:44.65
40 Martin Johns  New Zealand 3:44.91
41 Werner Edler-Muhr  Austria 3:45.02
42 Joaquim Cruz  Brazil 3:45.32
43 Bahadur Prasad  India 3:46.16
44 João N'tyamba  Angola 3:46.41
45 Alexis Sharangabo  Rwanda 3:46.42
46 Ali Ibrahim  Djibouti 3:46.62
47 Eric Dubus  France 3:47.01
48 Brian Hyde  United States 3:48.20
49 Thomas Ebner  Austria 3:48.38
50 Ali Mabruk Ezayedi  Libya 3:51.49
51 Paul Cleary  Australia 3:52.85
52 Andriy Bulkovskiy  Ukraine 3:53.30
53 Michael Gottschalk  Germany 3:56.46
54 Tawai Keiruan  Vanuatu 4:02.78
55 Selwyn Kole  Solomon Islands 4:03.44
56 Hussain Riyaz  Maldives 4:15.14
Graham Hood  Canada DNF

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Noureddine Morceli  Algeria 3:32.88 Q
2 Fermín Cacho  Spain 3:33.12 Q
3 Abdi Bile  Somalia 3:33.30 Q
4 William Tanui  Kenya 3:33.57 Q
5 Laban Rotich  Kenya 3:33.73 Q
6 Driss Maazouzi  Morocco 3:34.35 q
7 John Mayock  Great Britain 3:34.55 q
8 Kader Chekhemani  France 3:34.84
9 Branko Zorko  Croatia 3:35.14
10 Balázs Tölgyesi  Hungary 3:35.57
11 Luís Feiteira  Portugal 3:40.31
12 Niall Bruton  Ireland 3:42.88

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 3:35.29 Q
2 Stephen Kipkorir  Kenya 3:35.53 Q
3 Ali Hakimi  Tunisia 3:35.91 Q
4 Mohammed Suleiman  Qatar 3:36.01 Q
5 Marko Koers  Netherlands 3:36.06 Q
6 Isaac Viciosa  Spain 3:36.11
7 Anthony Whiteman  Great Britain 3:36.11
8 Christophe Impens  Belgium 3:37.64
9 Paul McMullen  United States 3:37.81
10 Reyes Estévez  Spain 3:39.44
11 Shane Healy  Ireland 3:39.81
12 Kevin McKay  Great Britain 3:43.61

Overall results for semifinals

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Noureddine Morceli  Algeria 3:32.88 Q
2 Abdi Bile  Somalia 3:33.30 Q
3 William Tanui  Kenya 3:33.57 Q
4 Fermín Cacho  Spain 3:33.12 Q
5 Laban Rotich  Kenya 3:33.73 Q
6 Driss Maazouzi  Morocco 3:34.35 q
7 John Mayock  Great Britain 3:34.55 q
8 Kader Chekhemani  France 3:34.84
9 Branko Zorko  Croatia 3:35.14
10 Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 3:35.29 Q
11 Stephen Kipkorir  Kenya 3:35.53 Q
12 Balázs Tölgyesi  Hungary 3:35.57
13 Ali Hakimi  Tunisia 3:35.91 Q
14 Mohammed Suleiman  Qatar 3:36.01 Q
15 Marko Koers  Netherlands 3:36.06 Q
16 Isaac Viciosa  Spain 3:36.11
17 Anthony Whiteman  Great Britain 3:36.11
18 Christophe Impens  Belgium 3:37.64
19 Paul McMullen  United States 3:37.81
20 Reyes Estévez  Spain 3:39.44
21 Shane Healy  Ireland 3:39.81
22 Luís Feiteira  Portugal 3:40.31
23 Niall Bruton  Ireland 3:42.88
24 Kevin McKay  Great Britain 3:43.61

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Noureddine Morceli  Algeria 3:35.78
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Fermín Cacho  Spain 3:36.40
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Stephen Kipkorir  Kenya 3:36.72
4 Laban Rotich  Kenya 3:37.39
5 William Tanui  Kenya 3:37.42
6 Abdi Bile  Somalia 3:38.03
7 Marko Koers  Netherlands 3:38.18
8 Ali Hakimi  Tunisia 3:38.19
9 Mohammed Suleiman  Qatar 3:38.26
10 Driss Maazouzi  Morocco 3:39.65
11 John Mayock  Great Britain 3:40.18
12 Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 3:40.75

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1996 Atlanta Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, pp. 76–77.
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