1920 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 1500 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	1500 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	29 athletes from 12 countries
Competition location	Antwerp Olympic Stadium
Competition phase	August 18, 1920 (preliminary round) August 19, 1920 (final)
Medalist Albert Hill ( GBR )   Philip Noel-Baker ( GBR )   Lawrence Shields ( USA )

The men's 1500 meter run at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp was held on August 18 and 19, 1920 in the Antwerp Olympic Stadium. 29 athletes took part.

The British Albert Hill was Olympic champion ahead of his compatriot Philip Noel-Baker . American Lawrence Shields won bronze .

There were no athletes from Switzerland at the start. Germany and Austria were excluded from participating in the 1920 Olympic Games .

Existing records

World record	John Zander ( Sweden )	3: 54.7 min	Stockholm	August 5, 1917
Olympic record	Arnold Jackson ( Great Britain )	3: 56.8 min	Stockholm	July 10, 1912

Conducting the competition

A total of four preliminary runs were carried out on August 19 (3:15 p.m. local time). The first three runners qualified for the final on August 20 (start: 5.15 p.m.).

Note: The runners qualified for the next round are highlighted in light blue.

Prelims

Date: August 19, 1920, 3:15 p.m. local time

The times are not completely handed down.

Forward 1

Failed fourth in his prelim: Edvin Wide (SWE)

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Václav Vohralík	Czechoslovakia	4: 02.2 min
2	Albert Hill	Great Britain	4: 03.2 min
3	André Audinet	France	4: 03.7 min
4th	Edvin Wide	Sweden	4: 03.8 min
5	Edward Lawrence	Canada	4: 03.9 min
6th	Carlo Martinenghi	Italy	k. A.
DNF	Lucien Bangels	Belgium
	Edward Curtis	United States

Forward 2

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Sven Lundgren	Sweden	4: 07.0 min
2	Duncan McPhee	Great Britain	4: 07.2 min
3	Lawrence Shields	United States	4: 07.4 min
4th	Armand Burtin	France	4: 07.7 min
5	Elvind Rasmussen	Norway	4: 08.2 min
6th	Tommy Town	Canada	k. A.
7th	Giuseppe Bonini	Italy	k. A.
8th	Théophile Roeckaerts	Belgium	k. A.

Forward 3

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	John Zander	Sweden	4: 08.1 min
2	Arturo Porro	Italy	4: 09.0 min
3	James Connolly	United States	4: 09.3 min
4th	Maurice de Conninck	France	4: 09.8 min
5	Léoncé Oleffe	Belgium	4: 11.5 min

Forward 4

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Joie Ray	United States	4: 13.4 min
2	Philip Noel-Baker	Great Britain	4: 14.3 min
3	Léon Fourneau	Belgium	4: 14.8 min
4th	Fritz Kiölling	Sweden	4: 14.8 min
5	René Leray	France	4: 15.0 min
6th	Saburo Hasumi	Japan	k. A.
DNF	Juan Muguerza	Spain
DSQ	Johannes Villemson	Estonia

There was a tussle between the French René Leray and the Estonian Johannes Villemson, in which Leray was hindered according to the judgment of the arbitration court. Villemson was disqualified, Leray was allowed to participate in the final.

final

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Albert Hill	Great Britain	4: 01.8 min
2	Philip Noel-Baker	Great Britain	4: 02.4 min
3	Lawrence Shields	United States	4: 03.1 min
4th	Václav Vohralík	Czechoslovakia	4: 04.6 min
5	Sven Lundgren	Sweden	4: 06.3 min
6th	André Audinet	France	4: 06.4 min
7th	Arturo Porro	Italy	4: 06.6 min
8th	Joie Ray	United States	4: 10.0 min
9	Léon Fourneau	Belgium	4: 10.3 min
10	René Leray	France	4: 16.5 min
DNF	Duncan McPhee	Great Britain
	James Connolly	United States
	John Zander	Sweden

Date: August 20, 1920, 5:15 p.m. local time

The American Joie Ray was the favorite for the 1500 meters due to his success at the American championships over 1 mile and the excellent times he achieved there . But a few days before the final he was injured and had no chance, although he tried everything. In the beginning, he and Václav Vohralík ensured a good pace early on. Albert Hill and Philip Noel-Baker followed and took the lead on the last lap. Ray slowed down, Lawrence Shields got stronger and stronger and took third place. But he couldn't get past Noel-Baker. Hill took a decisive lead in the final stages and won the gold medal. Noel-Baker defended his second place ahead of Shields. Vohralík reached fourth place ahead of the Swede Sven Lundgren.

After his victory over the 800 meters two days earlier, Albert Hill celebrated his second gold medal.

Philip Noel-Baker later went into politics, held several ministerial posts and campaigned for disarmament and peace throughout his life. In 1959 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for this .

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 1: 1896-1936, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 2nd edition 1970, pp. 136f

Web links

• SportsReference 1500 m , accessed August 30, 2017

Video

• Albert Hill's Double Olympic Gold - Athletics - Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games , published June 28, 2012 on youtube.com, accessed August 30, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Berlin 2009 page 549 ( Memento from June 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
2. ^ Official report, page 95 (French) ( Memento from October 7, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Description of the finals on SportsReference
4. ↑ Philip Noel-Baker , Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1959 on born.am, accessed July 29, 2017