The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (approximately 0.93 miles) is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983.

The demands of the race are similar to that of the 800 metres, but with a slightly higher emphasis on aerobic endurance and a slightly lower sprint speed requirement. The 1500 metre race is predominantly aerobic, but anaerobic conditioning is also required and the 1500 metre athlete needs to balance between endurance training with the ability to offset high amounts of lactic acid.^[1]

In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could run 400 metres. Each lap run during the world-record race run by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 in Rome, Italy averaged just under 56 seconds (or under 13.8 seconds every 100 metres).^[2] 1,500 metres is three and three-quarter laps around a 400-metre track. During the 1970s and 1980s this race was dominated by British runners, along with an occasional Finn, American, or New Zealander, but through the 1990s a large number of African runners began to take over in being the masters of this race, with runners from Kenya, Morocco, and Algeria winning the Olympic gold medals.

In the Modern Olympic Games, the men's 1,500-metre race has been contested from the beginning, and at every Olympiad since. The first winner, in 1896, was Edwin Flack of Australia, who also won the first gold medal in the 800-metre race. The women's 1,500-metre race was first added to the Summer Olympics in 1972, and the winner of the first gold medal was Lyudmila Bragina of the Soviet Union. During the Olympiads of 1972 through 2008, the women's 1,500-metre race has been won by three Soviets plus one Russian, one Italian, one Romanian, one Briton, one Kenyan, and two Algerians, with the latter two winners being a big step forward for the women of Muslim countries, and for North Africa as a whole. The best times for the race were controversially ^[3] set by Chinese runners, all set in the same race on just two dates 4 years apart at the Chinese National Games.

In American high schools, the one-mile run (which is 1609.344 metres in length) and the 1,600-metre run, also colloquially referred to as "metric mile", are more frequently run than the 1,500-metre run, since US customary units are better-known in America. Which distance is used depends on which state the high school is in, and, for convenience, national rankings are standardized by converting all 1,600-metre run times to their mile run equivalents.^[4]

Top ten fastest athletes[link]

Men[link]

• Correct as of February 2012.^[5]

Rank	Res.	Athlete	Nation	Date	Location
1.	3:26.00	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	14 July 1998	Rome
2.	3:26.34	Bernard Lagat	Kenya	24 August 2001	Brussels
3.	3:27.37	Noureddine Morceli	Algeria	12 July 1995	Nice
4.	3:28.12	Noah Ngeny	Kenya	11 August 2000	Zürich
5.	3:28.95	Fermín Cacho	Spain	13 August 1997	Zürich
6.	3:28.98	Mehdi Baala	France	5 September 2003	Brussels
7.	3:29.02	Daniel Kipchirchir Komen	Kenya	14 July 2006	Rome
8.	3:29.14	Rashid Ramzi	Bahrain	14 July 2006	Rome
9.	3:29.18	Vénuste Niyongabo	Burundi	22 August 1997	Brussels
10.	3:29.27	Silas Kiplagat	Kenya	22 July 2010	Monaco

Women[link]

• Correct as of February 2012.^[6]

Rank	Res.	Athlete	Nation	Date	Location
1.	3:50.46	Yunxia Qu	China	11 September 1993	Beijing
2.	3:50.98	Bo Jiang	China	18 October 1997	Shanghai
3.	3:51.34	Yinglai Lang	China	18 October 1997	Shanghai
4.	3:51.92	Junxia Wang	China	11 September 1993	Beijing
5.	3:52.47	Tatyana Kazankina	Soviet Union	13 August 1980	Zürich
6.	3:53.91	Lili Yin	China	18 October 1997	Shanghai
7.	3:53.96	Paula Ivan	Romania	1 October 1988	Seoul
8.	3:53.97	Lixin Lan	China	18 October 1997	Shanghai
9.	3:54.23	Olga Dvirna	Soviet Union	27 July 1982	Kiev
10.	3:54.52	Ling Zhang	China	18 October 1997	Shanghai

Annual best outdoor performances[link]

Men[link]

Year	Time	Athlete	Location
1966	3:36.1	Jim Ryun (USA)	Berkeley
1967	3:33.1	Jim Ryun (USA)	Los Angeles
1968	3:34.9	Kipchoge Keino (KEN)	Mexico City
1969	3:37.2	Marty Liquori (USA)	Stuttgart
1970	3:34.0	Jean Wadoux (FRA)	Colombes
1971	3:36.0	Marty Liquori (USA)	Milan
1972	3:36.33	Pekka Vasala (FIN)	Munich
1973	3:34.6	Filbert Bayi (TAN)	Helsinki
1974	3:32.16	Filbert Bayi (TAN)	Christchurch
1975	3:32.4	John Walker (NZL)	Oslo
1976	3:34.19	John Walker (NZL)	Stockholm
1977	3:32.72	John Walker (NZL)	Brussels
1978	3:35.48	David Moorcroft (GBR)	Edmonton
1979	3:32.03	Sebastian Coe (GBR)	Zürich
1980	3:31.36	Steve Ovett (GBR)	Koblenz
1981	3:31.57	Steve Ovett (GBR)	Budapest
1982	3:32.12	Sydney Maree (USA)	Brussels
1983	3:30.77	Steve Ovett (GBR)	Rieti
1984	3:31.54	Saïd Aouita (MAR)	Hengelo
1985	3:29.46	Saïd Aouita (MAR)	Berlin
1986	3:29.77	Sebastian Coe (GBR)	Rieti
1987	3:30.69	Saïd Aouita (MAR)	Oslo
1988	3:30.95	Steve Cram (GBR)	Brussels
1989	3:30.55	Abdi Bile (SOM)	Rieti
1990	3:32.60	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Bologna
1991	3:31.00	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Helsinki
1992	3:28.86	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Rieti
1993	3:29.20	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Narbonne
1994	3:30.61	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Villeneuve d'Ascq
1995	3:27.37	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Nice
1996	3:29.05	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Brussels
1997	3:28.91	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Zürich
1998	3:26.00	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Rome
1999	3:27.65	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Seville
2000	3:27.21	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Zürich
2001	3:26.12	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Brussels
2002	3:26.89	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Zürich
2003	3:28.40	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Brussels
2004	3:27.40	Bernard Lagat (KEN)	Zürich
2005	3:29.30	Bernard Lagat (USA)	Rieti
2006	3:29.02	Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (KEN)	Rome
2007	3:30.54	Alan Webb (USA)	Saint-Denis
2008	3:31.49	Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (KEN)	Monaco
2009	3:29.47	Augustine Kiprono Choge (KEN)	Berlin
2010	3:29.27	Silas Kiplagat (KEN)	Monaco
2011	3:30.46	Asbel Kiprop (KEN)	Rieti

Women[link]

Year	Time	Athlete	Location
1970	4:12.2	Karin Burneleit (GDR)	Berlin
1971	4:09.6	Karin Burneleit (GDR)	Helsinki
1972	4:01.4	Lyudmila Bragina (URS)	Munich
1973	4:04.6	Karin Krebs (GDR)	Potsdam
1974	4:02.25	Gunhild Hoffmeister (GDR)	Rome
1975	4:06.0	Nina Morgunova (URS)	Moscow
1976	3:56.0	Tatyana Kazankina (URS)	Podolsk
1977	4:02.65	Natalia Marasescu (ROU)	Bucharest
1978	3:59.01	Giana Romanova (URS)	Prague
1979	3:57.4	Totka Petrova (BUL)	Athens
1980	3:52.47	Tatyana Kazankina (URS)	Zürich
1981	3:57.78	Olga Dvirna (URS)	Budapest
1982	3:54.23	Olga Dvirna (URS)	Kiev
1983	3:57.12	Mary Slaney (USA)	Stockholm
1984	3:56.63	Nadezhda Ralldugina (URS)	Prague
1985	3:57.24	Mary Slaney (USA)	Brussels
1986	3:56.7	Doina Melinte (ROU)	Bucharest
1987	3:58.56	Tatyana Dorovskikh (URS)	Rome
1988	3:53.96	Paula Ivan (ROU)	Seoul
1989	3:59.23	Paula Ivan (ROU)	Nice
1990	3:58.69	Doina Melinte (ROU)	Villeneuve d'Ascq
1991	3:59.16	Natalya Artyomova (RUS)	Zürich
1992	3:55.30	Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG)	Barcelona
1993	3:50.46	Qu Yunxia (CHN)	Beijing
1994	3:59.10	Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL)	Nice
1995	3:58.85	Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL)	Monaco
1996	3:56.77	Svetlana Masterkova (RUS)	Zürich
1997	3:50.98	Jiang Bo (CHN)	Shanghai
1998	3:56.97	Gabriela Szabo (ROU)	Monaco
1999	3:59.31	Violeta Szekely (ROU)	Zürich
2000	3:57.40	Suzy Favor-Hamilton (USA)	Oslo
2001	3:59.35	Violeta Szekely (ROU)	Monaco
2002	3:57.75	Süreyya Ayhan (TUR)	Brussels
2003	3:55.33	Süreyya Ayhan (TUR)	Brussels
2004	3:57.90	Kelly Holmes (GBR)	Athens
2005	3:56.79	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	Rieti
2006	3:55.68	Yuliya Fomenko (RUS)	Saint-Denis
2007	3:58.75	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	Osaka
2008	3:59.84	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	Lausanne
2009	3:56.55	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	Rome
2010	3:57.65	Anna Alminova (RUS)	Saint-Denis
2011	4:00.06	Morgan Uceny (USA)	Brussels

Other sports[link]

1,500 metres is also an event in swimming and speed skating. The world records for the distance in swimming for men are 14:10.10 (swum in a 25 metre pool) swum by Grant Hackett; 14:34.14 (swum in a 50 metre pool) by Sun Yang, and by women 15:32.90 (swum in a 25 metre pool); 15:42.54 (swum in a 50 metre pool) by Kate Ziegler.

The world records for the distance in speed skating are 1:41.04 by Shani Davis and 1:51.79 by Cindy Klassen.^[7]

See also[link]

• World record progression 1500 metres

References[link]

External links[link]

• Statistics

Mary D. Cain (born August 17, 1904 - May 6, 1984) was a Mississippi newspaper editor and Democratic politician. A fiery and outspoken supporter of segregation and other conservative causes, she earned herself the nickname "Hacksaw Mary" ^[1]. Besides editing the Summit Sun, a weekly newspaper of Pike County, Mississippi, she was the first woman to run for governor in the state, though she never won the office. Cain first came to national attention in 1952 when she refused to pay $42.87 in social security taxes, calling the program "unconstitutional, immoral and un-American" ^[2]. She considered the federal government in general a "bloated abomination" ^[3]. Cain died on May 6, 1984 at the age of 79.

Footnotes[link]

Ashton Eaton

Personal information
Born	(1988-01-21) January 21, 1988 (age 24) Bend, Oregon
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Track and field athletics
Event(s)	Decathlon, heptathlon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Decathlon: 8,729 Heptathlon: 6645 (WR)
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for  United States World Championships Silver 2011 Daegu Decathlon World Indoor Championships Gold 2012 Istanbul Heptathlon

Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is an American decathlete, who competes for the Oregon Track Club Elite team based in Eugene, Oregon. He currently holds the world record in the heptathlon.

College career[link]

In 2008, Eaton won the decathlon at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship.^[1]

In 2009, Eaton defended his decathlon title at the NCAA Championships to win with 8,241 points (wind aided).^[2] He also won the heptathlon title at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships with 5,988 points. Eaton won the Division I field athlete of the year award in 2009.^[3]

At the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships, Eaton broke the heptathlon world record with a score of 6,499, eclipsing Dan O'Brien's 17-year-old mark by 23 points.^[4] In June 2010, he won his third consecutive NCAA decathlon title by finishing first in the decathlon with a personal best of 8,457 points.^[5]

In 2010 Ashton Eaton won The Bowerman, which has been described as the Track and Field version of the Heisman Trophy.

International career[link]

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Eaton placed fifth overall.^[6]

At the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Eaton placed second in the decathlon behind Trey Hardee. This earned him a place at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, in Berlin, where he finished 18th with a points total of 8061.^[7][8]

He improved his own world record in the indoor heptathlon at the International Indoor Combined Events Meeting in Tallinn in February 2011. In spite of under-performing in the high jump he managed a score of 6568 points.^[9]

In August 2011, at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Eaton won the silver medal in the decathlon competition with a final points tally of 8505, losing first place to his compatriot Trey Hardee.^[10]

In March 2012, at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Eaton won the gold medal in the heptathlon competition with a new world record 6645 winning 5 events (60m, 60m hurdles, long jump, pole vault and 1000m) out of 7, finished third for the rest (high jump and shot put) while beating silver medal winner Oleksiy Kasyanov by 574 points (6071).

Personal bests[link]

Eaton at the 2011 World Athletics Championships

Outdoor[link]

As of April 2, 2012.

Indoor[link]

Ashton Eaton en-route to victory in 2012 Indoor World Championship.

As of March 10, 2012.

See also[link]

• Men's heptathlon world record progression

References[link]

External links[link]

• IAAF profile for Ashton Eaton
• USATF profile for Ashton Eaton
• University of Oregon bio: Ashton Eaton
• Ashton Eaton on Twitter

Records
Preceded by Dan O'Brien	Men's heptathlon world record holder March 13, 2010 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Galen Rupp	The Bowerman (men's winner) 2010	Succeeded by Ngoni Makusha

Asbel Kipruto Kiprop

Personal information
Nationality	Kenya
Born	(1989-06-30) 30 June 1989 (age 22) Uasin Gishu
Height	1.88 metres (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	62 kilograms (140 lb)
Sport
Sport	Running
Event(s)	800 metres, 1500 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	800 m: 1:43.15 Mile 3:48.50 1500 m 3:29.78 3000 m: 7:42.32
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for  Kenya Summer Olympics Gold 2008 Beijing 1500 m World Championships Gold 2011 Daegu 1500 m African Championships Gold 2010 Nairobi 1500 m Bronze 2008 Addis Ababa 800 m All-Africa Games Gold 2007 Algiers 1500 m

Asbel Kipruto Kiprop (born June 30, 1989 in Uasin Gishu) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner, who specializes in the 1500 metres. Kiprop was awarded the 1500 m gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics after the original winner, Rashid Ramzi, tested positive for doping.^[1] Kiprop won his first world title in the event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.

He won his first major title at the 2007 All-Africa Games, taking the 1500 m gold medal, and also won the event at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics, improving upon a bronze medal performance from 2008. His personal best for the distance is 3:30.46.

Career[link]

The 2007 season became his breakthrough year, when he won junior race gold medal at the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships^[2] and then the 1500 m gold at the at the All-Africa Games.^[3] He ran a personal best to finish fourth in the 1500 m at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.^[4] In recognition of his achievements, he won the Most Promising Sportsman of the Year category at the 2007 Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year awards.^[5]

He ran at the 2008 African Championships in Athletics and took the bronze medal in the 800 m and came fourth in the 1500 m race. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kiprop was narrowly beat out by Bahraini Rashid Ramzi for the gold medal.^[6] However, Kiprop was awarded the gold medal after Ramzi tested positive for CERA, a banned substance which is a newer version of the more commonly known EPO.^[7][8] Kiprop has stated he is not very happy about the way he won the gold medal.^[9] He ended the year with a silver medal at the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final, finishing behind the African champion Haron Keitany.

At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, in Berlin, Kiprop disappointed many when he finished fourth for the second time in the 1500 m.^[10] Kiprop also participated in the 800 m but was eliminated in the semifinals.

He won the gold in the 1500 m at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics, running a championship record time of 3:36.19 to win in Nairobi.^[11] He competed on the 2010 IAAF Diamond League circuit that year and after victories at the Bislett Games, Prefontaine Classic and British Grand Prix, he went on to secure the inaugural 1500 m Diamond League title with a win at the final event at the Memorial van Damme. He represented Africa at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup, but managed only sixth place.^[12]

He ran at the 2011 Great Edinburgh Cross Country in January, taking second place in the short race behind Eliud Kipchoge.^[13] Later that year he became world champion over 1500 m, defeating his Kenyan rival, Silas Kiplagat at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. Kiprop ran the final 800 meters of the race well under 1:50 and the final 400 meters in 51 seconds plus. Kiprop was leading in the rankings of the 2011 IAAF Diamond League, having won at the Bislett Games Dream Mile and placed second at the Shanghai, Paris and Stockholm meets. However, at the event final at the Weltklasse Zürich, he managed only seventh while Nixon Chepseba won to take the seasonal title.^[14]

He had his best cross country race since he was a junior runner at the Edinburgh race in 2012, defeating a field which contained Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele.^[15]

Personal life[link]

Kiprop is from Kaptinga village, near Eldoret. He is a son of David and Julia Kebenei. His father David Kebenei was also an athlete, who participated the 1987 All-Africa Games in Kenya and finished fourth in the 1500 metres race. Kiprop started running at the age of 13, while at Simat School. Later he dropped out of high-school to concentrate on training.^[16] Kiprop trains at the Kipchoge Keino High Performance Training Centre in Eldoret.^[17] He was, however, expelled from the camp in 2009 for breaking the rules by bringing his girlfriend to the centre.^[18] His younger brother Victor Kipchirchir Kebenei is also a 1500 metres runner.^[19]

Kiprop has stated his first name, Asbel, means determined.^[20]

Statistics[link]

Personal bests[link]

All Information taken from IAAF profile.^[21]

Achievements[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• IAAF profile for Asbel Kiprop