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

Men's 1500 metres at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Venue	White City Stadium
Dates	July 13 (semifinals) July 14 (final)
Competitors	44 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 m		men
200 m		men
400 m		men
800 m		men
1500 m		men
5 miles		men
110 m hurdles		men
400 m hurdles		men
3200 m steeplechase		men
Medley relay		men
3 mile team race		men
Road events
Marathon	men
3500 m walk	men
10 mile walk	men
Field events
Long jump	men
Triple jump	men
High jump	men
Pole vault	men
Standing long jump	men
Standing high jump	men
Shot put	men
Discus throw	men
Hammer throw	men
Javelin throw	men
Greek discus	men
Freestyle javelin	men

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. 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.

44 runners from 15 nations competed.

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.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	James Sullivan (USA)	4:07.6	Q
2	James Lightbody (USA)	4:08.6
3	Frederick Meadows (CAN)	4:12.2
4	Francis Knott (GBR)	Unknown
5	Joseph M. Smith (GBR)	Unknown
6	Louis de Fleurac (FRA)	Unknown
7	Nils Dahl (NOR)	Unknown
8	Ödön Bodor (HUN)	Unknown
9	Jacques Keyser (NED)	Unknown

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.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Mel Sheppard (USA)	4:05.0 OR	Q
2	John Halstead (USA)	4:05.6
3	George Butterfield (GBR)	4:11.8
4	John W. Lee (GBR)	(4:12.4)
5	Joseph Lynch (ANZ)	Unknown
6	Kjeld Nielsen (DEN)	Unknown
7	Arno Hesse (GER)	Unknown

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.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Norman Hallows (GBR)	4:03.4 OR	Q
2	Emilio Lunghi (ITA)	4:03.8
—	Evert Björn (SWE)	Did not finish
	Massimo Cartasegna (ITA)	Did not finish
	Frank Riley (USA)	Did not finish
	Charles Swain (ANZ)	Did not finish

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.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Vincent Loney (GBR)	4:08.4	Q
2	Harry Coe (USA)	4:09.2
3	John McGough (GBR)	4:16.4
4	Stefanos Dimitrios (GRE)	Unknown
5	Joseph Dreher (FRA)	Unknown

Semifinal 5

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

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	John Tait (CAN)	4:12.2	Q
2	József Nagy (HUN)	4:19.6
3	Fredrik Svanström (FIN)	4:25.2
—	Gaston Ragueneau (FRA)	Did not finish

Semifinal 6

Deakin won by seventy-five yards.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Joe Deakin (GBR)	4:13.6	Q
2	Andreas Breynck (GER)	4:30.0
3	Arie Vosbergen (NED)	4:38.6

Semifinal 7

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

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Harold Wilson (GBR)	4:11.4	Q
2	Jean Bouin (FRA)	4:17.0
3	William Galbraith (CAN)	4:20.2

Semifinal 8

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

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1	Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford (GBR)	4:09.2	Q
2	Edward Dahl (SWE)	4:10.4
3	Hanns Braun (GER)	4:18.2
4	Oscar Larsen (NOR)	Unknown
5	François Delloye (BEL)	Unknown
6	Axel Andersson (SWE)	Unknown
7	John E. Fitzgerald (CAN)	Unknown

Final

The final was held on Tuesday, July 14, 1908.

The start of the final.

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.

Mel Sheppard winning the final.

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Mel Sheppard (USA)	4:03.4 EOR
2	Harold Wilson (GBR)	4:03.6
3	Norman Hallows (GBR)	4:04.0
4	John Tait (CAN)	4:06.8
5	Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford (GBR)	4:07.6
6	Joe Deakin (GBR)	4:07.9
—	Vincent Loney (GBR)	Did not finish
	James Sullivan (USA)	Did not finish

References

• 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.