World record progression 1500 metres
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The 1500 metre run became a standard racing in Europe in the late 19th century, perhaps as a metric version of the mile, a popular running distance since at least the 1850s in English-speaking countries.[1] (p.14)
The French had the first important races over the distance, holding their initial championship in 1888. (ibid) When the Olympic games were revived in 1896, metric distances were run, including the 1500. However, most of the best milers in the world were absent, and the winning time of 4:33 1/5 by Australian Edwin Flack was almost 18 seconds slower than the amateur mile record, despite the fact the mile is 109 metres longer than the 1500 metres.
The 1900 Olympics and 1904 Olympics showed improvements in times run, but it was not until the 1908 Olympics that a meeting of the top milers over the distance took place, and not until the 1912 Olympics that a true world-class race over the distance was run.[1] (p.21)
The distance has now almost completely replaced the mile in major track meets.
Contents |
[edit] Men (Outdoors)
[edit] Pre-IAAF
| TIME | NAME ATHLETE | DATE | PLACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:24 3/5 |  J. Borel (FRA) |
1892 | |
| 4:21 | Fernand Meiers (FRA) |
1893-05-28 | Paris, France |
| 4:19 4/5 | Felix Bourdier (FRA) |
1894-07-22 | Paris, France |
| 4:18 2/5 | Albin Lermusiaux (FRA) |
1895-05-12 | Paris, France |
| 4:16 4/5 | Michel Soalhat (FRA) |
1895-05-26 | Paris, France |
| 4:15 3/5 |  Thomas Conneff (USA) |
1895-08-26 | New York City, USA |
| 4:10 2/5 | Albin Lermusiaux (FRA) |
1896-06-26 | Paris, France |
| 4:09 | John Bray (USA) |
1900-05-30 | Bayonne |
| 4:06 1/5 |  Charles Bennett (GBR) |
1900-07-15 | Paris, France |
| 4:05 2/5 | James Lightbody (USA) |
1904-09-03 | St. Louis, USA |
| 3:59 4/5 | Harold Wilson (GBR) |
1908-05-30 | London, England |
| 3:59 1/5 | Abel Kiviat (USA) |
1912-05-26 | New York City, USA |
[edit] IAAF era
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+ - indicates record set during mile race. These times were not ratified. An asterisk (*) indicates actual time run. The IAAF ratified the records according to the rounding rules then in effect. Hägg's 3:47.5, Andersson's 3:44.9, Bayi's 3:32.16, Coe's 3:32.03 and Ovett's 3:32.09 were ratified as 3:47.6, 3:45.0, 3:32.2, 3:32.1 and 3:32.1 respectively. Ovett's 3:31.36 was initially ratified as 3:31.4 until times to the hundredths were recognized as of 1 May 1981.
[edit] Women (Outdoors)
The IAAF started to recognize women's records in the 1500 metres after 1967.
[edit] Pre-IAAF
| TIME | NAME ATHLETE | DATE | PLACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:18.2 |  Anna Mushkina (URS) |
1927-08-19 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 5:07.0 | Anna Mushkina (URS) |
1934-09-16 | Alma-Ata, Soviet Union |
| 5:02.0 | Lydia Freiberg (URS) |
1936-07-13 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 4:47.2 | Yevdokiya Vasilyeva (URS) |
1936-07-30 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 4:45.2 | Yevdokiya Vasilyeva (URS) |
1937-09-13 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 4:41.8 | Anna Zaytseva-Bosenko (URS) |
1940-06-10 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 4:38.0 | Yevdokiya Vasilyeva (URS) |
1944-08-17 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 4:37.8 | Olga Ovsyannikova (URS) |
1946-09-15 | Dnepropetrovsk, Soviet Union |
| 4:37.0 | Nina Pletnyova (URS) |
1952-08-30 | Leningrad, Soviet Union |
| 4:35.4 | Phyllis Perkins (GBR) |
1956-05-17 | Hornchurch, Great Britain |
| 4:30.0 | Diane Leather (GBR) |
1957-05-16 | Hornchurch, Great Britain |
| 4:29.7+ | Diane Leather (GBR) |
1957-07-19 | London, Great Britain |
| 4:19.0+ |  Marise Chamberlain (NZL) |
1962-12-08 | Perth, Australia |
[edit] IAAF era
| TIME | NAME ATHLETE | DATE | PLACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:17.3+ | Anne Rosemary Smith (GBR) |
1967-06-03 | Chiswick, Great Britain |
| 4:15.6 |  Maria Gommers (NED) |
1967-10-24 | Sittard, Netherlands |
| 4:12.4 |  Paola Pigni (ITA) |
1969-07-02 | Milan, Italy |
| 4:10.77* |  Jaroslava Jehličková (CZE) |
1969-09-20 | Athens, Greece |
| 4:09.62* |  Karin Burneleit (GDR) |
1971-08-15 | Helsinki, Finland |
| 4:06.9 | Ludmila Bragina (URS) |
1972-07-18 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 4:06.47* | Ludmila Bragina (URS) |
1972-09-04 | Munich, Germany |
| 4:05.07* | Ludmila Bragina (URS) |
1972-09-07 | Munich, Germany |
| 4:01.38* | Ludmila Bragina (URS) |
1972-09-09 | Munich, Germany |
| 3:56.0 | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) |
1976-06-28 | Podolsk, Soviet Union |
| 3:55.0 | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) |
1980-07-06 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 3:52.47* | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) |
1980-08-03 | Zurich, Switzerland |
| 3:50.46 |  Qu Yunxia (CHN) |
1993-09-11 | Beijing, China |
+ - En route time during mile race. Times are actual times run. Asterisks indicate the IAAF ratified rounded-up or rounded-down times. Hence, Jehličková's 4:10.77, Burneleit's 4:09.62, Bragina's 4:06.47, 4:05.07 and 4:01.38 were ratified as 4:10.7, 4:09.6, 4:06.5, 4:05.1 and 4:01.4 respectively. Kazankina'a 3:52.47 was initially ratified as 3:52.5 until the IAAF recognized times to the hundredth of a second in 1981.
[edit] Reference
[edit] References
- ^ a b Nelson, Cordner; Quercetani, Roberto (1985). The Milers. ISBN 0-911521-15-1.
[edit] Further reading
- Cordner Nelson and Roberto Quercetani, The Milers, Tafnews Press, 1985, ISBN 0-911521-15-1
