1500 metres

The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') 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. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately 15⁄16 miles. The event is closely associated with its slightly longer cousin, the mile race, from which it derives its nickname "the metric mile".^[1]

Athletics 1500 metres
Olavi Salsola, Olavi Salonen and Olavi Vuorisalo (The three Olavis) break the 1,500 m world record in 1957 in Turku, Finland.
World records
Men	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 3:26.00 (1998)
Women	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 3:50.07 (2015)
Olympic records
Men	Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 3:28.32 (2021)
Women	Faith Kipyegon (KEN) 3:53.11 (2021)
World Championship records
Men	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 3:27.65 (1999)
Women	Sifan Hassan (NED) 3:51.95 (2019)

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.^[2]

Each lap run during the world-record race run by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 in Rome, Italy averaged just under 55 seconds (or under 13.8 seconds per 100 metres).^[3]

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. Through the 1990s, many African runners began to win Olympic medals in this race, especially runners from Kenya, Ethiopia, and East Africa, as well as North African runners from Morocco and Algeria. In the 2020s, European runners began to emerge again in the men's event, with Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the youngest of a dynasty of Norwegian middle-distance runners, winning Olympic Gold in 2021, and Scottish and British runner Jake Wightman winning the World Championship title the following year at the head of an all-European podium. Faith Kipyegon of Kenya maintained Africa's grip on the global titles in the female event in the same time period, although here again, Europeans Sifan Hassan and Laura Muir, and Americans such as Jenny Simpson also contended for the podium.

In the Modern Olympic Games, the men's 1,500-metre race has been contested from the beginning, and at every Olympic Games 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 Olympic Games 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. The 2012 Olympic results are still undecided as a result of multiple doping cases. The best women's times for the race were controversially^[4] set by Chinese runners, all set in the same race on just two dates four years apart at the Chinese National Games. At least one of those top Chinese athletes has admitted to being part of a doping program.^[5] This women's record was finally broken by Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia in 2015.

In American high schools, the 1,600-metre run, also colloquially referred to as "metric mile", is the designated official distance by the National Governing Body the NFHS. Because of the legacy, since US customary units are better-known in America, the mile run (which is 1609.344 metres in length) is more frequently run than the 1,500-metre run. For convenience, national rankings are standardized by converting all 1,500-metre run times to their mile run equivalents.^[6]

Strategy

Many 1500 metres events, particularly at the championship level, turn into slow, strategic races, with the pace quickening and competitors jockeying for position in the final lap to settle the race in a final sprint. Such is the difficulty of maintaining the pace throughout the duration of the event, most records are set in planned races led by pacemakers or "rabbits" who sacrifice their opportunity to win by leading the early laps at a fast pace before dropping out.

The person who wins the race is behind watching.

— Filbert Bayi, former world record holder^[7]

Continental records

• Updated 19 August 2021.^[8][9]

Area	Men			Women
	Time	Athlete	Nation	Time	Athlete	Nation
Africa (records)	3:26.00 WR	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	3:50.07 WR	Genzebe Dibaba	Ethiopia
Asia (records)	3:29.14	Rashid Ramzi	Bahrain	3:50.46	Yunxia Qu	China
Europe (records)	3:28.32	Jakob Ingebrigtsen	Norway	3:51.95	Sifan Hassan	Netherlands
North, Central America and Caribbean (records)	3:29.30	Bernard Lagat	United States	3:54.99	Shelby Houlihan	United States
Oceania (records)	3:29.66	Nick Willis	New Zealand	3:58.81	Jessica Hull	Australia
South America (records)	3:33.25	Hudson de Souza	Brazil	4:05.67	Letitia Vriesde	Suriname

All-time top 25

See also: 1500 metres world record progression

Men

• Correct as of July 2022.^[10]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	3:26.00	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	14 JUL 1998	Rome
	2	3:26.12	El Guerrouj #2		24 AUG 2001	Brussels
2	3	3:26.34	Bernard Lagat	Kenya	24 AUG 2001	Brussels
	4	3:26.45	El Guerrouj #3		12 AUG 1998	Zürich
3	5	3:26.69	Asbel Kiprop	Kenya	17 JUL 2015	Monaco	^[11]
	6	3:26.89	El Guerrouj #4		16 AUG 2002	Zürich
	7	3:26.96	El Guerrouj #5		08 SEP 2002	Rieti
	8	3:27.21	El Guerrouj #6		11 AUG 2000	Zürich
	9	3:27.34	El Guerrouj #7		19 JUL 2002	Monaco
4	10	3:27.37	Noureddine Morceli	Algeria	12 JUL 1995	Nice
	11	3:27.40	Lagat #2		06 AUG 2004	Zürich
	12	3:27.52	Morceli #2		25 JUL 1995	Monaco
	13	3:27.64	El Guerrouj #8		6 AUG 2004	Zürich
5	13	3:27.64	Silas Kiplagat	Kenya	18 JUL 2014	Monaco	^[12]
	15	3:27.65	El Guerrouj #9		24 AUG 1999	Seville
	16	3:27.72	Kiprop #2		19 JUL 2013	Monaco	^[13]
	17	3:27.91	Lagat #3		19 JUL 2002	Monaco
6	18	3:28.12	Noah Ngeny	Kenya	11 AUG 2000	Zürich
7	19	3:28.28	Timothy Cheruiyot	Kenya	09 JUL 2021	Monaco	^[14]
8	20	3:28.32	Jakob Ingebrigtsen	Norway	07 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[15]
	21	3:28.37	Morceli #3		09 SEP 1995	Monaco
			El Guerrouj #10		08 AUG 1998	Monaco
	23	3:28.38	El Guerrouj #11		06 JUL 2001	Saint-Denis
	24	3:28.40	El Guerrouj #12		05 SEP 2003	Brussels
	25	3:28.41	Cheruiyot #2		20 JUL 2018	Monaco
9		3:28.75	Taoufik Makhloufi	Algeria	17 JUL 2015	Monaco	^[16]
10		3:28.76	Mohamed Katir	Spain	09 JUL 2021	Monaco	^[17]
11		3:28.79	Abdalaati Iguider	Morocco	17 JUL 2015	Monaco
12		3:28.80	Elijah Manangoi	Kenya	21 JUL 2017	Monaco	^[18]
13		3:28.81	Mo Farah	Great Britain	19 JUL 2013	Monaco	^[13]
			Ronald Kwemoi	Kenya	18 JUL 2014	Monaco	^[19]
15		3:28.95	Fermín Cacho	Spain	13 AUG 1997	Zürich
16		3:28.98	Mehdi Baala	France	05 SEP 2003	Brussels
17		3:29.02	Daniel Kipchirchir Komen	Kenya	14 JUL 2006	Rome
18		3:29.05	Josh Kerr	Great Britain	07 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[20]
19		3:29.14	Rashid Ramzi	Bahrain	14 JUL 2006	Rome
20		3:29.18	Venuste Niyongabo	Burundi	22 AUG 1997	Brussels
21		3:29.23	Jake Wightman	Great Britain	19 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[21]
22		3:29.29	William Chirchir	Kenya	24 AUG 2001	Brussels
23		3:29.46	Said Aouita	Morocco	23 AUG 1985	Berlin
			Daniel Komen	Kenya	16 AUG 1997	Monaco
25		3:29.47	Augustine Choge	Kenya	14 JUN 2009	Berlin	^[22]

Women

• Correct as of August 2022.^[23]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	3:50.07	Genzebe Dibaba	Ethiopia	17 JUL 2015	Monaco	^[24]
2	2	3:50.37	Faith Kipyegon	Kenya	10 AUG 2022	Monaco	^[25]
3	3	3:50.46	Yunxia Qu	China	11 SEP 1993	Beijing
4	4	3:50.98	Bo Jiang	China	18 OCT 1997	Shanghai
	5	3:51.07	Kipyegon #2		09 JUL 2021	Monaco	^[26]
5	6	3:51.34	Yinglai Lang	China	18 OCT 1997	Shanghai
6	7	3:51.92	Junxia Wang	China	11 SEP 1993	Beijing
7	8	3:51.95	Sifan Hassan	Netherlands	05 OCT 2019	Doha	^[27]
8	9	3:52.47	Tatyana Kazankina	Soviet Union	13 AUG 1980	Zürich
	10	3:52.59	Kipyegon #3		28 MAY 2022	Eugene	^[28]
	11	3:52.96	Kipyegon #4		18 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[29]
	12	3:53.11	Kipyegon #5		06 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[30]
	13	3.53.23	Kipyegon #6		21 AUG 2021	Eugene	^[31]
	14	3:53.60	Hassan #2		09 JUL 2021	Monaco	^[32]
	15	3:53.63	Hassan #3		10 JUN 2021	Florence
9	16	3:53.91	Lili Yin	China	18 OCT 1997	Shanghai
	17	3:53.91	Kipyegon #7		10 JUN 2021	Florence
10	18	3:53.96	Paula Ivan	Romania	01 OCT 1988	Seoul
11	19	3:53.97	Lixin Lan	China	18 OCT 1997	Shanghai
12	20	3:54.01	Gudaf Tsegay	Ethiopia	20 JUN 2021	Chorzów
	21	3:54.11	Dibaba #2		08 JUL 2015	Barcelona
	22	3:54.21	Tsegay #2		28 MAY 2022	Eugene	^[33]
	23	3:54.22	Kipyegon #8		05 OCT 2019	Doha
13	24	3:54.23	Olga Dvirna	Soviet Union	27 JUL 1982	Kyiv
	25	3:54.38	Tsegay #3		05 OCT 2019	Doha	^[34]
14		3:54.50	Laura Muir	Great Britain	06 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[35]
15		3:54.52	Zhang Ling	China	18 OCT 1997	Shanghai
16		3:54.99	Shelby Houlihan	United States	05 OCT 2019	Doha
17		3:55.07	Yanmei Dong	China	18 OCT 1997	Shanghai
18		3:55.30	Hassiba Boulmerka	Algeria	08 AUG 1992	Barcelona
19		3:55.33	Sureyya Ayhan	Turkey	05 SEP 2003	Brussels
20		3:55.68	Yuliya Fomenko	Russia	08 JUL 2006	Saint-Denis
21		3:56.12	Gabriela DeBues-Stafford	Canada	05 OCT 2019	Doha	^[34]
22		3:56.14	Zamira Zaitseva	Soviet Union	27 JUL 1982	Kyiv
23		3:56.18	Maryam Yusuf Jamal	Bahrain	27 AUG 2006	Rieti
24		3:56.28	Freweyni Hailu	Ethiopia	09 JUL 2021	Monaco	^[36]
25		3:56.29	Shannon Rowbury	United States	17 JUL 2015	Monaco

Annulled marks

• Mariem Selsouli of Morocco ran 3:56.15 in 2012. This performance was annulled due to doping offences.

Men (indoor)

• Correct as of February 2023.^[37]

Rank	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref
1	3:30.60	Jakob Ingebrigtsen	Norway	17 February 2022	Liévin
2	3:31.04	Samuel Tefera	Ethiopia	16 February 2019	Birmingham
3	3:31.18	Hicham El Gurreouj	Morocco	2 February 1997	Stuttgart
4	3:31.25+	Yomif Kejelcha	Ethiopia	3 March 2019	Boston
5	3:31.76	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	1 February 1998	Stuttgart
6	3:32.11	Laban Rotich	Kenya	1 February 1998	Stuttgart
7	3:32.35	Ollie Hoare	Australia	13 February 2021	New York City
8	3:32.48	Neil Gourley	Great Britain	25 February 2023	Birmingham	^[38]
9	3:32.86+	Josh Kerr	Great Britain	27 February 2022	Boston
10	3:32.97	Selemon Barega	Ethiopia	17 February 2021	Toruń
11	3:33.08	Daniel Komen	Kenya	13 February 2005	Karlsruhe
12	3:33.10	Deresse Mekonnen	Ethiopia	20 February 2010	Birmingham
13	3:33.17	Vénuste Niyongabo	Burundi	22 February 1998	Liévin
14	3:33.22+	Yared Nuguse	United States	11 February 2023	New York City
15	3:33.23	Augustine Choge	Kenya	19 February 2011	Birmingham
16	3:33.28	Adel Mechaal	Spain	25 February 2023	Birmingham	^[38]
17	3:33.32	Andrés Manuel Díaz	Spain	24 February 1999	Athens
18	3:33.34	Bernard Lagat	Kenya	11 February 2005	Fayetteville
19	3:33.36	Abel Kipsang	Kenya	20 March 2022	Belgrade
20	3:33.49	Andrew Coscoran	Ireland	25 February 2023	Birmingham	^[38]
21	3:33.59	Teddese Lemi	Ethiopia	20 March 2022	Belgrade
22	3:33.76+	Edward Cheserek	Kenya	9 February 2018	Boston
23	3:33.96	Haron Keitany	Kenya	8 February 2009	Ghent
24	3:33.99	Ivan Hesko	Ukraine	13 February 2005	Karlsruhe
25	3:34.10	Abdelaati Iguider	Morocco	14 February 2012	Liévin

Women (indoor)

• Correct as of February 2023.^[39]

Rank	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref
1	3:53.09	Gudaf Tsegay	Ethiopia	9 February 2021	Liévin
2	3:55.17	Genzebe Dibaba	Ethiopia	1 February 2014	Karlsruhe
3	3:57.91	Abeba Aregawi	Sweden	6 February 2014	Stockholm
4	3:58.28	Yelena Soboleva	Russia	18 February 2006	Moscow
5	3:59.58	Laura Muir	Great Britain	9 February 2021	Liévin
6	3:59.75	Gelete Burka	Ethiopia	9 March 2008	Valencia
7	3:59.79	Maryam Yusuf Jamal	Bahrain	9 March 2008	Valencia
8	3:59.87+	Konstanze Klosterhalfen	Germany	8 February 2020	New York City
9	3:59.98	Regina Jacobs	United States	1 February 2003	Boston
10	4:00.20+	Elle Purrier	United States	8 February 2020	New York City
11	4:00.27	Doina Melinte	Romania	9 February 1990	East Rutherford
12	4:00.28	Dawit Seyaum	Ethiopia	28 February 2016	Boston
13	4:00.46	Sifan Hassan	Netherlands	19 February 2015	Stockholm
14	4:00.52+	Jemma Reekie	Great Britain	8 February 2020	New York City
15	4:00.72	Natalya Gorelova	Russia	27 February 2003	Moscow
16	4:00.8 h	Mary Decker	United States	8 February 1980	New York City
17	4:00.80+	Gabriela DeBues-Stafford	Canada	8 February 2020	New York City
18	4:01.26	Yuliya Chizenko	Russia	18 February 2006	Moscow
19	4:01.57	Lemlem Hailu	Ethiopia	19 February 2020	Liévin
20	4:01.77	Nuria Fernández	Spain	14 February 2009	Valencia
21	4:01.90	Kutre Dulecha	Ethiopia	15 February 2004	Karlsruhe
22	4:02.01	Hirut Meshasha	Ethiopia	15 February 2023	Liévin
23	4:02.09	Beatrice Chepkoech	Kenya	4 February 2020	Düsseldorf
24	4:02.12	Axumawit Embaye	Ethiopia	28 January 2022	Karlsruhe
25	4:02.3 h	Lyudmila Rogachova	Soviet Union	14 February 1990	Moscow

Olympic medalists

Main article: 1500 metres at the Olympics

Men

edit

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1896 Athens details	Edwin Flack   Australia	Arthur Blake   United States	Albin Lermusiaux   France
1900 Paris details	Charles Bennett   Great Britain	Henri Deloge   France	John Bray   United States
1904 St. Louis details	Jim Lightbody   United States	Frank Verner   United States	Lacey Hearn   United States
1908 London details	Mel Sheppard   United States	Harold Wilson   Great Britain	Norman Hallows   Great Britain
1912 Stockholm details	Arnold Jackson   Great Britain	Abel Kiviat   United States	Norman Taber   United States
1920 Antwerp details	Albert Hill   Great Britain	Philip Baker   Great Britain	Lawrence Shields   United States
1924 Paris details	Paavo Nurmi   Finland	Willy Schärer   Switzerland	H. B. Stallard   Great Britain
1928 Amsterdam details	Harri Larva   Finland	Jules Ladoumègue   France	Eino Purje   Finland
1932 Los Angeles details	Luigi Beccali   Italy	Jerry Cornes   Great Britain	Phil Edwards   Canada
1936 Berlin details	Jack Lovelock   New Zealand	Glenn Cunningham   United States	Luigi Beccali   Italy
1948 London details	Henry Eriksson   Sweden	Lennart Strand   Sweden	Willem Slijkhuis   Netherlands
1952 Helsinki details	Josy Barthel   Luxembourg	Bob McMillen   United States	Werner Lueg   Germany
1956 Melbourne details	Ron Delany   Ireland	Klaus Richtzenhain   United Team of Germany	John Landy   Australia
1960 Rome details	Herb Elliott   Australia	Michel Jazy   France	István Rózsavölgyi   Hungary
1964 Tokyo details	Peter Snell   New Zealand	Josef Odložil   Czechoslovakia	John Davies   New Zealand
1968 Mexico City details	Kipchoge Keino   Kenya	Jim Ryun   United States	Bodo Tümmler   West Germany
1972 Munich details	Pekka Vasala   Finland	Kipchoge Keino   Kenya	Rod Dixon   New Zealand
1976 Montreal details	John Walker   New Zealand	Ivo Van Damme   Belgium	Paul-Heinz Wellmann   West Germany
1980 Moscow details	Sebastian Coe   Great Britain	Jürgen Straub   East Germany	Steve Ovett   Great Britain
1984 Los Angeles details	Sebastian Coe   Great Britain	Steve Cram   Great Britain	José Manuel Abascal   Spain
1988 Seoul details	Peter Rono   Kenya	Peter Elliott   Great Britain	Jens-Peter Herold   East Germany
1992 Barcelona details	Fermín Cacho   Spain	Rachid El Basir   Morocco	Mohamed Suleiman   Qatar
1996 Atlanta details	Noureddine Morceli   Algeria	Fermín Cacho   Spain	Stephen Kipkorir   Kenya
2000 Sydney details	Noah Ngeny   Kenya	Hicham El Guerrouj   Morocco	Bernard Lagat   Kenya
2004 Athens details	Hicham El Guerrouj   Morocco	Bernard Lagat   Kenya	Rui Silva   Portugal
2008 Beijing details	Asbel Kiprop   Kenya	Nick Willis   New Zealand	Mehdi Baala   France
2012 London details	Taoufik Makhloufi   Algeria	Leonel Manzano   United States	Abdalaati Iguider   Morocco
2016 Rio de Janeiro details	Matthew Centrowitz Jr.   United States	Taoufik Makhloufi   Algeria	Nick Willis   New Zealand
2020 Tokyo details	Jakob Ingebrigtsen   Norway	Timothy Cheruiyot   Kenya	Josh Kerr   Great Britain
2024 Paris details

Women

edit

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1972 Munich details	Lyudmila Bragina   Soviet Union	Gunhild Hoffmeister   East Germany	Paola Pigni   Italy
1976 Montreal details	Tatyana Kazankina   Soviet Union	Gunhild Hoffmeister   East Germany	Ulrike Klapezynski   East Germany
1980 Moscow details	Tatyana Kazankina   Soviet Union	Christiane Wartenberg   East Germany	Nadiya Olizarenko   Soviet Union
1984 Los Angeles details	Gabriella Dorio   Italy	Doina Melinte   Romania	Maricica Puică   Romania
1988 Seoul details	Paula Ivan   Romania	Laimutė Baikauskaitė   Soviet Union	Tetyana Samolenko   Soviet Union
1992 Barcelona details	Hassiba Boulmerka   Algeria	Lyudmila Rogachova   Unified Team	Qu Yunxia   China
1996 Atlanta details	Svetlana Masterkova   Russia	Gabriela Szabo   Romania	Theresia Kiesl   Austria
2000 Sydney details	Nouria Mérah-Benida   Algeria	Violeta Szekely   Romania	Gabriela Szabo   Romania
2004 Athens details	Kelly Holmes   Great Britain	Tatyana Tomashova   Russia	Maria Cioncan   Romania
2008 Beijing details	Nancy Langat   Kenya	Iryna Lishchynska   Ukraine	Nataliya Tobias   Ukraine
2012 London details	Maryam Yusuf Jamal   Bahrain^[40]	Tatyana Tomashova   Russia	Abeba Aregawi   Ethiopia
2016 Rio de Janeiro details	Faith Kipyegon   Kenya	Genzebe Dibaba   Ethiopia	Jennifer Simpson   United States
2020 Tokyo details	Faith Kipyegon   Kenya	Laura Muir   Great Britain	Sifan Hassan   Netherlands
2024 Paris details

World Championships medalists

Main article: 1500 metres at the World Championships in Athletics

Men

Championships	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1983 Helsinki details	Steve Cram (GBR)	Steve Scott (USA)	Saïd Aouita (MAR)
1987 Rome details	Abdi Bile (SOM)	José Luis González (ESP)	Jim Spivey (USA)
1991 Tokyo details	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Wilfred Kirochi (KEN)	Hauke Fuhlbrügge (GER)
1993 Stuttgart details	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Fermín Cacho (ESP)	Abdi Bile (SOM)
1995 Gothenburg details	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Vénuste Niyongabo (BDI)
1997 Athens details	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Fermín Cacho (ESP)	Reyes Estévez (ESP)
1999 Seville details	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Noah Ngeny (KEN)	Reyes Estévez (ESP)
2001 Edmonton details	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Bernard Lagat (KEN)	Driss Maazouzi (FRA)
2003 Saint-Denis details	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Mehdi Baala (FRA)	Ivan Heshko (UKR)
2005 Helsinki details	Rashid Ramzi (BHR)	Adil Kaouch (MAR)	Rui Silva (POR)
2007 Osaka details	Bernard Lagat (USA)	Rashid Ramzi (BHR)	Shedrack Kibet Korir (KEN)
2009 Berlin details	Yusuf Saad Kamel (BHR)	Deresse Mekonnen (ETH)	Bernard Lagat (USA)
2011 Daegu details	Asbel Kiprop (KEN)	Silas Kiplagat (KEN)	Matthew Centrowitz (USA)
2013 Moscow details	Asbel Kiprop (KEN)	Matthew Centrowitz (USA)	Johan Cronje (RSA)
2015 Beijing details	Asbel Kiprop (KEN)	Elijah Manangoi (KEN)	Abdalaati Iguider (MAR)
2017 London details	Elijah Manangoi (KEN)	Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN)	Filip Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
2019 Doha details	Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN)	Taoufik Makhloufi (ALG)	Marcin Lewandowski (POL)
2022 Eugene details	Jake Wightman (GBR)	Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)	Mohamed Katir (ESP)

Women

Championships	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1983 Helsinki details	Mary Decker (USA)	Zamira Zaytseva (URS)	Yekaterina Podkopayeva (URS)
1987 Rome details	Tetyana Samolenko (URS)	Hildegard Körner (GDR)	Doina Melinte (ROU)
1991 Tokyo details	Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG)	Tetyana Dorovskikh (URS)	Lyudmila Rogachova (URS)
1993 Stuttgart details	Liu Dong (CHN)	Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL)	Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG)
1995 Gothenburg details	Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG)	Kelly Holmes (GBR)	Carla Sacramento (POR)
1997 Athens details	Carla Sacramento (POR)	Regina Jacobs (USA)	Anita Weyermann (SUI)
1999 Seville details	Svetlana Masterkova (RUS)	Regina Jacobs (USA)	Kutre Dulecha (ETH)
2001 Edmonton details	Gabriela Szabo (ROU)	Violeta Szekely (ROU)	Natalya Gorelova (RUS)
2003 Saint-Denis details	Tatyana Tomashova (RUS)	Süreyya Ayhan (TUR)	Hayley Tullett (GBR)
2005 Helsinki details	Tatyana Tomashova (RUS)	Olga Yegorova (RUS)	Bouchra Ghezielle (FRA)
2007 Osaka details	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	Iryna Lishchynska (UKR)	Daniela Yordanova (BUL)
2009 Berlin details	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	Lisa Dobriskey (GBR)	Shannon Rowbury (USA)
2011 Daegu details	Jennifer Simpson (USA)	Hannah England (GBR)	Natalia Rodríguez (ESP)
2013 Moscow details	Abeba Aregawi (SWE)	Jennifer Simpson (USA)	Hellen Obiri (KEN)
2015 Beijing details	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)	Faith Kipyegon (KEN)	Sifan Hassan (NED)
2017 London details	Faith Kipyegon (KEN)	Jennifer Simpson (USA)	Caster Semenya (RSA)
2019 Doha details	Sifan Hassan (NED)	Faith Kipyegon (KEN)	Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)
2022 Eugene details	Faith Kipyegon (KEN)	Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)	Laura Muir (GBR)

European Championships medalists

Men

Main article: List of European Athletics Championships medalists (men) § 1500 meters

Women

Main article: List of European Athletics Championships medalists (women) § 1500 meters

World Indoor Championships medalists

Men

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1985 Paris^[A]	Michael Hillardt (AUS)	José Luis González (ESP)	Joseph Chesire (KEN)
1987 Indianapolis details	Marcus O'Sullivan (IRL)	José Manuel Abascal (ESP)	Han Kulker (NED)
1989 Budapest details	Marcus O'Sullivan (IRL)	Hauke Fuhlbrügge (GDR)	Jeff Atkinson (USA)
1991 Seville details	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	Fermín Cacho (ESP)	Mário Silva (POR)
1993 Toronto details	Marcus O'Sullivan (IRL)	David Strang (GBR)	Branko Zorko (CRO)
1995 Barcelona details	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Mateo Cañellas (ESP)	Erik Nedeau (USA)
1997 Paris details	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	Rüdiger Stenzel (GER)	William Tanui (KEN)
1999 Maebashi details	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	Laban Rotich (KEN)	Andrés Manuel Díaz (ESP)
2001 Lisbon details	Rui Silva (POR)	Reyes Estévez (ESP)	Noah Ngeny (KEN)
2003 Birmingham details	Driss Maazouzi (FRA)	Bernard Lagat (KEN)	Abdelkader Hachlaf (MAR)
2004 Budapest details	Paul Korir (KEN)	Ivan Heshko (UKR)	Laban Rotich (KEN)
2006 Moscow details	Ivan Heshko (UKR)	Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (KEN)	Elkanah Angwenyi (KEN)
2008 Valencia details	Deresse Mekonnen (ETH)	Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (KEN)	Juan Carlos Higuero (ESP)
2010 Doha details	Deresse Mekonnen (ETH)	Abdalaati Iguider (MAR)	Haron Keitany (KEN)
2012 Istanbul details	Abdalaati Iguider (MAR)	İlham Tanui Özbilen (TUR)	Mekonnen Gebremedhin (ETH)
2014 Sopot details	Ayanleh Souleiman (DJI)	Aman Wote (ETH)	Abdalaati Iguider (MAR)
2016 Portland details	Matthew Centrowitz Jr. (USA)	Jakub Holuša (CZE)	Nick Willis (NZL)
2018 Birmingham details	Samuel Tefera (ETH)	Marcin Lewandowski (POL)	Abdalaati Iguider (MAR)
2022 Belgrade details	Samuel Tefera (ETH)	Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)	Abel Kipsang (KEN)

Women

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1985 Paris^[A]	Elly van Hulst (NED)	Fița Lovin (ROU)	Brit McRoberts (CAN)
1987 Indianapolis details	Doina Melinte (ROU)	Tatyana Samolenko (URS)	Svetlana Kitova (URS)
1989 Budapest details	Doina Melinte (ROU)	Svetlana Kitova (URS)	Yvonne Mai (GDR)
1991 Seville details	Lyudmila Rogachova (URS)	Ivana Kubešová (TCH)	Tudorita Chidu (ROU)
1993 Toronto details	Yekaterina Podkopayeva (RUS)	Violeta Beclea (ROU)	Sandra Gasser (SUI)
1995 Barcelona details	Regina Jacobs (USA)	Carla Sacramento (POR)	Maite Zúñiga (ESP)
1997 Paris details	Yekaterina Podkopayeva (RUS)	Patricia Djaté-Taillard (FRA)	Lidia Chojecka (POL)
1999 Maebashi details	Gabriela Szabo (ROU)	Violeta Beclea-Szekely (ROU)	Lidia Chojecka (POL)
2001 Lisbon details	Hasna Benhassi (MAR)	Violeta Beclea-Szekely (ROU)	Natalya Gorelova (RUS)
2003 Birmingham details	Regina Jacobs (USA)	Kelly Holmes (GBR)	Yekaterina Rozenberg (RUS)
2004 Budapest details	Kutre Dulecha (ETH)	Carmen Douma-Hussar (CAN)	Gulnara Galkina (RUS)
2006 Moscow details	Yuliya Fomenko (RUS)	Yelena Soboleva (RUS)	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)
2008 Valencia details	Gelete Burka (ETH)	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	Daniela Yordanova (BUL)
2010 Doha details	Kalkidan Gezahegne (ETH)	Natalia Rodríguez (ESP)	Gelete Burka (ETH)
2012 Istanbul details	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)	Mariem Alaoui Selsouli (MAR)	Hind Dehiba (FRA)
2014 Sopot details	Abeba Aregawi (SWE)	Axumawit Embaye (ETH)	Nicole Sifuentes (CAN)
2016 Portland details	Sifan Hassan (NED)	Dawit Seyaum (ETH)	Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)
2018 Birmingham details	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)	Laura Muir (GBR)	Sifan Hassan (NED)
2022 Belgrade details	Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)	Axumawit Embaye (ETH)	Hirut Meshesha (ETH)

• ^A Known as the World Indoor Games

Season's bests

Men Year Time Athlete Place 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