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Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

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Men's 1500 metres
at the Games of the XI Olympiad
Olympic Athletics
VenueOlympiastadion: Berlin, Germany
DatesAugust 4 (heats)
August 6 (final)
Competitors43 from 27 nations
Winning time3:47.8 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Jack Lovelock
 New Zealand
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Glenn Cunningham
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Luigi Beccali
 Italy
← 1932
1948 →

The men's 1500 metres event at the 1936 Olympic Games took place August 4 and August 6. Forty-three athletes from 27 nations competed.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by Kiwi Jack Lovelock in world record time.[2] It was New Zealand's first medal in the 1500 metres. Glenn Cunningham's silver put the United States on the 1500 metres podium for the first time since 1920. Luigi Beccali did not successfully defend his 1932 gold, but took bronze to become the first man to win two medals in the event.

Background

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This was the 10th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The event had an impressive field. Six of the top seven runners from the 1932 Games returned, including all three medalists: gold medalist Luigi Beccali of Italy, silver medalist Jerry Cornes of Great Britain, bronze medalist Phil Edwards of Canada, fourth-place finisher Glenn Cunningham of the United States, fifth-place finisher Eric Ny of Sweden, and seventh-place finisher Jack Lovelock of New Zealand. All six were contenders in 1936, along with Sydney Wooderson of Great Britain and Archie San Romani and Gene Venzke of the United States (world record holder Bill Bonthron could not make the team against Cunningham, Venzke, and San Romani).[1]

Chile, the Republic of China, Colombia, Luxembourg, and Peru each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 10th appearance, the only nation to have competed in the men's 1500 metres at each Games to that point.

Competition format

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The competition consisted of two rounds, the format used since 1908. The number of semifinals was back up to four, with 10 or 11 runners in each. The top three runners in each heat advanced to the final, resulting in the typical 12-man final race.[1][3]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1936 Summer Olympics.

World record  Bill Bonthron (USA) 3:48.8 Milwaukee, United States 30 June 1934
Olympic record  Luigi Beccali (ITA) 3:51.2 Los Angeles, United States 4 August 1932

In the final Jack Lovelock set a new world record at 3:47.8. Lovelock and silver medalist Glenn Cunningham were both under the old world record; the top five finishers were all under the old Olympic record time.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Wednesday, 5 August 1936 17:00 Semifinals
Thursday, 6 August 1936 16:15 Final

Results

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Semifinals

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The fastest three runners in each of the four heats advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Eric Ny  Sweden 3:54.8 Q
2 Glenn Cunningham  United States 3:54.8 Q
3 Werner Böttcher  Germany 3:55.0 Q
4 Ossi Teileri  Finland 3:55.6
5 Mihály Iglói  Hungary 3:56.0
6 Grigorios Georgakopoulos  Greece 4:01.4
7 René Geeraert  Belgium Unknown
8 Børge Larsen  Denmark Unknown
9 Pierre Hemmer  Luxembourg Unknown
10 Paul Martin  Switzerland Unknown
Kumao Aochi  Japan DNS

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Gene Venzke  United States 4:00.4 Q
2 Jerry Cornes  Great Britain 4:00.6 Q
3 Jack Lovelock  New Zealand 4:00.6 Q
4 Pierre Leichtnam  France 4:01.0
5 Clarke Scholtz  South Africa 4:02.0
6 Kiyoshi Nakamura  Japan 4:04.8
7 Emil Goršek  Yugoslavia 4:13.0
8 Emil Hübscher  Austria Unknown
9 Jack Liddle  Canada Unknown
10 Miguel Castro  Chile Unknown
Martti Matilainen  Finland DNF
Pat Boot  New Zealand DNS
Stavros Velkopoulos  Greece DNS

Semifinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Luigi Beccali  Italy 3:55.6 Q
2 Miklós Szabó  Hungary 3:55.6 Q
3 Phil Edwards  Canada 3:56.2 Q
4 Bobby Graham  Great Britain 3:56.6
5 Bedřich Hošek  Czechoslovakia 3:59.4
6 André Glatigny  France 3:59.6
7 Gerald Backhouse  Australia Unknown
8 Harry Mehlhose  Germany Unknown
9 Reginald Uba  Estonia 4:26.2
10 Jia Lianren  Republic of China Unknown
11 Emilio Torres  Colombia Unknown
Ivan Krevs  Yugoslavia DNS

Semifinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Robert Goix  France 3:54.0 Q
2 Archie San Romani  United States 3:55.0 Q
3 Fritz Schaumburg  Germany 3:55.2 Q
4 Joseph Mostert  Belgium 3:56.6
5 Niilo Hartikka  Finland 3:59.0
6 Franz Eichberger  Austria 3:59.2
7 Ragnar Ekholdt  Norway Unknown
8 Sydney Wooderson  Great Britain Unknown
9 Hugh Thompson  Canada Unknown
10 Charles Stein  Luxembourg Unknown
11 Francisco Váldez  Peru Unknown
Toshinao Tomie  Japan DNS

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Jack Lovelock  New Zealand 3:47.8 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Glenn Cunningham  United States 3:48.4
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Luigi Beccali  Italy 3:49.2
4 Archie San Romani  United States 3:50.0
5 Phil Edwards  Canada 3:50.4
6 Jerry Cornes  Great Britain 3:51.4
7 Miklós Szabó  Hungary 3:53.0
8 Robert Goix  France 3:53.8
9 Gene Venzke  United States 3:55.0
10 Fritz Schaumburg  Germany 3:56.2
11 Eric Ny  Sweden 3:57.6
12 Werner Böttcher  Germany 4:04.2

References

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  1. ^ a b c "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Athletics at the 1936 Berlin Games: Men's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 1, pp. 632–33.