Host City: Los Angeles, United States |
Format: Top four in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the final. |
Date Started: August 9, 1984 |
Format: Top three in each heat and next six fastest advanced to the semi-finals. |
Date Finished: August 11, 1984 |
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(Competitors: 59; Countries: 40; Finalists: 12) |
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Venue(s): Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
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Overview by IAAF |
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With Coe, Cram and Ovett, Britain was in the unique position of fielding the Olympic and World Champions and the World record holder – all different athletes. Coe was the least likely to make the team after serious illness in 1983 and defeat by Peter Elliott at the AAA Championships, but his form then picked up. Abascal was the fastest in both the heats (3:37.68) and semis (3:35.70). Cram won the slower semi-final in 3:36.30, and Khalifa’s 3:36.76 in fifth in that race was the slowest qualifying time, leaving Uwe Becker (3:37.28) and Stefano Mei (3:37.96) out in the cold. Khalifa led for the first lap in the final, just ahead of Chesire. Scott took over shortly after and led to 900m, when Abascal, a tempo runner without a big kick, took over and wound up the pace. At 1100m Abascal (2:39.1) led by 2m from Coe (2:39.3), with Cram (2:39.6) and Ovett (2:39.8) just behind. Ovett dropped out shortly after, succumbing to the breathing problems which had plagued him in Los Angeles. Cram attempted to pass Coe with 200m to go, but the reigning champion smoothly accelerated and surged past Abascal. Coe ran his last three 100m in 13.3, 13.0 and 12.9 to cross the line 7m clear before shaking his fist in triumph ... winning the race and silencing his critics in the British press. |
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Summary by Sports-reference.com |
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By 1984 the British pair of Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe had been joined by a third outstanding Briton, Steve Cram. Though he did not quite have the record times of that pair, he was quite good at winning major titles. In 1982 he was the Commonwealth and European Champion at 1,500 and in 1983, he won the inaugural World Championship in the 1,500 metres. The three British favorites were joined in Los Angeles by the top US miler since Jim Ryun, Steve Scott. Scott finished second to Cram at the World Athletics Championship, but led the 1983 world mile list with 3:49.21, set at the ISTAF Meet in Berlin on 17 August. The only significant miler who would not be in Los Angeles was South African Johan Fourie, third on the world-list for the year, but who could not compete because South Africa was still banned from international sports. |
Though the Soviet Union led an Eastern European boycott of Los Angeles, in retribution for the 1980 American-led boycott, that hardly affected the 1,500 because the big British three and Scott were all available. All four made it thru the two rounds and presented for the final. Coe had earlier won the 800 metre gold medal, while Ovett was felt to be struggling with asthma problems. Scott and Cram qualified comfortably. After a first lap in 58.85, Scott moved to the front on the backstretch, trying to push the pace and take kick out of the Britons. He led thru 800 in 1:57.06, but then was passed by Spain's José Manuel Abascal, who led at the bell. Coe and Cram were on his shoulder. Coe took control on the backstretch and powered ahead to victory. He ran the last 200 in a stunning 26.1, holding off Cram (silver) and Abascal (bronze). His time of 3:32.53 finally bettered Kip Keino's Olympic record from 1968. Ovett could not finish the race because of his respiratory problems. |
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics.
World Record |
3:30.77 |
Steve Ovett |
Rieti (ITA) |
September 4, 1983 |
Olympic Record |
3:34.91 |
Kipchoge Keino |
Mexico City (MEX) |
October 20, 1968 |
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Results |
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From the start Omar Khalifa went to the lead, shadowed by Joseph Chesire with Sebastian Coe marking their lead in third. The first lap was 58.85. 500 metres into the race, Steve Scott| ran around the leaders to take the point, Coe and José Manuel Abascal stringing out the field. They passed the 800 metre mark in a slightly faster 1:56.81. Abascal continued to speed up, passing Coe then Scott between 900 and 1000. Scott began to fall back through the field as Steve Cram and Steve Ovett moved forward. At the bell the three Brits were 2-4, three Steves were 3-5. Midway through the penultimate turn, suddenly the world record holder Ovett stepped inside of the curb and stopped. With 300 to go in an even faster 2:53.21, Abascal, Coe and Cram had three metres on Cheshire who accelerated around Scott and Jim Spivey as Ovett dropped out. Cram accelerated down the back stretch, Coe reacting, with about 220 metres to go, the leaders were three abreast across the track. Coe emerged ahead into the turn with Cram sprinting in his wake. Coe looked around to see where his competition was then focused on holding his position. Coming off the turn, Coe checked again, seeing Cram still a metre behind him, breaking away from Abascal. Coe sprinted away from Cram, checking again mid-straightaway to be sure his work was accomplished, then extending his lead to 6 metres by the finish. Cram had another 7 metres on Abascal who was able to hold off Cheshire for bronze. Coe became the only man to successfully defend his title in the 1500 metres. Coe turned back toward the press area and angrily showed them his index finger on both hands, indicating he was number one again. Still fresh after running less than 2 seconds off the world record, Coe jogged back still looking at that area of the stands and again showing his number one finger. |
1500 m |
Men |
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Final |
11 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.32.53 |
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Sebastian Coe |
Great Britain |
GBR |
29 Sep 56 |
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2 |
3.33.40 |
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Steve Cram |
Great Britain |
GBR |
14 Oct 60 |
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3 |
3.34.30 |
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José Manuel Abascal |
Spain |
ESP |
17 Mar 58 |
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4 |
3.34.52 |
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Joseph Chesire |
Kenya |
KEN |
12 Nov 57 |
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5 |
3.36.07 |
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Jim Spivey |
United States |
USA |
7 Mar 60 |
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6 |
3.36.97 |
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Peter Wirz |
Switzerland |
SUI |
29 Jul 60 |
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7 |
3.37.02 |
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Andrés Vera |
Spain |
ESP |
31 Dec 60 |
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8 |
3.37.11 |
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Omar Khalifa |
Sudan |
SUD |
18 Dec 56 |
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9 |
3.38.98 |
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Tony Rogers |
New Zealand |
NZL |
30 Apr 57 |
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10 |
3.39.86 |
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Steve Scott |
United States |
USA |
5 May 56 |
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11 |
3.40.74 |
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Riccardo Materazzi |
Italy |
ITA |
15 Jun 63 |
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DNF |
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Steve Ovett |
Great Britain |
GBR |
9 Oct 55 |
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1500 m |
Men |
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Semifinal 1 |
10 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.35.70 |
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José Manuel Abascal |
Spain |
ESP |
17 Mar 58 |
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2 |
3.35.71 |
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Steve Scott |
United States |
USA |
5 May 56 |
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3 |
3.35.81 |
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Sebastian Coe |
Great Britain |
GBR |
29 Sep 56 |
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4 |
3.35.83 |
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Joseph Chesire |
Kenya |
KEN |
12 Nov 57 |
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4 |
3.35.83 |
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Peter Wirz |
Switzerland |
SUI |
29 Jul 60 |
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6 |
3.36.48 |
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Tony Rogers |
New Zealand |
NZL |
30 Apr 57 |
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7 |
3.36.51 |
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Riccardo Materazzi |
Italy |
ITA |
15 Jun 63 |
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8 |
3.38.12 |
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Mike Hillardt |
Australia |
AUS |
22 Jan 61 |
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9 |
3.40.96 |
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Pascal Thiébaut |
France |
FRA |
6 Jun 59 |
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10 |
3.41.57 |
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James Igohe |
Tanzania |
TAN |
62 |
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DQ |
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Abdi Bile |
Somalia |
SOM |
28 Dec 62 |
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DNF |
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Agberto Guimarães |
Brazil |
BRA |
18 Aug 57 |
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1500 m |
Men |
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Semifinal 2 |
10 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.36.30 |
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Steve Cram |
Great Britain |
GBR |
14 Oct 60 |
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2 |
3.36.53 |
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Jim Spivey |
United States |
USA |
7 Mar 60 |
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3 |
3.36.55 |
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Andrés Vera |
Spain |
ESP |
31 Dec 60 |
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4 |
3.36.55 |
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Steve Ovett |
Great Britain |
GBR |
9 Oct 55 |
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5 |
3.36.76 |
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Omar Khalifa |
Sudan |
SUD |
18 Dec 56 |
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6 |
3.37.28 |
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Uwe Becker |
West Germany |
FRG |
10 Dec 55 |
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7 |
3.37.96 |
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Stefano Mei |
Italy |
ITA |
3 Feb 63 |
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8 |
3.38.71 |
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Peter O'Donoghue |
New Zealand |
NZL |
1 Oct 61 |
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9 |
3.39.40 |
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Marcus O'Sullivan |
Ireland |
IRL |
22 Dec 61 |
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10 |
3.40.83 |
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Pat Scammell |
Australia |
AUS |
15 Apr 61 |
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11 |
3.41.80 |
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Tapfumanei Jonga |
Zimbabwe |
ZIM |
13 Nov 59 |
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DNS |
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Joaquim Cruz |
Brazil |
BRA |
12 Mar 63 |
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1500 m |
Men |
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Heat 1 |
9 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.38.51 |
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Joseph Chesire |
Kenya |
KEN |
12 Nov 57 |
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2 |
3.38.93 |
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Omar Khalifa |
Sudan |
SUD |
18 Dec 56 |
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3 |
3.39.25 |
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Stefano Mei |
Italy |
ITA |
3 Feb 63 |
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4 |
3.39.78 |
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Tony Rogers |
New Zealand |
NZL |
30 Apr 57 |
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5 |
3.47.01 |
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José Luís González |
Spain |
ESP |
8 Dec 57 |
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6 |
3.47.54 |
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Faouzi Lahbi |
Morocco |
MAR |
2 Mar 58 |
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7 |
3.59.14 |
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Paul Ceesay |
Gambia |
GAM |
18 Feb 59 |
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8 |
4.12.76 |
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Amer Al-Sharji |
Oman |
OMA |
4 Jun 64 |
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DNF |
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Antti Loikkanen |
Finland |
FIN |
15 Apr 55 |
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1500 m |
Men |
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Heat 2 |
9 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.45.18 |
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Pascal Thiébaut |
France |
FRA |
6 Jun 59 |
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2 |
3.45.30 |
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Sebastian Coe |
Great Britain |
GBR |
29 Sep 56 |
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3 |
3.45.44 |
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Andrés Vera |
Spain |
ESP |
31 Dec 60 |
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4 |
3.45.70 |
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Paul Donovan |
Ireland |
IRL |
11 Jul 63 |
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5 |
3.46.80 |
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Jama Mohamed Aden |
Somalia |
SOM |
62 |
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6 |
3.49.78 |
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Mohamed Alouini |
Tunisia |
TUN |
19 Oct 57 |
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7 |
3.55.65 |
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Dale Jones |
Antigua and Barbuda |
ANT |
12 Mar 64 |
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8 |
3.58.69 |
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Kgomotso Balotlhanji |
Botswana |
BOT |
6 Apr 56 |
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DNF |
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Oslen Barr |
Guyana |
GUY |
3 Apr 61 |
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1500 m |
Men |
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Heat 3 |
9 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.49.23 |
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Steve Ovett |
Great Britain |
GBR |
9 Oct 55 |
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2 |
3.49.26 |
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Agberto Guimarães |
Brazil |
BRA |
18 Aug 57 |
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3 |
3.49.65 |
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Marcus O'Sullivan |
Ireland |
IRL |
22 Dec 61 |
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4 |
3.51.61 |
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Joseph Muraya |
Kenya |
KEN |
25 Dec 57 |
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5 |
3.52.04 |
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Gawain Guy |
United States |
USA |
28 Jan 62 |
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6 |
3.52.63 |
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Claudio Patrignani |
Italy |
ITA |
9 Jan 59 |
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7 |
3.53.92 |
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Mehdi Aïdet |
Algeria |
ALG |
3 Nov 53 |
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8 |
3.59.85 |
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Mouteb Al-Faouri |
Jordan |
JOR |
1 Mar 60 |
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DNF |
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Pierre Délèze |
Switzerland |
SUI |
25 Aug 58 |
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1500 m |
Men |
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Heat 4 |
9 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.41.01 |
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Joaquim Cruz |
Brazil |
BRA |
12 Mar 63 |
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2 |
3.41.02 |
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Steve Scott |
United States |
USA |
5 May 56 |
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3 |
3.41.18 |
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Mike Hillardt |
Australia |
AUS |
22 Jan 61 |
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4 |
3.41.76 |
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Frank O'Mara |
Ireland |
IRL |
17 Jul 60 |
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5 |
3.42.84 |
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Alex Gonzalez |
United States |
USA |
18 May 60 |
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6 |
3.45.05 |
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Mark Handelsman |
Israel |
ISR |
9 Jun 61 |
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7 |
3.45.09 |
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Abderrahmane Morceli |
Algeria |
ALG |
1 Jan 57 |
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8 |
3.46.99 |
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Archfel Musango |
Zambia |
ZAM |
9 Mar 59 |
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9 |
3.56.43 |
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Adamou Allassane |
Niger |
NIG |
4 Aug 60 |
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10 |
4.02.87 |
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Tito Rodriguez |
Suriname |
SUR |
30 Dec 65 |
NJR |
1500 m |
Men |
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Heat 5 |
9 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.37.68 |
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José Manuel Abascal |
Spain |
ESP |
17 Mar 58 |
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2 |
3.37.75 |
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Peter Wirz |
Switzerland |
SUI |
29 Jul 60 |
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3 |
3.37.76 |
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Uwe Becker |
West Germany |
FRG |
10 Dec 55 |
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4 |
3.37.95 |
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Riccardo Materazzi |
Italy |
ITA |
15 Jun 63 |
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5 |
3.39.18 |
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Pat Scammell |
Australia |
AUS |
15 Apr 61 |
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6 |
3.39.62 |
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James Igohe |
Tanzania |
TAN |
62 |
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7 |
3.40.42 |
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Tapfumanei Jonga |
Zimbabwe |
ZIM |
13 Nov 59 |
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8 |
3.53.86 |
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Isaac Ganunga |
Malawi |
MAW |
10 Dec 59 |
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9 |
3.57.59 |
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Hugo García |
Guatemala |
GUA |
10 Apr 63 |
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10 |
4.02.63 |
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Kim Bong-Joo |
South Korea |
KOR |
16 Jun 67 |
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DNF |
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Ibrahim Aziz |
United Arab Emirates |
UAE |
59 |
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1500 m |
Men |
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Heat 6 |
9 August |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Birth Date |
Records |
1 |
3.40.33 |
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Steve Cram |
Great Britain |
GBR |
14 Oct 60 |
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2 |
3.40.58 |
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Jim Spivey |
United States |
USA |
7 Mar 60 |
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3 |
3.40.69 |
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Peter O'Donoghue |
New Zealand |
NZL |
1 Oct 61 |
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4 |
3.40.72 |
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Abdi Bile |
Somalia |
SOM |
28 Dec 62 |
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5 |
3.41.96 |
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Joseph Chesire |
Kenya |
KEN |
12 Nov 57 |
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6 |
3.45.55 |
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Zakaria Gwandu |
Tanzania |
TAN |
64 |
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7 |
3.55.19 |
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Batumalai Rajakumar |
Malaysia |
MAS |
10 Dec 64 |
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8 |
3.57.62 |
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Jean-Marie Rudasinqwa |
Rwanda |
RWA |
13 Jul 53 |
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9 |
4.25.80 |
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Philip Sinon |
Seychelles |
SEY |
21 Sep 63 |
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10 |
4.34.71 |
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Diosdado Lozano |
Equatorial Guinea |
GEQ |
10 Jun 64 |
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DNF |
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Omar Ortega |
Argentina |
ARG |
13 Dec 60 |
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