| Landmarks |
First under 4 minutes: 3:59.8
Harold Wilson GBR 1908
First official world record: 3:55.8 Abel Kiviat USA 1912
First under 3:50: 3:49.2 Jules Ladoumegue FRA 1930
First under 3:40: 3:38.1 Stanislav Jungwirth TCH 1957
First under 3:30: 3:29.67 Steve Cram GBR 1985Subsequent
record progression:
3:29.46 Said Aouita MAR 1985
3:28.86 Noureddine Morceli ALG 1992
3:27.37 Noureddine Morceli 1995
3:26.00 Hicham El Guerrouj MAR 1998
Most durable world record: 3:29.46 Said Aouita (7 years)
Most times under 3:30: Hicham El Guerrouj 16 (as at 24 Aug 2000) |
| Superlatives |
Most Olympic titles:
2 James Lightbody USA 1904/1906
2 Sebastian Coe GBR 1980/1984
Most World titles: 3 Noureddine Morceli 1991/1993/1995
Youngest Olympic/World champion:Peter Rono KEN 1988 (21)
Oldest: Albert Hill GBR 1920 (31) |
| Three all-time greats |
 Herb Elliott (AUS): Never lost a
1500m race during his brief career. Supreme achievement was winning 1960 Olympic title by
20 metres in world record 3:35.6. |
 Sebastian Coe (GBR): Only man to win
Olympic 1500m title (1980) and successfully defend four years later. He was also a world
record breaker at 800m, 1000m, 1500m and mile. |
 Noureddine Morceli (ALG): Three-time
world champion, he dominated the event between 1990 and 1995, reducing the 1500m world
record by 1.73 sec and that for the mile by 1.93 sec. |
