| Landmarks |
First under 4:20: 4:19.0 Marise
Chamberlain NZL 1962
First under 4:10: 4:09.6 Karin Burneleit GDR 1971
First under 4:05: 4:01.4 Lyudmila Bragina URS 1972
First under 4:00: 3:56.0 Tatyana Kazankina URS 1976Subsequent
record progression:
3:55.0 & 3:52.47 Tatyana Kazankina 1980
3:50.46 Qu Yunxia CHN 1993
Most durable world record: 3:52.47 Tatyana Kazankina 1980
(13 years)
Most times under 3:58:
Tatyana Kazankina & Maricica Puica ROM 4 |
| Superlatives |
Most Olympic titles: 2 Tatyana
Kazankina 1976/80
Most World titles: 2 Hassiba Boulmerka ALG 1991/1995
Youngest Olympic/World champion:Liu Dong CHN 1993 (19)
Oldest: Bragina 1972 (29) |
| Three all time greats |
| Lyudmila Bragina (URS):
During the course of one season (1972) she brought the world record of 4:09.6 down to
4:01.4, clocking that time when winning the inaugural Olympic title. |
| Tatyana Kazankina (URS):
The record stayed at 4:01.4 until she ran an astonishing 3:56.0 in 1976, the year she won
the Olympic 800 & 1500m; she won the 1500 again in 1980 and cut the record to 3:55.0
and 3:52.47. |
 Hassiba
Boulmerka (ALG): With one Olympic title (1992) and two world championships (1991
& 1995) to her name, the Algerian is the most successful female 1500m racer ever at
that level. Her medal at the 1991 World Championships was the first gold ever for a woman
from Algeria. |
