| | Event type
1,500 metres, Men
| Date | 29 July – 3 August 1996 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Participants | 57 from 37 countries |
Noureddine Morceli was the co-favorite with the Moroccan, Hicham El Guerrouj. Another challenger was Burundian Vénuste Niyongabo, but he opted only to run the 5K. The final was very slow, with the first two laps both run in over 60 seconds. At 900 metres, Morceli moved to an outside lane to escape a box set up by the Kenyan trio of runners. He easily moved to the lead and atoned for his disappointing loss in 1992 by winning comfortably, with Spain’s defending champion, Fermín Cacho, finishing strongly for the silver medal. El Guerrouj fell just before the bell lap and although he finished, he placed last in the final. After the 1996 Olympics El Guerrouj replaced Morceli as the top miler in the world.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1012 | Noureddine Morceli |  ALG | 3:41.95 (1 h2) | 3:32.88 (1 h1) | 3:35.78 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 1335 | Fermín Cacho |  ESP | 3:39.84 (1 h5) | 3:33.12 (2 h1) | 3:36.40 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 1802 | Stephen Kipkorir |  KEN | 3:36.70 (2 h3) | 3:35.29 (2 h2) | 3:36.72 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 1815 | Laban Rotich | KEN | 3:35.88 (1 h1) | 3:33.73 (5 h1) | 3:37.39 (4) | |||
| 5 | 1817 | William Tanui | KEN | 3:37.72 (2 h4) | 3:33.57 (4 h1) | 3:37.42 (5) | |||
| 6 | 2208 | Abdi Bile |  SOM | 3:42.32 (3 h2) | 3:33.30 (3 h1) | 3:38.03 (6) | |||
| 7 | 1966 | Marko Koers |  NED | 3:36.18 (2 h1) | 3:36.06 (5 h2) | 3:38.18 (7) | |||
| 8 | 2294 | Ali Hakimi |  TUN | 3:36.58 (1 h3) | 3:35.91 (3 h2) | 3:38.19 (8) | |||
| 9 | 2099 | Mohamed Suleiman |  QAT | 3:37.70 (7 h3) | 3:36.01 (4 h2) | 3:38.26 (9) | |||
| 10 | 1911 | Driss Maazouzi |  MAR | 3:37.08 (4 h3) | 3:34.35 (6 h1) | 3:39.65 (10) | |||
| 11 | 1498 | John Mayock |  GBR | 3:42.31 (2 h2) | 3:34.55 (7 h1) | 3:40.18 (11) | |||
| 12 | 1904 | Hicham El Guerrouj | MAR | 3:37.66 (1 h4) | 3:35.29 (1 h2) | 3:40.75 (12) | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | 1375 | Isaac Viciosa | ESP | 3:37.93 (4 h4) | 3:36.11 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | 1516 | Tony Whiteman | GBR | 3:40.74 (4 h5) | 3:36.11 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r2/3 | 1428 | Kader Chékhémani |  FRA | 3:37.81 (3 h4) | 3:34.84 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r2/3 | 1108 | Christophe Impens |  BEL | 3:40.16 (3 h5) | 3:37.64 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 9 h1 r2/3 | 1265 | Branko Zorko |  CRO | 3:37.35 (6 h3) | 3:35.14 (9 h1) | – | |||
| 9 h2 r2/3 | 2378 | Paul McMullen |  USA | 3:39.94 (2 h5) | 3:37.81 (9 h2) | – | |||
| 10 h1 r2/3 | 1657 | Balázs Tölgyesi |  HUN | 3:36.71 (3 h3) | 3:35.57 (10 h1) | – | |||
| 10 h2 r2/3 | 1342 | Reyes Estévez | ESP | 3:42.48 (4 h2) | 3:39.44 (10 h2) | – | |||
| 11 h1 r2/3 | 2066 | Luís Feiteira |  POR | 3:38.09 (5 h4) | 3:40.31 (11 h1) | – | |||
| 11 h2 r2/3 | 1670 | Shane Healy |  IRL | 3:37.28 (5 h3) | 3:39.81 (11 h2) | – | |||
| 12 h1 r2/3 | 1665 | Niall Bruton | IRL | 3:37.42 (3 h1) | 3:42.88 (12 h1) | – | |||
| 12 h2 r2/3 | 1499 | Kevin McKay | GBR | 3:38.02 (4 h1) | 3:43.61 (12 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | 2105 | Ovidiu Olteanu |  ROU | 3:38.33 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | 1903 | Rachid El-Basir | MAR | 3:42.85 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | 2141 | Andrey Loginov |  RUS | 3:40.99 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | 2157 | Vyacheslav Shabunin | RUS | 3:38.56 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | 2299 | Julius Achon |  UGA | 3:43.08 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | 1678 | Marcus O'Sullivan | IRL | 3:38.16 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h5 r1/3 | 2479 | Dieudonné Kwizéra |  BDI | 3:41.45 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/3 | 1158 | Edgard de Oliveira |  BRA | 3:40.70 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/3 | 2070 | Luís Jesus | POR | 3:44.65 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r1/3 | 2225 | Peter Philipp |  SUI | 3:41.60 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 7 h5 r1/3 | 1011 | Ahmed Krama | ALG | 3:42.09 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 8 h1 r1/3 | 1321 | Steve Agar |  DMA | 3:43.02 (8 h1) | – | – | |||
| 8 h2 r1/3 | 1152 | Joaquim Cruz | BRA | 3:45.32 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 8 h3 r1/3 | 1431 | Mickaël Damian | FRA | 3:39.21 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 8 h4 r1/3 | 1068 | Werner Edler-Muhr |  AUT | 3:45.02 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 8 h5 r1/3 | 1661 | Bahadur Prasad |  IND | 3:46.16 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 9 h1 r1/3 | 2365 | Brian Hyde | USA | 3:48.20 (9 h1) | – | – | |||
| 9 h2 r1/3 | 1014 | João N'Tyamba |  ANG | 3:46.41 (9 h2) | – | – | |||
| 9 h3 r1/3 | 2391 | Jason Pyrah | USA | 3:39.91 (9 h3) | – | – | |||
| 9 h4 r1/3 | 2477 | Alexis Sharangabo |  RWA | 3:46.42 (9 h4) | – | – | |||
| 9 h5 r1/3 | 1432 | Éric Dubus | FRA | 3:47.01 (9 h5) | – | – | |||
| 10 h1 r1/3 | 2305 | Andriy Bulkovskyi |  UKR | 3:53.30 (10 h1) | – | – | |||
| 10 h2 r1/3 | 1318 | Ali Ibrahim |  DJI | 3:46.62 (10 h2) | – | – | |||
| 10 h3 r1/3 | 2080 | António Travassos | POR | 3:42.01 (10 h3) | – | – | |||
| 10 h4 r1/3 | 1871 | Ali Mabrouk El-Zaidi |  LBA | 3:51.49 (10 h4) | – | – | |||
| 10 h5 r1/3 | 1067 | Thomas Ebner | AUT | 3:48.38 (10 h5) | – | – | |||
| 11 h1 r1/3 | 2420 | Tawai Keiruan |  VAN | 4:02.78 (11 h1) | – | – | |||
| 11 h2 r1/3 | 1547 | Michael Gottschalk |  GER | 3:56.46 (11 h2) | – | – | |||
| 11 h3 r1/3 | 2017 | Martin Johns |  NZL | 3:44.91 (11 h3) | – | – | |||
| 11 h5 r1/3 | 1038 | Paul Cleary |  AUS | 3:52.85 (11 h5) | – | – | |||
| 12 h3 r1/3 | 1926 | Hussain Riyaz |  MDV | 4:15.14 (12 h3) | – | – | |||
| 12 h5 r1/3 | 2205 | Selwyn Kole |  SOL | 4:03.44 (12 h5) | – | – | |||
| AC h4 r1/3 | 1202 | Graham Hood |  CAN | – (DNF h4) | – | – |
Round One (29 July 1996)
Top four in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One (10:45)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Laban Rotich | KEN | 3:35.88 | |||
| 2 | 10 | Marko Koers | NED | 3:36.18 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Niall Bruton | IRL | 3:37.42 | |||
| 4 | 11 | Kevin McKay | GBR | 3:38.02 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Ovidiu Olteanu | ROU | 3:38.33 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Vyacheslav Shabunin | RUS | 3:38.56 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Edgard de Oliveira | BRA | 3:40.70 | |||
| 8 | 4 | Steve Agar | DMA | 3:43.02 | |||
| 9 | 5 | Brian Hyde | USA | 3:48.20 | |||
| 10 | 9 | Andriy Bulkovskyi | UKR | 3:53.30 | |||
| 11 | 2 | Tawai Keiruan | VAN | 4:02.78 |
Heat Two (10:55)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Noureddine Morceli | ALG | 3:41.95 | |||
| 2 | 9 | John Mayock | GBR | 3:42.31 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Abdi Bile | SOM | 3:42.32 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Reyes Estévez | ESP | 3:42.48 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Rachid El-Basir | MAR | 3:42.85 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Julius Achon | UGA | 3:43.08 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Luís Jesus | POR | 3:44.65 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Joaquim Cruz | BRA | 3:45.32 | |||
| 9 | 6 | João N'Tyamba | ANG | 3:46.41 | |||
| 10 | 10 | Ali Ibrahim | DJI | 3:46.62 | |||
| 11 | 11 | Michael Gottschalk | GER | 3:56.46 |
Heat Three (11:05)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Ali Hakimi | TUN | 3:36.58 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Stephen Kipkorir | KEN | 3:36.70 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Balázs Tölgyesi | HUN | 3:36.71 | |||
| 4 | 10 | Driss Maazouzi | MAR | 3:37.08 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Shane Healy | IRL | 3:37.28 | |||
| 6 | 12 | Branko Zorko | CRO | 3:37.35 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Mohamed Suleiman | QAT | 3:37.70 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Mickaël Damian | FRA | 3:39.21 | |||
| 9 | 4 | Jason Pyrah | USA | 3:39.91 | |||
| 10 | 5 | António Travassos | POR | 3:42.01 | |||
| 11 | 3 | Martin Johns | NZL | 3:44.91 | |||
| 12 | 9 | Hussain Riyaz | MDV | 4:15.14 |
Heat Four (11:15)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Hicham El Guerrouj | MAR | 3:37.66 | |||
| 2 | 6 | William Tanui | KEN | 3:37.72 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Kader Chékhémani | FRA | 3:37.81 | |||
| 4 | 10 | Isaac Viciosa | ESP | 3:37.93 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Luís Feiteira | POR | 3:38.09 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Marcus O'Sullivan | IRL | 3:38.16 | |||
| 7 | 9 | Peter Philipp | SUI | 3:41.60 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Werner Edler-Muhr | AUT | 3:45.02 | |||
| 9 | 5 | Alexis Sharangabo | RWA | 3:46.42 | |||
| 10 | 3 | Ali Mabrouk El-Zaidi | LBA | 3:51.49 | |||
| 1 | Graham Hood | CAN | – |
Heat Five (11:25)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Fermín Cacho | ESP | 3:39.84 | |||
| 2 | 9 | Paul McMullen | USA | 3:39.94 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Christophe Impens | BEL | 3:40.16 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Tony Whiteman | GBR | 3:40.74 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Andrey Loginov | RUS | 3:40.99 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Dieudonné Kwizéra | BDI | 3:41.45 | |||
| 7 | 10 | Ahmed Krama | ALG | 3:42.09 | |||
| 8 | 5 | Bahadur Prasad | IND | 3:46.16 | |||
| 9 | 11 | Éric Dubus | FRA | 3:47.01 | |||
| 10 | 2 | Thomas Ebner | AUT | 3:48.38 | |||
| 11 | 4 | Paul Cleary | AUS | 3:52.85 | |||
| 12 | 8 | Selwyn Kole | SOL | 4:03.44 |
Semi-Finals (31 July 1996)
Top five in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final.
Heat One (19:55)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Noureddine Morceli | ALG | 3:32.88 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Fermín Cacho | ESP | 3:33.12 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Abdi Bile | SOM | 3:33.30 | |||
| 4 | 4 | William Tanui | KEN | 3:33.57 | |||
| 5 | 12 | Laban Rotich | KEN | 3:33.73 | |||
| 6 | 9 | Driss Maazouzi | MAR | 3:34.35 | |||
| 7 | 6 | John Mayock | GBR | 3:34.55 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Kader Chékhémani | FRA | 3:34.84 | |||
| 9 | 8 | Branko Zorko | CRO | 3:35.14 | |||
| 10 | 3 | Balázs Tölgyesi | HUN | 3:35.57 | |||
| 11 | 11 | Luís Feiteira | POR | 3:40.31 | |||
| 12 | 5 | Niall Bruton | IRL | 3:42.88 |
Heat Two (20:10)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Hicham El Guerrouj | MAR | 3:35.29 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Stephen Kipkorir | KEN | 3:35.29 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Ali Hakimi | TUN | 3:35.91 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Mohamed Suleiman | QAT | 3:36.01 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Marko Koers | NED | 3:36.06 | |||
| 6 | 11 | Isaac Viciosa | ESP | 3:36.11 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Tony Whiteman | GBR | 3:36.11 | |||
| 8 | 4 | Christophe Impens | BEL | 3:37.64 | |||
| 9 | 10 | Paul McMullen | USA | 3:37.81 | |||
| 10 | 3 | Reyes Estévez | ESP | 3:39.44 | |||
| 11 | 7 | Shane Healy | IRL | 3:39.81 | |||
| 12 | 9 | Kevin McKay | GBR | 3:43.61 |
Final (3 August 1996 — 19:50)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Noureddine Morceli | ALG | 3:35.78 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Fermín Cacho | ESP | 3:36.40 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Stephen Kipkorir | KEN | 3:36.72 | |||
| 4 | 11 | Laban Rotich | KEN | 3:37.39 | |||
| 5 | 10 | William Tanui | KEN | 3:37.42 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Abdi Bile | SOM | 3:38.03 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Marko Koers | NED | 3:38.18 | |||
| 8 | 9 | Ali Hakimi | TUN | 3:38.19 | |||
| 9 | 7 | Mohamed Suleiman | QAT | 3:38.26 | |||
| 10 | 5 | Driss Maazouzi | MAR | 3:39.65 | |||
| 11 | 12 | John Mayock | GBR | 3:40.18 | |||
| 12 | 8 | Hicham El Guerrouj | MAR | 3:40.75 |