1,500 metres Wheelchair, Men

Wheelchair racing was held as a demonstration event on the athletics program at the Olympics from 1984-2004. The men raced 1,500 metres on the track with eight competitors. Claude Issorat of France had won this event in 1992, and repeated in 1996, winning a very narrow victory over American Scot Hollonbeck. Issorat would also finish second at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The runner-up in 1992, Switzerland’s Franz Nietlispach, placed third in Atlanta. Between 1992 and 2004 Issorat won seven gold medals and 13 medals at the Paralympics. Hollonbeck competed at the Paralympics from 1992-2004, winning two gold and three silver medals. Nietlispach won 22 medals and 14 gold medals at the Paralympics from 1976-2008, and also won the Boston Marathon five times.