Nick Willis running in the final of the men's 1,500 metres in Beijing.
He was 6th in that race (3:35.46) and is seen above leading the gold medillist
Asbel Kiprop.
2015 World Championships.
Men's 1,500 metres final.
1.
|
Asbel
|
KIPROP |
KEN |
3:34.40 |
2.
|
Elijah Motonei
|
MANANGOI |
KEN |
3:34.63 |
| 3. |
Abdalaati
|
IGUIDER |
MAR |
3:34.67 |
| 4. |
Taoufik
|
MAKHLOUFI |
ALG |
3:34.76 |
| 5. |
Silas
|
KIPLAGAT |
KEN |
3:34.81
|
| 6. |
Nick
|
WILLIS |
NZL |
3:35.46 |
| 7. |
Timothy
|
CHERUIYOT |
KEN |
3:36.05 |
| 8. |
Matthew
|
CENTROWITZ |
USA |
3:36.13 |
One year later most of the same runners seen above contested the Olympic final in Rio.
But that final was run at a funeral pace. Kiprop paid the price and failed to find
a clear route in the mad dash for the line, but Nick did and was rewarded with
a bronze medal.
2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Men's 1,500 metres final.
| 1. |
Matthew Centrowitz, Jr. |
United States |
3:50.00 |
| 2. |
Taoufik Makhloufi |
Algeria |
3:50.11 |
| 3. |
Nick Willis |
New Zealand |
3:50.24
|
| 4. |
Ayanleh Souleiman |
Djibouti |
3:50.29 |
| 5. |
Abdalaati Iguider |
Morocco |
3:50.58
|
| 6. |
Asbel Kiprop |
Kenya |
3:50.87 |
| 7. |
David Bustos |
Spain |
3:51.06 |
| 8. |
Ben Blankenship |
United States |
3:51.09 |
The winning time of 3:50.00 was the slowest since 1932.
Only five finalist (there were thirteen) failed to beat 3:40 in their semi final - ten seconds
faster than Matthew's winning time !
Earlier in the evening Mo Farah won the 5,000 metres.
Mo's best time for the 1,500 metres. 3:28.81. Need one say more ?
On 19 January 2021 Willis broke 4 minutes in the mile for a record 19th year in a row,
running a 3:58.05 mile at the Orange Winter Classic meet in Clermont, Florida.
This broke a tie with fellow New Zealander John Walker, who broke the 4-minute mile
barrier every year from 1973-1990.