Men · World record
1500 Metres
The current record and its documented progression: 37 ratified records from 1912 to 1998, plus 13 earlier marks recorded before the IAAF began ratifying records.
3:26.00
Hicham El GuerroujMARRome · 14 Jul 1998
28 years standing1.37 s improvementAll-time top 25 →
Record progression
Each step is a documented record; red marks the fully automatic timing era
Documented records
37 ratified · most recent first · Wikipedia (EN) revision 1371398916, imported 2 Sep 2026
| Mark | Athlete | Nation | Venue | Date | Stood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:31.4 | Steve Ovett | GBR | Koblenz, West Germany | 27 Aug 1980 | 3 yrs |
| 3:32.1 | Steve Ovett | GBR | Oslo, Norway | 15 Jul 1980 | 43 d |
| 3:32.1 | Sebastian Coe | GBR | Zürich, Switzerland | 15 Aug 1979 | 335 d |
| 3:32.2 | Filbert Bayi | TAN | Christchurch, New Zealand | 2 Feb 1974 | 5 yrs |
| 3:33.1 | Jim Ryun | USA | Los Angeles, United States | 8 Jul 1967 | 6 yrs |
| 3:35.6 | Herb Elliott | AUS | Rome, Italy | 6 Sep 1960 | 6 yrs |
| 3:36.0 | Herb Elliott | AUS | Gothenburg, Sweden | 28 Aug 1958 | 2 yrs |
| 3:38.1 | Stanislav Jungwirth | TCH | Stará Boleslav, Czechoslovakia | 12 Jul 1957 | 1 yr |
| 3:40.2 | Olavi Salsola | FIN | Turku, Finland | 11 Jul 1957 | 1 d |
| 3:40.6 | István Rózsavölgyi | HUN | Tata, Hungary | 3 Aug 1956 | 342 d |
| 3:40.8 | Gunnar Nielsen | DEN | Oslo, Norway | 6 Sep 1955 | 332 d |
| 3:40.8 | László Tábori | HUN | Oslo, Norway | 6 Sep 1955 | 0 d |
| 3:40.8 | Sándor Iharos | HUN | Helsinki, Finland | 28 Jul 1955 | 40 d |
| 3:41.8 | John Landy | AUS | Turku, Finland | 21 Jun 1954 | 1 yr |
| 3:42.8 | Wes Santee | USA | Compton, United States | 4 Jun 1954 | 17 d |
| 3:43.0 | Werner Lueg | FRG | Berlin, Germany | 29 Jun 1952 | 1 yr |
| 3:43.0 | Lennart Strand | SWE | Malmö, Sweden | 15 Jul 1947 | 4 yrs |
| 3:43.0 | Gunder Hägg | SWE | Gothenburg, Sweden | 7 Jul 1944 | 3 yrs |
| 3:45.0 | Arne Andersson | SWE | Gothenburg, Sweden | 17 Aug 1943 | 325 d |
| 3:45.8 | Gunder Hägg | SWE | Stockholm, Sweden | 17 Jul 1942 | 1 yr |
| 3:47.6 | Gunder Hägg | SWE | Stockholm, Sweden | 10 Aug 1941 | 341 d |
| 3:47.8 | Jack Lovelock | NZL | Berlin, Germany | 6 Aug 1936 | 5 yrs |
| 3:48.8 | Bill Bonthron | USA | Milwaukee, United States | 30 Jun 1934 | 2 yrs |
| 3:49.0 | Luigi Beccali | ITA | Milan, Italy | 17 Sep 1933 | 286 d |
| 3:49.2 | Luigi Beccali | ITA | Turin, Italy | 9 Sep 1933 | 8 d |
| 3:49.2 | Jules Ladoumegue | FRA | Paris, France | 5 Oct 1930 | 2 yrs |
| 3:51.0 | Otto Peltzer | GER | Berlin, Germany | 11 Sep 1926 | 4 yrs |
| 3:52.6 | Paavo Nurmi | FIN | Helsinki, Finland | 19 Jun 1924 | 2 yrs |
| 3:54.7 | John Zander | SWE | Stockholm, Sweden | 5 Aug 1917 | 6 yrs |
| 3:55.8 | Abel Kiviat | USA | Cambridge, United States | 8 Jun 1912 | 5 yrs |
Rows link to a profile only where the athlete appears on a published list. Struck marks were rescinded or never ratified, and A marks a performance at altitude; both come from the source article's own key and markers, and eras are kept as it lists them. Nothing is inferred.
Before official ratification
13 entries · not ratified · marks from before the IAAF (now World Athletics) began ratifying records, or never ratified, shown for context only