Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's 1500 metres

The women's 1500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 24 to 28.[1]

Women's 1500 metres
at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad
Winner Kelly Holmes.
VenueAthens Olympic Stadium
Dates24–28 August
Competitors48 from 25 nations
Winning time3:57.90 NR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Kelly Holmes  Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Tatyana Tomashova  Russia
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Maria Cioncan  Romania
← 2000
2008 →

The first round comprised three heats with the first five gaining a direct qualification and then the next nine fastest across all heats progressing to the semifinals. The top five runners in each of the two semifinal heats moved on directly to the final, and they were immediately joined by the next two fastest from any of the semifinals.

The final started out quickly with the fastest qualifier Natalya Yevdokimova taking an insurmountable lead for the Russians alongside her teammates Olga Yegorova and reigning world champion Tatyana Tomashova. Great Britain's Kelly Holmes, who had earlier won the gold medal in the 800 metres, was expected to challenge her Russian rivals and the rest of the field for a possible Olympic double. Throughout the race, Holmes stayed calmly at the back of the field, lying eighth at the bell. With only one more lap to go, she bided her time to pull away from the rest of the runners through the curve, keeping an eye on the leaders. Holmes made a wider move with only 100 metres remaining to pass the leader Tomashova and sprinted down the home stretch to take the gold medal, setting a new British record of 3:57.90. Tomashova closed the race quickly to get the silver, while Romania's Maria Cioncan could not reach further to chase the leaders on a tight sprint finish, ending her up with a bronze.[2][3]

Holmes' feat made her one of Great Britain's most successful athletes in Olympic history, and the first to achieve an Olympic middle-distance double by either a male or a female, for 84 years, a feat that not accomplished by the 1980s running legends Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett, and Steve Cram.[2]

Records

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Prior to the competition, the existing World record, Olympic record, and world leading time were as follows:

World record   Qu Yunxia (CHN) 3:50.46 Beijing, China 11 September 1993
Olympic record   Paula Ivan (ROM) 3:53.96 Seoul, South Korea 1 October 1988
World Leading   Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR) 3:58.28 Moscow, Russia 30 May 2004

No new records were set during the competition.

Qualification

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The qualification period for athletics was 1 January 2003 to 9 August 2004. For the women's 1500 metres, each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run the race in 4:05.80 or faster during the qualification period. If an NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had run the race in 4:07.15 or faster could be entered.

Schedule

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All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)

Date Time Round
Tuesday, 24 August 2004 20:30 Round 1
Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:30 Semifinals
Saturday, 28 August 2004 20:30 Final

Results

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Round 1

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Qualification rule: The first five finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next nine fastest overall runners (q) advanced to the semifinals.[4]

Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Tatyana Tomashova   Russia 4:06.06 Q
2 Nataliya Tobias   Ukraine 4:06.06 Q
3 Nuria Fernández   Spain 4:06.29 Q
4 Anna Jakubczak   Poland 4:06.37 Q
5 Elvan Abeylegesse   Turkey 4:06.42 Q
6 Carrie Tollefson   United States 4:06.46 q
7 Hayley Tullett   Great Britain 4:07.27 q
8 Carla Sacramento   Portugal 4:07.73 q
9 Courtney Babcock   Canada 4:08.18
10 Latifa Essarokh   France 4:09.08
11 Mestawat Tadesse   Ethiopia 4:11.78
12 Elena Iagăr   Romania 4:11.48
13 Silvia Felipo   Andorra 4:44.40 SB
14 Sloan Siegrist   Guam 4:44.53
Bouchra Ghezielle   Morocco DNS
Nouria Merah Benida   Algeria DNS

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Natalya Yevdokimova   Russia 4:05.55 Q
2 Kelly Holmes   Great Britain 4:05.58 Q
3 Daniela Yordanova   Bulgaria 4:05.87 Q, SB
4 Maria Martins   France 4:05.95 Q
5 Hasna Benhassi   Morocco 4:05.98 Q
6 Lidia Chojecka   Poland 4:06.13 q
7 Iris Fuentes-Pila   Spain 4:06.32 q
8 Nahida Touhami   Algeria 4:06.41 q
9 Konstadina Efedaki   Greece 4:06.73 q
10 Malindi Elmore   Canada 4:09.81
11 Jasminka Guber   Bosnia and Herzegovina 4:17.75 PB
12 Meskerem Legesse   Ethiopia 4:18.03
13 Alina Cucerzan   Romania 4:18.07
14 Elena Guerra   Uruguay 4:35.31
15 Kanchhi Maya Koju   Nepal 4:38.17 PB
Iryna Lishchynska   Ukraine DNF

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Maria Cioncan   Romania 4:06.68 Q
2 Carmen Douma-Hussar   Canada 4:06.90 Q
3 Wioletta Janowska   Poland 4:06.91 Q
4 Nancy Jebet Lagat   Kenya 4:06.94 Q
5 Kutre Dulecha   Ethiopia 4:06.95 Q
6 Olga Yegorova   Russia 4:07.14 q
7 Natalia Rodríguez   Spain 4:07.19 q
8 Hind Dehiba   France 4:07.96
9 Nelya Neporadna   Ukraine 4:08.60
10 Trine Pilskog   Norway 4:08.61
11 Sarah Jamieson   Australia 4:09.25
12 Judit Varga   Hungary 4:09.36
13 Joanne Pavey   Great Britain 4:12.50
14 Tatiana Borisova   Kyrgyzstan 4:13.36
15 Sumaira Zahoor   Pakistan 4:49.33
Rosa Saul   Angola DNS

Semifinals

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Qualification rule: The top five finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next two fastest overall runners (q) advanced to the final.[5]

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Maria Cioncan   Romania 4:06.69 Q
2 Anna Jakubczak   Poland 4:06.77 Q
3 Tatyana Tomashova   Russia 4:06.80 Q
4 Elvan Abeylegesse   Turkey 4:07.10 Q
5 Hasna Benhassi   Morocco 4:07.39 Q
6 Nataliya Tobias   Ukraine 4:07.55
7 Nancy Jebet Lagat   Kenya 4:07.57
8 Kutre Dulecha   Ethiopia 4:07.63
9 Nuria Fernández   Spain 4:07.68
10 Iris Fuentes-Pila   Spain 4:07.69
11 Hayley Tullett   Great Britain 4:08.92
12 Konstadina Efedaki   Greece 4:09.37

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Natalya Yevdokimova   Russia 4:04.66 Q
2 Kelly Holmes   Great Britain 4:04.77 Q
3 Lidia Chojecka   Poland 4:04.83 Q
4 Natalia Rodríguez   Spain 4:04.91 Q
5 Daniela Yordanova   Bulgaria 4:04.94 Q, SB
6 Carmen Douma-Hussar   Canada 4:05.09 q
7 Olga Yegorova   Russia 4:05.57 q
8 Nahida Touhami   Algeria 4:07.21
9 Carrie Tollefson   United States 4:08.55
10 Carla Sacramento   Portugal 4:10.85
11 Wioletta Janowska   Poland 4:11.41
12 Maria Martins   France 4:12.76

Final

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[6]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
  Kelly Holmes   Great Britain 3:57.90 NR
  Tatyana Tomashova   Russia 3:58.12 PB
  Maria Cioncan   Romania 3:58.39 PB
4 Natalya Yevdokimova   Russia 3:59.05 PB
5 Daniela Yordanova   Bulgaria 3:59.10 PB
6 Lidia Chojecka   Poland 3:59.27 SB
7 Anna Jakubczak   Poland 4:00.15 PB
8 Elvan Abeylegesse   Turkey 4:00.67
9 Carmen Douma-Hussar   Canada 4:02.31 PB
10 Natalia Rodríguez   Spain 4:03.01 SB
11 Olga Yegorova   Russia 4:05.65
12 Hasna Benhassi   Morocco 4:12.90

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 2004 Athens Games: Women's 1500 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Golden double for Holmes". BBC Sport. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  3. ^ Jump, Paul (28 August 2004). "Holmes cruises to golden double". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  4. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Women's 1500m Heats". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  5. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Women's 1500m Semifinals". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  6. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Women's 1500m Final". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
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