1,500 metres, Women

Unlike the women’s 500 and 1,000 in 1976, there was no clear favorite in this race. East Germany’s Karin Kessow had won the 1975 World Championships and won the distance at that tournament. Tatyana Averina had set the last two world records in the 1,500, the current one her 2:09.90, set at Medeo in 1975, which shattered the previous record by 4.1 seconds. And although Sheila Young was a better sprinter, she was solid at this distance as well, and needed to be watched. The opening pair saw Norway’s Lisbeth Korsmo break the Olympic record with a time of 2:18.99. That held up until Averina finished the fourth pairing in 2:17.96. The seventh pair had Averina’s teammate Galina Stepanskaya, who had won the distance at the 1973 World Championships, but whose performances since had been somewhat ordinary. She set a fast pace, over a full second ahead of Averina at the 1,100 split, and held on, crossing in 2:16.58 to move well ahead. Young went off two pairs later, with Kessow, and though she was far behind at 1,100 metres, she had the fastest final lap to finish in 2:17.06 and win the silver medal, behind Stepanskaya, with Averina taking bronze, Korsmo in fourth, and Kessow placing fifth. The surprising Stepanskaya would place second at the World Championships in 1977 and 1978, winning the 1,500 and 3,000 at the 1977 Worlds.