1,500 metres, Men

In 1954, Britain’s Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute barrier for the mile, and won the Commonwealth Games and European Championships. But he was a medical student and elected not to continue competing thru the 1956 Olympics. By the time of the Melbourne Olympics, four other runners had broken four minutes for the mile – Hungary’s László Tábori, two Britons, Chris Chataway and Brian Hewson, and Australian John Landy. Landy hoped to win the 1,500 in front of his countrymen, and he had the best record of any of the contenders. Unlike 1952, there were only two rounds, which qualified 12 for the final, among them Landy, Tábori, Hewson, and Ireland’s Ron Delany. The final was led out by Landy’s teammate, Merv Lincoln. The field was closely bunched with Delany running at the rear. Hewson took the lead on the third lap and led thru 1,200 metres in 3:01.3. Delany was still near the rear but on the backstretch he moved up and passed Hewson at the head of the final straight, pulling away to win the gold medal in a major upset. Germany’s Klaus Richtzenhain was second, while John Landy, who had run an indifferent race, finished strongly for the bronze medal.