1,500 metres, Women
| Date | 30 July – 1 August 1980 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Bolshaya arena, Tsentralny stadion imeni V.I. Lenina, Moskva |
| Participants | 24 from 14 countries |
Tatyana Kazankina was the defending champion and the fastest in the field by far. She had set the world record of 3:56.0 in 1976, shortly before the Olympics, and that had not been approached until July 1980, when she broke the record with 3:55.0 at the Znamensky Memoiral in Moskva. In round one, she showed her form when she broke 4-minutes with 3:59.12, very fast for a heat. The final started slowly, but Kazankina took the lead with 1½ laps remaining and ran her third lap in a very quick 58.4. She won over Christiane Wartenberg by about 10 metres. Twelve days later, at the Weltklasse Meet in Zürich, Kazankina lowered her world record again, to 3:52.47, a mark which would last until 1993.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 268 | Tatyana Kazankina |  URS | 3:59.2 (1 h1) | 3:56.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 140 | Christiane Wartenberg |  GDR | 4:00.4 (3 h1) | 3:57.8 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 281 | Nadezhda Olizarenko | URS | 3:59.5 (2 h1) | 3:59.6 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 167 | Gabriella Dorio |  ITA | 4:05.0 (3 h2) | 4:00.3 (4) | |||
| 5 | 109 | Ulrike Bruns | GDR | 4:01.6 (4 h1) | 4:00.7 (5) | |||
| 6 | 288 | Lyubov Smolka | URS | 4:04.4 (1 h2) | 4:01.3 (6) | |||
| 7 | 220 | Maricica Puică |  ROU | 4:01.7 (5 h1) | 4:01.3 (7) | |||
| 8 | 223 | Ileana Silai | ROU | 4:04.7 (2 h2) | 4:03.0 (8) | |||
| 9 | 218 | Natalia Mărășescu | ROU | 4:05.9 (4 h2) | 4:04.8 (9) | |||
| 5 h2 r1/2 | 197 | Anna Bukis |  POL | 4:06.0 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/2 | 49 | Vesela Yatsinska |  BUL | 4:04.7 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/2 | 124 | Beate Liebich | GDR | 4:06.8 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/2 | 233 | Cornelia Bürki |  SUI | 4:05.5 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/2 | 26 | Nikolina Shtereva | BUL | 4:08.3 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r1/2 | 39 | Totka Petrova | BUL | 4:13.8 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r1/2 | 297 | Breda Pergar |  YUG | 4:13.2 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 9 h1 r1/2 | 96 | Janet Marlow |  GBR | 4:15.9 (9 h1) | – | |||
| 9 h2 r1/2 | 173 | Agnese Possamai | ITA | 4:14.7 (9 h2) | – | |||
| 10 h1 r1/2 | 61 | Amsale Woldegibriel |  ETH | 4:25.3 (10 h1) | – | |||
| 10 h2 r1/2 | 249 | Mwinga Mwanjala |  TAN | 4:20.9 (10 h2) | – | |||
| 11 h1 r1/2 | 247 | Marcellina Emmanuel | TAN | 4:26.8 (11 h1) | – | |||
| 11 h2 r1/2 | 295 | Trịnh Thị Bé |  VIE | 4:38.6 (11 h2) | – | |||
| 12 h1 r1/2 | 187 | Albertine Rahéliarisoa |  MAD | 4:30.8 (12 h1) | – | |||
| 13 h1 r1/2 | 230 | Margaret Morel |  SEY | 4:37.9 (13 h1) | – | |||
| 165 | Geeta Zutshi |  IND | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| 244 | Hala El-Moughrabi |  SYR | – (DNS h2) | – |
Round One (30 July 1980 — 12:20)
Top four in each heat and next fastest advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 268 | Tatyana Kazankina | URS | 3:59.2 | 3:59.12 | |||
| 2 | 281 | Nadezhda Olizarenko | URS | 3:59.5 | 3:59.48 | |||
| 3 | 140 | Christiane Wartenberg | GDR | 4:00.4 | 4:00.31 | |||
| 4 | 109 | Ulrike Bruns | GDR | 4:01.6 | 4:01.52 | |||
| 5 | 220 | Maricica Puică | ROU | 4:01.7 | 4:01.68 | |||
| 6 | 49 | Vesela Yatsinska | BUL | 4:04.7 | 4:04.70 | |||
| 7 | 233 | Cornelia Bürki | SUI | 4:05.5 | 4:05.44 | |||
| 8 | 39 | Totka Petrova | BUL | 4:13.8 | 4:13.80 | |||
| 9 | 96 | Janet Marlow | GBR | 4:15.9 | 4:15.81 | |||
| 10 | 61 | Amsale Woldegibriel | ETH | 4:25.3 | 4:25.30 | |||
| 11 | 247 | Marcellina Emmanuel | TAN | 4:26.8 | 4:26.78 | |||
| 12 | 187 | Albertine Rahéliarisoa | MAD | 4:30.8 | 4:30.72 | |||
| 13 | 230 | Margaret Morel | SEY | 4:37.9 | 4:37.89 |
Splits
| 400 m | 1:07.0 | Maricica Puică | |
| 800 m | 2:11.4 | Maricica Puică | |
| 1200 m | 3:13.9 | Tatyana Kazankina | |
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 288 | Lyubov Smolka | URS | 4:04.4 | 4:04.36 | |||
| 2 | 223 | Ileana Silai | ROU | 4:04.7 | 4:04.70 | |||
| 3 | 167 | Gabriella Dorio | ITA | 4:05.0 | 4:04.91 | |||
| 4 | 218 | Natalia Mărășescu | ROU | 4:05.9 | 4:05.83 | |||
| 5 | 197 | Anna Bukis | POL | 4:06.0 | 4:05.97 | |||
| 6 | 124 | Beate Liebich | GDR | 4:06.8 | 4:06.75 | |||
| 7 | 26 | Nikolina Shtereva | BUL | 4:08.3 | 4:08.25 | |||
| 8 | 297 | Breda Pergar | YUG | 4:13.2 | 4:13.16 | |||
| 9 | 173 | Agnese Possamai | ITA | 4:14.7 | 4:14.67 | |||
| 10 | 249 | Mwinga Mwanjala | TAN | 4:20.9 | 4:20.84 | |||
| 11 | 295 | Trịnh Thị Bé | VIE | 4:38.6 | 4:38.57 | |||
| 165 | Geeta Zutshi | IND | – | – | ||||
| 244 | Hala El-Moughrabi | SYR | – | – |
Splits
| 400 m | 1:09.0 | Lyubov Smolka | |
| 800 m | 2:17.0 | Natalia Mărășescu | |
| 1200 m | 3:19.2 | Lyubov Smolka | |
Final (1 August 1980 — 18:05)
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 268 | Tatyana Kazankina | URS | 3:56.6 | 3:56.56 | |||
| 2 | 140 | Christiane Wartenberg | GDR | 3:57.8 | 3:57.71 | |||
| 3 | 281 | Nadezhda Olizarenko | URS | 3:59.6 | 3:59.52 | |||
| 4 | 167 | Gabriella Dorio | ITA | 4:00.3 | 4:00.30 | |||
| 5 | 109 | Ulrike Bruns | GDR | 4:00.7 | 4:00.62 | |||
| 6 | 288 | Lyubov Smolka | URS | 4:01.3 | 4:01.25 | |||
| 7 | 220 | Maricica Puică | ROU | 4:01.3 | 4:01.26 | |||
| 8 | 223 | Ileana Silai | ROU | 4:03.0 | 4:02.98 | |||
| 9 | 218 | Natalia Mărășescu | ROU | 4:04.8 | 4:04.74 |
Splits
| 400 m | 1:05.5 | Nadezhda Olizarenko | |
| 800 m | 2:13.7 | Nadezhda Olizarenko | |
| 1200 m | 3:12.3 | Tatyana Kazankina | |