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| Event type

1,500 metres, Men

Date14 February 1928 — 9:00
StatusOlympic
LocationOlympia-Eisstadion Badrutts Park, St. Moritz
Participants30 from 14 countries
Olympic Record 2:20.8 / Clas Thunberg FIN / 27 January 1924
StarterHermann KleebergGER
RefereeHenning OlsenNOR

There was little doubt that the Olympic 1500 m title would be retained by Clas Thunberg. He had clocked a 2:18.8 nine days earlier in Davos, and all of the other season best times were at least 1.8 seconds slower. In fact, Thunberg had not lost a 1500 m all season, winning this distance at the Finnish, European and World Championships. Behind him, the Norwegians were expected to divide the medals, with the Americans as outsiders.

The Americans opened, with Eddie Murphy (2:25.9) and Irving Jaffee (2:26.7) setting the pace. The third American, John O’Neil Farrell, was beaten by Roald Larsen of Norway, who also moved in front. Two more Norwegians followed, Olympic 5000 m champion Ivar Ballangrud and Wollert Nygren. The latter, a substitute for the sick Staksrud, had done well in Davos, but disappointed in St. Moritz. Not so for Ballangrud, who took the lead with a very decent 2:22.6. He didn’t have to wait long to see what that time was worth. The very next race paired Thunberg and Bernt Evensen, the fastest of the Norwegians in the )metric mile). The two fought a great race, and were still level coming out of the final bend. Thunberg then emerged as the better sprinter, winning in 2:21.1, eight tenths ahead of Evensen.

The twelfth place of Charlie Gorman is somewhat contentious. He showed up late for the start, but was allowed to skate against Siem Heiden in the final pair, but out of competition. The Official Report mentions that “his time would be noted, but would not count”. Yet, he is listed as 12th in several newspapers, while other 1928 sources do list him as out of competition.

PosPairCompetitorNOCTime
111Clas ThunbergFIN2:21.1Gold
211Bernt EvensenNOR2:21.9Silver
310Ivar BallangrudNOR2:22.6Bronze
48Roald LarsenNOR2:25.3
52Eddie MurphyUSA2:25.9
69Valentine BialasUSA2:26.3
72Irving JaffeeUSA2:26.7
88John O'Neil FarrellUSA2:26.8
912Gustaf AnderssonSWE2:27.5
105Zoltán EötvösHUN2:27.9
1113Fritz JungblutGER2:28.2
1215Charlie GormanCAN2:28.4
1310Wollert NygrenNOR2:28.7
149Alberts RumbaLAT2:28.9
156Toivo OvaskaFIN2:29.3
165Fritz MoserAUT2:31.4
177Ross RobinsonCAN2:32.3
1815Siem HeidenNED2:33.1
197Christfried BurmeisterEST2:33.6
2012Aleksander MittEST2:35.0
216Willy LoganCAN2:35.6
2214Rudolf RiedlAUT2:37.8
2314Arthur VollstedtGER2:39.9
244Cyril HornGBR2:40.0
253Kęstutis BulotaLTU2:40.9
263Charles ThaonFRA2:44.2
271Len StewartGBR2:48.9
281Fred DixGBR2:49.6
294Wim KosNED2:49.9
DNF13Bertel BackmanFIN