1,500 metres, Men

As in most of the 1984 speed skating events, no definite favorite existed, as Eric Heiden’s retirement had left the speed skating world without a dominant skater. The opening pair was won by Norway’s Kai Arne Engelstad who was primarily a sprinter, but had some strength at 1,500 metres. In the second pairing, Soviet skater Sergey Khlebnikov, the 1982 World Sprints champion, finished in 1:58.83, almost two seconds better than Engelstad. The time would hold until Canada’s Gaétan Boucher started in the 10th pair. Boucher had already won the 1,000 only two days earlier, and he was almost ½-second better than Khlebnikov, finishing in 1:58.36. For Boucher it was his third medal of the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, as he had also won a bronze in the 500. Khlebnikov’s time held up for the silver, matching his silver from the 1,000. The bronze went to the Soviet Union’s Oleg Bozhyev, who was competing in his first international meet, but who would, in late March 1984, break the world record in Medeo with 1:53.26.