The women's 1500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 24 to 28.

The first round comprised three heats with the first five gaining a direct qualification and then the next nine fastest across all heats progressing to the semifinals. The top five runners in each of the two semifinal heats moved on directly to the final, and they were immediately joined by the next two fastest from any of the semifinals.

The final started out quickly with the fastest qualifier Natalya Yevdokimova taking an insurmountable lead for the Russians alongside her teammates Olga Yegorova and reigning world champion Tatyana Tomashova. Great Britain's Kelly Holmes, who had earlier won the gold medal in the 800 metres, was expected to challenge her Russian rivals and the rest of the field for a possible Olympic double. Throughout the race, Holmes stayed calmly at the back of the field, lying eighth at the bell. With only one more lap to go, she bided her time to pull away from the rest of the runners through the curve, keeping an eye on the leaders. Holmes made a wider move with only 100 metres remaining to pass the leader Tomashova and sprinted down the home stretch to take the gold medal, setting a new British record of 3:57.90. Tomashova closed the race quickly to get the silver, while Romania's Maria Cioncan could not reach further to chase the leaders on a tight sprint finish, ending her up with a bronze.

Holmes' feat made her one of Great Britain's most successful athletes in Olympic history, and the first to achieve an Olympic middle-distance double by either a male or a female, for 84 years, a feat not accomplished by the 1980s running legends Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett, and Steve Cram.

Records Prior to the competition, the existing World record, Olympic record, and world leading time were as follows:

No new records were set during the competition.

Qualification The qualification period for athletics was 1 January 2003 to 9 August 2004. For the women's 1500 metres, each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run the race in 4:05.80 or faster during the qualification period. If an NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had run the race in 4:07.15 or faster could be entered.

Schedule All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3) Date Time RoundTuesday, 24 August 2004 20:30 Round 1Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:30 SemifinalsSaturday, 28 August 2004 20:30 Final

Results

Round 1 Qualification rule: The first five finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next nine fastest overall runners (q) advanced to the semifinals.

Heat 1 Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Tatyana Tomashova 4:06.06Q2 Nataliya Tobias 4:06.06Q3 Nuria Fernández 4:06.29Q4 Anna Jakubczak 4:06.37Q5 Elvan Abeylegesse 4:06.42Q6 Carrie Tollefson 4:06.46q7 Hayley Tullett 4:07.27q8 Carla Sacramento 4:07.73q9 Courtney Babcock 4:08.1810 Latifa Essarokh 4:09.0811 Mestawat Tadesse 4:11.7812 Elena Iagăr 4:11.4813 Silvia Felipo 4:44.40SB14 Sloan Siegrist 4:44.53 Bouchra Ghezielle Nouria Merah Benida

Heat 2 Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Natalya Yevdokimova 4:05.55Q2 Kelly Holmes 4:05.58Q3 Daniela Yordanova 4:05.87Q, SB4 Maria Martins 4:05.95Q5 Hasna Benhassi 4:05.98Q6 Lidia Chojecka 4:06.13q7 Iris Fuentes-Pila 4:06.32q8 Nahida Touhami 4:06.41q9 Konstadina Efedaki 4:06.73q10 Malindi Elmore 4:09.8111 Jasminka Guber 4:17.75PB12 Meskerem Legesse 4:18.0313 Alina Cucerzan 4:18.0714 Elena Guerra 4:35.3115 Kanchhi Maya Koju 4:38.17PB Iryna Lishchynska

Heat 3 Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Maria Cioncan 4:06.68Q2 Carmen Douma-Hussar 4:06.90Q3 Wioletta Janowska 4:06.91Q4 Nancy Jebet Lagat 4:06.94Q5 Kutre Dulecha 4:06.95Q6 Olga Yegorova 4:07.14q7 Natalia Rodríguez 4:07.19q8 Hind Dehiba 4:07.969 Nelya Neporadna 4:08.6010 Trine Pilskog 4:08.6111 Sarah Jamieson 4:09.2512 Judit Varga 4:09.3613 Joanne Pavey 4:12.5014 Tatiana Borisova 4:13.3615 Sumaira Zahoor 4:49.33 Rosa Saul

Semifinals Qualification rule: The top five finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next two fastest overall runners (q) advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1 Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Maria Cioncan 4:06.69Q2 Anna Jakubczak 4:06.77Q3 Tatyana Tomashova 4:06.80Q4 Elvan Abeylegesse 4:07.10Q5 Hasna Benhassi 4:07.39Q6 Nataliya Tobias 4:07.557 Nancy Jebet Lagat 4:07.578 Kutre Dulecha 4:07.639 Nuria Fernández 4:07.6810 Iris Fuentes-Pila 4:07.6911 Hayley Tullett 4:08.9212 Konstadina Efedaki 4:09.37

Semifinal 2 Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Natalya Yevdokimova 4:04.66Q2 Kelly Holmes 4:04.77Q3 Lidia Chojecka 4:04.83Q4 Natalia Rodríguez 4:04.91Q5 Daniela Yordanova 4:04.94Q, SB6 Carmen Douma-Hussar 4:05.09q7 Olga Yegorova 4:05.57q8 Nahida Touhami 4:07.219 Carrie Tollefson 4:08.5510 Carla Sacramento 4:10.8511 Wioletta Janowska 4:11.4112 Maria Martins 4:12.76

Final

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes Kelly Holmes 3:57.90NR Tatyana Tomashova 3:58.12PB Maria Cioncan 3:58.39PB4 Natalya Yevdokimova 3:59.05PB5 Daniela Yordanova 3:59.10PB6 Lidia Chojecka 3:59.27SB7 Anna Jakubczak 4:00.15PB8 Elvan Abeylegesse 4:00.679 Carmen Douma-Hussar 4:02.31PB10 Natalia Rodríguez 4:03.01SB11 Olga Yegorova 4:05.6512 Hasna Benhassi 4:12.90

References

External links IAAF Athens 2004 Olympic Coverage