Final 17:00 | time | 1. Ted Meredith | United States | 1:51.9 WR | 2. Melvin Sheppard | United States | 1:52.0 | 3. Ira Davenport | United States | 1:52.0 | 4. David Caldwell | United States | 1:52.8 | 5. Mel Brock | Canada | 1:53.0 | 6. Hanns Braun | Germany | 1:53.0 | 7. Clarence Edmundson | United States | Unknown | 8. Herbert Putnam | United States | Unknown |
|
| Venue: Stockholm Olympic Stadion 20,000 - track of 536.45 metres=1⁄3 mile. | 47 competitors from 16 nations. | Semi-Finals | Heats |
|
World and Olympic Record: Melvin Sheppard, United States 1:52.8 London, United Kingdom 21 July 1908 | The world record of 1:52.8, which had seemed fairly safe through the first two rounds of competition, was broken by all three medalists and tied by the fourth-place runner in the final. |
| 2 Semis with 1- athletes. First 4 from each Semi advanced to Final. |
Semi 1 | time | | 1. Ted Meredith | United States | 1:54.4 | Q | 2. Hanns Braun | Germany | 1:54.6 | Q | 3. Melvin Sheppard | United States | 1:54.8 | Q | 4. Herbert Putnam | United States | 1:55.0 | Q | 5. John Tait | Canada | Unknown | | 6. Percy Mann | Great Britain | Unknown | | -. Frederick Hulford | Great Britain | DNFs | | -. James Soutter | Great Britain | DNFs | | -. John Paul Jones | United States | DNSs | |
|
|
Semi 2 | time | | 1. Mel Brock | Canada | 1:55.7 | Q | 2. Clarence Edmundson | United States | 1:55.8 | Q | 3. David Caldwell | United States | 1:55.9 | Q | 4. Ira Davenport | United States | 1:55.9 | Q | 5. Emilio Lunghi | Italy | Unknown | | 6-9. Evert Björn | Sweden | Unknown | | 6-9. Ernest Henley | Great Britain | Unknown | | 6-9. Harlan Holden | United States | Unknown | | 6-9. Armando Cortesão | Portugal | Unknown | |
|
|
Heats - Saturday, 6 July 1912 14:45 | 9 Heats with 47 athletes. Best 2 from each Heat advanced to Semi-Finals. |
Heat 1 | time | | 1. David Caldwell | United States | 1:58.6 | Q | 2. Emilio Lunghi | Italy | Unknown | Q | 3. Walter McClure | United States | Unknown | | 4. Eric Lindholm | Sweden | 2:01.5s | | 5. Joseph Caullé | France | Unknown | |
|
|
Heat 2 | time | | 1. Percy Mann | Great Britain | 1:56.0 | Q | 2. Herbert Putnam | United States | Unknown | Q | 3. Jacob Pedersen | Norway | Unknown | | -. Leopoldo Palma | Chile | DNF | |
|
Heat 3 | time | | 1. John Paul Jones | United States | 2:01.8 | Q | 2. Armando Cortesão | Portugal | Unknown | Q | 3. Oscar Larsen | Norway | Unknown | | 4. Guido Calvi | Italy | Unknown | |
|
|
Heat 4 | time | | 1. Clarence Edmundson | United States | 1:56.5 | Q | 2. John Tait | Canada | Unknown | Q | 3. Charles Poulenard | France | Unknown | | 4. Willie Jahn | Germany | 2:02.0 | | -. Robert Burton | Great Britain | DNFs | |
|
Heat 5 | time | | 1. Ira Davenport | United States | 1:59.0 | Q | 2. Frederick Hulford | Great Britain | Unknown | Q | 3. Bodor Ödön | Hungary | Unknown | | 4. Jacques Person | Germany | Unknown | | 5. Dmitry Nazarov | Russia | Unknown | | -. Zdeněk Městecký | Bohrmia | DNFs | | -. Philip Baker | Great Britain | DNFs | |
|
|
Heat 6 | time | | 1. Harlan Holden | United States | 1:58.1 | Q | 2. Evert Björn | Sweden | Unknown | Q | 3. Richard Yorke | Great Britain | Unknown | | 4. Karl Haglund | Sweden | 2:01.2 | | 5-7. Ferenc Forgács | Hungary | Unknown | | 5-7. Aleksandr Yelizarov | Russia | Unknown | | 5-7. Federico Mueller | Chile | Unknown | | -. Vahram Papazian | Turkey | DNF | |
|
Heat 7 | time | | 1. James Soutter | Great Britain | 2:00.4 | Q | 2. Melvin Sheppard | United States | Unknown | Q | 3. Erich Lehmann | Germany | Unknown | | -. János Antal | Hungary | DNF | | -. Johannes Leopold Villemson | Russia | DNS | |
|
|
Heat 8 | time | | 1. Mel Brock | Canada | 1:57.0 | Q | 2. Ted Meredith | United States | Unknown | Q | 3. John Victor | South Africa | Unknown | | -. Alan Patterson | Great Britain | DNF | |
|
Heat 9 | time | | 1. Ernest Henley | Great Britain | 1:57.6 | Q | 2. Hanns Braun | Germany | Unknown | Q | 3. Erik Frisell | Sweden | 1:59.2 | | 4. Thomas Halpin | United States | 1:59.2 | | -. Lauri Pihkala | Finland | DNF | | -. Radóczy Károly | Hungary | DNF | |
|
|
|