First place times in the three heats ranged from 15:02.6 to 15:07.4,
Lermond being the fastest winner. Four Finns qualified for the final,
but Eino Purje, bronze medallist in the 1500m the day before, was
never a factor due to a knee injury. Nurmi led through two laps in
2:20.0, and 1500m in 4:17.0. After reaching 2000m in 5:46.5, Nurmi
was passed by Ritola. Reportedly, Nurmi was suffering hip pains after
falling in the water jump during the steeplechase heats two days earlier.
In touch with the two Finns at 3000m, reached in 8:43.0, were
Macauley Smith (USA), Wide and Lermond, with Kinnunen and
Magnusson beginning to struggle to keep pace. Smith dropped back
shortly after, eventually finishing 10th, while Ritola and Nurmi pulled
away from Wide with 600m to go. Ritola ran away from Nurmi on the
Men’s 1500 Metres, continued
last bend and won by 15m, with Nurmi powerless to counteract his
great rival’s finish.
The unusually fatigued Nurmi looked round half a dozen times in
the finishing straight to ensure that he could stay ahead of Wide.
Finland
Sweden
United States
Latvia
Great Britain
Denmark
France
Mexico
Czechoslovakia
Canada
Netherlands
Belgium
Spain
Germany
Greece
Lithuania
Australia
India
