The first heat was won by GDR star Richtzenhain in 3:46.75, and saw
two Olympic Champions (Barthel and 1968 marathon winner Wolde)
and the world record holder (István Rózsavölgyi), fail to qualify. The
other heats could not rival this in terms of failure, though Sweden’s
excellent Dan Waern missed the final by 0.05 in the last heat.
New Zealander Murray Halberg set the pace in the final, passing
200m in 28.3 and 400m in 58.4, with Delany and Landy lagging at the
back of the field. Lincoln took over at 700m, passing 800m in 2:00.1.
The field began to bunch, with 7m covering the field at the bell
(2:46.5). Hewson attacked, unconvincingly, at 1200m. Boyd and
Richtzenhain easily went with him. With 250m to go Delany began a
startling kick, gaining five yards on the field before the curve, to move
into fourth place. He flew into second on the final bend and burst past
Hewson at the beginning of the straight. He went on to win by 6m, with
Richtzenhain just holding off the fast-finishing Landy for the silver
medal. The top eight plus Ken Wood (GBR) - 3:44.75 - all beat the
existing Olympic record.
Ireland
UT Germany
Australia
Hungary
Great Britain
Czechoslovakia
New Zealand
Denmark
Belgium
France
United States
Soviet Union
Luxembourg
Ethiopia
Sweden
Greece
Finland
Chile
South Korea
Pakistan
Thailand
Italy