Paris Olympics 2024: Men's 1500-meter first round recap

For those who didn’t wake up at 5:10 a.m. ET on Friday, the most-anticipated men’s track event at the Paris Olympics got off to a brilliant start. Forty-five men lined up across three heats to compete in the 1,500m competition.

Paris Olympics 2024: What’s the repechage round?

A notable change to this year’s 1500m competition is the addition of a repechage round. Previously, global championships would proceed with a first round, semifinals, and then finals. In each round, a certain number of top finishers would automatically qualify based on place, and then once all heats had been completed, a smaller number would qualify based on time.

The existence of the repechage round means that, in each of the three starting fields of fifteen on Friday, only six men automatically qualify. Those qualifiers rest on Saturday while everyone else competes again in the two repechage heats. Out of those heats, only the top three advance–there are no time qualifiers.

The loss of time qualifying means a different first round dynamic. Previously, the final heat would have a perceived advantage because those runners would know the “bubble” times–the existing best time performances from previous heats. All runners would target the bubble times and the  last heat would always feature an honestly-paced effort. For those runners with a meager chance of qualifying based on finishing place, the other effect of repechage is that the runners might shut down their race early and resign themselves to trying again the next day.

No major upsets in men's 1,500-meter competition

Though the repechage round offers star athletes a shot at redemption, there weren’t any huge upsets on Friday that would make the second-chance races particularly compelling.

Heat 1 was won by defending World Champion Josh Kerr. Kerr finished strongly to run 3:35.83. He’s considered to be a lock to earn a medal and with his performance, he erased any doubts regarding his lack of racing this season.

Behind him, the bronze medalist from Budapest, Norwegian Narve Nordås, finished in third after spending some time leading the race. American Yared Nuguse (5th in Budapest) struggled late but managed to qualify in 5th. Nuguse’s teammates at On Athletics, Mario Garcia of Spain (sixth in Budapest) and Olli Hoare of New Zealand, both got swept to repechage after disappointing races. Hoare had raced the front half of the race aggressively, and he finished near the back of the field.

His heat 2 performance elevated Cole Hocker to the American most likely to medal. He ran confidently for a 3:35.87, good for second place. The thought is that if Hocker can hang on during a fast final, he can likely kick to a medal. He finished 7th in Budapest.

His heat was won by Ethiopian Ermias Girma, who celebrated while crossing the line–happy that he wouldn’t have to contest the repechage heat. Behind them, Niels Laros, who fell at the mile in the London Diamond League yet managed to finish in 3:49, looked great. George Mills, who also fell in that mile race, ran poorly to finish 10th. Australian Stewy McSweyn, who led some of the early race, faded badly to finish 11th. 2019 world champion Timothy Cheriyuout, who came incredibly close to beating Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the Oslo Diamond League this year, qualified just behind Laros.

Heat 3 was a practice run for the best middle distance runner of this generation, Jakob Ingebrigtsen. If time qualification was a factor here, this heat likely would have had the fastest finishing time. Without time qualifying, it was the slowest, and with Ingebrigtsen planting himself at the back of the field for the first few laps, the runners ahead of him struggled to decide who would lead and at what pace. American Hobbs Kessler, who is also running the 800m, finished in second with a strong race. Dutchman Stefan Nillessen won.

What to look for in the repechage round

27 men will compete in two heats of the first-ever repechage round. Three from each heat qualify. In heat one, the picks would be Azeddine Habz from France, who has run 3:30 this season. Behind him, McSweyn and Romo would be favored based on PR, but neither has shown medal-contending form this season.

The second heat promises to be more exciting. Olli Hoare, Adel Mechaal, Andrew Coscoran, and George Mills all have outside shots of making the final, should they advance. Judging by the quality of the field, whoever kicks hardest from a 3:33 pace will qualify, but will probably be drained for the semis.

The repechage round starts at 1:15 PM EST on Saturday August 3. The semifinal round of the 1500m will be on Sunday.