Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metre freestyle
The men's 1500 metre freestyle event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 15 and 17 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
Men's 1500 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | ||||||||||||
Date | August 15, 2008 (heats) August 17, 2008 (final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 37 from 29 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 14:40.84 AF | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
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Qualification | ||
Freestyle | ||
50 m | men | women |
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
800 m | women | |
1500 m | men | |
Backstroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Breaststroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Butterfly | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Individual medley | ||
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
Freestyle relay | ||
4×100 m | men | women |
4×200 m | men | women |
Medley relay | ||
4×100 m | men | women |
Marathon | ||
10 km | men | women |
Competing at his third Games, Oussama Mellouli made an Olympic milestone to become Tunisia's first ever gold medalist in 48 years. He denied Australia's Grant Hackett a third straight title in the event, touching the wall first in an African record of 14:40.84. Hanging with the leaders through the first two-thirds of the race, Mellouli moved into the lead at the 1,100-metre mark, and held off Hackett's sprinted finish on the final lap. This was also a retribution for Mellouli, who served an 18-month doping ban from FINA for using the banned stimulant Adderall.[2][3][4]
Trying to become the first male swimmer to win three gold medals in the same event, Hackett collected a silver in 14:41.53.[5] Meanwhile, Canada's Ryan Cochrane powered home with a bronze in 14:42.69, finishing ahead of Russia's Yuri Prilukov (14:43.21). U.S. swimmer Larsen Jensen, silver medalist in Athens four years earlier, placed fifth with a time 14:48.16, and was followed in the sixth spot by Great Britain's David Davies in 14:52.11.[3][6] Chinese duo Zhang Lin (14:55.20) and Sun Yang (15:05.12) rounded out the finale.[4]
Earlier in the prelims, Cochrane established a new Olympic record of 14:40.84 in heat three, until Hackett cleared the 14:40 barrier, and lowered the record to 14:38.92 in the final heat of five.[7]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | Grant Hackett (AUS) | 14:34.56 | Fukuoka, Japan | 29 July 2001 | [8] |
Olympic record | Grant Hackett (AUS) | 14:43.40 | Athens, Greece | 21 August 2004 | - |
The following new Olympic records were set during this competition.
Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 15 | Heat 3 | Ryan Cochrane | Canada | 14:40.84 | OR |
August 15 | Heat 5 | Grant Hackett | Australia | 14:38.92 | OR |
Results
Heats
Final
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | Oussama Mellouli | Tunisia | 14:40.84 | AF | |
4 | Grant Hackett | Australia | 14:41.53 | ||
5 | Ryan Cochrane | Canada | 14:42.69 | ||
4 | 3 | Yuri Prilukov | Russia | 14:43.21 | |
5 | 8 | Larsen Jensen | United States | 14:48.16 | |
6 | 2 | David Davies | Great Britain | 14:52.11 | |
7 | 6 | Zhang Lin | China | 14:55.20 | |
8 | 1 | Sun Yang | China | 15:05.12 |
References
- "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- "Mellouli shatters Hackett's hat-trick bid". South China Morning Post. 17 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- "Mellouli claims 1500m swim gold". BBC Sport. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- Lohn, John (16 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Ous Mellouli Claims Olympic Gold for Tunisia in Men's 1500 Free". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- Colman, Mike (17 August 2008). "Grant Hackett gives his all for silver medal in 1500m". The Australian. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- Goffa, Debbie (17 August 2008). "Larsen Jensen places 5th in 1500m freestyle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- Lohn, John (15 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Grant Hackett Leads 1500 Free Qualifying With Olympic Standard". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- "Hackett shatters world record". BBC News. 29 July 2001. Retrieved 6 August 2008.