# Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

The men's 1500 metres middle-distance event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 3 and August 4 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Twenty-four athletes from 14 nations competed. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes. The event was won by Luigi Beccali of Italy, earning the nation's first medal in the 1500 metres. Canada also won its first 1500 metres medal, with Phil Edwards's bronze.

## Background

This was the ninth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Despite the low attendance in 1932 generally, the 1500 metres had a strong field. Returning finalists from 1928 were Finland's medalists, gold winner Harri Larva and bronze winner Eino Purje, along with sixth-place finisher Paul Martin of Switzerland. Other top runners included Jack Lovelock of New Zealand, Luigi Beccali of Italy, Glenn Cunningham of the United States, and Phil Edwards of Canada.
Brazil and New Zealand each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its ninth appearance, the only nation to have competed in the men's 1500 metres at each Games to that point.

## Competition format

The competition consisted of two rounds, the format used since 1908. With fewer runners than in previous Games, the number of semifinals was reduced to three (with between 7 and 9 runners each after withdrawals). The top four runners in each heat advanced to the final, maintaining the 12-man final race.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Jules Ladoumègue (FRA) | 3:49.2 | Paris, France | 5 October 1930 |
| Olympic record | Harri Larva (FIN) | 3:53.2 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2 August 1928 |
In the final Luigi Beccali set a new Olympic record at 3:51.2.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| Wednesday, 3 August 1932 | 17:15 | Semifinals |
| Thursday, 4 August 1932 | 15:45 | Final |

## Results
### Semifinals

Three heats were held; the fastest four runners from each heat advanced to the final round.

#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Glenn Cunningham | United States | 3:55.8 | Q |
| 2 | Jerry Cornes | Great Britain | 4:01.0 | Q |
| 3 | Martti Luomanen | Finland | 4:01.5 | Q |
| 4 | Phil Edwards | Canada | 4:03.5 | Q |
| 5 | Hermenegildo del Rosso | Argentina | 4:06.0 | |
| 6 | Christian Markersen | Denmark | 4:06.5 | |
| 7 | Amilio Rodríguez | Mexico | | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jack Lovelock | New Zealand | 3:58.0 | Q |
| 2 | Norwood Hallowell | United States | 3:58.1 | Q |
| 3 | Eddie King | Canada | 3:58.6 | Q |
| 4 | Harri Larva | Finland | 3:58.8 | Q |
| 5 | Paul Martin | Switzerland | 3:59.1 | |
| 6 | Folke Skoog | Sweden | 3:59.6 | |
| 7 | Bill Barwick | Australia | 4:03.5 | |
| — | Armando Bréa | Brazil | DNF | |

#### Semifinal 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Luigi Beccali | Italy | 3:59.6 | Q |
| 2 | Eino Purje | Finland | 3:59.7 | Q |
| 3 | Eric Ny | Sweden | 3:59.9 | Q |
| 4 | Frank Crowley | United States | 4:00.0 | Q |
| 5 | Les Wade | Canada | 4:00.5 | |
| 6 | Pedro Ortíz | Mexico | 4:18.0 | |
| — | Nestor Gomes | Brazil | DNF | |
| — | Reg Thomas | Great Britain | DNF | |
| — | Otto Peltzer | Germany | DNF | |

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | Luigi Beccali | Italy | 3:51.2 | OR |
| | Jerry Cornes | Great Britain | 3:52.6 | |
| | Phil Edwards | Canada | 3:52.8 | |
| 4 | Glenn Cunningham | United States | 3:53.4 | |
| 5 | Eric Ny | Sweden | 3:54.6 | |
| 6 | Norwood Hallowell | United States | 3:55.0 | |
| 7 | Jack Lovelock | New Zealand | 3:57.8 | |
| 8 | Frank Crowley | United States | 3:58.1 | |
| 9 | Martti Luomanen | Finland | 3:58.4 | |
| 10 | Harri Larva | Finland | 3:58.4 | |
| — | Eino Purje | Finland | DNF | |
| — | Eddie King | Canada | DNS | |