Keino and Ryun were placed in the same heat, a result of the seeding
committee taking Ryun’s mile best of 3:52.8 and accepting it as a
1500m time. This error was compounded by Ryun falling over after a
collision with a Ghanaian runner. He failed to make the semi-finals as
an appeal was rejected. Keino had won the heat in 3:39.97, the fastest
of the day, just ahead of Dixon. The semi-finals began as tactical
affairs, with wins for Boit (3:41.34) and Keino (3:41.15) before
Francesco Arese (ITA) set a sensibly quicker pace in the third race,
passing 400m in 57.7 before tailing off in the closing stages. Dixon and
Vasala ran 3:37.91 ahead of Foster’s UK record of 3:38.20. The major
casualty of the semis was another American, the 800m winner Dave
Wottle, who was fourth in the first heat.
In the final, Foster led the field through a slow lap of 61.5, and Keino
came up from eighth place after 400m to take the lead 200m later.
Keino wound up the pace, and the field stretched out in single file, with
Vasala right behind the Kenyan, and Foster holding on in third place.
Keino’s third lap was covered in 55.3. Boit and Dixon moved past
Foster with 300m to go, as Keino continued to push the pace. Vasala
went to Keino’s shoulder as they came off the final bend, and powered
past with 50m to go, winning by 4m, with Dixon passing Boit and clos-
ing on Keino in the finishing straight. Vasala’s final lap had taken 53.4
seconds, and his last 800m was clocked in 1:48.8.
Finland
Kenya
New Zealand
Great Britain
Belgium
West Germany
Soviet Union
Denmark
United States
Australia
Italy
Greece
Sweden
Ethiopia
France
Poland
Netherlands
East Germany
Panama
Turkey
Algeria
Senegal
Sudan
Tanzania
Czechoslovakia
Canada
Libya
Romania
Marocco
Saudi Arabia
Zambia
Switzerland
Pakistan
Uganda
Ghana
Ireland
Jamaica
Yugoslavia
Malawi
Liberia
Puerto Rico
Madagascar
Nigeria
Somalia
Tunisia
Portugal
Cameroon
Birma
