| Final | time | | 1. Sebastian Coe |  Great Britain | 3:38.4 | | 2. Jorgen Straub |  East Germany | 3:38.8 | | 3. Steven Ovett | Great Britain | 3:39.0 | | 4. Andreas Busse | East Germany | 3:40.2 | | 5. Vittorio Fontanella |  Italy | 3:40.4 | | 6. Josef Plachý |  Czechoslovakia | 3:40.7 | | 7. Jose Marajo |  France | 3:41.5 | | 8. Stephen Cram | Great Britain | 3:42.0 | | 9. Dragan Zdravkovic |  Yugoslavia | 3:43.1 |
| Venue: Central Lenin Stadium, Luzhniki 100,000. 40 competitors from 29 nations. |
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| Splits 400m 800m 1200m | | Coe 61.7 2:04.9 2:59.5 | | Straub 61.6 2:04.9 2:59.1 | | Ovett 61.8 2:04.9 2:59.7 | | Busse 61.9 2:05.2 3:00.0 | | Fontanella 61.9 2:05.0 3:00.2 | | Plachý 62.4 2:05.7 3:01.3 |
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Ovett recorded the fastest Olympic heat time ever - 3:36.80 - in the
first round, and Coe won the second semi-final in 3:39.34. There were
no other races under 3:40 and the final shaped up as a return duel fol-
lowing Ovett’s 800m win.
Straub set the pace in the final, not quite as slow as in Montreal, but
here the pace slowed in the second lap. Just after 800m the East
German made a bold move. Coe reacted quickest and at the bell,
reached by Straub in 2:45.9, Coe was just 0.3 seconds in arrears. Ovett
was a further 2m back, with Busse and Fontanella just behind. As
Straub accelerated down the back straight only Coe and Ovett could
stay with him. Coe zipped by Straub as they came into the straight and
his last 100m, run in 12.1 was too strong for the other two. Straub rich-
ly deserved his silver medal for making a great - if not world record-
paced - race, as Ovett gave up in the last 10m. Coe’s last 800m was a
fine 1:49.2, while Ovett’s defeat was his first loss over 1500m or Mile
final for more than three years - a run of 41 victories.
| Heat 1 | time | | 1. Steven Ovett | Great Britain | 3:43.1 | | 2. Dragan Zdravkovic | Yugoslavia | 3:43.4 | | 3. Andreas Busse | East Germany | 3:43.5 | | 4. Stephen Cram | Great Britain | 3:43.6 | | 5. Vladimir Malozemlin |  Soviet Union | 3:43.6 | | 6. Antti Loikkanen |  Finland | 3:44.0 | | 7. Joao Jose Pontes Campos |  Portugal | 3:44.4 | | 8. Alexandre Gonzalez | France | 3:44.7 | | 9. Mehdi Aidet |  Algeria | 3:44.9 |
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| Semi 2 | time | | 1. Sebastian Coe | Great Britain | 3:39.4 | | 2. Jorgen Straub | East Germany | 3:39.4 | | 3. Jose Marajo | France | 3:39.6 | | 4. Vittorio Fontanella | Italy | 3:40.1 | | 5. Josef Plachý | Czechoslovakia | 3:40.4 | | 6. Robert Nemeth |  Austria | 3:40.8 | | 7. Vitali Tishchenko | Soviet Union | 3:41.5 | | 8. Jose Luis Gonzalez |  Spain | 3:42.6 | | 9. Miroslaw Zerkowski |  Poland | 3:48.2 |
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Heats - Wednesday 30th July |
| Heat 1 | time | | 1. Jose Marajo | France | 3:43.9 | | 2. Mehdi Aidet | Algeria | 3:43.9 | | 3. Dragan Zdravkovic | Yugoslavia | 3:44.0 | | 4. Stephen Cram | Great Britain | 3:44.1 | | 5. Pavel Yakovlev | Soviet Union | 3:44.2 | | 6. Jose Manuel Abascal | Spain | 3:44.7 | | 7. Mopeli Molapo |  Lesotho | 3:55.5 | | 8. Khaled al-Shammari |  Kuwait | 3:57.6 | | 9. Santos Vicente |  Mozambique | 3:58.- | | -. Filbert Bayi |  Tanzania | DNS |
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| Heat 2 | time | | 1. Vittorio Fontanella | Italy | 3:40.1 | | 2. Sebastian Coe | Great Britain | 3:40.1 | | 3. Antti Loikkanen | Finland | 3:40.5 | | 4. Jose Luis Gonzalez | Spain | 3:40.9 | | 5. Joao Jose Pontes Campos | Portugal | 3:41.3 | | 6. Raymond Flynn |  Ireland | 3:42.0 | | 7. Nigusse Bekele |  Ethiopia | 3:45.8 | | 8. Archfel Musango |  Zambia | 3:53.7 | | 9. Tisbite Rakotoarisoa |  Madagascar | 3:55.9 | | 10.Quang Khai Le |  Vietnam | 4:06.8 |
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| Heat 3 | time | | 1. Andreas Busse | East Germany | 3:44.3 | | 2. Vitali Tishchenko | Soviet Union | 3:44.4 | | 3. Josef Plachý | Czechoslovakia | 3:44.4 | | 4. Alexandre Gonzalez | France | 3:44.6 | | 5. Pierre Daleze |  Switzerland | 3:44.8 | | 6. Haile Zeru | Ethiopia | 3:45.7 | | 7. Abderrahmane Morcelli | Algeria | 3:46.0 | | 8. Sant Kumar |  India | 3:55.6 | | 9. Ishmael Mhaladi |  Botswana | 3:59.1 | | 10.George Branche |  Siera Leone | 4:03.9 | | 11.Damien Degboe |  Benin | 4:15.3 |
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| Heat 4 | time | | 1. Steven Ovett | Great Britain | 3:36.8 | | 2. Jurgen Straub | East Germany | 3:37.0 | | 3. Robert Nemeth | Austria | 3:38.3 | | 4. Vladimir Malozemlin | Soviet Union | 3:38.7 | | 5. Miroslaw Zerkowski | Poland | 3:39.2 | | 6. Kassa Balcha | Ethiopia | 3:43.1 | | 7. Jon Didriksson |  Iceland | 3:44.4 | | 8. Derradji Harrek | Algeria | 3:45.3 | | 9. Marzoug Mabruk |  LBA | 3:54.3 | | 10.Mohammad Makhlouf |  Syria | 4:00.3 |
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