Athletics at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games – Men's 1500 metres
# Athletics at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games – Men's 1500 metres

The men's 1500 metres event at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games was held on 31 January and 2 February at the Queen Elizabeth II Park in Christchurch, New Zealand.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - |
| Filbert Bayi Tanzania | John Walker New Zealand | Ben Jipcho Kenya |

## Results

### Heats

Held on 31 January

Qualification: First 4 in each heat (Q) qualify directly for the final.

| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Mike Boit | Kenya | 3:44.6 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Graham Crouch | Australia | 3:44.62 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Rod Dixon | New Zealand | 3:44.6 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Brendan Foster | England | 3:44.9 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | Jaiye Abidoye | Nigeria | 3:49.9 | |
| 6 | 1 | Bernard Hayward | Wales | 3:50.3 | |
| 7 | 1 | Samuela Bulai | Fiji | 4:10.5 | |
| 1 | 2 | Filbert Bayi | Tanzania | 3:38.2 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | John Kirkbride | England | 3:39.8 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | David Fitzsimons | Australia | 3:39.92 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Tony Polhill | New Zealand | 3:40.30 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Paul Lawther | Northern Ireland | 3:43.1 | |
| 6 | 2 | Cosmas Silei | Kenya | 3:44.7 | |
| 7 | 2 | Phillip Kayo | Papua New Guinea | 4:05.4 | |
| | 2 | Richard Kermode | Fiji | DNS | |
| | 2 | John Davies | Wales | DNS | |
| 1 | 3 | John Walker | New Zealand | 3:42.5 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Suleiman Nyambui | Tanzania | 3:42.6 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Randal Markey | Australia | 3:42.77 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Ben Jipcho | Kenya | 3:43.6 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Kenneth Elmer | Canada | 3:44.0 | |
| 6 | 3 | Keith Falla | Guernsey | 3:58.9 | |
| 7 | 3 | Gerard Domaingue | Mauritius | 4:08.1 | |
| | 3 | Joseph Jampilda | Nigeria | DNF | |
| | 3 | Andy Carter | England | DNS | |

### Final

Held on 2 February, the final was led by Filbert Bayi from start to finish. Both he and home favourite John Walker broke Jim Ryun's seven-year-old world record of 3:33.1, with Ben Jipcho just outside Ryun's time when holding off Walker's teammate Rod Dixon.

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Filbert Bayi | Tanzania | 3:32.16 | WR |
| | John Walker | New Zealand | 3:32.52 | AR |
| | Ben Jipcho | Kenya | 3:33.16 | |
| 4 | Rod Dixon | New Zealand | 3:33.89 | |
| 5 | Graham Crouch | Australia | 3:34.22 | NR |
| 6 | Mike Boit | Kenya | 3:36.84 | |
| 7 | Brendan Foster | England | 3:37.64 | |
| 8 | Suleiman Nyambui | Tanzania | 3:39.62 | |
| 9 | David Fitzsimons | Australia | 3:41.30 | |
| 10 | John Kirkbride | England | 3:41.91 | |
| 11 | Randal Markey | Australia | 3:44.56 | |
| | Tony Polhill | New Zealand | DNS | |
