The event was won by Kenyan Kip Keino, who beat World record holder Jim Ryun, who struggled to adapt to the altitude of Mexico City.

While this Olympics was the emergence of Kenyan runners, Kip Keino was not an unknown quantity, he had won the 1966 Commonwealth Games and 1965 African Championships.

Ryun was able to beat Tümmler down the backstretch but his last lap kick was no match for the still more than 20 meter lead Keino held onto the final straightaway.

Two finalists from 1964 returned: silver medalist Josef Odložil of Czechoslovakia and eighth-place finisher Michel Bernard of France.

The favourite at the start of the year was Jim Ryun of the United States, a 1964 Olympic semifinalist who had beaten the world record by 2.5 seconds in 1967.

The United States made its 16th appearance, the only nation to have competed in the men's 1500 metres at each Games to that point.