Michael East won the gold medal in a personal best time of 3:37.35 and became the sixth Englishman to win the event.

[1] The 1998 world junior champion in the 800 metres, Kenyan William Chirchir placed second, taking the silver medal in 3:37.70.

[10] His Kenyan compatriot, Olympic champion Noah Ngeny, sustained an injury to his back and pelvis as a result of a car accident in November 2001 which impacted his 2002 season which saw him not selected for these Games.

[6][7][11][12] The defending champion from Kuala Lumpur, fellow Kenyan Laban Rotich also didn't compete at these Games, but finished second behind Lagat at the African Championships.

[13][10] Whilst the silver medallist, John Mayock, missed the English trials in June due to blisters.