24 competitors first raced in three heats on August 26. The top three finishers from each of the heats advanced directly to the semifinals; two were eliminated due to not starting, and the remaining 13 competitors were relegated to the repechage heats.
Heat 1 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Erik Hansen|DEN|1960 Summer}} | 3:57.04 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ronald Rhodes|GBR|1960 Summer}} | 4:01.68 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Wolfgang Lange|EUA|1960 Summer}} | 4:05.08 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Rolf Olsen|NOR|1960 Summer}} | 4:08.38 | QR |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Robert De Waele|BEL|1960 Summer}} | 4:08.60 | QR |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Roland Huber|SUI|1960 Summer}} | 4:26.26 | QR |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Michel Meyer|FRA|1960 Summer}} | 4:40.72 | QR |
- | {{flagIOCathlete|Lyubomir Oresharov|BUL|1960 Summer}} | Did not start |
Heat 2 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Imre Szöllősi|HUN|1960 Summer}} | 4:04.23 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Phil Coles|AUS|1960 Summer}} | 4:06.27 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Cesare Zilioli|ITA|1960 Summer}} | 4:06.58 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Aleksandar Kerčov|YUG|1960 Summer}} | 4:07.08 | QR |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Simo Kuismanen|FIN|1960 Summer}} | 4:09.78 | QR |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Joaquín Larroya|ESP|1960 Summer}} | 4:12.93 | QR |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Paul Beachem|USA|1960 Summer}} | 4:18.64 | QR |
- | {{flagIOCathlete|Igor Lipalit|ROU|1960 Summer}} | Did not start |
Heat 3 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ibragim Khasanov|URS|1960 Summer}} | 4:06.14 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Guillaume Weijzen|NED|1960 Summer}} | 4:06.77 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Gert Fredriksson|SWE|1960 Summer}} | 4:07.35 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ladislav Čepčianský|TCH|1960 Summer}} | 4:07.83 | QR |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ryszard Skwarski|POL|1960 Summer}} | 4:12.70 | QR |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Herbert Wiedermann|AUT|1960 Summer}} | 4:15.71 | QR |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Michael Brown|CAN|1960 Summer}} | 4:27.28 | QR |
8. | {{flagIOCathlete|André Conrady|LUX|1960 Summer}} | 4:27.38 | QR |
The repechages took place on August 26. The top three finishers in each repechage advanced to the semifinals.
Repechage 1 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Simo Kuismanen|FIN|1960 Summer}} | 4:11.50 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Herbert Wiedermann|AUT|1960 Summer}} | 4:13.73 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Rolf Olsen|NOR|1960 Summer}} | 4:13.87 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Michel Meyer|FRA|1960 Summer}} | 4:24.93 |
Repechage 2 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ryszard Skwarski|POL|1960 Summer}} | 4:06.99 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Aleksandar Kerčov|YUG|1960 Summer}} | 4:07.33 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Paul Beachem|USA|1960 Summer}} | 4:18.17 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Roland Huber|SUI|1960 Summer}} | 4:24.16 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|André Conrady|LUX|1960 Summer}} | 4:28.40 |
Repechage 3 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ladislav Čepčianský|TCH|1960 Summer}} | 4:11.39 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Joaquín Larroya|ESP|1960 Summer}} | 4:13.82 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Robert De Waele|BEL|1960 Summer}} | 4:16.61 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Michael Brown|CAN|1960 Summer}} | 4:55.73 |
The top three finishers in each of the three semifinals (raced on August 27) advanced to the final with the rest of the competitors eliminated.
Semifinal 1 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Erik Hansen|DEN|1960 Summer}} | 3:57.51 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Gert Fredriksson|SWE|1960 Summer}} | 4:03.32 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Simo Kuismanen|FIN|1960 Summer}} | 4:03.42 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Phil Coles|AUS|1960 Summer}} | 4:08.05 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Aleksandar Kerčov|YUG|1960 Summer}} | 4:10.27 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Robert De Waele|BEL|1960 Summer}} | 4:12.48 |
Semifinal 2 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Imre Szöllősi|HUN|1960 Summer}} | 3:57.11 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Wolfgang Lange|EUA|1960 Summer}} | 4:02.88 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Rolf Olsen|NOR|1960 Summer}} | 4:04.82 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Guillaume Weijzen|NED|1960 Summer}} | 4:07.30 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ryszard Skwarski|POL|1960 Summer}} | 4:09.26 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Joaquín Larroya|ESP|1960 Summer}} | 4:20.39 |
Semifinal 3 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ronald Rhodes|GBR|1960 Summer}} | 4:05.20 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ibragim Khasanov|URS|1960 Summer}} | 4:05.20 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Cesare Zilioli|ITA|1960 Summer}} | 4:06.36 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ladislav Čepčianský|TCH|1960 Summer}} | 4:07.75 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Paul Beachem|USA|1960 Summer}} | 4:15.10 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Herbert Wiedermann|AUT|1960 Summer}} | 4:17.45 |
The final was held on August 29.
width=30 bgcolor=gold | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Erik Hansen|DEN|1960 Summer}} | 3:53.00 | bgcolor=silver | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Imre Szöllősi|HUN|1960 Summer}} | 3:54.02 |
bgcolor=cc9966 | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Gert Fredriksson|SWE|1960 Summer}} | 3:55.89 |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ibragim Khasanov|URS|1960 Summer}} | 3:56.38 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ronald Rhodes|GBR|1960 Summer}} | 4:01.15 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Rolf Olsen|NOR|1960 Summer}} | 4:02.31 |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Wolfgang Lange|EUA|1960 Summer}} | 4:03.05 |
8. | {{flagIOCathlete|Simo Kuismanen|FIN|1960 Summer}} | 4:03.66 |
9. | {{flagIOCathlete|Cesare Zilioli|ITA|1960 Summer}} | 4:04.90 |