Willis qualified for his third successive 1500m Olympic final, finishing 6th in his heat and third in his semi-final. In the final, the first two laps were run at an extremely slow pace. During the final straight Willis moved into third place about 50 meters from the finish. While he could not close the gap to Makloufi and Centrowitz, he maintained his position across the line to claim the bronze medal. After the race, Willis said that taking the bronze was "incredibly satisfying...it's the personal satisfaction that we corrected all the wrongs from London."