800 metres at the Olympics

Middle Distance Race at the Summer Olympics

800 metres
at the Olympic Games

The 2012 Olympic women's 800 m final

Overview
Sport| Athletics
Gender| Men and women
Years held| Men: 1896–2024
Women: 1928, 1960 –2024
Olympic record
Men|  David Rudisha (KEN) 1:40.91 (2012)
Women|  Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS) 1:53.43 (1980)
Reigning champion
Men|  Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN)
Women|  Keely Hodgkinson (GBR)

The 800 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 800 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was first held in 1928, making it the first distance running event for women. The women's race was not held again until 1960; it has been a permanent fixture since. It is the most prestigious 800 m race at elite level. The competition format typically has three rounds: a qualifying round, semi-final stage, and a final between eight runners.

The Olympic records are held by David Rudisha, who ran a world record of 1:40.91 minutes in 2012, and Nadiya Olizarenko, who ran a former world record of 1:53.43 minutes in 1980. Olizarenko's mark is the joint longest-standing women's Olympic record (technically set three days after Ilona Slupianek's shot put record) and the joint second-longest overall after the men's long jump record by Bob Beamon. Her time remains the second fastest ever for the event.[1] The 800 metres world record has been broken or equalled ten times at the Olympics; the men's record was broken in 1912, 1932, 1968, 1976 and 2012; the women's record was improved in 1928, 1960, 1964, 1976 and 1980.[2]

Four men have won consecutive 800 m Olympic titles: Douglas Lowe (1924/1928), Mal Whitfield (1948/1952), Peter Snell (1960/1964), and Rudisha (2012/2016). Only Caster Semenya (2012/2016) has won the women's title twice, but Maria Mutola, Kelly Holmes, Pamela Jelimo and Keely Hodgkinson have won gold and reached the podium twice. No athlete of either sex has won more than two medals. Historically, athletes in this event have also been successful at the 1500 metres at the Olympics. Holmes was the last athlete to win both events at the same Olympics in 2004. 2012 1500m gold medalist Taoufik Makhloufi made both podiums without winning gold in 2016. Alberto Juantorena in 1976 also won the 400 metres gold medal in the same Olympics, only three other men and one woman have been able to win a medal in both events.[3]

The United States is the most successful nation, having won 10 gold medals and 26 medals overall, followed by Great Britain with nine gold among its 14 medals and Kenya with eight gold among its 20 medals.

## Medal summary

[edit]

### Men

[edit]

Games  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

edit

1896 Athens
details | Edwin Flack
Australia | Nándor Dáni
Hungary | Dimitrios Golemis
Greece
1900 Paris
details | Alfred Tysoe
Great Britain | John Cregan
United States | David Hall
United States
1904 St. Louis
details | Jim Lightbody
United States | Howard Valentine
United States | Emil Breitkreutz
United States
1908 London
details | Mel Sheppard
United States | Emilio Lunghi
Italy | Hanns Braun
Germany
1912 Stockholm
details | Ted Meredith
United States | Mel Sheppard
United States | Ira Davenport
United States
1920 Antwerp
details | Albert Hill
Great Britain | Earl Eby
United States | Bevil Rudd
South Africa
1924 Paris
details | Douglas Lowe
Great Britain | Paul Martin
Switzerland | Schuyler Enck
United States
1928 Amsterdam
details | Douglas Lowe
Great Britain | Erik Byléhn
Sweden | Hermann Engelhard
Germany
1932 Los Angeles
details | Tommy Hampson
Great Britain | Alex Wilson
Canada | Phil Edwards
Canada
1936 Berlin
details | John Woodruff
United States | Mario Lanzi
Italy | Phil Edwards
Canada
1948 London
details | Mal Whitfield
United States | Arthur Wint
Jamaica | Marcel Hansenne
France
1952 Helsinki
details | Mal Whitfield
United States | Arthur Wint
Jamaica | Heinz Ulzheimer
Germany
1956 Melbourne
details | Tom Courtney
United States | Derek Johnson
Great Britain | Audun Boysen
Norway
1960 Rome
details | Peter Snell
New Zealand | Roger Moens
Belgium | George Kerr
British West Indies
1964 Tokyo
details | Peter Snell
New Zealand | Bill Crothers
Canada | Wilson Kiprugut
Kenya
1968 Mexico City
details | Ralph Doubell
Australia | Wilson Kiprugut
Kenya | Tom Farrell
United States
1972 Munich
details | Dave Wottle
United States | Yevhen Arzhanov
Soviet Union | Mike Boit
Kenya
1976 Montreal
details | Alberto Juantorena
Cuba | Ivo Van Damme
Belgium | Rick Wohlhuter
United States
1980 Moscow
details | Steve Ovett
Great Britain | Sebastian Coe
Great Britain | Nikolay Kirov
Soviet Union
1984 Los Angeles
details | Joaquim Cruz
Brazil | Sebastian Coe
Great Britain | Earl Jones
United States
1988 Seoul
details | Paul Ereng
Kenya | Joaquim Cruz
Brazil | Saïd Aouita
Morocco
1992 Barcelona
details | William Tanui
Kenya | Nixon Kiprotich
Kenya | Johnny Gray
United States
1996 Atlanta
details | Vebjørn Rodal
Norway | Hezekiél Sepeng
South Africa | Frederick Onyancha
Kenya
2000 Sydney
details | Nils Schumann
Germany | Wilson Kipketer
Denmark | Djabir Saïd-Guerni
Algeria
2004 Athens
details | Yuriy Borzakovskiy
Russia | Mbulaeni Mulaudzi
South Africa | Wilson Kipketer
Denmark
2008 Beijing
details | Wilfred Bungei
Kenya | Ismail Ahmed Ismail
Sudan | Alfred Kirwa Yego
Kenya
2012 London
details | David Rudisha
Kenya | Nijel Amos
Botswana | Timothy Kitum
Kenya
2016 Rio de Janeiro
details | David Rudisha
Kenya | Taoufik Makhloufi
Algeria | Clayton Murphy
United States
2020 Tokyo
details | Emmanuel Korir
Kenya | Ferguson Rotich
Kenya | Patryk Dobek
Poland
2024 Paris
details | Emmanuel Wanyonyi
Kenya | Marco Arop
Canada | Djamel Sedjati
Algeria

#### Multiple medalists

[edit]

Rank  | Athlete  | Nation  | Olympics  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1= | Douglas Lowe |  Great Britain (GBR) | 1924–1928 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
1= | Mal Whitfield |  United States (USA) | 1948–1952 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
1= | Peter Snell |  New Zealand (NZL) | 1960–1964 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
1= | David Rudisha |  Kenya (KEN) | 2012-2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
5= | Mel Sheppard |  United States (USA) | 1908–1912 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
5= | Joaquim Cruz |  Brazil (BRA) | 1984–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
7= | Arthur Wint |  Jamaica (JAM) | 1948–1952 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2
7= | Sebastian Coe |  Great Britain (GBR) | 1980–1984 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2
9= | Wilson Kiprugut |  Kenya (KEN) | 1964–1968 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
9= | Wilson Kipketer |  Denmark (DEN) | 2000–2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
11 | Phil Edwards |  Canada (CAN) | 1932–1936 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2

#### Medals by country

[edit]

Map of countries' best results – Men's 800 metres Rank  | Nation  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|

1 |  United States (USA) | 8 | 4 | 9 | 21
2 |  Kenya (KEN) | 7 | 3 | 5 | 15
3 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 9
4= |  Australia (AUS) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
4= |  New Zealand (NZL) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
6 |  Brazil (BRA) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
7 |  Germany (GER) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4
8 |  Norway (NOR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2
9= |  Cuba (CUB) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1
9= |  Russia (RUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1
11 |  Canada (CAN) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4
12 |  South Africa (RSA) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3
13= |  Italy (ITA) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2
13= |  Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2
13= |  Jamaica (JAM) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2
16 |  Algeria (ALG) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3
17= |  Denmark (DEN) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
17= |  Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
19= |  Botswana (BOT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
19= |  Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
19= |  Sudan (SUD) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
19= |  Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
19= |  Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
24= |  British West Indies (BWI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
24= |  France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
24= |  Greece (GRE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
24= |  Morocco (MAR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
24= |  Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1

### Women

[edit]

Games  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

edit

1928 Amsterdam
details | Lina Radke
Germany | Kinuye Hitomi
Japan | Inga Gentzel
Sweden
1932–1956 | not included in the Olympic program
1960 Rome
details | Lyudmila Shevtsova
Soviet Union | Brenda Jones
Australia | Ursula Donath
United Team of Germany
1964 Tokyo
details | Ann Packer
Great Britain | Maryvonne Dupureur
France | Marise Chamberlain
New Zealand
1968 Mexico City
details | Madeline Manning
United States | Ileana Silai
Romania | Mia Gommers
Netherlands
1972 Munich
details | Hildegard Falck
West Germany | Nijolė Sabaitė
Soviet Union | Gunhild Hoffmeister
East Germany
1976 Montreal
details | Tatyana Kazankina
Soviet Union | Nikolina Shtereva
Bulgaria | Elfi Zinn
East Germany
1980 Moscow
details | Nadezhda Olizarenko
Soviet Union | Olga Mineyeva
Soviet Union | Tatyana Providokhina
Soviet Union
1984 Los Angeles
details | Doina Melinte
Romania | Kim Gallagher
United States | Fiţa Lovin
Romania
1988 Seoul
details | Sigrun Wodars
East Germany | Christine Wachtel
East Germany | Kim Gallagher
United States
1992 Barcelona
details | Ellen van Langen
Netherlands | Liliya Nurutdinova
Unified Team | Ana Fidelia Quirot
Cuba
1996 Atlanta
details | Svetlana Masterkova
Russia | Ana Fidelia Quirot
Cuba | Maria Mutola
Mozambique
2000 Sydney
details | Maria Mutola
Mozambique | Stephanie Graf
Austria | Kelly Holmes
Great Britain
2004 Athens
details | Kelly Holmes
Great Britain | Hasna Benhassi
Morocco | Jolanda Čeplak
Slovenia
2008 Beijing
details | Pamela Jelimo
Kenya | Janeth Jepkosgei
Kenya | Hasna Benhassi
Morocco
2012 London
details | Caster Semenya
South Africa[4][5] | Ekaterina Poistogova
Russia | Pamela Jelimo
Kenya
2016 Rio de Janeiro
details | Caster Semenya
South Africa | Francine Niyonsaba
Burundi | Margaret Wambui
Kenya
2020 Tokyo
details | Athing Mu
United States | Keely Hodgkinson
Great Britain | Raevyn Rogers
United States
2024 Paris
details | Keely Hodgkinson
Great Britain | Tsige Duguma
Ethiopia | Mary Moraa
Kenya

#### Multiple medalists

[edit]

Rank  | Athlete  | Nation  | Olympics  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Caster Semenya |  South Africa (RSA) | 2012–2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
2 | Keely Hodgkinson |  Great Britain (GBR) | 2020–2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
3= | Maria Mutola |  Mozambique (MOZ) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2
3= | Kelly Holmes |  Great Britain (GBR) | 2000–2004 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2
3= | Pamela Jelimo |  Kenya (KEN) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2
5= | Kim Gallagher |  United States (USA) | 1984–1988 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
5= | Ana Fidelia Quirot |  Cuba (CUB) | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
5= | Hasna Benhassi |  Morocco (MAR) | 2004–2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2

#### Medalists by country

[edit]

Map of countries' best results – Women's 800 metres Rank  | Nation  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|

1 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6
2  |  Great Britain (GBR) | 3  | 1  | 1  | 5
3 |  United States (USA) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5
4 |  South Africa (RSA) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
5  |  Kenya (KEN) | 1  | 1  | 3  | 5
6 |  East Germany (GDR) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4
7 |  Romania (ROU) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3
8 |  Russia (RUS) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
9= |  Germany (GER)[nb] | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2
9= |  Mozambique (MOZ) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2
9= |  Netherlands (NED) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2
12= |  Morocco (MAR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
12= |  Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
14= |  Australia (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
14= |  Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
14= |  Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
14= |  France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
14= |  Japan (JPN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
14= |  Unified Team (EUN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
14= |  Ethiopia (ETH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
14= |  Burundi (BDI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
21= |  New Zealand (NZL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
21= |  Slovenia (SLO) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
21= |  Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1

* nb The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the United Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.

## Intercalated Games

[edit]

The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon.[6]

At this event a men's 800 m was held and Paul Pilgrim, a 1904 Olympic gold medalist in the 4-mile team race, won the competition. The reigning 800 m and 1500 metres champion from the 1904 Olympics, James Lightbody, was the runner-up and Britain's Wyndham Halswelle, later the 1908 Olympic champion, was the bronze medalist.[7]

Games  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

1906 Athens
details |  Paul Pilgrim (USA) |  James Lightbody (USA) |  Wyndham Halswelle (GBR)

## Non-canonical Olympic events

[edit]

In addition to the main 1900 Olympic men's 800 metres, a handicap competition with thirteen entrants was contested three days after the final. Christian Christensen of Denmark was the winner in a time of 1:52.0 minutes with a 70 m handicap. Howard Hayes and Harvey Lord, both of the United States, filled out the top three, with Hayes recording 1:53.5 mins (45 m handicap) and Lord finishing in 1:54.2 minutes (35 m handicap).[8][9]

A handicap 880-yard run (804.7 m) competition was held at 1904 Summer Olympics after the 1904 Olympic men's 800 m race. Johannes Runge of Germany won in 1:58.4 minutes with a 10-yard handicap. James Peck of Canada came second in 1:59.0 minutes with zero handicap and F. C. Roth, an American schoolboy, was third with a 15-yard headstart.[9][10]

These events are no longer considered part of the official Olympic history of the 800 metres or the athletics programme in general. Consequently, medals from these competitions have not been assigned to nations on the all-time medal tables.[9]

## References

[edit]

Participation and athlete data

* Athletics Men's 800 metres Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
* Athletics Women's 800 metres Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.

Olympic record progressions

* Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.

Specific

1. ^ 800 Metres - women - senior - outdoor. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-05-24.
2. ^ English, Colleen (2019). ""Beyond Women's Powers of Endurance": The 1928 800-Meter and Women's Olympic Track and Field in the Context of the United States". Sport History Review. 50 (2): 187–204\. doi:10.1123/shr.2018-0040. S2CID 213870529.
3. ^ "Every Men's 800-Meter World Record, from 1912 Until Today".
4. ^ On 10 February 2017, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a four-year ban that effectively stripped of the gold medal of Mariya Savinova of Russia, based upon her biological passport. Caster Semenya of South Africa was advanced to gold, Ekaterina Poistogova of Russia to silver, and Pamela Jelimo of Kenya to bronze. Poistogova herself was later found guilty of doping, but her Olympic results were unaffected, and the IOC decided to upgrade her medal.
5. ^ BBC Sport
6. ^ 1906 Athina Summer Games. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
7. ^ Athletics at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's 800 metres. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
8. ^ Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 800 metres, Handicap. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-06-28.
9. ^ a b c Handicap Olympic Athletics Events. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-04-18.
10. ^ Lucas, Charles. The Olympic Games 1904. bandbhac. Retrieved on 2014-07-01.

## External links

[edit]

* IAAF 800 metres homepage
* Official Olympics website
* Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News

* v
* t
* e

800 metres at the Olympic Games

Summary

Men|

* 1896
* 1900
* 1904
* 1908
* 1912
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Women|

* 1896
* 1900
* 1904
* 1908
* 1912
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

* v
* t
* e

Athletics at the Summer Olympics

Editions|

* 1896
* 1900
* 1904
* 1906 (Intercalated)
* 1908
* 1912
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Events|

| Track|

* 100 m
* 200 m
* 400 m
* 800 m
* 1500 m
* 5000 m
* 10,000 m
* 4 × 100 m relay
* 4 × 400 m relay
* Sprint hurdles
* 400 m hurdles
* Steeplechase

|

Field|

* Shot put
* Discus throw
* Hammer throw
* Javelin throw
* Pole vault
* High jump
* Long jump
* Triple jump

Others|

* Combined events
* Marathon
* Race walking

Defunct|

* Cross country
* Team races
* 60 metres
* Weight throw
* Wheelchair racing
* Professional events
* Handicap events

* List of medalists
* men
* women
* Records
* Venues
* Medal sweeps

*[KEN]: Kenya
*[URS]: Soviet Union
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template