800 metres
The 800 metres, or meters (US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the first modern games in 1896. During the winter track season the event is usually run by completing four laps of an indoor 200-metre track.
Athletics 800 metres | |
---|---|
World records | |
Men | David Rudisha 1:40.91 (2012) |
Women | Jarmila Kratochvílová 1:53.28 (1983) |
Olympic records | |
Men | David Rudisha 1:40.91 (2012) |
Women | Nadezhda Olizarenko 1:53.43 (1980) |
World Championship records | |
Men | Donavan Brazier 1:42.34 (2019) |
Women | Jarmila Kratochvílová 1:54.68 (1983) |
The event was derived from the imperial measurement of a half mile (880 yards), a traditional British racing distance. 800 m is 4.67 m less than a half mile.
The event combines aerobic endurance with anaerobic conditioning and sprint speed, so the 800m athlete has to combine training for both.
Runners in this event are occasionally fast enough to also compete in the 400 metres but more commonly have enough endurance to 'double up' in the 1500m. Only Alberto Juantorena and Jarmila Kratochvílová have won major international titles at 400m and 800m.
Race tactics
The 800m is also known for its tactical racing. Because it is the shortest middle-distance event that has all the runners converge into one lane (after the first bend), positioning on the cut-in and the position of the pack is critical to the outcome of the race. Gaining a front position early in the race is often advantageous as there are occasionally trips when running in a pack. Olympic champions Dave Wottle, Kelly Holmes and others have defied that logic by running a more evenly paced race, lagging behind the pack and accelerating past the slowing early leaders. Often the winner of elite 800m races is not the fastest runner, but the athlete best positioned near the end of the race: an athlete directly behind another runner, has to switch to an outer lane to overtake, so has to run further—and might be blocked by a third runner alongside.[1]
800 metre participants usually run a positive split, where the first lap is faster, but a negative split is occasionally run as a tactic. The current world record (by David Rudisha) was run with a positive split in the 2012 Olympics. Rudisha ran the first lap in 49.28 seconds and the second in 51.63 seconds. Theoretically, an even split is the most efficient running mode, but it is difficult to pace correctly.
Continental records
Area | Men | Women | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time | Athlete | Nation | Time | Athlete | Nation | |
Africa (records) | 1:40.91 WR | David Rudisha | Kenya | 1:54.01 | Pamela Jelimo | Kenya |
Asia (records) | 1:42.79 | Yusuf Saad Kamel | Bahrain | 1:55.54 | Dong Liu | China |
Europe (records) | 1:41.11 | Wilson Kipketer | Denmark | 1:53.28 WR | Jarmila Kratochvílová | Czechoslovakia |
North, Central America and Caribbean (records) | 1:42.34 | Donavan Brazier | United States | 1:54.44 | Ana Fidelia Quirot | Cuba |
Oceania (records) | 1:43.99 | Joseph Deng | Australia | 1:57.78 | Catriona Bisset | Australia |
South America (records) | 1:41.77 | Joaquim Cruz | Brazil | 1:56.58 | Letitia Vriesde | Suriname |
All-time top 25
Men (outdoor)
- Correct as of August 2021.[4]
Ath.# | Perf.# | Time | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1:40.91 | David Rudisha | Kenya | 9 August 2012 | London | [5] |
2 | 1:41.01 | Rudisha #2 | 29 August 2010 | Rieti | |||
3 | 1:41.09 | Rudisha #3 | 22 August 2010 | Berlin | |||
2 | 4 | 1:41.11 | Wilson Kipketer | Denmark | 24 August 1997 | Cologne | |
5 | 1:41.24 | Kipketer #2 | 13 August 1997 | Zürich | |||
6 | 1:41.33 | Rudisha #4 | 10 September 2011 | Rieti | |||
7 | 1:41.51 | Rudisha #5 | 10 July 2010 | Heusden-Zolder | |||
8 | 1:41.54 | Rudisha #6 | 6 July 2012 | London | |||
3 | 9 | 1:41.73 | Sebastian Coe | Great Britain | 10 June 1981 | Florence | |
9 | 1:41.73 | Kipketer #3 | 7 July 1997 | Stockholm | |||
3 | 9 | 1:41.73 | Nijel Amos | Botswana | 9 August 2012 | London | |
12 | 1:41.74 | Rudisha #7 | 9 June 2012 | New York City | |||
5 | 13 | 1:41.77 | Joaquim Cruz | Brazil | 26 August 1984 | Cologne | |
14 | 1:41.83 | Kipketer #4 | 1 September 1996 | Rieti | |||
15 | 1:41.89 | Amos #2 | 12 July 2019 | Monaco | |||
16 | 1:42.01 | Rudisha #8 | 6 September 2009 | Rieti | |||
17 | 1:42.04 | Rudisha #9 | 4 June 2010 | Oslo | |||
6 | 18 | 1:42.05 | Emmanuel Korir | Kenya | 22 July 2018 | London | [6] |
19 | 1:42.12 | Rudisha #10 | 23 June 2012 | Nairobi | |||
20 | 1:42.14 | Amos #3 | 20 July 2018 | Monaco | |||
21 | 1:42.15 | Rudisha #11 | 15 August 2016 | Rio de Janeiro | |||
22 | 1:42.17 | Kipketer #5 | 16 September 1996 | Tokyo | |||
23 | 1:42.20 | Kipketer #6 | 22 August 1997 | Brussels | |||
7 | 24 | 1:42.23 | Abubaker Kaki | Sudan | 4 June 2010 | Oslo | [7] |
25 | 1:42.27 | Kipketer #7 | 8 September 2002 | Rieti | |||
8 | 1:42.28 | Sammy Koskei | Kenya | 26 August 1984 | Cologne | ||
9 | 1:42.34 | Wilfred Bungei | Kenya | 8 September 2002 | Rieti | ||
Donavan Brazier | United States | 1 October 2019 | Doha | [8] | |||
11 | 1:42.37 | Mohammed Aman | Ethiopia | 6 September 2013 | Brussels | [9] | |
12 | 1:42.47 | Yuriy Borzakovskiy | Russia | 24 August 2001 | Brussels | ||
13 | 1:42.51 | Amel Tuka | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 17 July 2015 | Monaco | [10] | |
14 | 1:42.53 | Timothy Kitum | Kenya | 9 August 2012 | London | ||
Pierre-Ambroise Bosse | France | 18 July 2014 | Monaco | ||||
16 | 1:42.54 | Ferguson Rotich | Kenya | 12 July 2019 | Monaco | [11] | |
17 | 1:42.55 | André Bucher | Switzerland | 17 August 2001 | Zürich | ||
18 | 1:42.58 | Vebjørn Rodal | Norway | 31 July 1996 | Atlanta | ||
19 | 1:42.60 | Johnny Gray | United States | 28 August 1985 | Koblenz | ||
20 | 1:42.61 | Taoufik Makhloufi | Algeria | 15 August 2016 | Rio de Janeiro | [12] | |
21 | 1:42.62 | Patrick Ndururi | Kenya | 13 August 1997 | Zürich | ||
22 | 1:42.67 | Alfred Kirwa Yego | Kenya | 6 September 2009 | Rieti | ||
23 | 1:42.69 | Hezekiél Sepeng | South Africa | 3 September 1999 | Brussels | ||
Japheth Kimutai | Kenya | 3 September 1999 | Brussels | ||||
25 | 1:42.79 | Frederick Onyancha | Kenya | 31 July 1996 | Atlanta | ||
Yusuf Saad Kamel | Bahrain | 29 July 2008 | Monaco |
Women (outdoor)
- Correct as of September 2023.[13]
Ath.# | Perf.# | Time | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1:53.28 | Jarmila Kratochvílová | Czechoslovakia | 26 July 1983 | Munich | |
2 | 2 | 1:53.43 | Nadezhda Olizarenko | Soviet Union | 27 July 1980 | Moscow | |
3 | 3 | 1:54.01 | Pamela Jelimo | Kenya | 29 August 2008 | Zürich | |
4 | 4 | 1:54.25 | Caster Semenya | South Africa | 30 June 2018 | Paris | [14] |
5 | 5 | 1:54.44 | Ana Fidelia Quirot | Cuba | 9 September 1989 | Barcelona | |
6 | 1:54.60 | Semenya #2 | 20 July 2018 | Monaco | |||
7 | 1:54.68 | Kratochvílová #2 | 9 August 1983 | Helsinki | |||
8 | 1:54.77 | Semenya #3 | 9 September 2018 | Ostrava | |||
6 | 9 | 1:54.81 | Olga Mineyeva | Soviet Union | 27 July 1980 | Moscow | |
10 | 1:54.82 | Quirot #2 | 24 August 1997 | Cologne | |||
11 | 1:54.85 | Olizarenko #2 | 12 June 1980 | Moscow | |||
12 | 1:54.87 | Jelimo #2 | 18 August 2008 | Beijing | |||
7 | 13 | 1:54.91 | Tatyana Kazankina | Soviet Union | 26 July 1976 | Montreal | |
8 | 14 | 1:54.97 | Athing Mu | United States | 17 September 2023 | Eugene | [15] |
14 | 1:54.97 | Jelimo #3 | 18 July 2008 | Saint-Denis | |||
16 | 1:54.98 | Semenya #4 | 3 May 2019 | Doha | |||
17 | 1:54.99 | Jelimo #4 | 1 June 2008 | Berlin | |||
18 | 1:55.04 | Kratochvílová #3 | 23 August 1983 | Oslo | |||
19 | 1:55.04 | Mu #2 | 21 August 2021 | Eugene | [16] | ||
9 | 19 | 1:55.05 | Doina Melinte | Romania | 1 August 1982 | Bucharest | |
20 | 1:55.16 | Jelimo #5 | 5 September 2008 | Brussels | |||
Semenya #5 | 13 August 2017 | London | |||||
10 | 22 | 1:55.19 | Maria Mutola | Mozambique | 17 August 1994 | Zürich | |
Jolanda Čeplak | Slovenia | 20 July 2002 | Heusden-Zolder | ||||
Keely Hodgkinson | Great Britain | 17 September 2023 | Eugene | [15] | |||
25 | 1:55.21 | Mu #3 | 3 August 2021 | Tokyo | |||
12 | 1:55.26 | Sigrun Wodars | East Germany | 31 August 1987 | Rome | ||
13 | 1:55.32 | Christine Wachtel | East Germany | 31 August 1987 | Rome | ||
14 | 1:55.42 | Nikolina Shtereva | Bulgaria | 26 July 1976 | Rome | ||
15 | 1:55.46 | Tatyana Providokhina | Soviet Union | 27 July 1980 | Moscow | ||
16 | 1:55.47 | Francine Niyonsaba | Burundi | 21 July 2017 | Monaco | [17] | |
17 | 1:55.54 | Ellen van Langen | Netherlands | 3 August 1992 | Barcelona | ||
Dong Liu | China | 9 August 1993 | Beijing | ||||
19 | 1:55.56 | Lyubov Gurina | Soviet Union | 31 August 1987 | Rome | ||
20 | 1:55.60 | Elfi Zinn | East Germany | 26 July 1976 | Montreal | ||
21 | 1:55.61 | Ajeé Wilson | United States | 21 July 2017 | Monaco | [17] | |
22 | 1:55.68 | Ella Kovacs | Romania | 2 June 1985 | Bucharest | ||
23 | 1:55.69 | Irina Podyalovskaya | Soviet Union | 22 June 1984 | Kyiv | ||
24 | 1:55.74 | Anita Weiss | East Germany | 26 July 1976 | Montreal |
Annulled marks
- Yelena Soboleva (Russia) ran 1:54.85 in Kazan on 18 July 2007, but her performance was annulled due to doping offences.
Men (indoor)
- Correct as of February 2023.[18]
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 1:44.82:
- Wilson Kipketer also ran 1:43.96 (1997) and 1:44.68 (2003).
- Donavan Brazier also ran 1:44.22 (2020) and 1:44.41 (2019).
- Yuriy Borzakovskiy also ran 1:44.34 (2003), 1:44.35 (2000), 1:44.49 (2001), and 1:44.58 (2004).
Women (indoor)
- Correct as of February 2023.[21]
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 1:58.19:
- Stephanie Graf also ran 1:56.85 (2002), 1:57.53 (2001), 1:57.61 (2002), 1:57.68 (2001), and 1:57.80 (2000).
- Maria Mutola also ran 1:57.06 (1999), 1:57.13 (1996), 1:57.17 (1999), 1:57.48 (2002, 2004), 1:57.55 (1993), 1:57.62 (1995), 1:57.72 (2004), 1:57.90 (1998), 1:58.02 (1997, 2001), 1:58.05 (2001), and 1:58.16 (1999).
- Jolanda Čeplak also ran 1:57.18 (2002) and 1:57.79 (2002).
- Keely Hodgkinson also ran 1:57.20 (2022), 1:57.71 (2023), 1:57.87 (2023).
Juniors
World junior records (19 and under) are held by Nijel Amos (1:41.73, London, 9 August 2012) and Pamela Jelimo (1:54.01, Zürich, 29 August 2008). Both marks coincidentally rank them as the third fastest ever.
Olympic medalists
Men
Women
World Championships medalists
Men
Women
World Indoor Championships medalists
Men
Women
- A Known as the World Indoor Games
Season's bests
References
- Versaw, Rob. "A Fan's Guide to the 800m". Arizona Milesplit. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- "Men's outdoor 800 Metres | Records". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- "Women's outdoor 800 Metres | Records". worldathletcs.org. World Athletics. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- "All-time men's best 800m". alltime-athletics.com. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- "800 Metres Results". IAAF. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
- "800m Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- "800m Results". diamondleague-oslo.com. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- "800m Results" (PDF). IAAF. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- "800m Result" (PDF). Diamond League. Omega Timing. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- "800m Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- Mike Rowbottom (12 July 2019). "Hassan breaks world mile record in Monaco with 4:12.33 – IAAF Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- "Men's 800m Results" (PDF). Rio 2016 official website. 15 August 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- "All-time women's best 800m". alltime-athletics.com. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- "800m Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
- "Tsegay smashes world 5000m record and Duplantis breaks world pole vault record in Eugene | REPORT | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- "Prefontaine Classic 2021 Complete Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- "800m Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 21 July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- "All-time men's best 800m indoors".
- Timothy Olobulu (12 February 2023). "Kenya's Kibet Sets World Leading Time As Coleman Wins 60m Crown At Millrose Games". capitalfm.co.ke. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- "Strong start to World Indoor Tour, Russell and Alfred make early season statements". World Athletics. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- "All-time women's best 800m indoors".
- "Tsegay threatens world indoor 3000m record, as tour titles are won in Birmingham | REPORT | World Athletics". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- Jon Mulkeen (17 February 2022). "Ingebrigtsen breaks world indoor 1500m record in Liévin". World Athletics. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- Jess Whittington (8 February 2023). "Tsegay triumphs with No.2 all-time indoor mile in Toruń". World Athletics. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- 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.
- BBC Sport