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Middle-distance running event From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 800 metres, or 800 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 (KEN) 1:40.91 (2012) |
Women | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) 1:53.28 (1983) |
Short track world records | |
Men | Wilson Kipketer (DEN) 1:42.67 (1997) |
Women | Jolanda Čeplak (SLO) 1:55.82 (2002) |
Olympic records | |
Men | David Rudisha (KEN) 1:40.91 (2012) |
Women | Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS) 1:53.43 (1980) |
World Championship records | |
Men | Donavan Brazier (USA) 1:42.34 (2019) |
Women | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) 1:54.68 (1983) |
World junior (U20) records | |
Men | Nijel Amos (BOT) 1:41.73 (2012) |
Women | Pamela Jelimo (KEN) 1:54.01 (2008) |
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.
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,[citation needed] but it is difficult to pace correctly.
In 2024, the race tactics in the men's 800m shifted toward a more evenly paced race. All fifteen sub-1:42 performances prior to 2024 featured a sub 50 second first lap. However, of the twelve sub-1:42 performances in 2024, six featured a first lap of 50 seconds or slower.[2]
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 | Liu Dong | China |
Europe (records) | 1:41.11 | Wilson Kipketer | Denmark | 1:53.28 WR | Jarmila Kratochvílová | Czechoslovakia |
North, Central America and Caribbean (records) | 1:41.20 | Marco Arop | Canada | 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 |
Outdoor tables show data for two definitions of "Top 25" - the top 25 800m times and the top 25 athletes: |
- denotes top performance for athletes in the top 25 800m times |
- denotes lesser performances, still in the top 25 800m times, by repeat athletes |
- denotes top performance (only) for other top 25 athletes who fall outside the top 25 800m times |
Ath.# | Perf.# | Time | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1:40.91 | David Rudisha | Kenya | 9 August 2012 | London | [6] |
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 | |
Emmanuel Wanyonyi | Kenya | 22 August 2024 | Lausanne | [7] | |||
6 | 1:41.19 | Wanyonyi #2 | 10 August 2024 | Saint-Denis | [8] | ||
4 | 7 | 1:41.20 | Marco Arop | Canada | 10 August 2024 | Saint-Denis | [8] |
8 | 1:41.24 | Kipketer #2 | 13 August 1997 | Zürich | |||
9 | 1:41.33 | Rudisha #4 | 10 September 2011 | Rieti | |||
5 | 10 | 1:41.46 | Djamel Sedjati | Algeria | 12 July 2024 | Monaco | [9] |
11 | 1:41.50 | Sedjati #2 | 10 August 2024 | Saint-Denis | [8] | ||
12 | 1:41.51 | Rudisha #5 | 10 July 2010 | Heusden-Zolder | |||
13 | 1:41.54 | Rudisha #6 | 6 July 2012 | Paris | |||
14 | 1:41.56 | Sedjati #3 | 7 July 2024 | Paris | [10] | ||
15 | 1:41.58 | Wanyonyi #3 | 7 July 2024 | Paris | [10] | ||
6 | 16 | 1:41.61 | Gabriel Tual | France | 7 July 2024 | Paris | [10] |
7 | 17 | 1:41.67 | Bryce Hoppel | United States | 10 August 2024 | Saint-Denis | [8] |
18 | 1:41.70 | Wanyonyi #4 | 15 June 2024 | Nairobi | [11] | ||
19 | 1:41.72 | Arop #2 | 22 August 2024 | Lausanne | [7] | ||
8 | 20 | 1:41.73 | Sebastian Coe | Great Britain | 10 June 1981 | Florence | |
20 | 1:41.73 | Kipketer #3 | 7 July 1997 | Stockholm | |||
8 | 20 | 1:41.73 | Nijel Amos | Botswana | 9 August 2012 | London | |
23 | 1:41.74 | Rudisha #7 | 9 June 2012 | New York City | |||
10 | 24 | 1:41.77 | Joaquim Cruz | Brazil | 26 August 1984 | Cologne | |
25 | 1:41.83 | Kipketer #4 | 1 September 1996 | Rieti | |||
11 | 1:42.04 | Mohamed Attaoui | Spain | 12 July 2024 | Monaco | [9] | |
12 | 1:42.05 | Emmanuel Korir | Kenya | 22 July 2018 | London | [12] | |
13 | 1:42.08 | Aaron Kemei Cheminingwa | Kenya | 7 July 2024 | Paris | [10] | |
Wyclife Kinyamal | Kenya | 7 July 2024 | Paris | [10] | |||
15 | 1:42.23 | Abubaker Kaki | Sudan | 4 June 2010 | Oslo | [13] | |
16 | 1:42.27 | Ben Pattison | United Kingdom | 12 July 2024 | Monaco | [9] | |
17 | 1:42.28 | Sammy Koskei | Kenya | 26 August 1984 | Cologne | ||
18 | 1:42.34 | Wilfred Bungei | Kenya | 8 September 2002 | Rieti | ||
Donavan Brazier | United States | 1 October 2019 | Doha | [14] | |||
20 | 1:42.37 | Mohammed Aman | Ethiopia | 6 September 2013 | Brussels | [15] | |
21 | 1:42.43 | Eliott Crestan | Belgium | 7 July 2024 | Paris | [10] | |
22 | 1:42.47 | Yuriy Borzakovskiy | Russia | 24 August 2001 | Brussels | ||
23 | 1:42.51 | Amel Tuka | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 17 July 2015 | Monaco | [16] | |
24 | 1:42.53 | Timothy Kitum | Kenya | 9 August 2012 | London | ||
Pierre-Ambroise Bosse | France | 18 July 2014 | Monaco |
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 | [18] |
5 | 5 | 1:54.44 | Ana Fidelia Quirot | Cuba | 9 September 1989 | Barcelona | |
6 | 1:54.60 | Semenya #2 | 20 July 2018 | Monaco | |||
6 | 7 | 1:54.61 | Keely Hodgkinson | Great Britain | 20 July 2024 | London | [19] |
8 | 1:54.68 | Kratochvílová #2 | 9 August 1983 | Helsinki | |||
9 | 1:54.77 | Semenya #3 | 9 September 2018 | Ostrava | |||
7 | 10 | 1:54.81 | Olga Mineyeva | Soviet Union | 27 July 1980 | Moscow | |
11 | 1:54.82 | Quirot #2 | 24 August 1997 | Cologne | |||
12 | 1:54.85 | Olizarenko #2 | 12 June 1980 | Moscow | |||
13 | 1:54.87 | Jelimo #2 | 18 August 2008 | Beijing | |||
8 | 14 | 1:54.94 | Tatyana Kazankina | Soviet Union | 26 July 1976 | Montreal | |
15 | 1:54.97 | Jelimo #3 | 18 July 2008 | Paris | |||
9 | 15 | 1:54.97 | Athing Mu | United States | 17 September 2023 | Eugene | [20] |
17 | 1:54.98 | Semenya #4 | 3 May 2019 | Doha | |||
18 | 1:54.99 | Jelimo #4 | 1 June 2008 | Berlin | |||
19 | 1:55.04 | Kratochvílová #3 | 23 August 1983 | Oslo | |||
20 | 1:55.04 | Mu #2 | 21 August 2021 | Eugene | [21] | ||
10 | 21 | 1:55.05 | Doina Melinte | Romania | 1 August 1982 | Bucharest | |
22 | 1:55.16 | Jelimo #5 | 5 September 2008 | Brussels | |||
Semenya #5 | 13 August 2017 | London | |||||
11 | 24 | 1:55.19 | Maria Mutola | Mozambique | 17 August 1994 | Zürich | |
Jolanda Čeplak | Slovenia | 20 July 2002 | Heusden-Zolder | ||||
24 | 1:55.19 | Hodgkinson #2 | 17 September 2023 | Eugene | [20] | ||
13 | 1:55.26 | Sigrun Wodars | East Germany | 31 August 1987 | Rome | ||
14 | 1:55.32 | Christine Wachtel | East Germany | 31 August 1987 | Rome | ||
15 | 1:55.42 | Nikolina Shtereva | Bulgaria | 26 July 1976 | Montreal | ||
16 | 1:55.46 | Tatyana Providokhina | Soviet Union | 27 July 1980 | Moscow | ||
17 | 1:55.47 | Francine Niyonsaba | Burundi | 21 July 2017 | Monaco | [22] | |
18 | 1:55.54 | Ellen van Langen | Netherlands | 3 August 1992 | Barcelona | ||
Liu Dong | China | 9 September 1993 | Beijing | ||||
20 | 1:55.56 | Lyubov Gurina | Soviet Union | 31 August 1987 | Rome | ||
21 | 1:55.60 | Elfi Zinn | East Germany | 26 July 1976 | Montreal | ||
22 | 1:55.61 | Ajeé Wilson | United States | 21 July 2017 | Monaco | [22] | |
Jemma Reekie | Great Britain | 20 July 2024 | London | [23] | |||
24 | 1:55.68 | Ella Kovacs | Romania | 2 June 1985 | Bucharest | ||
25 | 1:55.69 | Irina Podyalovskaya | Soviet Union | 22 June 1984 | Kyiv |
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 1:44.88 (top 25 performances)
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 1:57.68 (top 25 performances)
Age group | Men | Women | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time | Athlete | Nation | Time | Athlete | Nation | |
U20 (records) | 1:41.73 | Nijel Amos | Botswana | 1:54.01 | Pamela Jelimo | Kenya |
U18 (world bests) | 1:43.37 | Mohammed Aman | Ethiopia | 1:57.18 | Wang Yuan | China |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kenya (KEN) | 7 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
2 | Denmark (DEN) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
3 | United States (USA) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
4 | Algeria (ALG) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
South Africa (RSA) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
Canada (CAN) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
7 | Bahrain (BHR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
8 | Ethiopia (ETH) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Switzerland (SUI) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
West Germany (FRG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
France (FRA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
12 | Russia (RUS) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
13 | Poland (POL) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
14 | Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
15 | Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
17 | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Sudan (SUD) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Burundi (BDI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
22 | Djibouti (DJI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Norway (NOR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kenya (KEN) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
2 | Mozambique (MOZ) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
3 | Cuba (CUB) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
4 | South Africa (RSA) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
5 | United States (USA) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
6 | Soviet Union (URS) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
7 | East Germany (GDR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
8 | Belarus (BLR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Czech Republic (CZE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Uganda (UGA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
12 | Russia (RUS) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
13 | Morocco (MAR) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
14 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
15 | Suriname (SUR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
16 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
17 | Romania (ROM) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
18 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
19 | Burundi (BDI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Canada (CAN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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