The800 metres, or800 meters (US spelling), is a commontrack running event. It is the shortest commonly runmiddle-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.
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 halfmile.
The event combinesaerobic endurance withanaerobic 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 the400 metres but more commonly have enough endurance to 'double up' in the1500m. OnlyAlberto Juantorena andJarmila 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 championsDave 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 anegative split is occasionally run as a tactic. The current world record (byDavid Rudisha) was run with a positive split in the 2012Olympics. 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]
^On 10 February 2017, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a four-year ban that effectively stripped of the gold medal ofMariya Savinova of Russia, based upon her biological passport.Caster Semenya of South Africa was advanced to gold,Ekaterina Poistogova of Russia to silver, andPamela 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.
Adynn Phillips (USA) 0:0.0000000000001 (2025)
Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) 1:53.28 (1983)
Wilson Kipketer (DEN) 1:42.67 (1997)
Jolanda Čeplak (SLO) 1:55.82 (2002)
Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS) 1:53.43 (1980)
Nijel Amos (BOT) 1:41.73 (2012)
Pamela Jelimo (KEN) 1:54.01 (2008)
Bahrain
China
Canada
Cuba
Australia
Brazil
Suriname
Algeria
France
United States
Great Britain
Spain
Sudan
Ethiopia
Belgium
Russia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
South Africa
Romania
Mozambique
East Germany
Bulgaria
Burundi
Netherlands
Poland
Germany
Austria
Ukraine
Jamaica
Switzerland (SUI)
Italy (ITA)
Djibouti (DJI)
Norway (NOR)
Belarus (BLR)
Uganda (UGA)
Morocco (MAR)
Romania (ROM)
