The women's

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 ...

at the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships ( hu, 2023-as atlétikai világbajnokság), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, are scheduled to be held from 19 August to 27 August 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The city of Budapes ...

was held at the National Athletics Centre in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

from 23 to 27 August 2023.

Summary

Featuring the reigning Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European champions, who between them had dominated the global podiums since Tokyo in 2021, the women's 800 metres was one of the most hotly anticipated races of the championships. After winning the 2020 Olympics and 2022 World Championships,

Athing Mu Athing Mu (born June 8, 2002) is an American middle-distance runner. She is the youngest woman in history to own Olympic and world titles in an individual track and field event. At the age of 19, Mu won the gold medal in the 800 meters at the 20 ...

started looking for new horizons to conquer. Hurdler

Sydney McLaughlin Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (, born August 7, 1999) is an American hurdler and sprinter who competes in the 400 meters hurdles. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion with the Games record, and 2022 World champion with a world record time of 50 ...

, also training under Bobby Kersee, staked out the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

, so even though Mu was an NCAA Champion, sub-50 performer in that event, Mu focused her season efforts on the longer

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

, only running one 800 metres race before these championships. 2022 silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson, who gave Mu a scare in Eugene, came in as the world leader for 2023; her only defeat, a tactical masterclass from Commonwealth champion

Mary Moraa Mary Moraa (born 15 June 2000) is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in the 800 metres. She won the gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a bronze medal in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and a gold at the 202 ...

at the Lausanne

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

. Drama ensued in the semi-finals as Mu and Prudence Sekgodiso collided, turning her sideways. After recovering her balance, Mu had to run around five athletes to get back to a qualifying second place behind 2022 bronze medalist

. British number two Jemma Reekie, under a fresh coaching team, impressed in the semi-final to put herself forward as a wild-card medal chance in the final. In the final, Mu went out fast, first to the break line with Moraa uncharacteristically holding back. She was followed by Hodgkinson, Moraa, and Reekie. Mu was occupying the outside of lane one, taking as much space as possible. The group stayed together as the bell came at a swift but not brutal 56.6. Through the penultimate turn and down the backstretch, Mu tried to get separation, but with her backwards-leaning running style, Moraa would not go away. Hodgkinson and Reekie stayed tucked in close behind to make it a foursome. Having spent most of the race in lane two, coming into the home stretch, Moraa launched her kick, followed by Hodgkinson on the inside. When challenged, Mu had no answer. Moraa passed on the outside, and then Hodgkinson passed on the inside. Moraa continued on to a two-metre victory over Hodgkinson, who had her first major championship victory over Mu, but had to settle for a third consecutive global silver medal. Mu held on to finish two metres behind Hodgkinson for bronze, still six metres ahead of fast-closing

Raevyn Rogers Raevyn Rogers (born September 7, 1996) is an American middle-distance athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the fourth fastest woman in U.S. history in the event. At the 2019 World Championships ...

, passing Reekie as she had done in Tokyo. The race was acclaimed as one of the highlights of the championships, reinforcing the emerging and dramatic three-way rivalry between Moraa, Mu and Hodgkinson set to dominate the event for years to come, and acknowledging Reekie as one of the women most likely to bridge the gap to the Big Three.

Records

Before the competition, records were as follows:

Qualification standard

The standard to qualify automatically for entry was 1:59.80.

Schedule

The event schedule, in local time (UTC+2), was as follows:

Results

Heats

The first 3 athletes in each heat (Q) and the next 3 fastest (q) qualified for the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

The first 2 athletes in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) qualified for the final.

Final

The final was started on 27 August at 20:45.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023 World Championships in Athletics - Women's 800 metres 800 800 metres at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in women's athletics