The

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 t ...

at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

. The men's 800 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

. The women's event was first held in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...

, making it the first distance running event for women. However it was not held again until

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

, since when it has been a permanent fixture. 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 Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

are held by

David Rudisha David Lekuta Rudisha, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. He is a two-time back-to-back Olympic champion from the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, a two-time World champion from t ...

, 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 Ilona Longo (née Schoknecht, divorced Briesenick and Slupianek; born 24 September 1956) is a German former shot putter who represented East Germany. As Ilona Slupianek, she won the 1980 Olympic title in Moscow and won European titles in 1978 and ...

's shot put record) and the joint second-longest after the men's long jump record by

Bob Beamon Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping 8.90 m (29 ft. 2.5 in), he broke the existing record by ...

. Her time remains the second fastest ever for the event. The

800 metres world record The following table shows the world record progression in the men's and women's 800 metres, officially ratified by the IAAF. Men The first world record in the men's 800 metres was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federatio ...

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. Four men have won consecutive 800 m Olympic titles: Douglas Lowe (1924/1928),

Mal Whitfield Malvin Greston Whitfield (October 11, 1924 – November 19, 2015) was an American athlete, goodwill ambassador, and airman. Nicknamed "Marvelous Mal", he was the Olympic champion in the 800 meters at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics, and a memb ...

(1948/1952), Peter Snell (1960/1964), and Rudisha (2012/2016). Only

Caster Semenya Mokgadi Caster Semenya OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women's 800 metres. She first won gold at the World Championships in 2009 ...

(2012/2016) has won the women's title twice, but

Maria Mutola Maria de Lurdes Mutola ( ; born 27 October 1972) is a retired female track and field athlete from Mozambique who specialised in the 800 metres running event. She is only the fourth female track and field athlete to compete at six Olympic Games. ...

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British ...

and

Pamela Jelimo Pamela Jelimo (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner, specialising in the 800 metres. She won the gold medal in 800 metres at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing at the age of 18. She is the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gold ...

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 Taoufik Makhloufi ( ar, توفيق مخلوفي; born 29 April 1988) is an Algerian athlete who specialises in middle-distance running. He became the 1500 metres Olympic champion at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. In 2016, Makhloufi ...

made both podiums without winning gold in 2016.

Alberto Juantorena Alberto Juantorena (born 3 December 1950) is a Cuban former runner. He is the only athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m Olympic titles, which he achieved in 1976. He was ranked as world's best runner in the 400 m in 1974 and 1976–1978, a ...

in 1976 also won the 400 metres gold medal in the same Olympics, only three other men and one woman have been able to get a medal in both events. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

is the most successful nation, having won nine gold medals & a total of 24 medals followed by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

with eight gold & 12 medals overall and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

with six gold among its 15 medals.

Medal summary

Men

Multiple medalists

Medals by country

Women

Multiple medalists

Medalists by country

* The German total includes teams both competing as

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

United Team of Germany The United Team of Germany (german: Gesamtdeutsche Mannschaft) was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes f ...

, but not East or West Germany.

Intercalated Games

The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and at the time were officially recognised as part of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

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 The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(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. At this event a men's 800 m was held and

Paul Pilgrim Paul Henry Pilgrim (October 26, 1883 – January 8, 1958) was an American runner. He competed at the 1904, 1906 and 1908 Olympics and won three gold medals in 1904 and 1906. At the 1904 Summer Olympics, Pilgrim failed to complete the 400 m and ...

, a 1904 Olympic gold medalist in the 4-mile team race, won the competition. The reigning 800 m and

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 Athle ...

champion from the 1904 Olympics,

James Lightbody James Davies Lightbody (March 16, 1882 – March 2, 1953) was an American middle distance runner, winner of six Olympic medals (two of which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee following its downgrading o ...

, was the runner-up and Britain's

Wyndham Halswelle Wyndham Halswelle (30 May 1882 – 31 March 1915) was a British athlete. He won the controversial 400m race at the 1908 Summer Olympics, becoming the only athlete to win an Olympic title by a walkover. Halswelle was also an infantry ...

, later the 1908 Olympic champion, was the bronze medalist.

Non-canonical Olympic events

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).Handicap Olympic Athletics Events
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-04-18. 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 Johannes Runge (24 January 1878 in Braunschweig – 12 November 1949 in Bad Harzburg) was a German track and field athlete who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics and in the 1906 Summer Olympics. In 1904 he finished fifth in the 800 met ...

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.Lucas, Charles
The Olympic Games 1904
bandbhac. Retrieved on 2014-07-01. 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.

References

;Participation and athlete data
Athletics Men's 800 metres Medalists
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.

Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07. ;Olympic record progressions *Mallon, Bill (2012)
TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS
''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

''. Retrieved on 2014-02-07. ;Specific

External links

IAAF 800 metres homepageOfficial Olympics websiteOlympic athletics records
from ''Track & Field News'' {{History of Olympic athletics events Olympics