The men's 800 metres event at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

was held between 28 and 31 July 1996. There were a total of 60 competitors from 42 countries. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by

Vebjørn Rodal Vebjørn Rodal (born 16 September 1972) is a retired Norwegian middle distance athlete, who won the gold medal in the 800 m at the 1996 Summer Olympics with the time 1:42.58. Biography Rodal, born and raised in Berkåk, made his international s ...

of Norway, the nation's first title in the men's 800 metres and first medal in the event since 1956.

Hezekiél Sepeng Hezekiél Sello Sepeng (born 30 June 1974), is a South African middle distance runner who won silver in the Olympic 800 metres final in Atlanta 1996 (behind Vebjørn Rodal), the 1998 Commonwealth Games (behind Japheth Kimutai) and the World C ...

's silver was South Africa's first 800 metres medal since 1920.

Background

This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Four finalists from 1992 returned: bronze medalist

Johnny Gray John Lee Gray Jr. (born June 19, 1960) is a retired American world class 800 meter runner from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s and the holder of the 600m world best. A four-time-Olympian (1984-1996) in 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 at a ...

of the United States (also a finalist in 1984 and 1988), fourth-place finisher

José Luíz Barbosa José Luíz Barbosa, known as Zequinha Barbosa (born May 27, 1961) is a Brazilian former middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. José participated in 4 Olympic Games: 1984 Los Angeles; 1988 Soul Korea; 1992 Barcelona and 1996 A ...

of Brazil (a 1988 finalist as well), fifth-place finisher

Andrea Benvenuti Andrea Benvenuti (born 13 December 1969 in Negrar, Verona) is an Italian former 800 metres runner. Biography He won the gold medal at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki. Previously, he had come fifth in the 1992 Olympic final and third ...

of Italy, and sixth-place finisher

Curtis Robb Curtis Robb (born 7 June 1972) is a former British middle distance runner, who competed at two consecutive Summer Olympics for Great Britain, in 1992 and 1996. Running career Robb first began running with Liverpool Harriers & AC, a racing team ...

of Great Britain.

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. He is the second fastest of all time over 800 meters, setting the world record and breaking his own record two more times all in 1997. He dominated the 8 ...

was the strongest 800 metres runner in 1996, having won the first of his three world championship titles in 1995; however, he was ruled ineligible for the Games during the process of changing his nationality from Kenya to Denmark. Without Kipketer, the field was open with no clear favorite. Burundi, the Czech Republic, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, and Latvia appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain made its 22nd appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Competition format

The men's 800 metres again used a three-round format, the most common format since 1912 though there had been variations. The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964 was used for the first two rounds. There were eight first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 athletes; the top two runners in each heat as well as the next eight fastest overall advanced to the semifinals. There were three semifinals with 8 athletes each; the top two runners in each semifinal and the next two fastest overall advanced to the eight-man final.Official Report, vol. 3, pp. 74–75.

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows. In the final

set a new Olympic record at 1:42.58.

Schedule

All times are

Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

( UTC−4)

Results

Round 1

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Heat 5

Heat 6

Heat 7

Heat 8

Overall results for round 1

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Semifinal 3

Overall results for semifinals

Final

References

External links

Official Report

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's 800 Metres 8 800 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 1996 Summer Olympics