Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres

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Women's 800 metres
at the Games of the XVII Olympiad
Venue Olympic Stadium
DatesSeptember 6, 1960 (heats)
September 7, 1960 (final)
Competitors27 from 15 nations
Winning time2:04.5 WR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Lyudmila Lysenko
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Silver medal icon.svg Brenda Jones
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
Bronze medal icon.svg Ursula Donath
Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany
  1928
1964  
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Video on YouTube Official Video

The women's 800 metres middle distance event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between September 6 and September 7. [1] This was the return of the event for the first time since 1928.

Dixie Willis had the best time in qualifying, thus the Olympic record, though Lyudmila Lysenko (née Shevtsova) had set the world record a month earlier in Moscow. In the final, Willis took the race out, marked by Shevtsova. By the final straightaway, Brenda Jones was also with Shevtsova and looking fast challenging Willis for the lead. Suddenly Willis stepped on the curb and fell off the track into the infield. Shevtsova edged into the lead and dipped at the finish to equal her own world record and take the gold in 2:04.3. Jones was electronically timed at being .08 behind though electronic timing would not become official for another 17 years. Ursula Donath was the lucky (somewhat unified) German who was a step behind the top three when Willis exited to get the bronze. Less than two years later, Wilis would improve the world record by three seconds.

Results

Heats

The top two runners in each of the four heats (blue) and the next fastest one (pink) advanced to the final round.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Antje Gleichfeld Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:11.05OR
2 Brenda Jones Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:11.14
3 Zinaida Matistovich Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 2:11.57
4 Maryvonne Dupureur Flag of France.svg  France 2:12.42
5 Diane Charles Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:14.24
6 Zofia Walasek Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 2:16.44
7 Lee Hak-ja Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 2:28.4

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Ursula Donath Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:07.92OR
2 Beata Żbikowska Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 2:09.57
3 Florica Grecescu Flag of Romania (1952-1965).svg  Romania 2:10.10
4 Olga Kazi Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 2:11.07
5 Gilda Jannaccone Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:13.72
6 Phyllis Perkins Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:15.41
- Pat Daniels Flag of the United States.svg  United States DQ

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Lyudmila Lysenko Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 2:09.31
2 Gizella Sasvári-Csóka Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 2:09.77
3 Krystyna Nowakowska Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 2”09.81
4 Eleanor Haslam Flag of Canada (1957-1965).svg  Canada 2:10.17
5 Bedřiška Kulhavá Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 2:10.23
6 Gerda Kraan Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2:10.71
7 Nicole Goullieux Flag of France.svg  France 2:13.53

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Dixie Willis Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:06.03OR
2 Joy Jordan Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:07.29
3 Vera Kummerfeldt Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:07.34
4 Yekaterina Parlyuk Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 2:07.71
5 Ine ter Laak-Spijk Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2:10.36
6 Gül Çiray Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 2:11.55

Final

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Lyudmila Lysenko Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 2:04.50WR
Silver medal icon.svg Brenda Jones Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:04.58
Bronze medal icon.svg Ursula Donath Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:05.73
4 Vera Kummerfeldt Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:06.07
5 Antje Gleichfeld Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:06.63
6 Joy Jordan Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:07.95
7 Gizella Sasvári-Csóka Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 2:08.11
8 Beata Żbikowska Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 2:11.91
- Dixie Willis Flag of Australia.svg  Australia DNF

Key: WR = world record; OR = Olympic record; DNF = did not finish; DQ = disqualified

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1960 Rome Summer Games: Women's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2017.