Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

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Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Engenhao vista atras do gol.jpg
Interior view of the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, where the Men's 800m took place.
Venue Olympic Stadium
Dates12 August 2016 (heats)
13 August 2016 (semifinals)
15 August 2016 (final)
Competitors58 from 39 nations
Winning time1:42.15
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg David Rudisha Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
Silver medal icon.svg Taoufik Makhloufi Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
Bronze medal icon.svg Clayton Murphy Flag of the United States.svg  United States
  2012
2020  
Official Video Highlights TV-icon-2.svg
Official Video Highlights

The men's 800 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 12–15 August at the Olympic Stadium. [1] Fifty-eight athletes from 39 nations competed. [2] The event was won by 0.46 seconds by David Rudisha of Kenya, the fourth man to successfully defend Olympic gold in the 800 metres. Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria took silver, the first medal for the nation in the 800 metres since 2000. The United States had an even longer medal-less streak broken, as Clayton Murphy's bronze was their first since 1992.

Background

This was the 28th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The top two men from 2012, gold medalist David Rudisha of Kenya and silver medalist Nijel Amos of Botswana, returned along with sixth-place finisher Mohammed Aman of Ethiopia. Rudisha entered the competition as the reigning 2012 Olympic champion and the 2015 World Champion. He also held the season's fastest time at 1:43.35 minutes. [3] His principal challengers included Kenyans Alfred Kipketer and Ferguson Rotich, the African champion Amos, and Olympic 1500 metres champion Taoufik Makhloufi. [4] [2]

Djibouti, Kosovo, Slovenia, and the Refugee Olympic Team appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain made its 27th appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Summary

In the first round, Amos was a surprise elimination, faring poorly at the end of a slow, tactical race. [5] The semi-finals saw the elimination of world #1 Amel Tuka who has not shown evidence of his finishing kick this year, and world championship silver medalist Adam Kszczot. Frenchman Pierre-Ambroise Bosse and Algerian Makhloufi shared the semi-final's leading time of 1:43.85 in the first semi-final, with Rudisha just three hundredths slower. Kipketer won the third semi-final. [6]

In the final, Kenyan trials winner Kipketer took the lead, closing off Rudisha's challenge after the break. Kipketer took the 200 in 23.2 and continued to lead at 400 in 49.3 but Rudisha was just a step behind. Through the turn, Rudisha went around Kipketer and accelerated down the backstretch. The next chaser was Bosse, in position to challenge at the 600 metres in 1:16.1, but most of the field was really in contention, within about a second. Through the final turn, Rudisha established separation, with Bosse the last to fall off. Taoufik Makhloufi tracked Bosse through the turn and sped by as they hit the straightaway. Makhloufi took off in chase of Rudisha but was too far back to make any headway. Clayton Murphy came from sixth place to sprint past Bosse to take the bronze. [7]

While it was "only" Rudisha's eleventh best performance, only four other men have ever run faster. It was also Rudisha's best race since 2012. Makhloufi set the national record for Algeria and became the seventeenth fastest man in history. Murphy became #31 and the #3 American in history. [8] Rudisha joined Douglas Lowe, Mal Whitfield and Peter Snell in defending the Olympic 800 metres championship, the first to accomplish the feat in over 50 years. [9]

Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 3 qualified athletes in the men's 800 metres event if all athletes meet the entry standard during the qualifying period. (The limit of 3 has been in place since the 1930 Olympic Congress.) The qualifying standard was 1:46.00. The qualifying period was from 1 May 2015 to 11 July 2016. The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the given period that have the approval of the IAAF. Indoor and outdoor meets were accepted. NOCs could also use their universality place—each NOC could enter one male athlete regardless of time if they had no male athletes meeting the entry standard for an athletics event—in the 800 metres. [10] [11]

Competition format

The men's 800 metres 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 seven first-round heats, each with 8 or 9 athletes; the top three runners in each heat as well as the next three 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. [2]

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of Kenya.svg  David Rudisha  (KEN)1:40.91 London, United Kingdom 9 August 2012
Olympic recordFlag of Kenya.svg  David Rudisha  (KEN)1:40.91 London, United Kingdom 9 August 2012
World LeadingFlag of Kenya.svg  David Rudisha  (KEN)1:43.35 Székesfehérvár, Hungary18 July 2016
Area
Time (s)AthleteNation
Africa ( records )1:40.91 WR David Rudisha Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya
Asia ( records )1:42.79 Yusuf Saad Kamel Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain
Europe ( records )1:41.11 Wilson Kipketer Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark
North, Central America
and Caribbean
( records )
1:42.60 Johnny Gray Flag of the United States.svg United States
Oceania ( records )1.44.21 Joseph Deng Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
South America ( records )1:41.77 Joaquim Cruz Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil

The following national record was established during the competition:

CountryAthleteRoundTimeNotes
Algeria Flag of Algeria.svg  Taoufik Makhloufi  (ALG)Final1:42.61

Schedule

All times are Brasília Time (UTC−3).

DateTimeRound
Friday, 12 August 201610:10Heats
Saturday, 13 August 201622:08Semifinals
Monday, 15 August 201622:25Finals

Results

Round 1

Qualification rule: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 3 fastest (q) advance to the Semifinals. [12]

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Ayanleh Souleiman Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 1:45.48 Q
2 Amel Tuka Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1:45.72 Q
3 Boris Berian Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:45.87 Q
4 Kléberson Davide Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 1:46.14 q
5 Žan Rudolf Civil Ensign of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 1:46.93 SB
6 Antoine Gakeme Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi 1:47.46
7 Musa Hajdari Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo 1:48.41
Abraham Rotich Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain DQ R163.3a

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Adam Kszczot Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 1:45.83 Q
2 Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:46.00 Q
3 Andrés Arroyo Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 1:46.17 Q
4 Hamada Mohamed Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 1:46.65 q
5 Rafith Rodríguez Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 1:46.65 SB
6 Boitumelo Masilo Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 1:48.48
7 Luke Mathews Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:50.17
8 Brice Etès Flag of Monaco.svg  Monaco 1:50.40

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 David Rudisha Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:45.09 Q
2 Reinhardt van Rensburg Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1:45.67 Q, SB
3 Michael Rimmer Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:45.99 Q
4 Clayton Murphy Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:46.18 q
5 Jinson Johnson Flag of India.svg  India 1:47.27
6 Anthony Romaniw Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1:47.59
7 Lutimar Paes Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 1:48.38
8 Benjamín Enzema Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea 1:52.14
9 Alex Beddoes Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 1:52.76 PB

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Alfred Kipketer Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:46.61 Q
2 Andreas Bube Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 1:46.67 Q
3 Yassine Hathat Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:46.81 Q
4 Álvaro de Arriba Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1:46.86
5 Wesley Vázquez Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 1:46.96
6 Charles Jock Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:47.06
7 Elliot Giles Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:47.88
8 Yiech Biel Olympic flag.svg  Refugee Olympic Team 1:54.67
Joshua Ilustre Flag of Guam.svg  Guam DQ R163.3a

Heat 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Taoufik Makhloufi Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:49.17 Q
2 Mostafa Smaili Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 1:49.29 Q
3 Giordano Benedetti Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1:49.40 Q
4 Sho Kawamoto Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1:49.41
5 Jacob Rozani Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1:49.79
6 Jozef Repčík Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia 1:49.95
7 Nijel Amos Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 1:50.46
8 Kevin López Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1:53.41

Heat 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Brandon McBride Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1:45.99 Q
2 Marcin Lewandowski Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 1:46.35 Q
3 Mark English Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 1:46.40 Q
4 Jeff Riseley Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:46.93
5 Abubaker Haydar Abdalla Flag of Qatar (3-2).svg  Qatar 1:47.81
6 Pol Moya Flag of Andorra.svg  Andorra 1:48.88
7 Alex Amankwah Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 1:50.33
Abdelati El Guesse Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco DNF

Heat 7

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Pierre-Ambroise Bosse Flag of France.svg  France 1:48.12 Q
2 Mohammed Aman Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 1:48.33 Q
3 Amine Belferar Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:48.40 Q
4 Daniel Andújar Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1:48.50
5 Charles Grethen Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 1:48.93
6 Peter Bol Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:49.36
7 Francky-Edgard Mbotto Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 1:52.97
Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla Flag of Qatar (3-2).svg  Qatar DNS

Semifinals

Qualification rule: First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advance to the Final.

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Pierre-Ambroise Bosse Flag of France.svg  France 1:43.85 Q, SB
2 Taoufik Makhloufi Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:43.85 Q, SB
3 Marcin Lewandowski Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 1:44.56 q, SB
4 Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:44.65 q
5 Mostafa Smaili Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 1:45.78
6 Kléberson Davide Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 1:46.19
7 Andrés Arroyo Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 1:46.74
8 Michael Rimmer Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:46.80

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Alfred Kipketer Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:44.38 Q
2 Boris Berian Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:44.56 Q
3 Yassine Hathat Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:44.81 PB
4 Amel Tuka Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1:45.24
5 Reinhardt van Rensburg Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1:45.33 PB
6 Brandon McBride Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1:45.41
7 Andreas Bube Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 1:45.87 SB
8 Mohammed Aman Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 1:46.14

Semifinal 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 David Rudisha Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:43.88 Q
2 Clayton Murphy Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:44.30 Q, PB
3 Adam Kszczot Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 1:44.70
4 Ayanleh Souleiman Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 1:45.19
5 Mark English Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 1:45.93
6 Giordano Benedetti Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1:46.41 SB
7 Amine Belferar Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:46.55
8 Hamada Mohamed Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 1:48.17

Final

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg David Rudisha Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:42.15 SB
Silver medal icon.svg Taoufik Makhloufi Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:42.61 NR
Bronze medal icon.svg Clayton Murphy Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:42.93 PB
4 Pierre-Ambroise Bosse Flag of France.svg  France 1:43.41 SB
5 Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:43.55 SB
6 Marcin Lewandowski Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 1:44.20 SB
7 Alfred Kipketer Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:46.02
8 Boris Berian Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:46.15

References

  1. "Men's 800m". Rio 2016 Organisation. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. senior outdoor 2016 800 Metres men. IAAF. Retrieved on 12 August 2016.
  4. Minshull, Phil (9 August 2016). Preview: men's 800m – Rio 2016 Olympic Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 12 August 2016.
  5. Minshull, Phil (12 August 2016). Report: men's 800m heats – Rio 2016 Olympic Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 13 August 2016.
  6. Minshull, Phil (14 August 2016). Report: men's 800m semi-finals – Rio 2016 Olympic Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 14 August 2016.
  7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "800 Metres - men - senior - outdoor".
  9. "David Rudisha retains Olympic 800m title with 'greatest moment of career'". The Guardian. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  10. "IAAF approves entry standards for Rio 2016 Olympic Games". Athletics Weekly . Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  11. "Qualification System – Games of the XXXI Olympiad – Athletics". IAAF . Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  12. Heats results