The 800 metres, or meters, 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 first modern games in 1896. During the winter track season the event is usually run by completing four laps of an indoor 200-metre track.
Nikolina Pavlova Shtereva is a retired Bulgarian middle-distance runner who specialised in the 800 and 1500 metres. She is best known for her silver medal in 800 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and at the European Indoor Championships she won gold medals in 1976 and 1979 and a bronze medal in 1981. She won fourteen national titles in Bulgaria, and is still the Bulgarian record holder in the 800 metres.
Kirsty Margaret Wade is a British former middle-distance runner. She is a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist representing Wales, winning the 800 metres in Brisbane 1982 and both the 800 metres and 1500 metres in Edinburgh 1986. She represented Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games and the 1992 Olympic Games.
Taoufik Makhloufi 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 took the silver medal in the 800m and 1500 m at the Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil.
Jeffrey "Jeff" Riseley is an Australian middle-distance athlete. Riseley competed in the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Laura Muir is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 metres, having previously finished seventh in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Muir won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, and has three other top five placings in 1500 m finals at the World Athletics Championships, finishing fifth in 2015, fourth in 2017 and fifth in 2019. She is a two-time European 1500 m champion from 2018 and 2022 as well as the 2022 Commonwealth Games 1500 m champion and 800 metres bronze medallist.
Habitam Alemu Bayih is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner specialising in the 800 metres.
Timothy Cheruiyot is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specialising in the 1500 metres. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the event and the 8th fastest athlete all time over the distance. At the World Athletics Championships, Cheruiyot won the silver medal in 2017 in London, and a gold in 2019 in Doha.
Nagmeldin "Peter" Bol is an Australian middle-distance runner who competes in the 800 metres. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics, placed fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Jemma Reekie is a Scottish middle-distance runner who competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Gabriela Gajanová is a Slovak middle-distance runner specialising in the 800 metres. Gajanová won a bronze medal at the 2017 European U20 Championships. She won silver in the 800 metres at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, Italy. In 2023, at the World Athletics Continental Tour in Bellinzona, Gajanová ran 800 meters in 1:58.78, surpassing the qualification threshold for 2024 Summer Olympics.
Keely Nicole Hodgkinson is an English middle-distance runner specialising in the 800 metres. At the age of 19, she won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, breaking the British record set by Kelly Holmes in 1995. Hodgkinson is the 2022 and 2023 World Championships as well as the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, two-time European champion from 2022 and 2024 plus a two-time European indoor champion from 2021 and 2023, with her 2021 title secured as the youngest ever continental women's indoor 800 m winner.
Katie Snowden is an English middle-distance runner representing England and Great Britain, specialising in the 1500 metres. She finished fourth in the event at the 2022 European Athletics Championships.
Robert Farken is a German middle distance runner. He is a German outdoor champion and a four time German indoor champion, earning him the nickname "Farken fast".
Freweyni Hailu is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner. She won the gold medal at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships over 1500 metres.
Samuel Tanner is a New Zealand middle- and long-distance runner specialising in the 1500 metres. He is Māori; his iwi affiliation is Ngāpuhi. Tanner is the New Zealand indoor record holder for the 1500 metres.
Djamel Sedjati (جمال سجاتي), May 3, 1999, Tiaret) is an Algerian middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 meters. Unknown in Algeria, he came to prominence in 2021 after running in a few meets in Algeria. He finished second to Mohamed Ali Gouaned in 600 meters with a time of 1:17:40 during the Algerian Winter Championships held in Algiers on 26 March 2021. He also ran 1:45.99 in Batna meeting on 12 April 2021 defeating Mohamed Ali Gouaned, and finishing second behind Mohamed Belbachir in Algiers meeting on 7 May 2021 clocking a personal best of 1:45.86.
Azeddine Habz is a French middle- and long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 metres. At the age of 18, he placed fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Wanyonyi won the gold medal at the 2021 World Under-20 Championships, setting a championship record in the process.
Bar Soloveychik is an Israeli swimmer. He holds the Israeli national records in both the 400m freestyle, and the 800m free. At the 2018 European Junior Swimming Championships, he won a gold medal as part of Israel's 4×200 m freestyle relay. He attends the University of Minnesota, where he has swum sprint, mid-distance, and distance events, and holds school records in the 200 free and 500 free. He won a gold medal at the 2022 Maccabiah Games in the 400 m freestyle. He competes in freestyle and open water. Soloveychik will represent Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Paris La Défense Arena in the Men's 4×200 metre freestyle relay on July 30, 2024.
