A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating. In the Olympic Games, there are several types of relay races that are part of track and field, each consisting of a set number of stages (legs), each leg run by different members of a team. The runner finishing one leg is usually required to pass the next runner a stick-like object known as a "baton" while both are running in a marked exchange zone. In most relays, team members cover equal distances: Olympic events for both men and women are the 400-metre and 1,600-metre relays. Some non-Olympic relays are held at distances of 800 m, 3,200 m, and 6,000 m. In the less frequently run medley relays, however, the athletes cover different distances in a prescribed order—as in a sprint medley of 200, 200, 400, 800 metres or a distance medley of 1,200, 400, 800, 1,600 metres.
The 800 metres, or 800 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.
Wilson Kosgei Kipketer is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David Rudisha. Kipketer set the world record and broke his own record two more times, all in 1997. He dominated the 800 m distance for a decade, remaining undefeated for a three-year period and running 8 of the 17 currently all-time fastest times. He won gold medals in three successive editions of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. Though unable to compete in the 1996 Olympics near the peak of his career, he earned silver in 2000 and bronze in 2004. Kipketer's 800 meters world record stood for almost 13 years. It was surpassed on 22 August 2010, when David Rudisha beat it by 0.02 seconds, running 1:41.09. Kipketer still currently holds the indoor world record for the 800 metres.
The men's 800 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 25 to 28. Seventy-two athletes from 58 nations competed. The event was won by 0.16 seconds by Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia, the first medal for the nation in the event. Wilson Kipketer of Denmark became the 10th man to win a second medal in the 800 metres.
Yuriy Mikhailovich Borzakovskiy is a Russian middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 metres.
Milton Campbell is a former track and field athlete from the United States who mainly competes in the 400 metres.
Yusuf Saad Kamel, born Gregory Konchellah is a male former middle-distance runner who competed in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Born in Narok, Kenya – the son of former two-time 800 metres World Champion Billy Konchellah – he represented Bahrain internationally. Kamel won the gold in the 1500 m and bronze in 800 m at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin.
Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi OIB was a South African middle distance runner, and the 2009 world champion in the men's 800 metres.
Rudolf Waldemar Harbig was a German athlete. As a middle distance runner he was best known for the 800 metres world record that he set in Milan in 1939. He also held the European record in the 400 metres from 1939 until 1955.
Dmitrijs Miļkevičs is a former Latvian track athlete who competed in 400 metres and 800 metres.
Wilfred Kipkemboi Bungei is a Kenyan retired Middle-distance runner, who won the 800 m gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He also won at the World indoor Championships in Moscow 2006 the 800 metres title, defeating Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Olympic Champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy in the race.
Joseph Mwengi Mutua is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the 800 metres.
Andrea Longo is a former Italian middle-distance runner.
Amine Laâlou is a Moroccan track and field athlete, who specializes in middle-distance running. He has represented his country at the Summer Olympics on two occasions; in 2004 and 2008. He began his career as an 800 metres specialist and made his global debut at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. He won medals at smaller international competitions, including the 2004 Pan Arab Games and 2005 Mediterranean Games. He reached his first global final at the 2007 World Championships, taking sixth, and was a semi-finalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Pamela Jelimo 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 medal and also the first Kenyan to win the Golden League Jackpot. She holds both the 800 m world junior record and the senior African record over the same distance. Jelimo is also one of the youngest women to win an Olympic gold medal for Kenya.
Sajjad Moradi is an Iranian middle distance runner who specializes in the 800 m and 1500 m. He holds multiple national records for Iran from various track disciplines. Moradi is a gold-medalist in the Asian Games, Asian Athletics Championships, Asian Indoor Games, and Universiade. He also competed at three Summer Olympic Games in 2004, 2008, and 2012.
The men's 800 metres at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics was held on August 11, 12 and 14 at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
Dmitriy Anatolyevich Bogdanov is a Russian middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 metres. His personal best times are 1:44.33 minutes in the 800 metres and 46.50 seconds in the 400 metres.
Nicholas Wachira is a Kenyan former middle-distance runner who competed mostly in the 800 metres. He represented his country at the 2001 and 2003 World Championships reaching semifinals at both occasions. In addition, he won gold medals at the 1999 World Youth and 2000 World Junior Championships.
Isaiah Champion Jewett is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 metres. He finished second in the event at the NACAC U23 Championships in 2019, and he won a national title at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships while competing for the University of Southern California. Jewett represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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