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.
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to 3 miles 188 yards or 16,404 feet 2 inches. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over 12+1⁄2 laps of a standard track. The same distance in road running is called a 5K run; referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres serves to disambiguate the two events. The 5000 m has been present on the Olympic programme since 1912 for men and since 1996 for women. Prior to 1996, women had competed in an Olympic 3000 metres race since 1984. The 5000 m has been held at each of the World Championships in Athletics in men's competition and since 1995 in women's.
David Lekuta Rudisha, MBS is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. He is a two-time back-to-back Olympic champion from the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, a two-time World champion from the 2011 and 2015 World Championships in Athletics, and a world record holder at the event with a time of 1:40.91, set at the 2012 London Games on 9 August 2012. Rudisha is the first and only person to ever run 800 metres under 1:41, and he holds the three fastest, six of the eight fastest, and half of the twenty fastest times ever run in this event.
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.
Nijel Carlos Amilfitano Amos is a Botswana middle-distance runner who competes in the 800 metres. He won the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, which was Botswana's first ever Olympic medal. Amos claimed gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 All-Africa Games. At the African Championships in Athletics, he took golds in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
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.
Francine Niyonsaba is a Burundian runner who specialized in the 800 metres and shifted to longer distances in 2019. She was the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist in the women's 800 metres. Her silver medal was the first Olympic medal for Burundi since 1996. Niyonsaba won a silver in the event at the 2017 World Championships.
Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second woman to complete an Olympic distance double.
Jake Wightman is a British middle-distance runner who primarily competes in the 1500 metres. He won the gold medal at the 2022 World Championships, the first global gold in a middle distance event for a British male since Seb Coe's 1500 m title at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. At the European Athletics Championships, Wightman earned a bronze in 2018 and a silver for the 800 metres in 2022. He won bronze medals at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Soufiane El Bakkali is a Moroccan runner specializing in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion, having previously finished fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the World Athletics Championships, El Bakkali won two gold medals, winning his first in 2022 and later in 2023, He won silver in 2017 and bronze in 2019. He also placed third at the 2019 African Games and second at the 2018 African Championships.
Selemon Barega Shirtaga is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, silver for the 5,000 metres at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Barega is a two-time 3,000 metres World Indoor Championship medallist, taking silver in 2018, and a gold in 2022.
Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir is a Kenyan middle-distance runner. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and 2022 World champion in the 800 metres. Korir won the silver medal in the event at the 2018 African Championships in Athletics.
Marco Arop is a Canadian track and field athlete competing in the middle distance events. Arop is the reigning world champion in the 800 m, winning gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championship, after winning bronze the previous year at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. He was the first Canadian win a world championship in the 800 m. Arop was also the 2019 Pan American Games champion in 800 m. Arop represented Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics and he currently holds a Canadian national record personal best of 1:42.85 in the 800 m.
Athing Mu is an American middle-distance runner. She is the youngest woman in history to hold Olympic and world titles in an individual track and field event. At the age of 19, Mu won the gold medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, breaking a national record set by Ajeé Wilson in 2017, and a continental under-20 record. She took a second gold as part of the women's 4 × 400 m relay. She was the 800 m 2022 World champion, becoming the first American woman to win the world championship title over the distance.
Diribe Welteji Kejelcha is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner. She won the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 2023 World Championships and placed fourth in the 800 metres at the 2022 World Championships.
Mary Moraa is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in the 800 metres. She won the gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a bronze medal in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and a gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Mohamed Ali Gouaned is an Algerian middle-distance runner specializing in the 400 meters and 800 meters. He holds the Junior World best in 600 meters with a time of 1:14:79 set in Algiers on 26 March 2021 breaking the record held by Wilfred Bungei since 1 September 1999 with a time of 1:14:94.
Heristone Wanyonyi Wafula is a Kenyan racewalker who specializes in the 10,000 m walk. He was the gold medallist at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2021.
