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Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

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Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the I Olympiad
VenuePanathinaiko Stadium
DatesApril 6 (heats)
April 9 (final)
Competitors9 from 6 nations
Winning time2:11.0
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Edwin Flack
 Australia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Nándor Dáni
 Hungary
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Dimitrios Golemis
 Greece
1900 →

The men's 800 metres race was the second-longest of the four flat-track events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The preliminary heats were the third event held on 6 April. The nine competitors were split into two groups. The top two athletes in each heat advanced to the final, which was held on 9 April.

Background

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This was the first appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The unofficial world record holder: Charles Kilpatrick of the United States, did not compete in Athens. Edwin Flack of Australia was the favourite among those who competed.[1]

Competition format

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The competition consisted of two rounds, heats and a final. There were two heats, scheduled to have 7 runners each. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the final.[2][1]

The track was 330 metres in circumference (unlike modern tracks which are 400 metres), so the race was more than two laps. The track had very sharp turns and was made of loose cinders, making running difficult. Runners turned clockwise rather than the current counterclockwise turns.[1]

Records

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World record  Charles Kilpatrick (USA) 1:53.4 (y)(u) New York City, United States 21 September 1895
Olympic record New event n/a n/a n/a

Edwin Flack set the initial Olympic record of 2:10.0 in the first heat; that time was not beaten in the second heat or the final.

Schedule

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The precise times of the events are not recorded. For the first round, the heats were the third event of the day on Monday.[2] The final was held during the afternoon session on Thursday, which began at 2:30 p.m.; it was the first event of the session.[3]

Date Round
Gregorian Julian
Monday, 6 April 1896 Monday, 25 March 1896 Round 1
Thursday, 9 April 1896 Thursday, 28 March 1896 Final

Results

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Semifinals

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The two heats of the preliminary round were held on 6 April. The top two runners in each heat advanced.

Semifinal 1

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Flack beat Dáni by four feet, with Traun a further 20 yards behind in third. Flack's time of 2:10.0 was the inaugural Olympic record.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Edwin Flack  Australia 2:10.0 Q, OR
2 Nándor Dáni  Hungary 2:10.2 Q
3 Friedrich Traun  Germany 2:13.4
4 George Marshall  Great Britain Unknown

Semifinal 2

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Lermusiaux beat Golemis by 1¼ yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Albin Lermusiaux  France 2:16.6 Q
2 Dimitrios Golemis  Greece 2:16.8 Q
3 Georges de la Nézière  France Unknown
4 Angelos Fetsis  Greece Unknown
5 Dimitrios Tomprof  Greece Unknown

Final

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Lermusiaux scratched from the final to save himself for the marathon. Flack beat Dáni by five meters, easing up, with Golemis finishing a further 90 meters back in third.

Rank Athlete Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Edwin Flack  Australia 2:11.0
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Nándor Dáni  Hungary 2:11.8
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Dimitrios Golemis  Greece 2:28.0
Albin Lermusiaux  France DNS

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Semifinal Final Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Edwin Flack  Australia 2:10.0 2:11.0 OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Nándor Dáni  Hungary 2:10.2 2:11.8
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Dimitrios Golemis  Greece 2:16.8 2:28.0
Albin Lermusiaux  France 2:16.6 DNS
5 Friedrich Traun  Germany 2:13.4 Did not advance
6 Georges de la Nézière  France Unknown 3rd in semifinal
7 Angelos Fetsis  Greece Unknown 4th in semifinal
George Marshall  Great Britain Unknown 4th in semifinal
9 Dimitrios Tomprof  Greece Unknown 5th in semifinal

References

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  1. ^ a b c "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b Official Report, p. 63.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 78.