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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
Interior view of the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, where the Men's 800m took place.
VenueOlympic Stadium
Dates12 August 2016 (heats)
13 August 2016 (semifinals)
15 August 2016 (final)
Competitors58 from 39 nations
Winning time1:42.15
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) David Rudisha  Kenya
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Taoufik Makhloufi  Algeria
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Clayton Murphy  United States
← 2012
2020 →
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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

World record  David Rudisha (KEN) 1:40.91 London, United Kingdom 9 August 2012
Olympic record  David Rudisha (KEN) 1:40.91 London, United Kingdom 9 August 2012
World Leading  David Rudisha (KEN) 1:43.35 Székesfehérvár, Hungary 18 July 2016
Area
Time (s) Athlete Nation
Africa (records) 1:40.91 WR David Rudisha  Kenya
Asia (records) 1:42.79 Yusuf Saad Kamel  Bahrain
Europe (records) 1:41.11 Wilson Kipketer  Denmark
North, Central America
and Caribbean
(records)
1:42.60 Johnny Gray  United States
Oceania (records) 1.44.21 Joseph Deng  Australia
South America (records) 1:41.77 Joaquim Cruz  Brazil

The following national record was established during the competition:

Country Athlete Round Time Notes
Algeria  Taoufik Makhloufi (ALG) Final 1:42.61

Schedule

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All times are Brasília Time (UTC−3).

Date Time Round
Friday, 12 August 2016 10:10 Heats
Saturday, 13 August 2016 22:08 Semifinals
Monday, 15 August 2016 22:25 Finals

Results

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Round 1

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Qualification rule: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 3 fastest (q) advance to the Semifinals.[14]

Heat 1

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

Heat 2

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

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 David Rudisha  Kenya 1:45.09 Q
2 Reinhardt van Rensburg  South Africa 1:45.67 Q, SB
3 Michael Rimmer  Great Britain 1:45.99 Q
4 Clayton Murphy  United States 1:46.18 q
5 Jinson Johnson  India 1:47.27
6 Anthony Romaniw  Canada 1:47.59
7 Lutimar Paes  Brazil 1:48.38
8 Benjamín Enzema  Equatorial Guinea 1:52.14
9 Alex Beddoes  Cook Islands 1:52.76 PB

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Alfred Kipketer  Kenya 1:46.61 Q
2 Andreas Bube  Denmark 1:46.67 Q
3 Yassine Hathat  Algeria 1:46.81 Q
4 Álvaro de Arriba  Spain 1:46.86
5 Wesley Vázquez  Puerto Rico 1:46.96
6 Charles Jock  United States 1:47.06
7 Elliot Giles  Great Britain 1:47.88
8 Yiech Biel  Refugee Olympic Team 1:54.67
Joshua Ilustre  Guam DQ R163.3a

Heat 5

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

Heat 6

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Brandon McBride  Canada 1:45.99 Q
2 Marcin Lewandowski  Poland 1:46.35 Q
3 Mark English  Ireland 1:46.40 Q
4 Jeff Riseley  Australia 1:46.93
5 Abubaker Haydar Abdalla  Qatar 1:47.81
6 Pol Moya  Andorra 1:48.88
7 Alex Amankwah  Ghana 1:50.33
Abdelati El Guesse  Morocco DNF

Heat 7

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Pierre-Ambroise Bosse  France 1:48.12 Q
2 Mohammed Aman  Ethiopia 1:48.33 Q
3 Amine Belferar  Algeria 1:48.40 Q
4 Daniel Andújar  Spain 1:48.50
5 Charles Grethen  Luxembourg 1:48.93
6 Peter Bol  Australia 1:49.36
7 Francky-Edgard Mbotto  Central African Republic 1:52.97
Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla  Qatar DNS

Semifinals

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

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Pierre-Ambroise Bosse  France 1:43.85 Q, SB
2 Taoufik Makhloufi  Algeria 1:43.85 Q, SB
3 Marcin Lewandowski  Poland 1:44.56 q, SB
4 Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich  Kenya 1:44.65 q
5 Mostafa Smaili  Morocco 1:45.78
6 Kléberson Davide  Brazil 1:46.19
7 Andrés Arroyo  Puerto Rico 1:46.74
8 Michael Rimmer  Great Britain 1:46.80

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Alfred Kipketer  Kenya 1:44.38 Q
2 Boris Berian  United States 1:44.56 Q
3 Yassine Hathat  Algeria 1:44.81 PB
4 Amel Tuka  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1:45.24
5 Reinhardt van Rensburg  South Africa 1:45.33 PB
6 Brandon McBride  Canada 1:45.41
7 Andreas Bube  Denmark 1:45.87 SB
8 Mohammed Aman  Ethiopia 1:46.14

Semifinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 David Rudisha  Kenya 1:43.88 Q
2 Clayton Murphy  United States 1:44.30 Q, PB
3 Adam Kszczot  Poland 1:44.70
4 Ayanleh Souleiman  Djibouti 1:45.19
5 Mark English  Ireland 1:45.93
6 Giordano Benedetti  Italy 1:46.41 SB
7 Amine Belferar  Algeria 1:46.55
8 Hamada Mohamed  Egypt 1:48.17

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) David Rudisha  Kenya 1:42.15 SB
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Taoufik Makhloufi  Algeria 1:42.61 NR
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Clayton Murphy  United States 1:42.93 PB
4 Pierre-Ambroise Bosse  France 1:43.41 SB
5 Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich  Kenya 1:43.55 SB
6 Marcin Lewandowski  Poland 1:44.20 SB
7 Alfred Kipketer  Kenya 1:46.02
8 Boris Berian  United States 1:46.15

References

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  1. ^ "Men's 800m". Rio 2016 Organisation. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "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. ^ "800 Metres Results". IAAF. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  13. ^ "800 Metres Results". IAAF. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  14. ^ Heats results