The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common

track running Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

event. It is the shortest commonly run

middle-distance running Middle-distance running events are Track and field#Running, track races longer than Sprint (running), sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres m ...

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 event was derived from the imperial measurement of a half mile (880 yards), a traditional British racing distance. 800 m is 4.67 m less than a half

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

. The event combines

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cellu ...

endurance with

anaerobic Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to: *Adhesive#Anaerobic, Anaerobic ad ...

conditioning and sprint speed, so the 800m athlete has to combine training for both. Runners in this event are occasionally fast enough to also compete in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

but more commonly have enough endurance to 'double up' in the

1500m The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

. Only

Alberto Juantorena Alberto Juantorena (born 3 December 1950) is a Cuban former runner. He is the only athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m Olympic titles, which he achieved in 1976. He was ranked as the world's best runner in the 400 m in 1974 and 1976–19 ...

and

Jarmila Kratochvílová Jarmila Kratochvílová (; born 26 January 1951 in Golčův Jeníkov) is a Czechoslovak former track and field athlete. She won the 400 metres and 800 metres at the 1983 World Championships, setting a world record in the 400 m. In 1983, she s ...

have won major international titles at 400m and 800m.

Race tactics

The 800m is also known for its tactical racing. Because it is the shortest middle-distance event that has all the runners converge into one lane (after the first bend), positioning on the cut-in and the position of the pack is critical to the outcome of the race. Gaining a front position early in the race is often advantageous as there are occasionally trips when running in a pack. Olympic champions

Dave Wottle David James Wottle (born August 7, 1950) is an American retired middle-distance track athlete. He was the gold medalist in the 800 meter run at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and a world record holder in the 800 meters. In 1973, Wottle a ...

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British Middle-distance running, middle distance Track and field, athlete and television personality. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres, 800 and 1500 metres events and won gold medals for ...

and others have defied that logic by running a more evenly paced race, lagging behind the pack and accelerating past the slowing early leaders. Often the winner of elite 800m races is not the fastest runner, but the athlete best positioned near the end of the race: an athlete directly behind another runner, has to switch to an outer lane to overtake, so has to run further—and might be blocked by a third runner alongside. 800 metre participants usually run a positive split, where the first lap is faster, but a

negative split A negative split is a racing strategy that involves completing the second half of a race faster than the first half. It is defined by the intentional setting of a slower initial pace, followed by a gradual or sudden increase of speed towards the e ...

is occasionally run as a tactic. The current world record (by

David Rudisha David Lekuta Rudisha, State Commendations of Kenya, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a retired Kenyan Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who is the world and Olympic record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha won gold medals in the 800 ...

) was run with a positive split in the 2012

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

. Rudisha ran the first lap in 49.28 seconds and the second in 51.63 seconds. Theoretically, an even split is the most efficient running mode, but it is difficult to pace correctly. In 2024, the race tactics in the men's 800m shifted toward a more evenly paced race. All fifteen sub-1:42 performances prior to 2024 featured a sub 50 second first lap. However, of the twelve sub-1:42 performances in 2024, six featured a first lap of 50 seconds or slower.

Continental records

*Updated 10 August 2024.

All-time top 25

Men (outdoor)

*Correct as of 4 April 2025.

Women (outdoor)

*Updated July 2024.

Annulled marks

Yelena Soboleva Yelena Vladimirovna Soboleva (, born 3 August 1982 in Bryansk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian former middle-distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres. In February 2008 she established a new world indoor record of 3:58.05 min ...

(

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

) ran 1:54.85 in

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

on 18 July 2007, but her performance was annulled due to doping offences.

Men (indoor)

*Updated March 2025.

Women (indoor)

*Updated March 2025.

U20 records and U18 world bests

*Updated 9 August 2012.

Olympic medalists

Men

Women

World Championships medalists

Men

Women

World Indoor Championships medalists

Men

Women

* Known as the ''World Indoor Games''

Season's bests

Men

Women

References

External links

IAAF list of 800-metres records in XML
{{DEFAULTSORT:800 Metres Events in track and field Middle-distance running disciplines Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics