Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

Men's 800 metres at the Games of the III Olympiad
The final lap of the race. Gold medalist Jim Lightbody is in fourth place at this point.
Venue	Francis Field
Date	September 1
Competitors	13 from 3 nations
Winning time	1:56.0 OR
Medalists
Jim Lightbody  United States Howard Valentine  United States Emil Breitkreutz  United States
← 1900 1908 →

Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Track events
60 m	men
100 m	men
200 m	men
400 m	men
800 m	men
1500 m	men
110 m hurdles	men
200 m hurdles	men
400 m hurdles	men
2590 m steeplechase	men
4 mile team race	men
Road events
Marathon	men
Field events
Long jump	men
Triple jump	men
High jump	men
Pole vault	men
Standing long jump	men
Standing triple jump	men
Standing high jump	men
Shot put	men
Discus throw	men
Hammer throw	men
56 pound weight throw	men
Combined events
Triathlon	men
All-around	men
v t

The men's 800 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third time the event was held. 13 runners from 3 nations participated. The competition was held on September 1, 1904. The event was won by Jim Lightbody of the United States, the nation's first title in the 800 metres. The United States, with 10 of the 13 runners, swept the medals—the first sweep of the 800 metres podium.

Background[]

This was the third appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the runners from 1900 returned. There was no clear favorite, "but Jim Lightbody . . . was not one of the prominent names mentioned."^[1] Johannes Runge of Germany had run the 800 metres handicap event earlier in the day due to confusion over English instructions.^[1]

Canada appeared in the event for the first time. The United States and Germany each made their second appearance, matching France, Great Britain, and Hungary for the most among all nations.

Competition format[]

In contrast to the previous editions in 1896 and 1900, the 1904 version of the 800 metres consisted of a single round rather than heats and a final.^[1]

The track was a cinder track 1/3 mile in length with one long straightaway.^[2]

Records[]

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1904 Summer Olympics.

World record	Charles Kilpatrick (USA)	1:53.4 (y)(u)	New York City, United States	21 September 1895
Olympic record	David Hall (USA)	1:59.0(*)	Paris, France	14 July 1900

(*) This track was 500 metres in circumference.

Jim Lightbody set a new Olympic record with 1:56.0.

Schedule[]

Results[]

Cohn led early, with Breitkreutz and Runge behind him. Lightbody started slowest. About halfway, Runge took the lead and Lightbody began to push forward. Breitkreutz took the lead over Runge (who had also run the 800 metres handicap event earlier in the day due to confusion), with Underwood second, before the final straight. Lightbody finished his last-to-first push, winning by 2 yards over Valentine, who also made a late push.^[1]

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
	Jim Lightbody	United States	1:56.0	OR
	Howard Valentine	United States	1:56.3
	Emil Breitkreutz	United States	1:56.4
4	George Underwood	United States	1:56.5	Time approximate
5	Johannes Runge	Germany	1:57.1	Time approximate
6	Frank Verner	United States	Unknown
7–13	George Bonhag	United States	Unknown
	Harvey Cohn	United States	Unknown
	Peter Deer	Canada	Unknown
	Lacey Hearn	United States	Unknown
	John J. Joyce	United States	Unknown
	James Peck	Canada	Unknown
	Paul Pilgrim	United States	Unknown
—	Charles Bacon	United States	DNS
	Will Gunn		DNS
	Harry Kiener	United States	DNS
	David Curtiss Munson	United States	DNS

Sources[]

• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 13 December 2006.