Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
VenueBeijing National Stadium
Dates20 August 2008 (heats)
21 August 2008 (semi-finals)
23 August 2008 (final)
Competitors58 from 42 nations
Winning time1:44.65
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Wilfred Bungei
 Kenya
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ismail Ahmed Ismail
 Sudan
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Alfred Kirwa Yego
 Kenya
← 2004
2012 →
Video on YouTube Official Video
Athletics at the
2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic Athletics.png
Track events
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
400 mmenwomen
800 mmenwomen
1500 mmenwomen
5000 mmenwomen
10,000 mmenwomen
100 m hurdleswomen
110 m hurdlesmen
400 m hurdlesmenwomen
3000 m
steeplechase		menwomen
4 × 100 m relaymenwomen
4 × 400 m relaymenwomen
Road events
Marathonmenwomen
20 km walkmenwomen
50 km walkmen
Field events
Long jumpmenwomen
Triple jumpmenwomen
High jumpmenwomen
Pole vaultmenwomen
Shot putmenwomen
Discus throwmenwomen
Javelin throwmenwomen
Hammer throwmenwomen
Combined events
Heptathlonwomen
Decathlonmen
  • v
  • t

The men's 800 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 20–23 August at the Beijing National Stadium.[1] Fifty-eight athletes from 40 nations competed.[2] The qualifying standards were 1:46.00 (A standard) and 1:47.00 (B standard).[3] The final on 23 August resulted in a triumph for Kenyan runner Wilfred Bungei in an official time of 1:44.65. It was the first victory in the event for Kenya since 1992 and the third overall. Ismail Ahmed Ismail's silver medal was Sudan's first Olympic medal in any competition.

Summary[]

Along the way to the final, defending champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy was eliminated as his fast closing tactics didn't get him into a qualifying place or time. In the final, most of the field got off fairly evenly, with Ismail Ahmed Ismail showing the least interest in joining the pack of seven. By 200 metres, Wilfred Bungei, wearing sunglasses in the Beijing night, had found his way to the lead with his Kenyan teammate Alfred Kirwa Yego protecting him on his shoulder. Ismail joined the back of the pack and without leaving the rail, almost casually worked his way to being a step behind Bungei at the end of the first lap. Bungei and the field accelerated on the back stretch with Ismail staying on the rail running into a box inside of Yego. As Yego faltered through the final turn, Yeimer López ran around him into the perfect strategic position, still leaving Ismail boxed into no-mans land. Coming off the turn, Ismail simply ran faster and ran out of the trap, López was out of gas. Bungei took off into a sprint with his right arm flapping, opening up two metres on Ismail, who drifted out to lane 2 for clear running. Ten metres before the finish, Bungei let up and coasted over the finish line, Ismail tried to pass, dipping at the line but Bungei's lead was just enough to hold onto gold. In the final rush for bronze, Kenyan mercenary running for Bahrain Yusuf Saad Kamel looked to have the edge, but Yego moved out to lane 3 to avoid López and run down Kamel. With a final rush, Gary Reed caught Kamel at the line, still a step behind Yego.

Background[]

This was the 26th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five of the finalists from 2004 returned, including the champion: gold medalist Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia, silver medalist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa, fourth-place finisher Mouhssin Chehibi of Morocco, fifth-place finisher Wilfred Bungei of Kenya, and eight-place finisher Ismail Ahmed Ismail of Sudan. Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya was the 2007 world champion and was expected to compete with his countryman Bungei and the Sudanese team (including Ismail and 2008 world list leader Abubaker Kaki Khamis) for the medals.[2]

Guam, Samoa, and Slovakia appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain made its 25th appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Qualification[]

Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) was able to enter up to three entrants providing they had met the A qualifying standard (1:46.00) in the qualifying period (1 January 2007 to 23 July 2008). The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. NOCs were also permitted to enter one athlete providing he had met the B standard (1:47.00) in the same qualifying period.[4]

Competition format[]

The men's 800 metres returned to a smaller field (58 athletes in 2008, compared to 72 in 2004 and 61 in 2000). It again 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 eight first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 athletes; the top two runners in each heat as well as the next eight 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][5]

Records[]

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

World record  Wilson Kipketer (DEN) 1:41.11 Cologne, Germany 24 August 1997
Olympic record  Vebjørn Rodal (NOR) 1:42.58 Atlanta, United States 31 July 1996

No new world or Olympic records were set for this event. The following national records were established during the competition:

Nation Athlete Round Time
 Samoa Aunese Curreen Heat 5 1:47.45

Schedule[]

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 20 August 2008 19:00 Round 1
Thursday, 21 August 2008 19:50 Semifinals
Saturday, 23 August 2008 19:30 Final

Results[]

Round 1[]

The first round was held on 20 August. The first two runners of each heat (Q) plus the next eight overall fastest runners (q) qualified for the second round.

Heat 1[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 1:44.90 Q, SB
2 Yuriy Borzakovskiy  Russia 1:45.15 Q
3 Nadjim Manseur  Algeria 1:45.62 q
4 Fabiano Peçanha  Brazil 1:46.54 q
5 Thomas Chamney  Ireland 1:47.66
6 Lachlan Renshaw  Australia 1:49.19
7 Ehsan Mohajer Shojaei  Iran 1:49.25

Heat 2[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Abubaker Kaki  Sudan 1:46.98 Q
2 Mohammed Al-Salhi  Saudi Arabia 1:47.02 Q
3 Dmitriy Bogdanov  Russia 1:47.49
4 Onalenna Baloyi  Botswana 1:47.89
5 Jozef Repcìk  Slovakia 1:48.64
6 Leonardo Price  Argentina 1:49.39
— Antar Zerguelaine  Algeria DNS

Heat 3[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Michael Rimmer  Great Britain 1:47.61 Q
2 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi  South Africa 1:47.64 Q
3 Paweł Czapiewski  Poland 1:47.66
4 Miguel Quesada  Spain 1:48.06
5 Li Xiangyu  China 1:48.44
6 Vitalij Kozlov  Lithuania 1:48.96
7 Samwel Mwera  Tanzania 1:50.67
— Nick Willis  New Zealand DNS

Heat 4[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Nick Symmonds  United States 1:46.01 Q
2 Alfred Kirwa Yego  Kenya 1:46.04 Q
3 Antonio Manuel Reina  Spain 1:46.30 q
4 Andy González  Cuba 1:46.59
5 Mouhssin Chehibi  Morocco 1:46.75
6 Eduard Villanueva  Venezuela 1:47.64
7 Nguyen Dinh Cuong  Vietnam 1:52.06
8 Derek Mandell  Guam 1:57.48 PB

Heat 5[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Manuel Olmedo  Spain 1:45.78 Q
2 Ismail Ahmed Ismail  Sudan 1:45.87 Q
3 Gary Reed  Canada 1:46.02 q
4 Dmitrijs Miļkevičs  Latvia 1:47.12
5 Samson Ngoepe  South Africa 1:47.42
6 Aunese Curreen  Samoa 1:47.45 NR
7 Souleymane Ould Chebal  Mauritania 1:57.43
— Byron Piedra  Ecuador DNS

Heat 6[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Amine Laalou  Morocco 1:47.86 Q
2 Abraham Chepkirwok  Uganda 1:47.93 Q
3 Jakub Holuša  Czech Republic 1:48.19
4 Christian Smith  United States 1:48.20
5 Kléberson Davide  Brazil 1:48.53
6 Achraf Tadili  Canada 1:48.87
7 Fadrique Iglesias  Bolivia 1:50.57
8 Mohammed Al-Yafaee  Yemen 1:54.82

Heat 7[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Mohammad Al-Azemi  Kuwait 1:46.94 Q
2 Yusuf Saad Kamel  Bahrain 1:46.94 Q
3 Robert Lathouwers  Netherlands 1:46.94
4 Andrew Wheating  United States 1:47.05
5 Abdoulaye Wagne  Senegal 1:47.50
6 Aldwyn Sappleton  Jamaica 1:48.19
7 Sergey Pakura  Kyrgyzstan 1:50.54

Heat 8[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Yeimer López  Cuba 1:45.66 Q
2 Boaz Kiplagat Lalang  Kenya 1:45.72 Q
3 Nabil Madi  Algeria 1:45.75 q
4 Marcin Lewandowski  Poland 1:45.89 q, SB
5 Belal Mansoor Ali  Bahrain 1:45.95 q, SB
6 Sajjad Moradi  Iran 1:46.10 q
7 Yassine Bensghir  Morocco 1:46.88
8 Mikko Lahtio  Finland 1:47.20

Overall results for round 1[]

Rank Heat Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 1 Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 1:44.90 Q, SB
2 1 Yuriy Borzakovskiy  Russia 1:45.15 Q
3 1 Nadjim Manseur  Algeria 1:45.62 q
4 8 Yeimer López  Cuba 1:45.66 Q
5 8 Boaz Kiplagat Lalang  Kenya 1:45.72 Q
6 8 Nabil Madi  Algeria 1:45.75 q
7 5 Manuel Olmedo  Spain 1:45.78 Q
8 5 Ismail Ahmed Ismail  Sudan 1:45.87 Q
9 8 Marcin Lewandowski  Poland 1:45.89 q, SB
10 8 Belal Mansoor Ali  Bahrain 1:45.95 q, SB
11 4 Nick Symmonds  United States 1:46.01 Q
12 5 Gary Reed  Canada 1:46.02 q
13 4 Alfred Kirwa Yego  Kenya 1:46.04 Q
14 8 Sajjad Moradi  Iran 1:46.10 q
15 4 Antonio Manuel Reina  Spain 1:46.30 q
16 1 Fabiano Peçanha  Brazil 1:46.54 q
17 4 Andy González  Cuba 1:46.59
18 4 Mouhssin Chehibi  Morocco 1:46.75
19 8 Yassine Bensghir  Morocco 1:46.88
20 7 Mohammad Al-Azemi  Kuwait 1:46.94 Q
21 7 Yusuf Saad Kamel  Bahrain 1:46.94 Q
22 7 Robert Lathouwers  Netherlands 1:46.94
23 2 Abubaker Kaki  Sudan 1:46.98 Q
24 2 Mohammed Al-Salhi  Saudi Arabia 1:47.02 Q
25 7 Andrew Wheating  United States 1:47.05
26 5 Dmitrijs Miļkevičs  Latvia 1:47.12
27 8 Mikko Lahtio  Finland 1:47.20
28 5 Samson Ngoepe  South Africa 1:47.42
29 5 Aunese Curreen  Samoa 1:47.45 NR
30 2 Dmitriy Bogdanov  Russia 1:47.49
31 7 Abdoulaye Wagne  Senegal 1:47.50
32 3 Michael Rimmer  Great Britain 1:47.61 Q
33 3 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi  South Africa 1:47.64 Q
33 4 Eduard Villanueva  Venezuela 1:47.64
35 1 Thomas Chamney  Ireland 1:47.66
35 3 Paweł Czapiewski  Poland 1:47.66
37 6 Amine Laalou  Morocco 1:47.86 Q
38 2 Onalenna Baloyi  Botswana 1:47.89
39 6 Abraham Chepkirwok  Uganda 1:47.93 Q
40 3 Miguel Quesada  Spain 1:48.06
41 6 Jakub Holuša  Czech Republic 1:48.19
41 7 Aldwyn Sappleton  Jamaica 1:48.19
43 6 Christian Smith  United States 1:48.20
44 3 Li Xiangyu  China 1:48.44
45 6 Kléberson Davide  Brazil 1:48.53
46 2 Jozef Repcìk  Slovakia 1:48.64
47 6 Achraf Tadili  Canada 1:48.87
48 3 Vitalij Kozlov  Lithuania 1:48.96
49 1 Lachlan Renshaw  Australia 1:49.19
50 1 Ehsan Mohajer Shojaei  Iran 1:49.25
51 2 Leonardo Price  Argentina 1:49.39
52 7 Sergey Pakura  Kyrgyzstan 1:50.54
53 6 Fadrique Iglesias  Bolivia 1:50.57
54 3 Samwel Mwera  Tanzania 1:50.67
55 4 Nguyen Dinh Cuong  Vietnam 1:52.06
56 6 Mohammed Al-Yafaee  Yemen 1:54.82
57 5 Souleymane Ould Chebal  Mauritania 1:57.43
58 4 Derek Mandell  Guam 1:57.48 PB
— 5 Byron Piedra  Ecuador DNS
3 Nick Willis  New Zealand DNS
2 Antar Zerguelaine  Algeria DNS

Semifinals[]

Qual. rule: first 2 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.[6]

Semifinal 1[]

21 August 2008 - 19:50

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 8 Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 1:46.23 Q
2 5 Yeimer López  Cuba 1:46.40 Q
3 7 Yuriy Borzakovskiy  Russia 1:46.53
4 4 Amine Laalou  Morocco 1:46.74
5 6 Nick Symmonds  United States 1:46.96
6 9 Mohammed Al-Salhi  Saudi Arabia 1:47.14
7 2 Marcin Lewandowski  Poland 1:47.24
8 3 Mohammad Al-Azemi  Kuwait 1:47.65

Semifinal 2[]

21 August 2008 - 19:58

Rank Lane Athlete Country Time Notes
1 5 Alfred Kirwa Yego  Kenya 1:44.73 Q
2 6 Ismail Ahmed Ismail  Sudan 1:44.91 Q
3 7 Yusuf Saad Kamel  Bahrain 1:44.95 q
4 9 Nadjim Manseur  Algeria 1:45.54 q
5 8 Sajjad Moradi  Iran 1:46.08
6 4 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi  South Africa 1:46.24
7 2 Antonio Manuel Reina  Spain 1:46.40
8 3 Fabiano Peçanha  Brazil 1:47.07

Semifinal 3[]

21 August 2008 - 20:06

Rank Lane Athlete Country Time Notes
1 2 Nabil Madi  Algeria 1:45.63 Q
2 4 Gary Reed  Canada 1:45.85 Q
3 5 Boaz Kiplagat Lalang  Kenya 1:45.87
4 9 Manuel Olmedo  Spain 1:45.91
5 3 Belal Mansoor Ali  Bahrain 1:46.37
6 8 Michael Rimmer  Great Britain 1:48.07
7 7 Abraham Chepkirwok  Uganda 1:49.16
8 6 Abubaker Kaki  Sudan 1:49.19

Final[]

23 August 2008 - 19:30

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes[7]
1st place, gold medalist(s) 3 Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 1:44.65 SB
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8 Ismail Ahmed Ismail  Sudan 1:44.70
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 Alfred Kirwa Yego  Kenya 1:44.82
4 6 Gary Reed  Canada 1:44.94
5 4 Yusuf Saad Kamel  Bahrain 1:44.95
6 7 Yeimer López  Cuba 1:45.88
7 2 Nabil Madi  Algeria 1:45.96
8 9 Nadjim Manseur  Algeria 1:47.19
Splits
Intermediate Athlete Nation Mark
400m Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 53.35
600m Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 1:19.17

References[]

  1. ^ "Olympic Athletics Competition Schedule". IAAF. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Entry Standards - The XXIX Olympic Games - Beijing, China - 8/24 August 2008". IAAF. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  4. ^ "Entry Standards - The XXIX Olympic Games - Beijing, China - 8/24 August 2008". IAAF. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  5. ^ Official Report, Results Book for Athletics.
  6. ^ http://www.iaaf.org/oly08/results/eventCode=3659/racedate=08-21-2008/sex=M/discCode=800/combCode=hash/roundCode=sf/results.html#det Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  7. ^ http://wikirun.com/800M_men#Final Retrieved 2008-08-23.
Retrieved from ""