800 metres

The 800 metres, or 800 meters, is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor 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, a traditional British racing distance. 800 m is 4.67 m less than a half mile.
The event combines aerobic endurance with anaerobic 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 but more commonly have enough endurance to 'double up' in the 1500m. Only Alberto Juantorena and Jarmila Kratochvílová 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, 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, Kelly Holmes 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 is occasionally run as a tactic. The current world record was run with a positive split in the 2012 Olympics. 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 11 July 2025.

All-time top 25

Men (outdoor)

Correct as of September 2025.

		Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place
1	1	1:40.91	David Rudisha		9 August 2012	London
	2	1:41.01	Rudisha #2		29 August 2010	Rieti
	3	1:41.09	Rudisha #3		22 August 2010	Berlin
2	4	1:41.11	Wilson Kipketer		24 August 1997	Cologne
2	4	1:41.11	Emmanuel Wanyonyi		22 August 2024	Lausanne
	6	1:41.19	Wanyonyi #2		10 August 2024	Saint-Denis
4	7	1:41.20	Marco Arop		10 August 2024	Saint-Denis
	8	1:41.24	Kipketer #2		13 August 1997	Zürich
	9	1:41.33	Rudisha #4		10 September 2011	Rieti
	10	1:41.44	Wanyonyi #3		11 July 2025	Monaco
5	11	1:41.46	Djamel Sedjati		12 July 2024	Monaco
	12	1:41.50	Sedjati #2		10 August 2024	Saint-Denis
	13	1:41.51	Rudisha #5		10 July 2010	Heusden-Zolder
	14	1:41.54	Rudisha #6		6 July 2012	Paris
	15	1:41.56	Sedjati #3		7 July 2024	Paris
	16	1:41.58	Wanyonyi #4		7 July 2024	Paris
6	17	1:41.61	Gabriel Tual		7 July 2024	Paris
7	18	1:41.67	Bryce Hoppel		10 August 2024	Saint-Denis
	19	1:41.70	Wanyonyi #5		15 June 2024	Nairobi
	20	1:41.72	Arop #2		22 August 2024	Lausanne
8	21	1:41.73	Sebastian Coe		10 June 1981	Florence
	21	1:41.73	Kipketer #3		7 July 1997	Stockholm
8	21	1:41.73	Nijel Amos		9 August 2012	London
	24	1:41.74	Rudisha #7		9 June 2012	New York City
10	25	1:41.77	Joaquim Cruz		26 August 1984	Cologne
11		1:42.01	Josh Hoey		11 July 2025	Monaco
12		1:42.04	Mohamed Attaoui		12 July 2024	Monaco
13		1:42.05	Emmanuel Korir		22 July 2018	London
14		1:42.08	Aaron Kemei Cheminingwa		7 July 2024	Paris
14		1:42.08	Wyclife Kinyamal		7 July 2024	Paris
16		1:42.15	Cian McPhillips		20 September 2025	Tokyo
17		1:42.16	Donavan Brazier		3 August 2025	Eugene
18		1:42.23	Abubaker Kaki		4 June 2010	Oslo
19		1:42.27	Ben Pattison		12 July 2024	Monaco
19		1:42.27	Cooper Lutkenhaus		3 August 2025	Eugene
21		1:42.28	Sammy Koskei		26 August 1984	Cologne
22		1:42.29	Max Burgin		20 September 2025	Tokyo
23		1:42.34	Wilfred Bungei		8 September 2002	Rieti
24		1:42.37	Mohammed Aman		6 September 2013	Brussels
25		1:42.43	Eliott Crestan		7 July 2024	Paris

Women (outdoor)

Updated September 2025.

Time

Athlete

Nation

Date

Place

1:53.28

Jarmila Kratochvílová

26 July 1983

1:53.43

27 July 1980

1:54.01

29 August 2008

1:54.25

30 June 2018

1:54.44

9 September 1989

1:54.60

Semenya #2

20 July 2018

1:54.61

20 July 2024

1:54.62

21 September 2025

1:54.68

Kratochvílová #2

9 August 1983

Helsinki

1:54.74

Hodgkinson #2

16 August 2025

Chorzów

1:54.77

Semenya #3

9 September 2018

Ostrava

1:54.81

Olga Mineyeva

27 July 1980

Moscow

1:54.82

Quirot #2

24 August 1997

Cologne

1:54.85

Olizarenko #2

12 June 1980

Moscow

1:54.87

Jelimo #2

18 August 2008

Beijing

1:54.90

Georgia Hunter Bell

21 September 2025

Tokyo

1:54.91

Hodgkinson #3

21 September 2025

Tokyo

1:54.94

Tatyana Kazankina

26 July 1976

Montreal

1:54.97

Jelimo #3

18 July 2008

Paris

1:54.97

Athing Mu

17 September 2023

Eugene

1:54.98

Semenya #4

3 May 2019

Doha

1:54.99

Jelimo #4

1 June 2008

Berlin

1:55.04

Kratochvílová #3

23 August 1983

Oslo

1:55.04

Mu #2

21 August 2021

1:55.05

1:55.19

17 August 1994

1:55.19

20 July 2002

1:55.26

31 August 1987

1:55.32

31 August 1987

1:55.42

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Annulled marks

Yelena Soboleva ran 1:54.85 in Kazan on 18 July 2007, but her performance was annulled due to doping offences.

Men (indoor)

Updated January 2026.

		Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place
1	1	1:42.50	Josh Hoey		24 January 2026	Boston
2	2	1:42.67	Wilson Kipketer		9 March 1997	Paris
	3	1:43.24	Hoey #2		23 February 2025	New York City
3	4	1:43.63	Elliot Giles		17 February 2021	Toruń
	5	1:43.90	Hoey #3		8 February 2025	New York City
	6	1:43.96	Kipketer #2		7 March 1997	Paris
4	7	1:43.98	Michael Saruni		9 February 2019	New York City
5	8	1:44.15	Yuriy Borzakovskiy		27 January 2001	Karlsruhe
6	9	1:44.19	Bryce Hoppel		8 February 2025	New York City
7	10	1:44.21	Emmanuel Korir		3 February 2018	New York City
7	10	1:44.21	Donavan Brazier		13 February 2021	New York City
	12	1:44.22	Brazier #2		8 February 2020	New York City
9	13	1:44.26	Brandon Miller		23 February 2025	New York City
	14	1:44.34	Borzakovskiy #2		18 February 2003	Stockholm
	15	1:44.35	Borzakovskiy #3		30 January 2000	Dortmund
	16	1:44.37	Hoppel #2		31 January 2021	Fayetteville
	17	1:44.41	Brazier #3		9 February 2019	New York City
	18	1:44.49	Borzakovskiy #4		11 March 2001	Lisbon
10	19	1:44.52	Mohammed Aman		15 February 2014	Birmingham
11	20	1:44.54	Jamie Webb		17 February 2021	Toruń
12	21	1:44.57	Adam Kszczot		14 February 2012	Liévin
	22	1:44.58	Borzakovskiy #5		12 February 2004	Stockholm
13	23	1:44.65	Josué Canales		19 January 2025	Luxembourg
13	23	1:44.65	Mark English		18 January 2026	Luxembourg
	25	1:44.68	Kipketer #3		18 February 2003	Stockholm
15	25	1:44.68	Filip Ostrowski		24 January 2026	Boston
16		1:44.69	Eliott Crestan		4 February 2025	Ostrava
17		1:44.71	Joseph Mutua		31 January 2004	Stuttgart
18		1:44.72	Ryan Clarke		24 January 2026	Boston
19		1:44.75	Ismail Ahmed Ismail		26 February 2009	Prague
20		1:44.78	Paweł Czapiewski		3 March 2002	Vienna
21		1:44.81	Abubaker Kaki		9 March 2008	Valencia
22		1:44.82	Mehdi Baala		18 February 2003	Stockholm
22		1:44.82	Jonah Koech		8 February 2025	New York City
24		1:44.84	Paul Ereng		4 March 1989	Budapest
25		1:44.88	Nico Motchebon		5 February 1995	Stuttgart
25		1:44.88	Samuel Chapple		9 March 2025	Apeldoorn

Women (indoor)

Updated January 2026.

		Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place
1	1	1:55.82	Jolanda Čeplak		3 March 2002	Vienna
2	2	1:55.85	Stephanie Graf		3 March 2002	Vienna
3	3	1:56.40	Christine Wachtel		13 February 1988	Vienna
	4	1:56.85	Graf #2		10 February 2002	Ghent
4	5	1:56.90	Ludmila Formanová		7 March 1999	Maebashi
5	6	1:57.06	Maria Mutola		21 February 1999	Liévin
	7	1:57.13	Mutola #2		18 February 1996	Liévin
	8	1:57.17	Mutola #3		7 March 1999	Maebashi
	9	1:57.18	Čeplak #2		10 February 2002	Ghent
6	9	1:57.18	Keely Hodgkinson		25 February 2023	Birmingham
	11	1:57.20	Hodgkinson #2		19 February 2022	Birmingham
7	12	1:57.23	Inna Yevseyeva		1 February 1992	Moscow
8	13	1:57.43	Isabelle Boffey		30 January 2026	Boston
9	14	1:57.47	Natalya Tsyganova		7 March 1999	Maebashi
	15	1:57.48	Mutola #4		10 February 2002	Ghent
	15	1:57.48	Mutola #5		15 February 2004	Karlsruhe
10	17	1:57.51	Olga Kotlyarova		18 February 2006	Moscow
11	18	1:57.52	Gudaf Tsegay		14 February 2021	Val-de-Reuil
	19	1:57.53	Graf #3		25 February 2001	Liévin
12	20	1:57.53	Larisa Chzhao		23 January 2005	Moscow
	21	1:57.55	Mutola #6		14 March 1993	Toronto
	22	1:57.61	Graf #4		17 February 2002	Birmingham
	23	1:57.62	Mutola #7		12 March 1995	Barcelona
	24	1:57.64	Wachtel #2		10 February 1988	Turin
13	25	1:57.67	Sigrun Wodars		13 February 1988	Vienna
14		1:57.86	Habitam Alemu		6 February 2024	Toruń
15		1:57.91	Jemma Reekie		1 February 2020	Glasgow
16		1:57.97	Rosin Willis		30 January 2026	Boston
17		1:58.10	Mariya Savinova		8 March 2009	Turin
18		1:58.14	Yuliya Stepanova		17 February 2011	Moscow
19		1:58.29	Ajeé Wilson		8 February 2020	New York City
20		1:58.31	Francine Niyonsaba		4 March 2018	Birmingham
21		1:58.34	Svetlana Cherkasova		4 February 2006	Moscow
22		1:58.35	Tsige Duguma		2 March 2024	Commonwealth Arena and [Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome\|Glasgow]
23		1:58.37	Helena Fuchsova		25 February 2001	Liévin
24		1:58.40	Athing Mu		27 February 2021	Fayetteville
24		1:58.40	Prudence Sekgodiso		23 March 2025	Nanjing

800 metres

Race tactics

Continental records

All-time top 25

Men (outdoor)

Women (outdoor)

Annulled marks

Men (indoor)

Women (indoor)

U20 records and U18 world bests

World Indoor Championships medalists

Women