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)

TimeAthleteNationDatePlace
111:40.91David Rudisha9 August 2012London
21:41.01Rudisha #229 August 2010Rieti
31:41.09Rudisha #322 August 2010Berlin
241:41.11Wilson Kipketer24 August 1997Cologne
241:41.11Emmanuel Wanyonyi22 August 2024Lausanne
61:41.19Wanyonyi #210 August 2024Saint-Denis
471:41.20Marco Arop10 August 2024Saint-Denis
81:41.24Kipketer #213 August 1997Zürich
91:41.33Rudisha #410 September 2011Rieti
101:41.44Wanyonyi #311 July 2025Monaco
5111:41.46Djamel Sedjati12 July 2024Monaco
121:41.50Sedjati #210 August 2024Saint-Denis
131:41.51Rudisha #510 July 2010Heusden-Zolder
141:41.54Rudisha #66 July 2012Paris
151:41.56Sedjati #37 July 2024Paris
161:41.58Wanyonyi #47 July 2024Paris
6171:41.61Gabriel Tual7 July 2024Paris
7181:41.67Bryce Hoppel10 August 2024Saint-Denis
191:41.70Wanyonyi #515 June 2024Nairobi
201:41.72Arop #222 August 2024Lausanne
8211:41.73Sebastian Coe10 June 1981Florence
211:41.73Kipketer #37 July 1997Stockholm
8211:41.73Nijel Amos9 August 2012London
241:41.74Rudisha #79 June 2012New York City
10251:41.77Joaquim Cruz26 August 1984Cologne
111:42.01Josh Hoey11 July 2025Monaco
121:42.04Mohamed Attaoui12 July 2024Monaco
131:42.05Emmanuel Korir22 July 2018London
141:42.08Aaron Kemei Cheminingwa7 July 2024Paris
141:42.08Wyclife Kinyamal7 July 2024Paris
161:42.15Cian McPhillips20 September 2025Tokyo
171:42.16Donavan Brazier3 August 2025Eugene
181:42.23Abubaker Kaki4 June 2010Oslo
191:42.27Ben Pattison12 July 2024Monaco
191:42.27Cooper Lutkenhaus3 August 2025Eugene
211:42.28Sammy Koskei26 August 1984Cologne
221:42.29Max Burgin20 September 2025Tokyo
231:42.34Wilfred Bungei8 September 2002Rieti
241:42.37Mohammed Aman6 September 2013Brussels
251:42.43Eliott Crestan7 July 2024Paris

Women (outdoor)

  • Updated September 2025.
TimeAthleteNationDatePlace
111:53.28Jarmila Kratochvílová26 July 1983Munich
221:53.43Nadezhda Olizarenko27 July 1980Moscow
331:54.01Pamela Jelimo29 August 2008Zürich
441:54.25Caster Semenya30 June 2018Paris
551:54.44Ana Fidelia Quirot9 September 1989Barcelona
61:54.60Semenya #220 July 2018Monaco
671:54.61Keely Hodgkinson20 July 2024London
781:54.62Lilian Odira21 September 2025Tokyo
91:54.68Kratochvílová #29 August 1983Helsinki
101:54.74Hodgkinson #216 August 2025Chorzów
111:54.77Semenya #39 September 2018Ostrava
8121:54.81Olga Mineyeva27 July 1980Moscow
131:54.82Quirot #224 August 1997Cologne
141:54.85Olizarenko #212 June 1980Moscow
151:54.87Jelimo #218 August 2008Beijing
9161:54.90Georgia Hunter Bell21 September 2025Tokyo
171:54.91Hodgkinson #321 September 2025Tokyo
10181:54.94Tatyana Kazankina26 July 1976Montreal
191:54.97Jelimo #318 July 2008Paris
11191:54.97Athing Mu17 September 2023Eugene
211:54.98Semenya #43 May 2019Doha
221:54.99Jelimo #41 June 2008Berlin
231:55.04Kratochvílová #323 August 1983Oslo
231:55.04Mu #221 August 2021Eugene
12251:55.05Doina Melinte1 August 1982Bucharest
131:55.19Maria Mutola17 August 1994Zürich
131:55.19Jolanda Čeplak20 July 2002Heusden-Zolder
151:55.26Sigrun Wodars31 August 1987Rome
161:55.32Christine Wachtel31 August 1987Rome
171:55.42Nikolina ShterevaBulgaria|1971URSBDINEDCHNURSGDRUSAGBR2