800 metres world record progression

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following tables show the world record progression in the men's and women's 800 metres, officially ratified by World Athletics.

Men

Peter Snell in 1962, about to set an 880 yd world record; the hand timers and photo finish equipment in the background have registered his 800 m world record en route.

The first world record in the men's 800 metres was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912.[1]

Ratified
Not ratified
Ratified but later rescinded
Pending ratification

Indoor

Indoor records are run over four laps of a shorter 200 m track. "y" indicates marks were set over the 880 yards (804.67 m) imperial distance, and an asterisk indicates a record was repeated. All records since Coe's 1:44.91 in 1983 were ratified by the IAAF.[2]

More information Time, Athlete ...
Men's indoor 800 metres world record progression
TimeAthleteNationalityLocation of raceDate
1:54.6yEli Parsons United StatesBuffalo, United States19 March 1904
1:54.0Alan Helffrich United StatesWashington, D.C., United States21 February 1925
1:53.8yLloyd Hahn United StatesNew York, United States8 January 1928
1:51.4yLloyd Hahn United StatesNew York, United States3 March 1928
[1:47.7]John Woodruff United StatesHanover, United States14 March 1940
1:51.4yJohn Borican United StatesNew York, United States21 February 1942
1:50.0John Borican United StatesNew York, United States25 March 1942
1:49.7Arnold Sowell United StatesNew York, United States9 February 1957
1:49.9yPeter Snell New ZealandTokyo, Japan18 March 1962
1:49.5Jörg Lawrenz West GermanyWest Berlin9 March 1963
1:49.5*Bill Crothers CanadaNew York, United States30 January 1964
1:49.8yPeter Farrell United StatesNew York, United States11 February 1965
1:47.4Ted Nelson United StatesWest Berlin7 April 1965
1:46.6Dieter Fromm East GermanyBelgrade, Yugoslavia8 March 1969
1:46.37Carlo Grippo ItalyMilan, Italy24 February 1977
1:46.0Sebastian Coe Great BritainCosford, United Kingdom11 February 1981
1:44.91Sebastian Coe Great BritainCosford, United Kingdom12 March 1983
1:44.84Paul Ereng KenyaBudapest, Hungary4 March 1989
1:43.96Wilson Kipketer DenmarkParis, France7 March 1997
1:42.67Wilson Kipketer DenmarkParis, France9 March 1997
1:42.50Josh Hoey United StatesBoston, United States24 January 2026
Close

Outdoor

As of June 21, 2011, 23 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event.[3] "y" denotes time for 880 yards (804.68 m) ratified as a record for the 800 m.

More information Mark, Athlete ...
Pre-IAAF records
MarkAthleteNationalityLocationDate
2:06.0y A. Wood  Great Britain Unknown 1830[4]
2:05.0y J. Blackwood  Great Britain Addiscombe, United Kingdom 25 April 1857[4]
2:04.0y Wiliam Way  Great Britain Oxford, United Kingdom 25 November 1859[4]
2:03.0y Charlie Grey  Ireland Dublin, Ireland 27 June 1861[4]
2:03.0y Percy Thornton  Great Britain London, United Kingdom 16 December 1865[4]
2:02.5y Percy Thornton  Great Britain London, United Kingdom 16 December 1865[4]
2:02.4y Francis Pelham  Great Britain Cambridge, United Kingdom 23 March 1867[4]
2:01.0y Kinross Gair  Great Britain Edinburgh, United Kingdom 26 June 1867[4]
2:01.0y George Templer  United States London, United Kingdom 27 March 1872[4]
2:01.0y Thomas Christie  United States London, United Kingdom 27 March 1872[4]
1:59.8y Arthur Pelham  Great Britain Cambridge, United Kingdom 26 March 1873[4]
1:59.5y Walter Slade  Great Britain Dublin, Ireland 5 June 1876[4]
1:58.8y Walter Slade  Great Britain Dublin, Ireland 6 June 1876[4]
1:58.2y Walter Slade  Great Britain Belfast, United Kingdom 10 June 1876[4]
1:57.5y Frederic Elborough  Great Britain London, United Kingdom 7 October 1876[4]
1:56.2y Lawrence Myers  United States New York City, United States 17 July 1880[4]
1:55.8y Lawrence Myers  United States London, United Kingdom 2 July 1881[4]
1:55.6y Lawrence Myers  United States New York City, United States 8 October 1881[4]
1:55.6y Lawrence Myers  United States New York City, United States 16 September 1882[4]
1:55.4y Lawrence Myers  United States Birmingham, United Kingdom 7 July 1884[4]
1:55.4y Lawrence Myers  United States New York City, United States 3 October 1885[4]
1:54.6y Francis Cross  Great Britain Oxford, United Kingdom 9 March 1888[4]
1:54.5y Walter Dohm  United States New York City, United States 19 September 1891[4]
1:53.4y Charles Kilpatrick  United States New York City, United States 21 September 1895[4]
1:52.8 Melvin Sheppard  United States London, United Kingdom 21 July 1908[4]
1:52.1y Emilio Lunghi  Italy Montreal, Canada 15 September 1909[4]
Close
More information Time, Auto ...
TimeAutoAthleteDateLocation
1:51.9+ Ted Meredith (USA)1912-07-08Stockholm, Sweden[1]
1:51.6y Otto Peltzer (GER)1926-07-03London, United Kingdom[1]
1:50.6 Sera Martin (FRA)1928-07-14Paris, France[1]
1:49.81:49.70 Tommy Hampson (GBR)1932-08-02Los Angeles, United States[1]
1:49.8y Ben Eastman (USA)1934-06-16Princeton, United States[1]
1:49.7 Glenn Cunningham (USA)1936-08-20Stockholm, Sweden[1]
1:49.6y Elroy Robinson (USA)1937-07-11New York City, United States[1]
1:48.4+ Sydney Wooderson (GBR)1938-08-20London, United Kingdom[1]
1:46.6 Rudolf Harbig (GER)1939-07-15Milan, Italy[1]
1:45.7 Roger Moens (BEL)1955-08-03Oslo, Norway[1]
1:44.3+ Peter Snell (NZL)1962-02-03Christchurch, New Zealand[1]
1:44.31:44.40 Ralph Doubell (AUS)1968-10-15Mexico City, Mexico[1]
1:44.3 Dave Wottle (USA)1972-07-01Eugene, United States[1]
1:43.7 Marcello Fiasconaro (ITA)1973-06-27Milan, Italy[1]
1:43.51:43.50 Alberto Juantorena (CUB)1976-07-25Montreal, Canada[1]
1:43.41:43.44 Alberto Juantorena (CUB)1977-08-21Sofia, Bulgaria[1]
1:42.41:42.33 Sebastian Coe (GBR)1979-07-05Oslo, Norway[1]
1:41.73 Sebastian Coe (GBR)1981-06-10Florence, Italy[1]
1:41.73 Wilson Kipketer (DEN)1997-07-07Stockholm, Sweden[1]
1:41.24 Wilson Kipketer (DEN)1997-08-13Zurich, Switzerland[1]
1:41.11 Wilson Kipketer (DEN)1997-08-24Cologne, Germany[1]
1:41.09 David Rudisha (KEN)2010-08-22Berlin, Germany[3]
1:41.01 David Rudisha (KEN)2010-08-29Rieti, Italy[3]
1:40.91 David Rudisha (KEN)2012-08-09London, United Kingdom[5]
Close

(+) - indicates en route time from longer race.

The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th of a second, depending on the rules then in place.

Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m from 1981.[1] Hence, Sebastian Coe's record at 1:42.4 was rendered as 1:42.33 from that year.

Women

The first world record in the women's 800 metres was recognized by the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) in 1922,[6] which was absorbed by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1936.

As of June 21, 2009, the IAAF (and the FSFI before it) have ratified 29 outdoor world records in the event.[6] "y" denotes time for 880 yards (804.672 m) ratified as a record for the 800 m.

Indoor

Indoor records are run over four laps of a shorter 200 m track. "y" indicates marks were set over the 880 yards (804.67 m) imperial distance, and an asterisk indicates a record was repeated. All records since Wodar's 1:58.42 in 1987 were ratified by the IAAF.[7]

More information Time, Athlete ...
Women's indoor 800 metres world record progression
TimeAthleteNationalityLocationDate
2:38.6 yCatherine Donovan United StatesNewark, United States28 January 1928
2:22.6 hPolina Solopova Soviet UnionLeningrad, Soviet Union17 March 1951
2:19.9 hAnna Dyachkova Soviet UnionLeningrad, Soviet Union18 March 1952
2:17.1 hAleksandra Kiryushkina Soviet UnionLeningrad, Soviet Union1 March 1953
2:15.5 hGalina Falkovskaya Soviet UnionLeningrad, Soviet Union16 March 1953
2:12.5 hBedřiška Müllerová CzechoslovakiaEast Berlin, East Germany26 February 1961
2:10.9 hAnita Wörner West GermanyWest Berlin9 March 1963
2:10.6 hIrene Hansen East GermanyEast Berlin, East Germany13 February 1965
2:10.5 yZsuzsa Nagy HungaryLos Angeles, United States13 February 1965
2:09.4 hGertrud Schmidt East GermanyEast Berlin, East Germany21 February 1965
2:07.1 hAntje Gleichfeld West GermanyWest Berlin8 April 1965
2:06.2 hKarin Burneleit East GermanyEast Berlin, East Germany9 February 1968
2:05.3 hBarbara Wieck East GermanyBelgrade, Yugoslavia9 March 1969
2:03.3 hHildegard Falck West GermanyKiel, West Germany27 February 1971
2:03.2 hSvetla Zlateva BulgariaSofia, Bulgaria18 February 1973
2:02.9 hSvetla Zlateva BulgariaLyon, France25 February 1973
2:02.65Stefka Yordanova BulgariaRotterdam, Netherlands11 March 1973
2:01.8 hMary Decker-Slaney United StatesSan Diego, United States17 February 1974
2:01.1 hNikolina Shtereva BulgariaSofia, Bulgaria25 January 1976
2:01.12Jane Colebrook-Finch Great BritainSan Sebastián, Spain13 March 1977
1:59.9 hUrsula Hook West GermanyDortmund, West Germany21 January 1979
1:58.4 hOlga Vakhrusheva Soviet UnionMoscow, Soviet Union16 February 1980
1:58.42Sigrun Wodars East GermanyVienna, Austria1 February 1987
1:57.64Christine Wachtel East GermanyTurin, Italy10 February 1988
1:56.40Christine Wachtel East GermanyVienna, Austria13 February 1988
1:55.82Jolanda Ceplak SloveniaVienna, Austria3 March 2002
1:54.87Keely Hodgkinson Great BritainLievin, France20 February 2026
Close

Outdoor

More information Time, Auto ...
TimeAutoAthleteDateLocation
2:30.4+ Georgette Lenoir (FRA)1922-08-20Paris, France[6]
2:26.6y Mary Lines (GBR)1922-08-30London, United Kingdom[6]
2:23.8 Lina Radke (GER)1927-08-07Breslau, Germany[6]
2:20.4 Inga Gentzel (SWE)1928-06-16Stockholm, Sweden[6]
2:19.6 Lina Radke (GER)1928-07-01Brieg, Germany[6]
2:16.8 Lina Radke (GER)1928-08-02Amsterdam, Netherlands[6]
2:16.4* Zdeněk Koubek (CSK)1934-06-14Prague, Czechoslovakia[8][9]
2:12.4* Zdeněk Koubek (CSK)1934-08-??London, United Kingdom[8][9]
2:15.9 Anna Larsson (SWE)1944-08-28Stockholm, Sweden[6]
2:14.8 Anna Larsson (SWE)1945-08-19Hälsingborg, Sweden[6]
2:13.8 Anna Larsson (SWE)1945-08-30Stockholm, Sweden[6]
2:13.0 Yevdokiya Vasilyeva (URS)1950-07-17Moscow, Soviet Union[6]
2:12.2 Valentina Pomogayeva (URS)1951-07-26Moscow, Soviet Union[6]
2:12.0 Nina Otkalenko (URS)1951-08-26Minsk, Soviet Union[6]
2:08.5 Nina Otkalenko (URS)1952-06-15Kyiv, Soviet Union[6]
2:07.3 Nina Otkalenko (URS)1953-08-27Moscow, Soviet Union[6]
2:06.6 Nina Otkalenko (URS)1954-09-16Kyiv, Soviet Union[6]
2:05.0 Nina Otkalenko (URS)1955-09-24Zagreb, Yugoslavia[6]
2:04.3 Lyudmila Shevtsova (URS)1960-07-03Moscow, Soviet Union[6]
2:04.32:04.50 Lyudmila Shevtsova (URS)1960-09-07Rome, Italy[6]
2:01.2+ Dixie Willis (AUS)1962-03-03Perth, Australia[6]
2:01.1 Ann Packer (GBR)1964-10-20Tokyo, Japan[6]
2:01.0 Judy Pollock (AUS)1967-06-28Helsinki, Finland[6]
2:00.5 Vera Nikolic (YUG)1968-07-20London, United Kingdom[6]
1:58.51:58.45 Hildegard Falck (FRG)1971-07-11Stuttgart, Germany[6]
1:57.51:57.48 Svetla Zlateva (BUL)1973-08-24Athens, Greece[6]
1:56.0 Valentina Gerasimova (URS)1976-06-12Kyiv, Soviet Union[6]
1:54.91:54.94 Tatyana Kazankina (URS)1976-07-26Montreal, Canada[6]
1:54.91:54.85 Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS)1980-06-12Moscow, Soviet Union[6]
1:53.51:53.43 Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS)1980-07-27Moscow, Soviet Union[6]
1:53.28 Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH)1983-07-26Munich, West Germany[6]
Close

(+) – indicates en route time from longer race.
(*) – Zdeněk Koubek's world records were rescinded by the IAAF after he transitioned to become male.[8][9]

The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th of a second, depending on the rules then in place.

Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m from 1981.[6] Hence, Nadezhda Olizarenko's record at 1:53.5 was rendered as 1:53.43 from that year.

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI