Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres

The women's 800 metres was the longest of the four women's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 18 October, 19 October, and 20 October 1964. 24 athletes from 16 nations entered, with 1 not starting the first round. The first round was held on 18 October, the semifinals on 19 October, and the final on 20 October.[1]

Women's 800 metres
at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad
Maryvonne Dupureur, Ann Packer and Marise Chamberlain on the podium
VenueOlympic Stadium
Dates18–20 October
Competitors24 from 16 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Ann Packer  Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Maryvonne Dupureur  France
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Marise Chamberlain  New Zealand
← 1960
1968 →
Official Video Highlights

The 1964 race was run with the contemporary break after a single turn, a style that changed and was reverted over the next decade and a half.

Results edit

First round edit

The top five runners in each of the 3 heats advanced, as well as the next fastest runner from across the heats.

Heat 1 edit

All three of the eventual medallists were in the first heat.

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Maryvonne Dupureur   France 2:04.5
2 Marise Chamberlain   New Zealand 2:06.8
3 Zsuzsa Szabó   Hungary 2:07.7
4 Vera Mukhanova   Soviet Union 2:08.8
5 Ann Packer   Great Britain 2:12.6
6 Waltraud Kaufmann   United Team of Germany 2:14.6
7 Jette Andersen   Denmark 2:15.2
8 Abby Hoffman   Canada 2:17.4

Heat 2 edit

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Mary Hodson   Great Britain 2:08.5
2 Anita Wörner   United Team of Germany 2:08.6
3 Zoya Skobtsova   Soviet Union 2:08.6
4 Gerda Kraan   Netherlands 2:09.8
5 Maeve Kyle   Ireland 2:11.3
6 Sandy Knott   United States 2:12.2
7 Aldaanish Ramazan   Mongolia 2:21.1
Dixie Willis   Australia Did not start

Heat 3 edit

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Anne Smith   Great Britain 2:08.0
2 Antje Gleichfeld   United Team of Germany 2:08.2
3 Laine Erik   Soviet Union 2:08.3
4 Gizela Farkaš   Yugoslavia 2:08.7
5 Jannie van Eyck-Vos   Netherlands 2:09.1
6 Olga Kazi   Hungary 2:12.1
7 Masako Kisaki   Japan 2:18.6
8 Han Myung Hee   South Korea 2:22.7

Semifinals edit

The top four runners in each semifinal advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1 edit

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Maryvonne Dupureur   France 2:04.1 OR
2 Antje Gleichfeld   United Team of Germany 2:04.6
3 Laine Erik   Soviet Union 2:04.7
4 Anne Smith   Great Britain 2:04.8
5 Vera Mukhanova   Soviet Union 2:04.8
6 Jannie van Eyck-Vos   Netherlands 2:05.7
7 Mary Hodson   Great Britain 2:07.1
8 Olga Kazi   Hungary 2:10.2

Semifinal 2 edit

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Marise Chamberlain   New Zealand 2:04.6
2 Zsuzsa Szabó   Hungary 2:05.1
3 Ann Packer   Great Britain 2:06.0
4 Gerda Kraan   Netherlands 2:06.2
5 Anita Wörner   United Team of Germany 2:07.1
6 Zoya Skobtsova   Soviet Union 2:07.4
7 Gizela Farkaš   Yugoslavia 2:09.9
8 Maeve Kyle   Ireland 2:12.9

Final edit

After winning a silver medal in the 400 metres Ann Packer had no plans to run in the 800 metres and had a shopping trip planned until her fiancé, Robbie Brightwell finished fourth in the 400 metres. Disappointed for him, she turned to the 800 metres, an event which she had only raced in five times before.[1]

Packer, who had placed fifth in her first round heat and third in her semifinal, started the final as the second slowest of the eight contestants.

After the break in the final Zsuzsa Szabó took the lead with Maryvonne Dupureur and Antje Gleichfeld in close order behind her. Coming off the second turn Dupureur took the lead. At the bell she accelerated further. Packer was sixth at 400 metres, tagging along at the back of the pack behind Dupureur. Along the backstretch, Dupureur opened a gap which she extended through the final turn, five girls hit the 600 mark virtually shoulder to shoulder, with Packer a step behind the wall. Laine Erik was the outside of the wall but had more speed through the turn, the only one in the field looking to have enough speed to try to make progress on the now five metre lead of Dupureur.

 
Final. Left-right: Anne Smith, Laine Erik, Marise Chamberlain, Ann Packer, Antje Gleichfeld, Gerda Kraan, Maryvonne Dupureur, Zsuzsa Szabó

Suddenly halfway through the final turn, Packer launched into a sprint, running around the other competitors. She took the lead in the final straight, her sprinting speed taking her past Dupureur in a completely different gear to take the gold medal in world record time.[2] The first five runners beat the Olympic record time (set by Dupureur in the semifinals).[1]

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Ann Packer   Great Britain 2:01.1 WR
2 Maryvonne Dupureur   France 2:01.9
3 Marise Chamberlain   New Zealand 2:02.8
4 Zsuzsa Szabó   Hungary 2:03.5
5 Antje Gleichfeld   United Team of Germany 2:03.9
6 Laine Erik   Soviet Union 2:05.1
7 Gerda Kraan   Netherlands 2:05.8
8 Anne Smith   Great Britain 2:05.8

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Athletics at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games: Women's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. ^ Ann Packer. The Times