Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

The men's 800 metres event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta was held between 28 and 31 July 1996. There were a total of 60 competitors from 42 countries.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.16 seconds by Vebjørn Rodal of Norway, the nation's first title in the men's 800 metres and first medal in the event since 1956. Hezekiél Sepeng's silver was South Africa's first 800 metres medal since 1920.

Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad
VenueCentennial Olympic Stadium
Dates28 to 31 July
Competitors56 from 40 nations
Winning time1:42.58 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Vebjørn Rodal
 Norway
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Hezekiél Sepeng
 South Africa
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Fred Onyancha
 Kenya
← 1992
2000 →

Background

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This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Four finalists from 1992 returned: bronze medalist Johnny Gray of the United States (also a finalist in 1984 and 1988), fourth-place finisher José Luíz Barbosa of Brazil (a 1988 finalist as well), fifth-place finisher Andrea Benvenuti of Italy, and sixth-place finisher Curtis Robb of Great Britain. Wilson Kipketer was the strongest 800 metres runner in 1996, having won the first of his three world championship titles in 1995; however, he was ruled ineligible for the Games during the process of changing his nationality from Kenya to Denmark. Without Kipketer, the field was open with no clear favorite.[2]

Burundi, the Czech Republic, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, and Latvia appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain made its 22nd appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Competition format

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The men's 800 metres 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][3]

Records

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Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record   Sebastian Coe (GBR) 1:41.73 Florence, Italy 10 June 1981
Olympic record   Joaquim Cruz (BRA) 1:43.00 Los Angeles, United States 6 August 1984

In the final Vebjørn Rodal set a new Olympic record at 1:42.58.

Schedule

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All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 28 July 1996 19:15 Round 1
Monday, 29 July 1996 18:50 Semifinals
Wednesday, 31 July 1996 20:35 Final

Results

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Round 1

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Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Vebjørn Rodal   Norway 1:45.30 Q
2 Curtis Robb   Great Britain 1:45.85 Q
3 José Luíz Barbosa   Brazil 1:46.58 q
4 David Matthews   Ireland 1:46.76 q
5 Joachim Dehmel   Germany 1:47.12
6 Joseph Rakotoarimanana   Madagascar 1:47.33
7 Tommy Asinga   Suriname 1:48.29

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Philip Kibitok   Kenya 1:45.34 Q
2 Nico Motchebon   Germany 1:45.82 Q
3 Bruno Konczylo   France 1:46.04 q
4 Adem Hecini   Algeria 1:47.23
5 Abdul Rahman Al-Abdullah   Qatar 1:48.52
6 Flavio Godoy   Brazil 1:48.91
7 Chérif Baba Aidara   Mauritania 1:56.20

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Norberto Téllez   Cuba 1:47.24 Q
2 Craig Winrow   Great Britain 1:47.41 Q
3 Pavel Soukup   Czech Republic 1:47.67
4 Andrés Manuel Díaz   Spain 1:47.86
5 Atle Douglas   Norway 1:48.60
6 Cedric Harris   Dominica 1:51.46
7 Fernando Arlete   Guinea-Bissau 2:00.07

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 David Kiptoo   Kenya 1:45.11 Q
2 Giuseppe D'Urso   Italy 1:45.27 Q
3 Johan Botha   South Africa 1:45.63 q
4 Jimmy Jean-Joseph   France 1:45.64 q
5 Ibrahim Aden   Somalia 1:47.31
6 Charles Nkazamyampi   Burundi 1:47.95
7 Tavakalo Kailes   Vanuatu 1:55.07
8 Naseer Ismail   Maldives 1:58.70

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Johnny Gray   United States 1:45.87 Q
2 Einārs Tupurītis   Latvia 1:45.88 Q
3 Savieri Ngidhi   Zimbabwe 1:46.46 q
4 Balázs Korányi   Hungary 1:46.63 q
5 Antonio Abrantes   Portugal 1:47.73
6 Clive Terrelonge   Jamaica 1:48.29
7 Themba Makhanya   Swaziland 1:59.02

Heat 6

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Arthémon Hatungimana   Burundi 1:47.10 Q
2 Andrea Benvenuti   Italy 1:47.45 Q
3 Marius van Heerden   South Africa 1:47.46
4 David Maxwell Strang   Great Britain 1:47.96
5 Boris Kaveshnikov   Kyrgyzstan 1:48.88
6 José Parrilla   United States 1:49.99
7 Yaya Terap Adoum   Chad 1:52.68

Heat 7

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Benyounes Lahlou   Morocco 1:45.85 Q
2 Fred Onyancha   Kenya 1:46.07 Q
3 Paul Byrne   Australia 1:47.05 q
4 Alex Morgan   Jamaica 1:47.40
5 Mohamed Babiker Yagoub   Sudan 1:48.50
6 Manlio Molinari   San Marino 1:56.08
Roberto Parra   Spain DNS

Heat 8

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Hezekiél Sepeng   South Africa 1:45.45 Q
2 André Bucher   Switzerland 1:46.85 Q
3 Andrea Giocondi   Italy 1:47.26
4 Brandon Rock   United States 1:48.47
5 Jean Destine   Haiti 1:48.82
6 Saeed Basweidan   Yemen 1:49.35
7 Greg Rhymer   British Virgin Islands 1:50.03

Overall results for round 1

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Rank Heat Athlete Nation Time Notes
Overall In heat
1 1 4 David Kiptoo   Kenya 1:45.11 Q
2 2 4 Giuseppe D'Urso   Italy 1:45.27 Q
3 1 1 Vebjørn Rodal   Norway 1:45.30 Q
4 1 2 Philip Kibitok   Kenya 1:45.34 Q
5 3 4 Johan Botha   South Africa 1:45.63 q
6 4 4 Jimmy Jean-Joseph   France 1:45.64 q
7 2 2 Nico Motchebon   Germany 1:45.82 Q
8 1 7 Benyounes Lahlou   Morocco 1:45.85 Q
2 1 Curtis Robb   Great Britain 1:45.85 Q
10 1 5 Johnny Gray   United States 1:45.87 Q
11 2 5 Einārs Tupurītis   Latvia 1:45.88 Q
12 3 2 Bruno Konczylo   France 1:46.04 q
13 2 7 Fred Onyancha   Kenya 1:46.07 Q
14 1 8 Hezekiél Sepeng   South Africa 1:45.45 Q
15 3 5 Savieri Ngidhi   Zimbabwe 1:46.46 q
16 3 1 José Luíz Barbosa   Brazil 1:46.58 q
17 4 5 Balázs Korányi   Hungary 1:46.63 q
18 4 1 David Matthews   Ireland 1:46.76 q
19 2 8 André Bucher   Switzerland 1:46.85 Q
20 3 7 Paul Byrne   Australia 1:47.05 q
21 1 6 Arthémon Hatungimana   Burundi 1:47.10 Q
22 5 1 Joachim Dehmel   Germany 1:47.12
23 4 2 Adem Hecini   Algeria 1:47.23
24 1 3 Norberto Téllez   Cuba 1:47.24 Q
25 3 8 Andrea Giocondi   Italy 1:47.26
26 5 4 Ibrahim Aden   Somalia 1:47.31
27 6 1 Joseph Rakotoarimanana   Madagascar 1:47.33
28 4 7 Alex Morgan   Jamaica 1:47.40
29 2 3 Craig Winrow   Great Britain 1:47.41 Q
30 2 6 Andrea Benvenuti   Italy 1:47.45 Q
31 3 6 Marius van Heerden   South Africa 1:47.46
32 3 3 Pavel Soukup   Czech Republic 1:47.67
33 5 5 Antonio Abrantes   Portugal 1:47.73
34 4 3 Andrés Manuel Díaz   Spain 1:47.86
35 6 4 Charles Nkazamyampi   Burundi 1:47.95
36 4 6 David Maxwell Strang   Great Britain 1:47.96
37 7 1 Tommy Asinga   Suriname 1:48.29
6 5 Clive Terrelonge   Jamaica 1:48.29
39 4 8 Brandon Rock   United States 1:48.47
40 5 7 Mohamed Babiker Yagoub   Sudan 1:48.50
41 5 2 Abdul Rahman Al-Abdullah   Qatar 1:48.52
42 5 3 Atle Douglas   Norway 1:48.60
43 5 8 Jean Destine   Haiti 1:48.82
44 5 6 Boris Kaveshnikov   Kyrgyzstan 1:48.88
45 6 2 Flavio Godoy   Brazil 1:48.91
46 6 8 Saeed Basweidan   Yemen 1:49.35
47 6 6 José Parrilla   United States 1:49.99
48 7 8 Greg Rhymer   British Virgin Islands 1:50.03
49 6 3 Cedric Harris   Dominica 1:51.46
50 7 6 Yaya Terap Adoum   Chad 1:52.68
51 7 4 Tavakalo Kailes   Vanuatu 1:55.07
52 7 2 Chérif Baba Aidara   Mauritania 1:56.20
53 8 4 Naseer Ismail   Maldives 1:58.70
54 7 5 Themba Makhanya   Swaziland 1:59.02
55 7 3 Fernando Arlete   Guinea-Bissau 2:00.07
56 6 7 Manlio Molinari   San Marino 1:56.08
7 Roberto Parra   Spain DNS

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Hezekiél Sepeng   South Africa 1:45.16 Q
2 Nico Motchebon   Germany 1:45.40 Q
3 Philip Kibitok   Kenya 1:45.58
4 André Bucher   Switzerland 1:46.41
5 Giuseppe D'Urso   Italy 1:46.97
6 Paul Byrne   Australia 1:47.58
7 Bruno Konczylo   France 1:48.02
8 Craig Winrow   Great Britain 1:48.57

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Benyounes Lahlou   Morocco 1:43.99 Q
2 Johnny Gray   United States 1:44.00 Q
3 Fred Onyancha   Kenya 1:44.02 q
4 Arthémon Hatungimana   Burundi 1:44.92
5 Savieri Ngidhi   Zimbabwe 1:46.78
6 Curtis Robb   Great Britain 1:47.48
7 Johan Botha   South Africa 1:48.06
8 José Luíz Barbosa   Brazil 1:50.33

Semifinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Norberto Téllez   Cuba 1:43.79 Q
2 David Kiptoo   Kenya 1:43.90 Q
3 Vebjørn Rodal   Norway 1:43.96 q
4 Einārs Tupurītis   Latvia 1:46.41
5 David Matthews   Ireland 1:47.83
6 Jimmy Jean-Joseph   France 1:48.50
7 Balázs Korányi   Hungary 1:50.30
Andrea Benvenuti   Italy DNF

Overall results for semifinals

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Rank Heat Athlete Nation Time Notes
Overall In heat
1 1 3 Norberto Téllez   Cuba 1:43.79 Q
2 2 3 David Kiptoo   Kenya 1:43.90 Q
3 3 3 Vebjørn Rodal   Norway 1:43.96 q
4 1 2 Benyounes Lahlou   Morocco 1:43.99 Q
5 2 2 Johnny Gray   United States 1:44.00 Q
6 3 2 Fred Onyancha   Kenya 1:44.02 q
7 4 2 Arthémon Hatungimana   Burundi 1:44.92
8 1 1 Hezekiél Sepeng   South Africa 1:45.16 Q
9 2 1 Nico Motchebon   Germany 1:45.40 Q
10 3 1 Philip Kibitok   Kenya 1:45.58
11 4 1 André Bucher   Switzerland 1:46.41
4 3 Einārs Tupurītis   Latvia 1:46.41
13 5 2 Savieri Ngidhi   Zimbabwe 1:46.78
14 5 1 Giuseppe D'Urso   Italy 1:46.97
15 6 2 Curtis Robb   Great Britain 1:47.48
16 6 1 Paul Byrne   Australia 1:47.58
17 5 3 David Matthews   Ireland 1:47.83
18 7 1 Bruno Konczylo   France 1:48.02
19 7 2 Johan Botha   South Africa 1:48.06
20 6 3 Jimmy Jean-Joseph   France 1:48.50
21 8 1 Craig Winrow   Great Britain 1:48.57
22 7 3 Balázs Korányi   Hungary 1:50.30
23 8 2 José Luíz Barbosa   Brazil 1:50.33
3 Andrea Benvenuti   Italy DNF

Final

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
  1 Vebjørn Rodal   Norway 1:42.58 OR
  6 Hezekiél Sepeng   South Africa 1:42.74
  7 Fred Onyancha   Kenya 1:42.79
4 4 Norberto Téllez   Cuba 1:42.85
5 8 Nico Motchebon   Germany 1:43.91
6 5 David Kiptoo   Kenya 1:44.19
7 2 Johnny Gray   United States 1:44.21
8 3 Benyounes Lahlou   Morocco 1:45.52

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1996 Atlanta Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, pp. 74–75.
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