Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres explained

Event:Men's 800 metres
Games:2000 Summer
Venue:Stadium Australia
Date:23 September 2000 (heats)
25 September 2000 (semi-finals)
27 September 2000 (final)
Competitors:61
Nations:42
Win Value:1:45.08
Longnames:yes
Gold:Nils Schumann
Goldnoc:GER
Silver:Wilson Kipketer
Silvernoc:DEN
Bronze:Djabir Saïd-Guerni
Bronzenoc:ALG
Prev:1996
Next:2004

The men's 800 metres event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics programme was held at Stadium Australia on Saturday 23 September, Monday 25 September, and Wednesday 27 September 2000.[1] Sixty-one athletes from 46 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.06 seconds by Nils Schumann of Germany, the first men's 800 metres championship for a German runner and the first medal in the event for the nation since 1952. Denmark (Wilson Kipketer's silver) and Algeria (Djabir Saïd-Guerni's bronze) each won their first medal in the men's 800 metres.

Summary

Germany's Nils Schumann upset Denmark's world record holder and world champion Wilson Kipketer. The race was one of the closest in the Olympic 800 meter history as the first three were separated by a mere 0.08 second and the first five by 0.32 second. It was suggested Kipketer made a tactical error by not forcing the pace.

The final was slow, with André Bucher leading the first lap in 53.43. Down the back stretch Andrea Longo moved shoulder to shoulder with Bucher and at the 600 meter mark, just under 1:20 Longo dropped his shoulder forcing Bucher into the infield. Longo charged into the lead around the final turn with the world record holder in next to last place chasing the notable young kicker Yuriy Borzakovskiy. Kipketer had to go out to lane 4 to try to get around the wall of runners ahead of him with Djabir Saïd-Guerni in lane 5 trying to get around Kipketer. Longo faded with 30 meters to go, with Nils Schumann in perfect position to pick up the pace, holding off the late rush on the outside to take the gold. For his interference, Longo was disqualified.[2]

Background

This was the 24th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletic events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Only two finalists from 1996 returned, but they were the top two: gold medalist Vebjørn Rodal of Norway and silver medalist Hezekiél Sepeng of South Africa. Wilson Kipketer, who had been prevented from competing in the 1996 Games due to his change of nationality from Kenya to Denmark, was the favorite after having won the past three world championships and broken the world record twice. Challengers included Sepeng, 1998 European champion Nils Schumann of Germany, Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia, and André Bucher of Switzerland (a semifinalist in Atlanta).[3]

Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Macedonia, Moldova, and Uganda appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain made its 23rd appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Qualification

See main article: Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Qualification.

Each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run 1:46.30 or faster during the qualification period. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. If a NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had run 1:47.20 or faster could be entered.[4]

Competition format

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 (except that one had an extra runner due to an advancement by obstruction rule in the first round); the top two runners in each semifinal and the next two fastest overall advanced to the eight-man final.[3] [5]

Records

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

No world or Olympic records were set during the competition. The following national records were established during the competition:

Schedule

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)

DateTimeRound
Saturday, 23 September 2000 10:45 Round 1
Monday, 25 September 2000 22:55 Semifinals
Wednesday, 27 September 2000 20:20 Final

Results

Round 1

The first round was held on Saturday, 23 September 2000.

Heat 1

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
12Andrea Longo1:46.32
23Vebjørn Rodal1:46.76
38James Mcilroy1:47.44
41Roman Oravec1:47.66
55Vanco Stojanov1:47.71
67Rich Kenah1:47.85
78Kim Soon-Hyung1:48.49
data-sort-value=86Mohamed Al-Kafraini

Heat 2

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
16Nils Schumann1:47.76
27Djabir Saïd-Guerni1:47.95
33Arthémon Hatungimana1:48.14
42Zach Whitmarsh1:48.42
54David Matthews1:48.77
68Andrew Hart1:48.78
75Isireli Naikelekelevesi1:49.61

Heat 3

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
16Hezekiél Sepeng1:47.46
21Adem Hecini1:47.62
34Joseph Mutua1:47.86
47Dmitry Bogdanov1:48.14
55Roberto Parra1:48.19
68Bobby True1:48.79
73Mohamed Habib Bel Hadj1:49.14
82Jorge Duvane1:52.97

Heat 4

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
13Wilson Kipketer1:45.57
22Glody Dube1:46.17 ,
37Johan Botha1:46.91
41Crispen Mutakanyi1:47.66
58Jose Manuel Cerezo1:48.11
64Artyom Mastrov1:49.89
75Ian Roberts1:52.32
86Marvin Watts1:59.97

Heat 5

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
14Pavel Pelepyagin1:46.47
23Jean-Patrick Nduwimana1:46.78
35El Mahjoub Haida1:47.14
48William Yiampoy1:47.35
56João Pires1:47.61
61Abdou Ibrahim Youssef1:53.23
77Naseer Ismail1:56.67
82Faiq Bağırov1:57.39

Heat 6

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
12Yuriy Borzakovskiy1:45.39
27Japheth Kimutai1:45.60
33Grant Cremer1:45.86,
41Balázs Korányi1:46.21 ,
56Bryan Woodward1:47.64
68Mehdi Jelodarzadeh1:47.91
74Mohamed Saleh Hadj Haidara1:56.64
85Mohammed Yagoub

Heat 7

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
12Khalid Tighazouine1:46.33
28André Bucher1:46.51
34Viktors Lacis1:46.94,
43Osmar dos Santos1:47.05
57Milton Browne1:47.63
66Nathan Kahan1:47.69
75Panayiótis Stroubákos1:47.96

Heat 8

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
17Werner Botha1:47.85
26Mouhssin Chehibi1:48.51
31Bram Som1:48.58
42Kris McCarthy1:48.92
55Mark Everett1:49.77
64Paskar Owor1:49.99
78Vitalie Cercheș1:52.15
83Puntsag-Ochiryn Pürevsüren1:56.29

Overall results for round 1

Round 1
Overall Results
Place Athlete NationHeatLanePlaceTimeQual.Record
1Yuriy Borzakovskiy6211:45.39Q
2Wilson Kipketer4311:45.57Q
3Japheth Kimutai6721:45.60Q
4Grant Cremer6331:45.86qSB
5Glody Dube4221:46.17QPB
6Balázs Korányi6141:46.21qSB
7Andrea Longo1211:46.32Q
8Khalid Tighazouine721 1:46.33Q
9André Bucher7821:46.51Q
10Pavel Pelepyagin5411:46.67Q
11Vebjoern Rodal1321:46.76Q
12Jean Patrick Nduwimana5321:46.78Q
13Johan Botha4731:46.91q
14Viktors Lacis7431:46.94qSB
15Osmar dos Santos7341:47.05q
16El Mahjoub Haida5531:47.14q
17William Yiampoy5841:47.35q
18James McIlroy1831:47.44q
19Hezekiél Sepeng3611:47.46Q
20Joao Pires5651:47.61
21Adem Hecini3121:47.62Q
22Milton O Browne7751:47.63SB
23Bryan Woodward6651:47.64
24Crispen Mutakanyi4141:47.66
1141:47.66
26Nathan Kahan7661:47.69
27Vanco Stojanov1551:47.71
28Nils Schumann2611:47.76Q
298711:47.83Q
30Rich Kenah1761:47.85
313431:47.86
32Mehdi Jelodarzadeh6861:47.91
332721:47.95Q
34Panayiótis Stroubákos7571:47.96
35Jose Manuel Cerezo4851:48.11
363741:48.14
2331:48.14
38Roberto Parra3551:48.19
39Zach Whitmarsh2241:48.42
40Kim Soon-Hyung1471:48.49SB
41Mouhssin Chehibi8621:48.51Q
428131:48.58
43David Matthews2451:48.77
442861:48.78
45Bobby True3861:48.79
46Kris McCarthy8241:48.92
473371:49.14
48Isireli Naikelekelevesi2571:49.61
49Mark Everett8551:49.77
50Artem Mastrov4461:49.89
51Paskar Owor8461:49.99
52Vitalie Cercheș8871:52.15
53Ian Roberts4571:52.32
54Jorge Duvane3281:52.97
55Abdu I Yousuf5161:53.23
56Puntsag-Osor Purevsuren8381:56.29
57Mohamed S. Naji Haidara6471:56.64
58Naseer Ismail5771:56.67
59Faig Baghirov5281:57.39
60Marvin Watts4681:59.97q
Mohammad Alkafraini16DSQ
Mahamed Yagoub65DNS

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
11Nils Schumann1:44.22 ,
25André Bucher1:44.38
32Glody Dube1:44.70 ,
46Hezekiél Sepeng1:44.85
54William Yiampoy1:45.88
67James McIlroy1:46.39
73Vebjørn Rodal1:48.73
86Mouhssin Chehibi1:49.88

Semifinal 2

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
15Djabir Saïd-Guerni1:44.19
23Yuriy Borzakovskiy1:44.33,
31Khalid Tighazouine1:45.38
42Johan Botha1:45.49
56Japheth Kimutai1:45.64
64Jean-Patrick Nduwimana1:46.98
78Pavel Pelepyagin1:50.37
87Grant Cremer1:52.57

Semifinal 3

RankLaneAthlete NationTimeNotes
13Wilson Kipketer1:44.22
24Andrea Longo1:44.49
36Adem Hecini1:45.08
47Mahjoub Haïda1:46:35
55Werner Botha1:46.53
62Viktors Lacis1:47.24
78Balázs Korányi1:47.35
89Marvin Watts1:47.68
1Osmar dos Santos1:47.68

Overall results for semifinals

RankAthlete NationHeatLanePlaceTimeQual.Record
12511:44.19Q
2Wilson Kipketer3311:44.22Q
Nils Schumann1111:44.22QPB
4Yuriy Borzakovskiy2321:44.33QPB
5André Bucher1521:44.38Q
6Andrea Longo3421:44.49Q
7Glody Dube1231:44.70qNR
8Hezekiél Sepeng164 1:44.85q
9Adem Hecini3631:45.08
10Khalid Tighazouine2131:45.38PB
11Johan Botha2241:45.49
12Japheth Kimutai2651:45.64
13William Yiampoy1451:45.88
14El Mahjoub Haida3741:46.35
15James McIlroy1761:46.39
163351:46.53
17Jean Patrick Nduwimana2461:46.98
18Viktors Lacis3261:47.24
19Balázs Korányi3871:47.35
20Marvin Watts3981:47.68
Osmar dos Santos3181:47.68
22Vebjoern Rodal1371:48.73
23Mouhssin Chehibi1881:49.88
24Pavel Pelepyagin2871:50.37
25Grant Cremer2781:52.57

Final

RankLaneAthlete NationTime
2Nils Schumann1:45.08
3Wilson Kipketer1:45.14
51:45.16
47Hezekiél Sepeng1:45.29
54André Bucher1:45.40
68Yuriy Borzakovskiy1:45.83
71Glody Dube1:46.24
86Andrea Longo

Source: Official Report of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics [6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Athletics at the 2000 Sydney Games: Men's 800 metres . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171049/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/2000/ATH/mens-800-metres.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . 22 October 2017 . sports-reference.com.
  2. Web site: Longo to fight drugs ban . 1 December 2001 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20141019200632/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/1683813.stm . 19 October 2014 . live .
  3. Web site: 800 metres, Men . Olympedia . 10 August 2020.
  4. http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/tfn_pdfs/ogqualifying_standards.pdf{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  5. Official Report, Results Book for Athletics.
  6. Web site: Results. Official Report of the XXVIIth Olympiad, Volume 3. 185–193. 11 October 2014.