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Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

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Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad
Olympic Athletics
VenueAthens Olympic Stadium
Dates25–28 August
Competitors72 from 58 nations
Winning time1:44.45
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Yuriy Borzakovskiy
 Russia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mbulaeni Mulaudzi
 South Africa
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Wilson Kipketer
 Denmark
← 2000
2008 →
Video on YouTube Official Video

The men's 800 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 25 to 28.[1] Seventy-two athletes from 58 nations competed.[2] The event was won by 0.16 seconds by Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia, the first medal for the nation in the event. Wilson Kipketer of Denmark became the 10th man to win a second medal in the 800 metres.

Summary

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The first round had split a full roster of runners into nine heats with the first two gaining a direct qualification and then the next six fastest across all heats advancing to the semifinals. The top two runners in each of the three semifinal heats moved on directly to the final, and they were immediately joined by the next two fastest from any of the semifinals.

The final was tactical, like the previous several Olympics with most athletes running faster to qualify than they ran in the final. Yuriy Borzakovskiy and Mouhssin Chehibi lagged significantly off the pace. World champion Djabir Saïd-Guerni and 2004 world leader Wilfred Bungei battled for the lead, chased closely by Bungei's second cousin, world record holder Wilson Kipketer, Borzakovskiy and Chehibi joined the back of the pack. It seemed like Borzakovskiy was reluctant to catch the leaders, then realized the pace was not too fast, with 50 metres before the end of the first lap, he noticeably accelerated from dead last to join the fight. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who had lucked into the slowest qualifying time in the semi-final round, ran comfortably in a box inside of Kipketer through 500 meters. A lead group broke away on the backstretch. Guerni fell back as the cousins battled for the lead through the final turn, with Mulaudzi a step back and Borzakovskiy the final athlete in the breakaway. Coming off the turn, Kipketer pounced and took off for the finish in lane two. But the always fast closing Borzakovskiy came along the outside from 5 meters back to catch Kipketer 30 meters out. Not giving up the fight, Mulaudzi pulled even with Kipketer. Borzakovskiy held his hands up with a meter victory, while Mulaudzi out leaned Kipketer for silver.[3][4]

Background

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This was the 25th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All of the finalists from 2000 returned except for the champion: silver medalist Wilson Kipketer of Denmark, bronze medalist Djabir Saïd-Guerni of Algeria, fourth-place finisher (and 1996 silver medalist) Hezekiél Sepeng of South Africa, fifth-place finisher André Bucher of Switzerland, sixth-place finisher Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia, seventh-place finisher Glody Dube of Botswana, and Andrea Longo of Italy, who had been disqualified in the final due to obstruction. The three latest world champions were Saïd-Guerni (2003), Bucher (2001), and Kipketer (1999, 1997, and 1995); Kipketer still held the world record. Borzakovskiy (2003 world runner-up) and Wilfred Bungei of Kenya (who held the #1 ranking) were also serious contenders for gold.[2]

Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Palestine, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain made its 24th appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Qualification

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The qualification period for athletics was 1 January 2003 to 9 August 2004. For the men's 800 metres, each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run the race in 1:46.00 or faster during the qualification period. If an NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had run the race in 1:47.00 or faster could be entered. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.

Competition format

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The men's 800 metres had a much larger field (79 entered and 72 started, compared with 61 starters in 2000) but 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 nine first-round heats, each with 8 athletes; the top two runners in each heat as well as the next six 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.[2][5]

Records

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Prior to the competition, the existing World record, Olympic record, and world leading time were as follows:

World record  Wilson Kipketer (DEN) 1:41.11 Cologne, Germany 24 August 1997
Olympic record  Vebjørn Rodal (NOR) 1:42.58 Atlanta, United States 29 July 1996
World Leading  Wilfred Bungei (KEN) 1:43.06 Zurich, Switzerland 6 August 2004

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

Nation Athlete Round Time
 Vietnam Lê Văn Dương Heat 2 1:49.81
 Tanzania Samwel Mwera Heat 4 1:45.30

Schedule

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All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 25 August 2004 20:40 Round 1
Thursday, 26 August 2004 21:25 Semifinals
Saturday, 28 August 2004 20:50 Final

Results

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Round 1

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Qualification rule: The first two finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next six fastest overall runners (q) advanced to the semifinals.[6]

Heat 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 1 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi  South Africa 1:45.72 Q
2 5 René Herms  Germany 1:45.83 Q
3 2 Lee Jae-hun  South Korea 1:46.24 PB
4 6 Arthémon Hatungimana  Burundi 1:46.35
5 8 Michael Rotich  Kenya 1:46.42
6 7 Nazar Begliyev  Turkmenistan 1:49.64 PB
7 3 Alibay Shukurov  Azerbaijan 1:51.11
8 4 Fadrique Iglesias  Bolivia 1:51.87

Heat 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Joseph Mutua  Kenya 1:45.65 Q
2 3 Ricky Soos  Great Britain 1:45.70 Q, PB
3 8 Djabir Saïd-Guerni  Algeria 1:45.94 q
4 5 Achraf Tadili  Canada 1:46.63
5 7 David Fiegen  Luxembourg 1:46.97
6 2 Mindaugas Norbutas  Lithuania 1:47.38 SB
7 1 Panayiotis Stroubakos  Greece 1:47.69
8 6 Lê Văn Dương  Vietnam 1:49.81 NR

Heat 3

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Wilson Kipketer  Denmark 1:44.69 Q
2 8 Jonathan Johnson  United States 1:45.31 Q
3 6 Jean-Patrick Nduwimana  Burundi 1:45.38 q
4 2 Osmar dos Santos  Brazil 1:45.90 q
5 3 Jason Stewart  New Zealand 1:46.24 PB
6 5 João Pires  Portugal 1:46.71 SB
7 7 Jasmin Salihović  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1:49.59
8 1 Jan Sekpona  Togo 1:54.25

Heat 4

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 6 Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 1:44.84 Q
2 2 Ismail Ahmed Ismail  Sudan 1:45.17 Q, PB
3 3 Samwel Mwera  Tanzania 1:45.30 q, NR
4 5 Nicolas Aïssat  France 1:45.31 q
5 4 Bram Som  Netherlands 1:45.72 q
6 7 Mihail Kolganov  Kazakhstan 1:47.36
7 1 Mohammad Al-Azemi  Kuwait 1:47.67
8 8 Erkinjon Isakov  Uzbekistan 1:48.28

Heat 5

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 5 Yuriy Borzakovskiy  Russia 1:46.20 Q
2 3 Berhanu Alemu  Ethiopia 1:46.26 Q
3 6 Miguel Quesada  Spain 1:46.32
4 8 Joeri Jansen  Belgium 1:46.66
5 2 Paskar Owor  Uganda 1:47.87
6 1 Moise Joseph  Haiti 1:48.15
7 4 Isireli Naikelekelevesi  Fiji 1:49.08
8 7 Kondwani Chiwina  Malawi 1:49.87 PB

Heat 6

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 2 Amine Laâlou  Morocco 1:45.88 Q
2 8 Ivan Heshko  Ukraine 1:45.92 Q, SB
3 5 Khadevis Robinson  United States 1:46.14
4 6 Dmitriy Bogdanov  Russia 1:47.03
5 3 Nabil Madi  Algeria 1:47.52
6 4 Selahattin Çobanoğlu  Turkey 1:47.83
7 1 Sajjad Moradi  Iran 1:49.49
8 7 Andy Grant  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1:57.08

Heat 7

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 2 Dmitrijs Miļkevičs  Latvia 1:46.66 Q
2 6 Antonio Manuel Reina  Spain 1:46.66 Q
3 4 Florent Lacasse  France 1:46.91
4 8 Majed Saeed Sultan  Qatar 1:47.92
5 1 Abdoulaye Wagne  Senegal 1:47.95
6 7 Mohammed Al-Salhi  Saudi Arabia 1:48.42 SB
7 3 Ramil Aritkulov  Russia 1:49.25
8 5 Ali Mohamed Al-Balooshi  United Arab Emirates 1:51.76

Heat 8

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 6 Andrea Longo  Italy 1:46.75 Q
2 8 Hezekiél Sepeng  South Africa 1:46.82 Q
3 7 André Bucher  Switzerland 1:47.34
4 3 Manuel Olmedo  Spain 1:47.71
5 5 Michal Šneberger  Czech Republic 1:47.89
6 1 Sherridan Kirk  Trinidad and Tobago 1:48.12
7 4 Vančo Stojanov  Macedonia 1:49.02 SB
8 2 Abdal Salam Al-Dabaji  Palestine 1:53.86

Heat 9

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Gary Reed  Canada 1:46.74 Q
2 8 Mouhssin Chehibi  Morocco 1:46.77 Q
3 2 Yusuf Saad Kamel  Bahrain 1:46.94
4 5 Derrick Peterson  United States 1:47.60
5 4 Glody Dube  Botswana 1:48.25
6 1 Prince Mumba  Zambia 1:48.36
7 6 Byron Piedra  Ecuador 1:48.42
8 7 Cornelis Sibe  Suriname 2:00.06

Semifinals

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Qualification rule: The top two finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next two fastest overall runners (q) advanced to the final.[7]

Semifinal 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Djabir Saïd-Guerni  Algeria 1:45.76 Q
2 8 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi  South Africa 1:46.09 Q
3 6 Antonio Manuel Reina  Spain 1:46.17
4 7 Ivan Heshko  Ukraine 1:46.66
5 2 Nicolas Aïssat  France 1:47.14
6 1 Berhanu Alemu  Ethiopia 1:47.40
7 5 Amine Laâlou  Morocco 1:47.53
8 4 René Herms  Germany 1:47.68

Semifinal 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 6 Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 1:44.28 Q
2 3 Yuriy Borzakovskiy  Russia 1:44.29 Q
3 7 Mouhssin Chehibi  Morocco 1:44.62 q, PB
4 4 Hezekiél Sepeng  South Africa 1:44.75 q
5 1 Bram Som  Netherlands 1:45.52
6 2 Dmitrijs Miļkevičs  Latvia 1:46.62
7 5 Gary Reed  Canada 1:47.38
8 Samwel Mwera  Tanzania DSQ

Semifinal 3

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Wilson Kipketer  Denmark 1:44.63 Q
2 1 Ismail Ahmed Ismail  Sudan 1:45.45 Q
3 5 Joseph Mutua  Kenya 1:45.54
4 3 Andrea Longo  Italy 1:45.97
5 2 Jean-Patrick Nduwimana  Burundi 1:46.15
6 8 Ricky Soos  Great Britain 1:46.74
7 7 Osmar dos Santos  Brazil 1:48.23
8 6 Jonathan Johnson  United States 1:50.10

Final

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[8]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 Yuriy Borzakovskiy  Russia 1:44.45
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi  South Africa 1:44.61 SB
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 Wilson Kipketer  Denmark 1:44.65
4 8 Mouhssin Chehibi  Morocco 1:45.16
5 5 Wilfred Bungei  Kenya 1:45.31
6 3 Hezekiél Sepeng  South Africa 1:45.53
7 1 Djabir Saïd-Guerni  Algeria 1:45.61
8 7 Ismail Ahmed Ismail  Sudan 1:52.49

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 2004 Athens Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Borzakovskiy snatches 800m victory". CNN. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  4. ^ Barclay, Bill (28 August 2004). "Yuriy Borzakovskiy wins men's 800m". Rediff.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  5. ^ Official Report, Results Book for Athletics.
  6. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Men's 800m Heats". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  7. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Men's 800m Semifinals". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  8. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Men's 800m Final". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
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