800 m, women

What to remember

Munich, July 26, 1983: Jarmila Kratochvílová ran the two laps of the 800 m in 1 min 53.28 s, an average of 25.42 km/h. That same year, in Helsinki, at the first World Championships in Athletics, the Czechoslovak won both the 400 m, setting a world record there, and the 800 m, and added a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay.

Like Alberto Juantorena, she won major international titles at both 400 m and 800 m. Derived from the British half mile (880 yards), the 800 m is 4.67 m shorter than it. It blends aerobic endurance with sprint speed, and its runners more often double up in the 1500 m than in the 400 m. Earlier, Kratochvílová had taken 400 m silver at the 1980 Olympics.

In 1928, the record stood at 2 min 16.8 s, set by Lina Radke, the year the women's event first appeared at the Olympics, before vanishing until 1960. Later rows include Nina Otkalenko (2 min 05.0 s in 1955), Vera Nikolic (2 min 00.5 s in 1968), Tatyana Kazankina (1 min 54.9 s in 1976) and Nadezhda Olizarenko (1 min 53.5 s in 1980). Pamela Jelimo in 2008, Caster Semenya in 2018 and Audrey Werro in 2026 came within a second of the Munich mark.