2015 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 800 metres


The men's 800 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22, 23 and 25 August.

Summary

There is a definite change in this event. Returning silver medalist Nick Symmonds and returning bronze medalist Ayanleh Souleiman did not enter. Returning champion Mohammed Aman was disqualified for interference in the semi-final round. In fact, of the eight finalists in 2013, only Pierre-Ambroise Bosse returned to the [|final]. Olympic silver medalist, the promising young Nijel Amos got pipped at the line in his slowest heat of the semi-finals and had to watch the final. World record holder David Rudisha did make the final winning that semi, but has not been running the times he ran during his world record years. The only other finalist with Olympic or World Championship 800 finals experience was 2011 sixth placer Adam Kszczot.
In the final, as world record holder, Rudisha commanded all eyeballs. The field expected Rudisha to lead and lead he did, but not to a 50-second first lap, but a very slow 54.15. For point of comparison, 54.15 was exactly the same time Mo Farah ran in the last lap of the 10,000 metres in these championships. With his compatriot Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich on his shoulder, the two acted as a wall at the front, but nobody else looked like they wanted to pass. 200 more metres went by at the slow pace, finally Kszczot tried to sneak by on the inside, but Rudisha wouldn't let him, accelerating to maintain the lead and continuing to speed up. With world leader and notable kicker Amel Tuka perfectly aligned to pounce, Rudisha just continued to speed up. Only Kszczot was able to follow but the entire field was losing ground.
Tuka's speed was not in evidence to the same degree as his previous races this season, instead straining to go around Cheruiyot to get the bronze medal. Tuka's medal was the first for Bosnia and Herzegovina. But it was the old guard 1-2 vs the newcomers.
How did Rudisha's strategy work against these elite athletes? His last 200 metres was timed at 24.34, a speed most of these athletes are unfamiliar with at the end of a race. Even when a kicker like Tuka, or others with a similar strategy; Symmonds. Borzakovskiy, Robinson or Wottle runs by, they are passing slowing, depleted athletes with a 26+ or high 25 final 200. And most of these competitors are the ones slowing to make that final 200 from a kicker look so impressive. Additionally, with the Kenyan's expert team tactics, Cherulyot's position caused everyone except Kszczot to have to run around Cherulyot at speeds they are not used to. Save Tuka's exceptional finishing speed, the strategy would have gotten Cherulyot a bronze medal.

Records

Prior to the competition, the records were as follows:
World record1:40.91London, Great Britain9 August 2012
Championship record1:43.06Rome, Italy1 September 1987
World Leading1:42.51Fontvieille, Monaco17 July 2015
African Record1:40.91London, Great Britain9 August 2012
Asian Record1:42.79Fontvieille, Monaco29 July 2008
North, Central American and Caribbean record1:42.60Koblenz, West Germany28 August 1985
South American Record1:41.77Cologne, West Germany26 August 1984
European Record1:41.11Cologne, Germany24 August 1997
Oceanian record1:44.3Christchurch, New Zealand3 February 1962

Qualification standards

Schedule

Results

Heats

Qualification: Best 3 and next 6 fastest qualify for the next round.
RankHeatNameNationalityTimeNotes
14Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich1:45.83
24Amine El Manaoui1:45.86
34Kevin López1:46.06
44Konstantin Tolokonnikov1:46.07
53Amel Tuka1:46.12
63Nader Belhanbel1:46.23
74Marcin Lewandowski1:46.25
83Rafith Rodríguez1:46.39
95Adam Kszczot1:46.62
103Erik Sowinski1:46.63
115Alfred Kipketer1:46.67
123Mark English1:46.69
134Thijmen Kupers1:46.70
145Jeffrey Riseley1:46.79
155Jena Umar1:47.03
161Nijel Amos1:47.23
173Žan Rudolf1:47.24
181Antoine Gakeme1:47.47
195Abdelati El Guesse1:47.49
201Ali Al-Deraan1:47.65
214Musa Hajdari1:47.70
222Mohammed Aman1:47.87
232Pierre-Ambroise Bosse1:47.89
241Robin Schembera1:48.04
255Andreas Almgren1:48.06
262Clayton Murphy1:48.08
272Giordano Benedetti1:48.15
282Jozef Repčík1:48.26
296David Rudisha1:48.31
306Abraham Rotich1:48.42
314Brice Etès1:48.52
326Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla1:48.59
335Reinhardt van Rensburg1:48.61
346Michael Rimmer1:48.70
351Josh Ralph1:48.90
366Andreas Bube1:48.94
372Jamal Hairane1:48.96
381Casimir Loxsom1:48.97
396Artur Kuciapski1:49.22
401Khalid Benmahdi1:49.61
412Kyle Langford1:49.78
426Cleiton Abrão1:49.79
432Adnan Taess1:54.44
446Wais Ibrahim Khairandesh1:59.51
3Alex Amankwah

Semifinals

Qualification: First 2 in each heat and the next 2 fastest advanced to the final.
RankHeatNameNationalityTimeNotes
13Amel Tuka1.44.84
23Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich1:44.85
31Adam Kszczot1:44.97
41Alfred Kipketer1:44.99
51Pierre-Ambroise Bosse1:45.02
63Nader Belhanbel1:45.28
73Marcin Lewandowski1:45.34
83Mark English1:45.55
93Rafith Rodríguez1:45.63
101Kevin López1:45.84
111Amine El Manaoui1:46.09
121Clayton Murphy1:46.28
133Erik Sowinski1:47.16
142David Rudisha1:47.70
151Thijmen Kupers1:47.74
162Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla1:47.93
172Nijel Amos1:47.96
182Konstantin Tolokonnikov1:48.32
192Abraham Rotich1:48.61
203Jena Umar1:48.68
212Ali Al-Deraan1:48.71
222Antoine Gakeme1:48.86
1Mohammed AmanR163.2
2Jeffrey Riseley

Final

The final was started at 20:55.
RankNameNationalityTimeNotes
David Rudisha1:45.84
Adam Kszczot1:46.08
Amel Tuka1:46.30
4Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich1:46.35
5Pierre-Ambroise Bosse1:46.63
6Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla1:47.01
7Nader Belhanbel1:47.09
8Alfred Kipketer1:47.66