Jump to content

Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jonel (talk | contribs) at 15:46, 7 August 2020 (expand, formatting). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
VenueEstadio Olímpico Universitario
DateOctober 13–15
Competitors44 from 32 nations
Winning time1:44.3 =WR OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Ralph Doubell
 Australia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Wilson Kiprugut
 Kenya
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tom Farrell
 United States
← 1964
1972 →
Athletics at the
1968 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
400 mmenwomen
800 mmenwomen
1500 mmen
5000 mmen
10,000 mmen
80 m hurdleswomen
110 m hurdlesmen
400 m hurdlesmen
3000 m
steeplechase		men
4 × 100 m relaymenwomen
4 × 400 m relaymen
Road events
Marathonmen
20 km walkmen
50 km walkmen
Field events
Long jumpmenwomen
Triple jumpmen
High jumpmenwomen
Pole vaultmen
Shot putmenwomen
Discus throwmenwomen
Javelin throwmenwomen
Hammer throwmen
Combined events
Pentathlonwomen
Decathlonmen

The men's 800 metres competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. The event were held at the University Olympic Stadium on October 13–15.[1] Forty-four athletes from 32 nations competed.[2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Ralph Doubell of Australia, the nation's second title in the men's 800 metres—and its first medal in the event since its first title in 1896. Wilson Kiprugut of Kenya improved on his 1964 bronze to take silver, becoming the seventh man to win a second medal in the 800 metres. Tom Farrell's bronze put the United States back on the podium for the first time since 1956.

Background

This was the 16th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Three finalists from 1964 returned: bronze medalist Wilson Kiprugut of Kenya, fourth-place finisher Tom Farrell of the United States, and eighth-place finisher Jacques Pennewaert of Belgium. American Wade Bell, the 1967 Pan American champion, was a favorite to challenge Kiprugut.[2]

The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Senegal, and Sudan appeared in the event for the first time; East Germany and West Germany competed separately for the first time as well. Great Britain and the United States each made their 15th appearance, tied for the most among all nations.

Competition format

The competition used the three-round format that had been in use for most Games since 1912. The event had seven heats in the first round, two semifinals and a final. The top two in each of the first round heats progressed, as did the four fastest non-qualifiers. The top four finishers in each semifinal race reached the finals.[2][3]

Records

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

World record  Peter Snell (NZL) 1:44.3 Christchurch, New Zealand 2 February 1962
Olympic record  Peter Snell (NZL) 1:45.1 Tokyo, Japan 16 October 1964

Ralph Doubell and Wilson Kiprugut both ran under the Olympic record in the final, with Doubell finishing in 1:44.3 to equal the world record.

Schedule

All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 13 October 1968 15:50 Round 1
Monday, 14 October 1968 16:20 Semifinals
Tuesday, 15 October 1968 18:10 Final

Results

Round 1

Qual. rule: first 2 of each heat (Q) plus the 4 fastest times (q) qualified.

Heat 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Thomas Saisi  Kenya 1:47.0 Q
2 Jean-Pierre Dufresne  France 1:47.6 Q
3 Matias Habtemichael  Ethiopia 1:49.6
4 Papa M'Baye N'Diaye  Senegal 1:51.3
5 Wade Bell  United States 1:51.5
6 Róbert Honti  Hungary 1:53.8

Heat 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Dieter Fromm  East Germany 1:46.9 Q
2 Franz-Josef Kemper  West Germany 1:47.0 Q
3 Ron Kutschinski  United States 1:47.6 q
4 Ramasamy Subramaniam  Malaysia 1:50.8
5 Gilbert Van Manshoven  Belgium 1:52.3
— Guillermo Cuello  Argentina DNF

Heat 3

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Walter Adams  West Germany 1:48.4 Q
2 Jozef Plachý  Czechoslovakia 1:48.6 Q
3 Noel Carroll  Ireland 1:49.0
4 Ahmed Issa  Chad 1:49.0
5 Roberto Silva  Mexico 1:50.4
6 Gerd Larsen  Denmark 1:51.9
— Neville Myton  Jamaica DNF

Heat 4

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ralph Doubell  Australia 1:47.2 Q
2 Henryk Szordykowski  Poland 1:47.4 Q
3 Robert Ouko  Kenya 1:47.6 q
4 John Ametepey  Ghana 1:50.7
5 Gilles Sibon  France 1:50.8
6 Chris Carter  Great Britain 1:52.9
7 José L'Oficial  Dominican Republic 1:55.6
8 Alfredo Cubías  El Salvador 2:08.7

Heat 5

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Wilson Kiprugut  Kenya 1:46.1 Q
2 Tom Farrell  United States 1:47.9 Q
3 Tomáš Jungwirth  Czechoslovakia 1:48.7
4 Anders Gärderud  Sweden 1:48.9
5 Jun Nagai  Japan 1:51.2
6 Angelo Hussein  Sudan 1:53.4
7 Jacques Pennewaert  Belgium 1:53.8
8 Francisco Menocal  Nicaragua 1:58.9

Heat 6

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Dave Cropper  Great Britain 1:47.9 Q
2 Ben Cayenne  Trinidad and Tobago 1:48.2 Q
3 Yevhen Arzhanov  Soviet Union 1:48.4 q
4 Byron Dyce  Jamaica 1:48.5 q
5 Mamo Sebsibe  Ethiopia 1:49.7
6 Gianni Del Buono  Italy 1:50.2
7 Xaver Frick Jr.  Liechtenstein 1:52.6
8 Carlos Báez  Puerto Rico 1:52.6

Semifinals

Qual. rule: first 4 of each heat (Q) qualified.

Semifinal 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Walter Adams  West Germany 1:46.4 Q
2 Dieter Fromm  East Germany 1:46.5 Q
3 Thomas Saisi  Kenya 1:46.6 Q
4 Ben Cayenne  Trinidad and Tobago 1:46.8 Q
5 Ron Kutschinski  United States 1:47.3
6 Jean-Pierre Dufresne  France 1:51.8
— Henryk Szordykowski  Poland DNS
Yevhen Arzhanov  Soviet Union DNS

Semifinal 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ralph Doubell  Australia 1:45.7 Q
2 Wilson Kiprugut  Kenya 1:45.8 Q
3 Jozef Plachý  Czechoslovakia 1:45.9 Q
4 Tom Farrell  United States 1:46.1 Q
5 Robert Ouko  Kenya 1:47.1
6 Byron Dyce  Jamaica 1:47.2
7 Franz-Josef Kemper  West Germany 1:47.3
8 Dave Cropper  Great Britain 1:47.6

Final

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Ralph Doubell  Australia 1:44.3 =WR, OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Wilson Kiprugut  Kenya 1:44.5
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tom Farrell  United States 1:45.4
4 Walter Adams  West Germany 1:45.8
5 Jozef Plachý  Czechoslovakia 1:45.9
6 Dieter Fromm  East Germany 1:46.2
7 Thomas Saisi  Kenya 1:47.5
8 Ben Cayenne  Trinidad and Tobago 1:54.3

References

  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 522.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Athletics_at_the_1968_Summer_Olympics_–_Men%27s_800_metres&oldid=971680180"