German participants were Joachim Dehmel and Nico Motchebon . While Dehmel failed in the preliminary round, Motchebon qualified for the final, in which he finished fifth. André Bucher started
for Switzerland . He was eliminated in the semifinals.
Athletes from Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.
Note: All times are Atlanta local time ( UTC − 5 ).
Preliminary round
July 28, 1996, from 7:15 p.m.
The athletes competed in a total of eight heats. The first two athletes per run qualified for the semifinals. In addition, the eight fastest drivers, the so-called lucky losers , made it through. The directly qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue, the lucky losers in light green.
From the three semi-finals, the first two athletes of each run qualified for the final. In addition, the two fastest times, the so-called lucky losers , made it through. The directly qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue, the lucky losers in light green.
Two Kenyans qualified for the final. The final field was completed by one starter each from Germany, Cuba, Morocco, Norway, South Africa and the USA.
The reigning world champion Wilson Kipketer from Kenya, who competed internationally for Denmark, could not compete. He had not yet received Danish citizenship and was therefore not approved by the Kenyan Association. The Kenyans Frederick Onyancha and David Kiptoo represented in the final were still relatively unknown and therefore difficult to assess. Vice World Champion Arthémon Hatungimana and also European Champion Andrea Benvenuti from Italy were eliminated in the semifinals. So it wasn't easy to find a favorite group for this race. These included the Norwegian World Cup third and European runner-up Vebjørn Rodal, the South African Hezekiél Sepeng and the German World Cup and European Championship fourth Nico Motchebon.
The final race was led for a long time by the American Johnny Gray, who competed here for the fourth time at the Olympic Games and set a very high pace. The 400 meter mark was even passed in less than fifty seconds with 49.55 s. Onyancha and the Moroccan Benyounès Lahlou followed in second and third place. On the back straight, Rodal, who had been lying further back up until then, oriented himself further forward past the field. In the last corner he was level with Gray, but had to run outside. Kiptoo and the Cuban Norberto Téllez sprinted right behind them. At the end of the bend nothing was decided, it was extremely tight. On the home stretch the order changed significantly again. Vebjørn Rodal prevailed with the best sprint to the finish and crossed the finish line as an Olympic champion. From the back field, the South African Hezekiél Sepeng overtook everyone else and won the silver medal just ahead of Frederick Onyancha. Both and fourth-placed Norberto Téllez were faster than the previous Olympic record set by Brazilian Joaquim Cruz in 1984 . Nico Motchebon was fifth ahead of David Kiptoo. Johnny Gray had no more strength on the home stretch and crossed the finish line in seventh place, while Moroccan Benyounès Lahlou finished eighth.
Vebjørn Rodal was the first Norwegian Olympic champion over 800 meters .
literature
Gerd Rubenbauer (ed.), Olympic Summer Games Atlanta 1996 with reports by Britta Kruse, Johannes Ebert, Andreas Schmidt and Ernst Christian Schütt, comments: Gerd Rubenbauer and Hans Schwarz, Chronik Verlag im Bertelsmann Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1996, p. 33f