2004 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 800 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	800 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	72 athletes from 57 countries
Competition location	Athens Olympic Stadium
Competition phase	August 25, 2004 (preliminary round) August 26, 2004 (semi-finals) August 28, 2004 (final)
Medalist Juri Borsakowski ( RUS )   Mbulaeni Mulaudzi ( RSA )   Wilson Kipketer ( DEN )

The men's 800-meter race at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens was held on August 25, 26 and 28, 2004 in the Athens Olympic Stadium. 72 athletes took part.

Olympic champion was the Russian Yuri Borsakowski . He won ahead of the South African Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and the Kenyan Wilson Kipketer , who started for Denmark .

The German participant René Herms was eliminated in the semi-finals, the Swiss André Bucher in the preliminary round.
Athletes from Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Current title holders

Olympic Champion 2000	Nils Schumann ( Germany )	1: 45.08 min	Sydney 2000
World Champion 2003	Djabir Saïd-Guerni ( Algeria )	1: 44.81 min	Paris 2003
European Champion 2002	Wilson Kipketer ( Denmark )	1: 47.25 min	Munich 2002
Pan American Champion 2003	Achraf Tadili ( Canada )	1: 45.05 min	Santo Domingo 2003
Central America and Caribbean champions 2003	Sherridan Kirk ( Trinidad and Tobago )	1: 49.10 min	St. George’s 2003
South American Champion 2003	Fabiano Peçanha ( Brazil )	1: 46.32 min	Barquisimeto 2003
Asian champion 2003	Adam Abdu Adam Ali ( Qatar )	1: 46.20 min	Manila 2003
African champion 2004	William Yiampoy ( Kenya )	1: 45.36 min	Brazzaville 2004
Oceania Champion 2002	Gareth Hyett ( New Zealand )	1: 51.12 min	Christchurch 2002

Existing records

World record	1: 41.11 min	Wilson Kipketer ( Denmark )	Cologne , Germany	August 24, 1997
Olympic record	1: 42.58 min	Vebjørn Rodal ( Norway )	Atlanta Final , USA	July 31, 1996

Note: All times are based on Athens local time ( UTC + 2 ).

Preliminary round

A total of nine preliminary runs were completed. The first two athletes per run qualified for the semifinals. In addition, the six fastest drivers, the so-called lucky losers , made it through. The directly qualified runners are highlighted in light blue, the lucky losers in light green.

Forward 1

August 25, 2004, 8:40 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Mbulaeni Mulaudzi	South Africa	1: 45.72
2	René Herms	Germany	1: 45.83
3	Lee Jae-hoon	South Korea	1: 46.24
4th	Arthémon Hatungimana	Burundi	1: 46.35
5	Michael Rotich	Kenya	1: 46.42
6th	Nasar Begliev	Turkmenistan	1: 49.64
7th	Əlibəy Şükürov	Azerbaijan	1: 51.11
8th	Fadrique Iglesias	Bolivia	1: 51.87

Forward 2

August 25, 2004, 8:47 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Joseph Mutua	Kenya	1: 45.65
2	Richard Soos	Great Britain	1: 45.70
3	Djabir Saïd-Guerni	Algeria	1: 45.94
4th	Achraf Tadili	Canada	1: 46.63
5	David Fiegen	Luxembourg	1: 46.97
6th	Mindaugas Norbutas	Lithuania	1: 47.38
7th	Panagiotis Stroubakos	Greece	1: 47.69
8th	Lê Văn Dương	Vietnam	1: 49.81	NO

Forward 3

August 25, 2004, 8:54 p.m.

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Wilson Kipketer	Denmark	1: 44.69
2	Jonathan Johnson	United States	1: 45.31
3	Jean-Patrick Nduwimana	Burundi	1: 45.38
4th	Osmar dos Santos	Brazil	1: 45.90
5	Jason Stewart	New Zealand	1: 46.24
6th	João Pires	Portugal	1: 46.71
7th	Jasmin Salihović	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1: 49.59
8th	Jan Sekpona	Togo	1: 54.25

Forward 4

August 25, 2004, 9:01 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Wilfred Bungei	Kenya	1: 44.84
2	Ismail Ahmed Ismail	Sudan	1: 45.17
3	Samwel Mwera	Tanzania	1: 45.30	NO
4th	Nicolas Aïssat	France	1: 45.31
5	Bram Som	Netherlands	1: 45.72
6th	Mikhail Kolganov	Kazakhstan	1: 47.36
7th	Mohamed Al-Azemi	Kuwait	1: 47.67
8th	Erkinjon Isakov	Uzbekistan	1: 48.28

Forward 5

August 25, 2004, 9:08 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Yuri Borsakovsky	Russia	1: 46.20
2	Berhanu Alemu	Ethiopia	1: 46.26
3	Miguel Quesada	Spain	1: 46.32
4th	Joeri Jansen	Belgium	1: 46.66
5	Paskar Owor	Uganda	1: 47.87
6th	Moise Joseph	Haiti	1: 48.15
7th	Isireli Naikelekelevesi	Fiji	1: 49.08
8th	Kondwani Chiwina	Malawi	1: 49.87	NO

Forward 6

August 25, 2004, 9:15 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Amine Laalou	Morocco	1: 45.88
2	Ivan Heschko	Ukraine	1: 45.92
3	Khadevis Robinson	United States	1: 46.14
4th	Dmitry Bogdanov	Russia	1: 47.03
5	Nabil Madi	Algeria	1: 47.52
6th	Selahattin Çobanoğlu	Turkey	1: 47.83
7th	Sajjad Moradi	Iran	1: 49.49
8th	Andy Grant	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	1: 57.08

Forward 7

August 25, 2004, 9:22 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Dmitrijs Miļkevičs	Latvia	1: 46.66
2	Antonio Manuel Reina	Spain	1: 46.66
3	Florent Lacasse	France	1: 46.91
4th	Majed Saeed Sultan	Qatar	1: 47.92
5	Abdoulaye Wagne	Senegal	1: 47.95
6th	Mohammed Al-Salhi	Saudi Arabia	1: 48.42
7th	Ramil Aritkulov	Russia	1: 49.25
8th	Ali Mohammed Al-Balooshi	United Arab Emirates	1: 51.76

Forward 8

August 25, 2004, 9:29 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Andrea Longo	Italy	1: 46.75
2	Hezekiél Sepeng	South Africa	1: 46.82
3	André Bucher	Switzerland	1: 47.34
4th	Manuel Olmedo	Spain	1: 47.71
5	Michal Šneberger	Czech Republic	1: 47.89
6th	Sherridan Kirk	Trinidad and Tobago	1: 48.12
7th	Vančo Stojanow	Macedonia	1: 49.02
8th	Abdal Salam Al-Dabaji	Palestine	1: 53.86

Forward 9

August 25, 2004, 9:36 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Gary Reed	Canada	1: 46.74
2	Mouhssin Chehibi	Morocco	1: 46.77
3	Yusuf Saad camel	Bahrain	1: 46.94
4th	Derrick Peterson	United States	1: 47.60
5	Glody Dube	Botswana	1: 48.25
6th	Prince Moses Mumba	Zambia	1: 48.36
7th	Bayron Piedra	Ecuador	1: 48.42
8th	Cornelis Sibe	Suriname	2: 00.06

• 

  The New Zealander Jason Stewart - here with the number 703 - was fifth in his prelude and eliminated

• 

  As sixth of his heat, Moise Joseph did not reach the semifinals

• 

  For the American Khadevis Robinson, his third place in his preliminary run was not enough for advancement

• 

  The Algerian Nabil Madi finished fifth in his preliminary run and was eliminated

• 

  Mohammed Al-Salhi from the United Arab Emirates was eliminated as eighth of his preliminary run

• 

  For the Spaniard Manuel Olmedo after a fourth place in the preliminary stage, he did not make it to the semi-finals

• 

  Yusuf Saad Kamel from Bahrain did not reach the next round despite a third place in his preliminary run

• 

  Bayron Piedra from Ecuador finished seventh in his preliminary run and was eliminated

Semifinals

The first two athletes qualified for the final in the three semi-finals. In addition, the two fastest times, the so-called lucky losers , made it through. The directly qualified runners are highlighted in light blue, the lucky losers in light green.

Run 1

August 26, 2004, 9:25 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Djabir Saïd-Guerni	Algeria	1: 45.76
2	Mbulaeni Mulaudzi	South Africa	1: 46.09
3	Antonio Manuel Reina	Spain	1: 46.17
4th	Ivan Heschko	Ukraine	1: 46.66
5	Nicolas Aïssat	France	1: 47.14
6th	Berhanu Alemu	Ethiopia	1: 47.40
7th	Amine Laalou	Morocco	1: 47.53
8th	René Herms	Germany	1: 47.68

Run 2

August 26, 2004, 9:34 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Wilfred Bungei	Kenya	1: 44.28
2	Yuri Borsakovsky	Russia	1: 44.29
3	Mouhssin Chehibi	Morocco	1: 44.62
4th	Hezekiél Sepeng	South Africa	1: 44.75
5	Bram Som	Netherlands	1: 45.52
6th	Dmitrijs Miļkevičs	Latvia	1: 46.62
7th	Gary Reed	Canada	1: 47.38
DSQ	Samwel Mwera	Tanzania

Run 3

August 26, 2004, 9:43 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Wilson Kipketer	Denmark	1: 44.63
2	Ismail Ahmed Ismail	Sudan	1: 45.45
3	Joseph Mutua	Kenya	1: 45.54
4th	Andrea Longo	Italy	1: 45.97
5	Jean-Patrick Nduwimana	Burundi	1: 46.15
6th	Richard Soos	Great Britain	1: 46.74
7th	Osmar dos Santos	Brazil	1: 48.23
8th	Jonathan Johnson	United States	1: 50.10

• 

  The Moroccan Amine Laalou was eliminated after finishing seventh in his semi-final race

• 

  The German René Herms finished eighth in his semi-final and was eliminated

• 

  The Dutchman Bram Som did not reach the next round after finishing fifth in his semi-final run

• 

  Gary Reed of Canada finished seventh in his semi-final race and was eliminated

final

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Yuri Borsakovsky	Russia	1: 44.45
2	Mbulaeni Mulaudzi	South Africa	1: 44.61
3	Wilson Kipketer	Denmark	1: 44.65
4th	Mouhssin Chehibi	Morocco	1: 45.16
5	Wilfred Bungei	Kenya	1: 45.31
6th	Hezekiél Sepeng	South Africa	1: 45.53
7th	Djabir Saïd-Guerni	Algeria	1: 45.61
8th	Ismail Ahmed Ismail	Sudan	1: 52.49

August 28, 2004, 8:50 pm

Two South Africans had qualified for the final. The final field was completed by one starter each from Algeria, Denmark, Kenya, Morocco, Russia and Sudan.

At least half of the runners who qualified for the final were considered for Olympic victory. Among them were the Kenyan Wilson Kipketer, who started for Denmark and who has held the world record since 1997, the reigning world champion Djabir Saïd-Guerni from Algeria, the Russian vice world champion Juri Borsakowski and the world's best of the year Wilfred Bungei from Kenya, who was also vice world champion in 2001. The South African Mudulaen also joined them who was third at the 2003 World Championships, just behind Saïd-Guerni and Borsakowski.

Saïd-Guerni led the field on the first lap. Bungei and Kipketer were behind, the entire field was still together because the pace was not overly high. After about 350 meters, Borsakowski strolled behind in the last place. But at the beginning of the second round, he oriented himself significantly further forward. The 400 meter split was 51.84 seconds. The race got faster on the back straight. In the front, Bungei, Kipketer, Saïd-Guerni and the South African Mbulaeni Mulaudzi are now a bit ahead. Shortly before the last corner, Borsakowski caught up with the four front runners. At the start of the home stretch, all five leading runners still had a chance of winning medals and even an Olympic victory. Bungei was in the lead ahead of Kipketer, Mulaudzi, Saïd-Guerni and Borsakowski. However, there was a small gap between the first three and the two runners behind them, which initially didn't get any smaller. Kipketer took the lead in the last fifty meters, Bungei could not quite keep up the high pace. From behind, Juri Borsakowski stormed past everyone to the Olympic victory. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was also able to pass Kipketer and secured the silver medal. Wilson Kipketer finished third, four hundredths of a second behind, ahead of Moroccan Mouhssin Chehibi and Wilfred Bungei. The South African Hezekiél Sepeng, silver medalist in 1996 , finished sixth ahead of Saïd-Guerni and the Sudanese Ismail Ahmed Ismail.

Yuri Borsakowski was the first Russian Olympic champion in the men's 800 meters .

• 

  Olympic champion Yuri Borsakovsky, Russia

• 

  Silver medalist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South Africa

• 

  Bronze medalist Wilson Kipketer, Denmark

• 

  The Olympic Fifth Wilfred Bungei, Kenya

Web links

• SportsReference 800m , accessed April 20, 2018
• Results on the IAAF website , accessed April 20, 2018
• Official Report of the XXVIIIth Olympiad, Results Athletics , English / French (PDF, 3054 KB), accessed on April 20, 2018

Video

• Yuriy Borzakovskiy wins Men's 800m Olympic final | Athens 2004 , published August 19, 2015 on youtube.com, accessed April 20, 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Beijing 2015, page 669 , accessed on April 20, 2018