2016 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 800 m (women)

sport	athletics
discipline	800 meter run
gender	Women
Attendees	65 athletes from 46 countries
Competition location	Estádio Nilton Santos
Competition phase	August 17, 2016 (preliminary) August 18, 2016 (semi-finals) August 20, 2016 (final)
Medalists Caster Semenya ( RSA )   Francine Niyonsaba ( BDI )   Margaret Wambui ( KEN )

The women's 800-meter run at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was held on August 17, 18 and 20, 2016 at the Estádio Nilton Santos . 65 athletes took part.

The South African Caster Semenya became the Olympic champion . Francine Niyonsaba from Burundi won silver . The Kenyan Margaret Wambui won the bronze medal.

Christina Hering and Fabienne Kohlmann started for Germany, both of whom were eliminated in the preliminary run.
The Swiss Selina Büchel failed in the semi-finals.
Athletes from Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Rose Lokonyen from South Sudan took part as a refugee athlete who fled her home country under the Olympic flag and the abbreviation ROT (Refugee Olympic Team).

Gender status question

The question of gender status arises again and again in connection with the athlete Caster Semenya. This is a delicate problem, the question is, where should the limits be set, how should appropriate controls be designed, to what extent are athletes impaired or injured in their personality. The question of gender status has always been topical in the past. In the 1930s it was about the German Heinrich Ratjen , who participated as a high jumper in numerous national and international events, sometimes very successfully. All of his results were deleted after 1938. However, unlike Semenya, he was clearly a man.

In the 1960s In the 1960s, the topic came up again in connection with the siblings Irina and Tamara Press from the Soviet Union, who were suspected of being hermaphrodites . Both disappeared after the introduction of the so-called sex tests, which were first implemented in athletics at the European Championships in 1966 .

Today, the tests used to determine gender status have been abolished in their previous form. However, the question arises again today as to where the limits for the participation of female athletes in women's sport lie, and there are definitely critical voices about eligibility for Caster Semenya.

Current titleholders

Olympic Champion	Marija Savinova ( Russia )	1: 56.19 min	London 2012
world champion	Maryna Arsamassawa ( Belarus )	1: 58.03 min	Beijing 2015
European champion	Natalija Pryshchepa ( Ukraine )	1: 59.70 min	Amsterdam 2016
North / Central America / Caribbean Champion	Chanelle Price ( USA )	2: 00.48 min	San José 2015
South America Champion	Déborah Rodríguez ( Uruguay )	2: 01.46 min	Lima 2015
Asian champion	Tintu Lukka ( India )	2: 01.53 min	Wuhan 2015
African champion	Caster Semenya ( South Africa )	1: 58.20 min	Durban 2016
Oceania champion	Donna Koniel ( Papua New Guinea )	2: 09.58 min	Cairns 2015

Existing records

World record	Jarmila Kratochvilová ( Czechoslovakia )	1: 53.28 min	Munich , Federal Republic of Germany (now Germany )	July 26, 1983
Olympic record	Nadija Olisarenko ( Soviet Union )	1: 53.43 min	Final of Moscow , Soviet Union (today Russia )	July 27, 1980

Note: All times are based on Rio local time ( UTC-3 ).

Preliminary round

The preliminary round was carried out in eight runs. The first two athletes of each run qualified for the semifinals. In addition, the eight 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.

Run 1

The Ukrainian Olha Lyachowa was eliminated in sixth of their preliminary run

August 17, 2016, 10:55 am

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Lynsey Sharp	Great Britain	2: 00.83
2	Amela Terzić	Serbia	2: 00.99
3	Sahily Diago	Cuba	2: 01.38
4th	Angie Petty	New Zealand	2: 02.40
5	Justine Fedronic	France	2: 02.73
6th	Olha Lyachowa	Ukraine	2: 03.02
7th	Florina Pierdevară	Romania	2: 03.32
8th	Ciara Everard	Ireland	2: 07.91

Run 2

The Kazakhstani Margarita Mukaschewa did not reach the next round as fifth of her preliminary run

August 17, 2016, 11:02 am

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Caster Semenya	South Africa	1: 59.31
2	Ajee Wilson	United States	1: 59.44
3	Shelayna Oskan-Clarke	Great Britain	1: 59.67
4th	Wang Chunyu	People's Republic of China	1: 59.93
5	Margarita Mukasheva	Kazakhstan	2: 00.97
6th	Claudia Bobocea	Romania	2: 03.75
7th	Rose Lokonyen	Refugee Olympic Team	2: 16.64	Homeland: South Sudan
8th	Houleye Ba	Mauritania	2: 43.52
DNF	Rababe Arafi	Morocco

Run 3

The Dutch Sifan Hassan did not reach the semifinals with her fifth place from the preliminary run

August 17, 2016, 11:09 am

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Selina Büchel	Switzerland	1: 59.00
2	Margaret Wambui	Kenya	1: 59.66
3	Natalija Pryshchepa	Ukraine	1: 59.80
4th	Gudaf Tsegay	Ethiopia	2: 00.13
5	Sifan Hassan	Netherlands	2: 00.27
6th	Tintu Lukka	India	2: 00.58
7th	Selma Kajan	Australia	2: 05.20
8th	Tsepang Sello	Lesotho	2: 10.22

Run 4

The Icelander Aníta Hinriksdóttir finished sixth in the fourth semifinals and was eliminated

August 17, 2016, 11:16 am

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Melissa Bishop	Canada	1: 58.38
2	Maryna Arsamassawa	Belarus	1: 58.44
3	Habitam Alemu	Ethiopia	1: 58.99
4th	Noélie Yarigo	Benin	1: 59.12	NO
5	Halimah Nakaayi	Uganda	1: 59.78
6th	Aníta Hinriksdóttir	Iceland	2: 00.14	NO
7th	Christina Hering	Germany	2: 01.04
8th	Fatma El Sharnouby	Egypt	2: 21.24

Run 5

August 17, 2016, 11:23 a.m.

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Eunice Sum	Kenya	1: 59.83
2	Natalija Lupu	Ukraine	1: 59.91
3	Kate Grace	United States	1: 59.96
4th	Renée Eykens	Belgium	2:00.00
5	Tigist Assefa	Ethiopia	2: 00.21
6th	Winnie Nanyondo	Uganda	2: 02.77
7th	Amna Bakhit	Sudan	2: 07.65
8th	Swe Li Myint	Myanmar	2: 16.98

Run 6

The Cuban Mary Almanza failed despite her third place in her preliminary round in the preliminary round

August 17, 2016, 11:30 a.m.

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Angelika Cichocka	Poland	2: 00.42
2	Yusneysi Santiusti	Italy	2: 00.45
3	Rose Mary Almanza	Cuba	2: 00.50
4th	Malika Akkaoui	Morocco	2: 00.52
5	Hedda Hynne	Norway	2: 01.64
6th	Déborah Rodríguez	Uruguay	2: 01.86
7th	Simoya Campbell	Jamaica	2: 02.07
8th	Charline Mathias	Luxembourg	2: 09.30

Run 7

Eglė Balčiūnaitė from Lithuania did not reach the semi-finals with the sixth place in their preliminary run

August 17, 2016, 11:37 am

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Joanna Jóźwik	Poland	2: 01.58
2	Winny Chebet	Kenya	2: 01.65
3	Esther Guerrero	Spain	2: 01.85
4th	Lisneidy Veitia	Cuba	2: 02.10
5	Rénelle Lamote	France	2: 02.19
6th	Eglė Balčiūnaitė	Lithuania	2: 02.98
7th	Kenya Sinclair	Jamaica	2: 03.76
8th	Flávia de Lima	Brazil	2: 03.78

Run 8

August 17, 2016, 11:44 am

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Francine Niyonsaba	Burundi	1: 59.84
2	Lovisa Lindh	Sweden	2: 00.04
3	Natoya Goule	Jamaica	2: 00.49
4th	Lucia Hrivnák Klocová	Slovakia	2: 00.57
5	Julija Karol	Belarus	2: 01.09
6th	Chrishuna Williams	United States	2: 01.19
7th	Fabienne Kohlmann	Germany	2: 05.36
8th	Elisabeth Mandaba	Central African Republic	2: 11.70	NO

• 

  The Romanian Florina Pierdevară was seventh in the first heat and was eliminated

• 

  The Irish Ciara Everard failed as eighth of her preliminary round in the preliminary round

• 

  A sixth place in the second heat was not enough for the Romanian Claudia Bobocea to be in the semi-finals

• 

  Rose Lokonyen from South Sudan, who started as a refugee athlete for the so-called Refugee Olympic Team, was eliminated with her seventh place in her preliminary run

• 

  Seventh place in her preliminary run was not enough for the German Christina Hering to take part in the semi-finals

• 

  Déborah Rodríguez from Uruguay was eliminated in sixth place in the preliminary round

• 

  The Spaniard Esther Guerrero was third in the seventh heat, which was not enough for her to advance

• 

  The French Rénelle Lamote was eliminated as fifth in their preliminary run

• 

  The Jamaican Natoya Goule did not reach the next round despite a third place in the preliminary run

• 

  As fourth in the eighth semifinal race, the Slovak Lucia Hrivnák Klocová was eliminated in the preliminary round

• 

  The German Fabienne Kohlmann did not reach the semifinals with her seventh place in the eighth heat

Semifinals

In each of the three semi-finals, the two best athletes qualified for the final. In addition, the two fastest drivers, the so-called lucky losers , also advanced. The directly qualified runners are highlighted in light blue, the lucky losers in light green.

Run 1

The Belgian Renée Eykens was eliminated in the semifinals as fifth of her race

August 18, 2016, 9:15 p.m.

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Margaret Wambui	Kenya	1: 59.21
2	Francine Niyonsaba	Burundi	1: 59.59
3	Ajee Wilson	United States	1: 59.75
4th	Natalija Pryshchepa	Ukraine	1: 59.95
5	Renée Eykens	Belgium	2: 00.45
6th	Halimah Nakaayi	Uganda	2: 00.63
7th	Yusneysi Santiusti	Italy	2: 00.80
8th	Angelika Cichocka	Poland	2: 01.29

Run 2

Scene from the 2nd semi-final:
Sum and Alemu ahead of Büchel, Bishop and Jóźwik, followed by Lupu and Lindh

August 18, 2016, 9:23 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Joanna Jóźwik	Poland	1: 58.93
2	Melissa Bishop	Canada	1: 59.05
3	Selina Büchel	Switzerland	1: 59.35
4th	Lovisa Lindh	Sweden	1: 59.41
5	Shelayna Oskan-Clarke	Great Britain	1: 59.45
6th	Habitam Alemu	Ethiopia	2: 00.07
7th	Eunice Sum	Kenya	2: 00.88
8th	Natalija Lupu	Ukraine	2: 02.10

Run 3

August 18, 2016, 9:31 pm

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Caster Semenya	South Africa	1: 58.15
2	Lynsey Sharp	Great Britain	1: 58.65
3	Kate Grace	United States	1: 58.79
4th	Maryna Arsamassawa	Belarus	1: 58.87
5	Noélie Yarigo	Benin	1: 59.78
6th	Winny Chebet	Kenya	2: 01.90
7th	Amela Terzić	Serbia	2: 03.81
8th	Wang Chunyu	People's Republic of China	2: 04.05

• 

  Angelika Cichocka from Poland was eighth in the first semifinals and was eliminated

• 

  Winny Chebet from Kenya did not reach the finals with her sixth place in the third semifinals

• 

  The Serbian Amela Terzić failed as the seventh of her run in the semifinals

final

August 20, 2016, 9:15 p.m.

One athlete from Burundi, Great Britain, Canada, Kenya, Poland, South Africa, Belarus and the USA each qualified for the final.

The favorites were the South African Olympic champion from 2012 Caster Semenya and the Belarusian European champion from 2014 and reigning world champion Maryna Arsamassawa. Other candidates for top placements were Canadian Vice World Champion Melissa Bishop and British Vice European Champion 2014 Lynsey Sharp. But the two Africans Margaret Wambui from Kenya and Francine Niyonsaba from Burundi, who made a very good impression in the first semifinals, were also strong runners.

Semenya took the lead in the first corner. On the back straight, Niyonsaba caught up with the South African. Arsamassawa, Bishop, and Sharp ran behind them. In the second corner, Wambui took fourth place behind Arsamassawa. With 57.59 s for the first four hundred meters, the leading Semenya set a fast pace. At the beginning of the last lap, Niyonsaba passed Semenya and had a lead of about two meters. Behind Semenya was now Bishop, who was overtaken by Arsamassawa on the inside. Shortly afterwards, Wambui passed Arsamassawa. At the beginning of the home straight, Semenya accelerated the pace and took the lead again. With her irresistible final sprint, Caster Semenya finally became Olympic champion with a lead of around eight meters and improved the South African national record. Francine Niyonsaba came in second ahead of Margaret Wambui. Melissa Bishop also achieved a new national record in fourth. Pole Joanna Jóźwik took fifth place in this fast race ahead of Lynsey Sharp. Co-favorite Maryna Arsamassawa had to settle for seventh place. The American Kate Grace came in eighth

Caster Semenya repeated her Olympic victory from 2012.

space	Surname	nation	Time (min)	annotation
1	Caster Semenya	South Africa	1: 55.28	NO
2	Francine Niyonsaba	Burundi	1: 56.49
3	Margaret Wambui	Kenya	1: 56.89
4th	Melissa Bishop	Canada	1: 57.02	NO
5	Joanna Jóźwik	Poland	1: 57.37
6th	Lynsey Sharp	Great Britain	1: 57.69
7th	Maryna Arsamassawa	Belarus	1: 59.10
8th	Kate Grace	United States	1: 59.57

• 

  Olympic Champion:
  Caster Semenya, South Africa

• 

  Silver medal winner:
  Francine Niyonsaba from Burundi

• 

  Bronze medal winner:
  Margaret Wambui, Kenya

• 

  Canadian Melissa Bishop came in fourth

• 

  The Polish Joanna Jóźwik finished fifth in the final

• 

  The British Lynsey Sharp came in sixth place

• 

  The Olympic seventh Maryna Arsamassawa from Belarus

• 

  The American Kate Grace was Olympic eight

Web links

• Results Book Rio 2016, official report at library.olympic.org, accessed October 11, 2018
• Results on the website of the World Athletics Federation IAAF 800 m women (English), accessed on October 11, 2018
• Sports reference, result of 800 m women (English), accessed on October 11, 2018

Videos

• Semenya wins gold on youtube.com, published August 24, 2016, accessed October 11, 2018
• Testosterone? Heartbreaking Lynsey Sharp Interview! After Womens 800m final 2016 Rio 2016 Olympics on youtube.com, published August 20, 2016, accessed October 11, 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The double life of Dora Ratjen on ndr.de November 18, 2011, accessed on October 11, 2018
2. ^ Between fame and suspicion Allgemeine Zeitung, accessed October 11, 2018
3. ↑ Intersexuality as a problem of high-performance sport , Jennifer de Antoni, diploma thesis, May 2011 (PDF), accessed on October 11, 2018
4. ↑ The sex test - athletes prove their gender on 3sat.de August 21, 2009, accessed on October 11, 2018
5. ↑ Keyword Sex-Test , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung August 2, 2009, accessed on October 11, 2018
6. ↑ Olympias "beautiful" daughters of Petra Welzel, Friday September 15, 2000, accessed on October 11, 2018
7. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Beijing 2015 page 795 , accessed on October 11, 2018