The 800 metre race (or 800 metres) is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of the track (400 metre track) and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 metre track, therefore requiring four laps. It was included in the first woman's track program in 1928, but suspended until 1960.^{[citation needed]}

The event combines aerobic endurance with anaerobic conditioning and sprint speed. Both the aerobic and anaerobic systems are being taxed to a high extent, thus the 800 metre athlete is required to combine training between both systems.

Records[link]

800 m runners are often fast enough to run in the 4x400 m relay but only Alberto Juantorena and Jarmila Kratochvílová have won major international titles at 400 m and 800 m. Competing successfully at 800 m and 1500 m is more common.

World Record for men:

• David Rudisha 1:41.01 Rieti 29 August 2010

World Record for women:

• Jarmila Kratochvílová 1:53.28 Munich 26 July 1983

World Junior Record (19 and under) for men:

• Abubaker Kaki Khamis 1:42.69 Oslo 6 June 2008

World Junior Record (19 and under) for women:

• Pamela Jelimo 1:54.01 Zürich 29 August 2008

• Athletes from 10 different countries have won the men's 800 m title.

Top ten all-time athletes on the men's 800 m[link]

Updated August 2010

Rank	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Location	Ref
1	1:41.01	David Rudisha	Kenya	29 August 2010	Rieti
2	1:41.11	Wilson Kipketer	Denmark	24 August 1997	Cologne
3	1:41.73	Sebastian Coe	United Kingdom	10 June 1981	Florence
4	1:41.77	Joaquim Cruz	Brazil	26 August 1984	Cologne
5	1:42.23	Abubaker Kaki Khamis	Sudan	4 June 2010	Oslo	[1]
6	1:42.28	Sammy Koskei	Kenya	26 August 1984	Cologne
7	1:42.34	Wilfred Bungei	Kenya	8 September 2002	Rieti
8	1:42.47	Yuriy Borzakovskiy	Russia	24 August 2001	Brussels
9	1:42.55	Andre Bucher	Switzerland	17 August 2001	Zürich
10	1:42.58	Vebjørn Rodal	Norway	31 July 1996	Atlanta

Top ten all-time athletes on the women's 800 m[link]

Updated April 2010.

Rank	Time	Athlete	Country	Date	Location	Ref
1	1:53.28	Jarmila Kratochvílová	Czechoslovakia	July 26, 1983	Munich
2	1:53.43	Nadezhda Olizarenko	Soviet Union	July 27, 1980	Moscow
3	1:54.01	Pamela Jelimo	Kenya	August 29, 2008	Zürich
4	1:54.44	Ana Fidelia Quirot	Cuba	September 9, 1989	Barcelona
5	1:54.81	Olga Mineyeva	Soviet Union	July 27, 1980	Moscow
6	1:54.94	Tatyana Kazankina	Soviet Union	July 26, 1976	Montreal
7	1:55.05	Doina Melinte	Romania	August 1, 1982	Bucharest
8	1:55.19	Maria de Lurdes Mutola	Mozambique	August 17, 1994	Zürich
		Jolanda Čeplak	Slovenia	July 20, 2002	Heusden-Zolder
10	1:55.26	Sigrun Grau	East Germany	August 31, 1987	Rome

Best Year Performance[link]

Men's Seasons Best (Outdoor)[link]

Year	Time	Athlete	Location
1970	1:44.80	Ken Swenson (USA)	Stuttgart
1971	1:44.7	Dicky Broberg (RSA)	Stellenbosch
1972	1:44.3	Dave Wottle (USA)	Eugene
1973	1:43.7	Marcello Fiasconaro (ITA)	Milan
1974	1:43.5	Rick Wohlhuter (USA)	Eugene
1975	1:43.79	Mike Boit (KEN)	Zürich
1976	1:43.50	Alberto Juantorena (CUB)	Montreal
1977	1:43.44	Alberto Juantorena (CUB)	Sofia
1978	1:43.84	Olaf Beyer (GDR)	Prague
1979	1:42.33	Sebastian Coe (GBR)	Oslo
1980	1:44.53	Donald Paige (USA)	Eugene
1981	1:41.73	Sebastian Coe (GBR)	Florence
1982	1:44.45	Steve Cram (GBR)	London
1983	1:43.61	Steve Cram (GBR)	Oslo
1984	1:41.77	Joaquim Carvalho Cruz (BRA)	Cologne
1985	1:42.49	Joaquim Carvalho Cruz (BRA)	Koblenz
1986	1:43.19	Steve Cram (GBR)	Rieti
1987	1:43.06	Billy Konchellah (KEN)	Rome
1988	1:42.65	Johnny Gray (USA)	Zürich
1989	1:43.16	Paul Ereng (KEN)	Zürich
1990	1:42.97	Peter Elliott (GBR)	Seville
1991	1:43.08	José Luiz Barbosa (BRA)	Rieti
1992	1:42.80	Johnny Gray (USA)	New Orleans
1993	1:43.54	Nixon Kiprotich (KEN)	Rieti
1994	1:43.17	Benson Koech (KEN)	Rieti
1995	1:42.87	Wilson Kipketer (DEN)	Monaco
1996	1:41.83	Wilson Kipketer (DEN)	Rieti
1997	1:41.11	Wilson Kipketer (DEN)	Cologne
1998	1:42.75	Japheth Kimutai (KEN)	Stuttgart
1999	1:42.27	Wilson Kipketer (DEN)	Brussels
2000	1:43.12	André Bucher (SUI)	Lausanne
2001	1:42.47	Yuriy Borzakovskiy (RUS)	Brussels
2002	1:42.32	Wilson Kipketer (DEN)	Rieti
2003	1:42.52	Wilfred Bungei (KEN)	Brussels
2004	1:43.08	Wilfred Bungei (KEN)	Zürich
2005	1:43.70	Wilfred Bungei (KEN)	Rieti
2006	1:43.09	Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (RSA)	Rieti
2007	1:43.74	Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (RSA)	Monaco
2008	1:42.69	Abubaker Kaki (SUD)	Oslo
2009	1:42.01	David Lekuta Rudisha (KEN)	Rieti
2010	1:41.01	David Lekuta Rudisha (KEN)	Rieti
2011	1:41.33	David Lekuta Rudisha (KEN)	Rieti

Women's Seasons Best (Outdoor)[link]

Year	Time	Athlete	Location
1976	1:54.94	Tatyana Kazankina (URS)	Montreal
1977	1:57.39	Ileana Silai (ROU)	Bucharest
1978	1:55.80	Tatyana Providokhina (URS)	Prague
1979	1:56.2	Totka Petrova (BUL)	Paris
1980	1:53.43	Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS)	Moscow
1981	1:56.98	Lyudmila Veselkova (URS)	Leningrad
1982	1:55.05	Doina Melinte (ROU)	Bucharest
1983	1:53.28	Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH)	Munich
1984	1:55.69	Irina Podyalovskaya (URS)	Kiev
1985	1:55.68	Ella Kovacs (ROU)	Bucharest
1986	1:56.2	Doina Melinte (ROU)	Bucharest
1987	1:55.26	Sigrun Wodars (GDR)	Rome
1988	1:56.00	Inna Yevseyeva (URS)</br> Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS)	Kiev</br>Kharkov
1989	1:54.44	Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB)	Barcelona
1990	1:55.87	Sigrun Wodars (GDR)	Split
1991	1:57.23	Svetlana Masterkova (RUS)	Kiev
1992	1:55.54	Ellen van Langen (NED)	Barcelona
1993	1:55.43	Maria de Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)	Stuttgart
1994	1:55.19	Maria de Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)	Zürich
1995	1:55.72	Maria de Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)	Monaco
1996	1:56.04	Svetlana Masterkova (RUS)	Monaco
1997	1:54.82	Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB)	Cologne
1998	1:56.11	Maria de Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)	Zürich
1999	1:55.87	Svetlana Masterkova (RUS)	Moscow
2000	1:56.15	Maria de Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)	Sydney
2001	1:56.85	Maria de Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)	Zürich
2002	1:55.19	Jolanda Čeplak (SLO)	Heusden-Zolder
2003	1:55.55	Maria de Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)	Madrid
2004	1:56.23	Tatyana Andrianova (RUS)	Tula
2005	1:56.07	Tatyana Andrianova (RUS)	Tula
2006	1:56.66	Janeth Jepkosgei (KEN)	Lausanne
2007	1:56.04	Janeth Jepkosgei (KEN)	Osaka
2008	1:54.01	Pamela Jelimo (KEN)	Zurich
2009	1:55.45	Caster Semenya (RSA)	Berlin
2010	1:57.34	Alysia Johnson (USA)	Monaco

See also[link]

• World record progression 800 metres

References[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2011)

Steve Cram

Steve Cram in 2008
Personal information
Born	(1960-10-14) 14 October 1960 (age 51) Jarrow, Tyneside, England, United Kingdom

Medal record
Competitor for  Great Britain
Men's Athletics
Olympic Games
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	1500 m
World Championships
Gold	1983 Helsinki	1500 m
European Championships
Gold	1982 Athens	1500 m
Gold	1986 Stuttgart	1500 m
Bronze	1986 Stuttgart	800 m
Commonwealth Games
Gold	1982 Brisbane	1500 m
Gold	1986 Edinburgh	1500 m
Gold	1986 Edinburgh	800 m

Stephen "Steve" Cram MBE (born 14 October 1960, in Jarrow, Tyneside, England) is a British retired athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", Cram set world records in the 1500 metres, 2000 metres and the mile during a 19-day period in the summer of 1985. He was the first man to run 1500 metres under 3 minutes and 30 seconds. He won the 1500 metres gold medal at the 1983 World Championships, and the 1500 metres silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.

In 2008 Cram was appointed Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, replacing Lord Puttnam,^[1][2] and in 2009 elected as President of Jarrow & Hebburn Athletics Club.^[3]

Steve Cram is UK ambassador for Atos Origin, the Worldwide IT Partner for the International Olympic Committee, for the London 2012 Olympic Games.^[4]

Athletics career[link]

In 1980, Cram won his place in the British Olympic team after finishing in 2nd place to Ovett in the mile at Crystal Palace. The race had been marked as a run-off between Cram and Scottish miler Graham Williamson for the final place (a selection decision which was severely criticized by Ovett in his 1984 autobiography). Cram, aged 19, reached the final of the 1500 metres at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, in which Coe and Steve Ovett famously vied for the gold medal. Cram finished well down the field, in eighth place,^[5] but healthier for the experience.

Capitalizing on his Olympic experience, Cram made his major breakthrough in 1982, a year in which Coe and Ovett were largely absent with injuries. Cram took 1500 metres gold at the Commonwealth Games and also the 1982 European Championships in Athens, where he raced to gold after breaking from the field with 600 metres to go following Williamson's fall.

Injury had disrupted Cram in the early part of the 1983 season, but he recovered in time for the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki and just prior to the games beat Coe (who was suffering from an undiagnosed virus at the time) in an 800 metres at Gateshead. In a slow final, he strategically beat a large field following Saïd Aouita's break with 500 metres to go. Ovett became trapped in the pack, ultimately finishing fourth, while Cram outkicked Steve Scott and Aouita in the last 200 metres. In a remark made in Cram's presence shortly afterwards which spoke to the depth of British milers, Ovett noted that Britain was the home of the Olympic champion, World champion and World Record holder in the 1500 metres - titles held by Coe, Cram and Ovett respectively.

At Crystal Palace later that summer, Cram won an epic mile race, in which he led Ovett by little more than a metre with 300 metres to go and maintained that lead right to the finishing line. In a 2006 interview, Cram described the race: "It was a cat-and-mouse affair - we both started off running at the back of the field. I beat him by little more than the thickness of a vest."^[6]

In 1984, Cram's season was severely hampered by injury, although he recovered sufficiently to win silver in the 1500 metres at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, behind defending champion Coe.

He came back stronger in 1985, a year in which he was only beaten three times; by Coe at 800 m, McKean at 800 m and Ovett in a road Mile. In the 800 metres, not his best event, he beat the reigning 800 metre Olympic Champion, Joaquim Cruz, in 1:42.88, the fastest time he was ever to run, off even splits of 51.2 & 51.7. He broke three world records (1500 metres, Mile, 2000 metres) within a 19-day span,^[7] and recorded a British All Comers Record over the 1000 metre, running 2:12.88 in windy conditions at Gateshead (the second fastest 1000 m in history at the time behind Coe's 2:12.18). He was the first man to run under 3:30.00 for the 1500 metres, just beating Saïd Aouita in Nice (running 3:29.67 to Aouita's 3:29.71). His mile time of 3:46.32, recorded at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, stood for eight years and, as of 2011^[update], is still the European record. This run was notable for the fact that this was an actual competitive race against Sebastian Coe with the first three laps being below schedule, although pretty even in pace distribution (57.2, 57.3, 58.7), followed by an exceptional last lap (440yds) of 53.2.

While the likes of Coe and Ovett had a devastating sprint finish over the last 100 metres, Cram tended to wind up the speed gradually over the last 300 metres of races, making him very difficult to catch. However, during the 1985 season he said (and indeed demonstrated) that he could win from any position and happily ran near the back of world class fields before unleashing his kick, often with a lap or so to go. This tactic, his elegant, high stepping action and his effortless acceleration made him one of the most exciting middle distance runners to watch.

Cram's good form continued into the 1986 season. At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he won the 800 m, finishing 15 metres clear of Tom McKean and Peter Elliott in 1:43:22 - still the Commonwealth Games record. He followed this up with gold in the 1500 metres and was persuaded to run both events at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart. He arrived at the European Championships "just over the edge" as he suggested in David Powell's biography of Coe, "Born to Run". Nevertheless, he won the bronze in the 800 m having been blocked down the back straight by Tom McKean who made his run at the same time as Cram and, though leading into the straight, lacked the zest he showed in the Commonwealth games and was unable to hold off the challenges of McKean and a superlative Coe. Although disappointed by his 800 m defeat Cram bounced back to beat Coe to the gold medal in the 1500 metres. It turned out to be not only Cram's last major medal, but the end of the golden era for British middle distance running.

In 1987, he was no longer the outstanding 1500 m athlete that he had been in previous years. Having previously been able to win races from any position and at any pace, he was now lacking confidence in his finishing speed, an area in which he had fallen behind some of his main rivals. Although he won the Dream Mile for the third year running, he was beaten by José Luis González in the European Cup and although he made the final of the 1987 World Championships in Rome, he finished eighth after leading into the final bend. He had said before the race that his only hope of victory was a fast race, in which he could run the finish out of his opponents, in particular Abdi Bile, the eventual winner. Unhappily for Cram, the pace was slow, and he faded badly in the last 100 metres.

His 1988 season saw him return to better form and he beat Bile in the Oslo Dream Mile in 1988 - his fourth consecutive victory in that race. Having run impressively in the Olympic trials over 800 m and winning in 1:44.16, (opening up an eight metre gap over Tom McKean in a sprint down the home straight) he was touted as one of the favorites to win the gold medal over 1500 m at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 until a calf injury just before the games in a 1000 metre race hampered his progress. The injury affected his performance at the games and he was eliminated in the heats of the 800 m. He recovered sufficiently to reach the final of the 1500 m, but could only finish fourth in a close race surprisingly won by Peter Rono.

Injury dogged him throughout his remaining years and although he continued to compete for some time, he never again looked likely to win a major championship. In the 1990 European Athletics Championships, he still finished fifth in 1,500 metres, but already in the 1991 World Athletics Championships, he was eliminated in the 1,500-metre semi-finals.^[8]

He retired from athletics in 1994 and remains the UK record holder over the mile, 1500 metres and 2000 metres.

Cram carries the Olympic Torch for the 2008 Summer Olympics down Whitehall in London surrounded by Police and Olympic officials on 6 April 2008

Television career[link]

Cram now works as a television presenter and athletics commentator predominantly for BBC Sport and as a motivational speaker. He starred alongside UK Olympic Gold medalists Sally Gunnell and Adam Eason in BBC's 2006 primetime TV series Run for Glory helping the runners and participants overcome psychological barriers to running the London Marathon.

Personal life[link]

Cram was married to Karen for many years but they divorced after his brother died in a freak accident and he has lived with former athlete Allison Curbishley in Northumberland. He has two children, Josie and Marcus who have had some success in under age races.

Awards[link]

Cram was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1983 and was awarded the MBE in 1986.

Personal bests[link]

References[link]

Records
Preceded by Steve Ovett	Men's 1,500 m World Record Holder 16 July 1985 – 23 August 1985	Succeeded by Saïd Aouita
Preceded by Sebastian Coe	Men's Mile World Record Holder 27 July 1985 – 5 September 1993	Succeeded by Noureddine Morceli
Preceded by Steve Ovett	European Record Holder Men's 1500m 16 July 1985 - 12 August 1997	Succeeded by Fermín Cacho
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Carl Lewis	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1985	Succeeded by Diego Maradona
Academic offices
Preceded by The Lord Puttnam	Chancellor of the University of Sunderland 2008–present	Incumbent

External links[link]

• Profile - Steve Cram Professional Sports Group
• Our Chancellor - Steve Cram MBE University of Sunderland

Mohammed Aman may refer to:

• Mohammed Aman (detainee) (born 1957), Afghan citizen detained in Guantanamo
• Mohammed Aman (athlete) (born 1994), Ethopian middle distance runner

This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

David Rudisha

Rudisha in Daegu, 2011.
Personal information
Nationality	Kenya
Born	(1988-12-17) 17 December 1988 (age 23) Kilgoris
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	800 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 m: 45.50 (2010) 800 m: 1:41.01 WR (2010)
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for  Kenya World Championships Gold 2011 Daegu 800 m African Championships Gold 2010 Nairobi 800 m Gold 2008 Addis Ababa 800 m World Junior Championships Gold 2006 Beijing 800 m Competitor for Africa Continental Cup Gold 2010 Split 800 m

David Lekuta Rudisha (born 17 December 1988) is a Kenyan middle distance runner and world record holder in the 800 metres with a time of 1:41.01. Rudisha holds four of the ten fastest times for this event.

Early life[link]

Born in Kilgoris, Trans Mara District, Rudisha went to St. Francis, Kimuron Secondary School in Iten, Keiyo District, which is known for nurturing several top runners. Initially he was a 400 metres runner, but his coach, Colm O’Connell, prompted him to try 800 metres. In 2006 he became the world junior champion over that distance.^[2]

Career[link]

Rudisha competed at the 2009 World Athletics Championships, reaching the 800 metres semifinals. In September 2009, Rudisha won the IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Rieti, Italy, posting a new African record of 1:42.01, beating the 25-year old record of 1:42.28 set by compatriot Sammy Koskei. That effort put him in fourth place on the all-time list.^[3] In the 2010 IAAF Diamond League, he took on Abubaker Kaki at the Bislett Games in June. He defeated Sebastian Coe's 31-year-old meet record with a run of 1:42.04, giving him another place in the top-ten fastest ever 800 m and leaving Kaki the consolation of the fastest ever non-winning time.^[4] On 10 July 2010, Rudisha ran the 800 m in 1:41.51 at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden, Belgium; this new personal record placed him #2 all-time in the world for the 800 m.^[5]

Rudisha currently holds the world record for the 800 m. He broke the record at the ISTAF IAAF World Challenge meet in Berlin on 22 August 2010, with a time of 1:41.09.^[6] The previous record, held by Kenyan-born Danish Citizen runner Wilson Kipketer, had stood since 1997; Rudisha broke the record by 0.02 seconds.^[7] Rudisha claimed that it had been his "first real attempt" at breaking the record, and that he was capable of improving the time. This was proven one week later when he set a new WR of 1:41.01 in Rieti, Italy.^[8] In November 2010, at the age of 21, he became the youngest ever athlete to win the IAAF World Athlete of the Year award. He also won the Kenyan Sportsman of the Year award ^[9]

Personal life[link]

Rudisha is a member of the Maasai ethnic group in Kenya.^[2] Rudisha's father, Daniel Rudisha, is a former runner who won silver at the 1968 Olympics as part of the Kenyan 4 × 400 m relay team, while his mother Naomi is a former 400 m hurdler.^[10]

He is married to Lizzy Naanyu with a daughter (as of 2010).^[10]

Achievements[link]

Rudisha at the 2010 Memorial van Damme.

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Kenya
2006	World Junior Championships	Beijing, China	1st	800 m (1:47.40)
2007	African Junior Championships	Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso	1st	800 m (1:46.41)[11]
2008	African Championships	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	1st	800 m (1:44.20)
2009	World Athletics Final	Thessaloniki, Greece	1st	800 m (1:44.85)
2010	African Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	1st	800 m (1:42.84)
2011	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	1st	800 m (1:43.91)

Personal bests[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Rudisha

	Biography portal
	Kenya portal

• IAAF profile for David Rudisha

Records
Preceded by Wilson Kipketer	Men's 800 metres world record holder 29 August 2010 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Usain Bolt	IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2010, 2011	Succeeded by Usain Bolt
Preceded by Usain Bolt	Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2010	Succeeded by Incumbent
Sporting positions
Preceded by Abubaker Kaki	Men's 800 metres best year performance 2009–2011	Succeeded by Incumbent