# 1997 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 800 metres

These are the results of the Women's 800 metres event at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics in Athens, Greece. The event took place on the 6th, 7th and 9th of August.

## Doping disqualification

Lyubov Tsyoma tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol after the semifinals and was disqualified.

## Medalists

| Gold | Ana Fidelia Quirot Cuba (CUB) |
| Silver | Yelena Afanasyeva Russia (RUS) |
| Bronze | Maria Mutola Mozambique (MOZ) |

## Results
### Heats

First 2 of each Heat (Q) and the next 6 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Yelena Afanasyeva | Russia | 2:00.12 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Maria Mutola | Mozambique | 2:00.88 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Luciana Mendes | Brazil | 2:00.89 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Letitia Vriesde | Suriname | 2:00.92 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Stella Jongmans | Netherlands | 2:01.06 | Q |
| 6 | 4 | Joetta Clark | United States | 2:01.15 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | Ludmila Formanová | Czech Republic | 2:01.46 | Q |
| 8 | 4 | Petya Strashilova | Bulgaria | 2:01.49 | q |
| 9 | 4 | Nouria Mérah-Benida | Algeria | 2:01.49 | q |
| 10 | 2 | Ana Fidelia Quirot | Cuba | 2:01.56 | Q |
| 10 | 5 | Hasna Benhassi | Morocco | 2:01.56 | q |
| 12 | 5 | Małgorzata Rydz | Poland | 2:01.68 | q |
| 13 | 3 | Lyubov Kiryukhina-Tsyoma | Russia | 2:01.87 | q |
| 14 | 2 | Yelena Martson-Buzhenko | Ukraine | 2:02.00 | Q |
| 15 | 2 | Toni Hodgkinson | New Zealand | 2:02.21 | q |
| 16 | 2 | Rosa Kutty | India | 2:02.22 | |
| 17 | 1 | Natalya Dukhnova | Belarus | 2:02.39 | Q |
| 18 | 4 | Stephanie Graf | Austria | 2:02.52 | |
| 19 | 4 | Charmaine Crooks | Canada | 2:02.84 | |
| 20 | 1 | Linda Kisabaka | Germany | 2:03.22 | |
| 21 | 3 | Kathy Harris-Rounds | United States | 2:03.33 | |
| 22 | 3 | Dawn Williams-Sewer | Dominica | 2:03.35 | |
| 23 | 1 | Julia Sakara | Zimbabwe | 2:03.55 | |
| 24 | 5 | Irina Nedelenko-Lishchinskaya | Ukraine | 2:03.56 | |
| 25 | 5 | Monika Ronnholm-Kinnunen | Finland | 2:04.11 | |
| 26 | 1 | Öznur Dursun | Turkey | 2:04.62 | |
| 27 | 2 | Jill Stamison-Mcmullen | United States | 2:06.16 | |
| 28 | 2 | Theoni Kostopoulou | Greece | 2:07.32 | |
| 29 | 1 | Léontine Tsiba | Republic of the Congo | 2:07.34 | NR |
| 30 | 2 | Jolanda Čeplak | Slovenia | 2:10.97 | |
| 31 | 2 | Adama Njie | Gambia | 2:13.50 | |
| 32 | 5 | Monica Randi | San Marino | 2:16.00 | |
| 33 | 1 | Abok Shol | Sudan | 2:16.74 | NR |
| 34 | 3 | Natalia Al Farran | Lebanon | 2:18.11 | PB |
| 35 | 3 | Donata Mutegwamaso | Rwanda | 2:25.07 | |
| 36 | 4 | Yaznee Nasheeda | Maldives | 2:36.18 | |
| | 1 | Malin Ewerlöf | Sweden | DNS | |
| | 4 | Alberta Cape | Guinea-Bissau | DNS | |

### Semifinals

First 4 of each Semifinal qualified directly (Q) for the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Maria Mutola | Mozambique | 1:57.49 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 1 | Yelena Afanasyeva | Russia | 1:59.05 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Stella Jongmans | Netherlands | 1:59.32 | Q, SB |
| 4 | 1 | Joetta Clark | United States | 1:59.34 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Ana Fidelia Quirot | Cuba | 1:59.37 | Q |
| 6 | 1 | Luciana Mendes | Brazil | 1:59.45 | |
| 7 | 2 | Letitia Vriesde | Suriname | 1:59.62 | Q |
| 8 | 2 | Ludmila Formanová | Czech Republic | 1:59.71 | Q |
| 9 | 2 | Toni Hodgkinson | New Zealand | 2:00.25 | Q |
| 10 | 2 | Natalya Dukhnova | Belarus | 2:00.91 | |
| 11 | 2 | Nouria Mérah-Benida | Algeria | 2:01.08 | |
| 12 | 2 | Petya Strashilova | Bulgaria | 2:01.44 | |
| 13 | 1 | Yelena Martson-Buzhenko | Ukraine | 2:02.62 | |
| 14 | 1 | Hasna Benhassi | Morocco | 2:03.70 | |
| 15 | 1 | Małgorzata Rydz | Poland | 2:05.00 | |
| | 2 | Lyubov Kiryukhina-Tsyoma | Russia | DQ (DNF) | Doping |

### Final

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time |
| | Ana Fidelia Quirot | Cuba | 1:57.14 |
| | Yelena Afanasyeva | Russia | 1:57.56 |
| | Maria Mutola | Mozambique | 1:57.59 |
| 4 | Letitia Vriesde | Suriname | 1:58.12 |
| 5 | Ludmila Formanová | Czech Republic | 1:59.52 |
| 6 | Toni Hodgkinson | New Zealand | 2:00.40 |
| 7 | Joetta Clark | United States | 2:02.05 |
| 8 | Stella Jongmans | Netherlands | 2:05.50 |