# 2019 World Athletics Championships – Women's 800 metres

The women's 800 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, from 27 to 30 September 2019.

## Summary

The new IAAF testosterone rule was essentially aimed at this event. The defending champion, silver medalist and 4th place from 2017, the same athletes as the Olympic podium from 2016, were denied entry into this race.
From the gun in the final, Ajeé Wilson ran with purpose to take the lead at the break and control the race. Natoya Goule and Raevyn Rogers fell in line behind her. Around the second turn, Halimah Nakaayi ran around Rogers who slowed to become a blocking force in the pack, dropping back as far as next to last just after the bell. Winnie Nanyondo led the charge to bridge the new gap behind the three leaders. Down the backstretch, Goule started to challenge Wilson. Wilson ran hard to hold her off. Instead Goule was passed by the two Ugandans, Nakaayi on the inside and Nanyondo on the outside. Through the final turn Nakaayi worked her way up to Wilson's shoulder, shadowed by Nayondo. The diminutive Nakaayi executed the classic pass off the turn. Wilson had no answer. Nayondo was not gaining, but from seventh place at the head of the home stretch, Rogers was sprinting down lane 4, passing Nayondo, passing Wilson and getting to within a metre of Nakaayi before the finish.

## Records

Before the competition records were as follows:
| Record | Perf. | Athlete | Nat. | Date | Location |
| World | 1:53.28 | Jarmila Kratochvílová | TCH | 26 Jul 1983 | Munich, West Germany |
| Championship | 1:54.68 | Jarmila Kratochvílová | TCH | 9 Aug 1983 | Helsinki, Finland |
| World leading | 1:54.98 | Caster Semenya | RSA | 3 May 2019 | Doha, Qatar |
| African | 1:54.01 | Pamela Jelimo | KEN | 29 Aug 2008 | Zürich, Switzerland |
| Asian | 1:55.54 | Liu Dong | CHN | 9 Sep 1993 | Beijing, China |
| NACAC | 1:54.44 | Ana Fidelia Quirot | CUB | 9 Sep 1989 | Barcelona, Spain |
| South American | 1:56.68 | Letitia Vriesde | SUR | 13 Aug 1995 | Gothenburg, Sweden |
| European | 1:53.28 | Jarmila Kratochvílová | TCH | 26 Jul 1983 | Munich, West Germany |
| Oceanian | 1:58.25 | Toni Hodgkinson | NZL | 7 Jul 1996 | Atlanta, United States |
The following records were set at the competition:
| Record | Perf. | Athlete | Nat. | Date |
| Ugandan | 1:58.04 | Halimah Nakaayi | UGA | 30 Sep 2019 |

## Schedule

The event schedule, in local time (UTC+3), was as follows:
| Date | Time | Round |
| 27 September | 17:10 | Heats |
| 28 September | 19:15 | Semi-finals |
| 30 September | 22:10 | Final |

## Results
### Heats

Qualification: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 6 fastest (q) advanced to the semi-finals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Winnie Nanyondo | Uganda (UGA) | 2:00.36 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Natoya Goule | Jamaica (JAM) | 2:01.01 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Ce'Aira Brown | United States (USA) | 2:01.14 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Noélie Yarigo | Benin (BEN) | 2:01.19 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Katharina Trost | Germany (GER) | 2:01.45 | Q |
| 6 | 4 | Olha Lyakhova | Ukraine (UKR) | 2:01.47 | q |
| 7 | 3 | Halima Hachlaf | Morocco (MAR) | 2:01.50 | Q |
| 8 | 3 | Lindsey Butterworth | Canada (CAN) | 2:01.64 | q |
| 9 | 2 | Raevyn Rogers | United States (USA) | 2:02.01 | Q |
| 10 | 2 | Shelayna Oskan-Clarke | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:02.09 | Q |
| 11 | 1 | Ajeé Wilson | United States (USA) | 2:02.10 | Q |
| 12 | 2 | Morgan Mitchell | Australia (AUS) | 2:02.13 | Q |
| 13 | 2 | Eunice Jepkoech Sum | Kenya (KEN) | 2:02.17 | q |
| 14 | 1 | Halimah Nakaayi | Uganda (UGA) | 2:02.33 | Q |
| 15 | 2 | Anna Sabat | Poland (POL) | 2:02.43 | q |
| 16 | 1 | Hedda Hynne | Norway (NOR) | 2:02.49 | Q |
| 17 | 4 | Diribe Welteji | Ethiopia (ETH) | 2:02.71 | q |
| 18 | 3 | Līga Velvere | Latvia (LAT) | 2:02.93 | q |
| 19 | 1 | Christina Hering | Germany (GER) | 2:03.15 | |
| 20 | 1 | Sara Kuivisto | Finland (FIN) | 2:03.15 | |
| 21 | 5 | Nataliya Pryshchepa | Ukraine (UKR) | 2:03.22 | Q |
| 22 | 5 | Wang Chunyu | China (CHN) | 2:03.25 | Q |
| 23 | 5 | Alexandra Bell | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:03.34 | Q |
| 24 | 6 | Rénelle Lamote | France (FRA) | 2:03.36 | Q |
| 25 | 2 | Selina Büchel | Switzerland (SUI) | 2:03.38 | |
| 26 | 5 | Lore Hoffmann | Switzerland (SUI) | 2:03.40 | |
| 27 | 5 | Malika Akkaoui | Morocco (MAR) | 2:03.40 | |
| 28 | 6 | Rose Mary Almanza | Cuba (CUB) | 2:03.42 | Q |
| 29 | 6 | Rababe Arafi | Morocco (MAR) | 2:03.44 | Q |
| 30 | 4 | Diana Mezuliáníková | Czech Republic (CZE) | 2:03.48 | |
| 31 | 6 | Lynsey Sharp | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:03.57 | |
| 32 | 1 | Renée Eykens | Belgium (BEL) | 2:03.65 | |
| 33 | 5 | Lovisa Lindh | Sweden (SWE) | 2:03.72 | |
| 34 | 4 | Déborah Rodríguez | Uruguay (URU) | 2:03.80 | |
| 35 | 5 | Hanna Green | United States (USA) | 2:04.37 | |
| 36 | 1 | Gabriela Gajanová | Slovakia (SVK) | 2:04.45 | |
| 37 | 6 | Carley Thomas | Australia (AUS) | 2:04.65 | |
| 38 | 6 | Eleonora Vandi | Italy (ITA) | 2:04.98 | |
| 39 | 3 | Catriona Bisset | Australia (AUS) | 2:05.33 | |
| 40 | 2 | Rose Lokonyen | Athlete Refugee Team (ART) | 2:13.39 | PB |
| | 6 | Tsepang Sello | Lesotho (LES) | DQ | 163.5 |

### Semi-finals

The first 2 in each heat (Q) and the next two fastest (q) qualified for the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Halimah Nakaayi | Uganda (UGA) | 1:59.35 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 1 | Raevyn Rogers | United States (USA) | 1:59.57 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Winnie Nanyondo | Uganda (UGA) | 1:59.75 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Eunice Jepkoech Sum | Kenya (KEN) | 2:00.10 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Ce'Aira Brown | United States (USA) | 2:00.12 | q |
| 6 | 2 | Ajeé Wilson | United States (USA) | 2:00.31 | Q |
| 7 | 3 | Natoya Goule | Jamaica (JAM) | 2:00.33 | q |
| 8 | 1 | Olha Lyakhova | Ukraine (UKR) | 2:00.72 | |
| 9 | 1 | Lindsey Butterworth | Canada (CAN) | 2:00.74 | |
| 10 | 3 | Noélie Yarigo | Benin (BEN) | 2:00.75 | |
| 11 | 2 | Rababe Arafi | Morocco (MAR) | 2:00.80 | Q |
| 12 | 2 | Hedda Hynne | Norway (NOR) | 2:01.03 | |
| 13 | 2 | Rose Mary Almanza | Cuba (CUB) | 2:01.18 | |
| 14 | 1 | Alexandra Bell | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:01.23 | |
| 15 | 2 | Nataliya Pryshchepa | Ukraine (UKR) | 2:01.24 | |
| 16 | 1 | Halima Hachlaf | Morocco (MAR) | 2:01.30 | |
| 17 | 1 | Katharina Trost | Germany (GER) | 2:01.77 | |
| 18 | 2 | Diribe Welteji | Ethiopia (ETH) | 2:02.69 | |
| 19 | 2 | Wang Chunyu | China (CHN) | 2:02.84 | |
| 20 | 3 | Rénelle Lamote | France (FRA) | 2:02.86 | |
| 21 | 3 | Anna Sabat | Poland (POL) | 2:04.00 | |
| 22 | 3 | Morgan Mitchell | Australia (AUS) | 2:04.76 | |
| 23 | 1 | Līga Velvere | Latvia (LAT) | 2:06.99 | |
| 24 | 2 | Shelayna Oskan-Clarke | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:10.89 | |

### Final

The final was started on 30 September at 22:10.
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| | 8 | Halimah Nakaayi | Uganda (UGA) | 1:58.04 | NR |
| | 4 | Raevyn Rogers | United States (USA) | 1:58.18 | SB |
| | 5 | Ajeé Wilson | United States (USA) | 1:58.84 | |
| 4 | 7 | Winnie Nanyondo | Uganda (UGA) | 1:59.18 | |
| 5 | 9 | Eunice Jepkoech Sum | Kenya (KEN) | 1:59.71 | |
| 6 | 6 | Natoya Goule | Jamaica (JAM) | 2:00.11 | |
| 7 | 3 | Rababe Arafi | Morocco (MAR) | 2:00.48 | |
| 8 | 2 | Ce'Aira Brown | United States (USA) | 2:02.97 | |