# Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

The men's 800 metres event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta was held between 28 and 31 July 1996. There were a total of 60 competitors from 42 countries. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.16 seconds by Vebjørn Rodal of Norway, the nation's first title in the men's 800 metres and first medal in the event since 1956. Hezekiél Sepeng's silver was South Africa's first 800 metres medal since 1920.

## Background

This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Four finalists from 1992 returned: bronze medalist Johnny Gray of the United States (also a finalist in 1984 and 1988), fourth-place finisher José Luíz Barbosa of Brazil (a 1988 finalist as well), fifth-place finisher Andrea Benvenuti of Italy, and sixth-place finisher Curtis Robb of Great Britain. Wilson Kipketer was the strongest 800 metres runner in 1996, having won the first of his three world championship titles in 1995; however, he was ruled ineligible for the Games during the process of changing his nationality from Kenya to Denmark. Without Kipketer, the field was open with no clear favorite.
Burundi, the Czech Republic, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, and Latvia appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain made its 22nd appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

## Competition format

The men's 800 metres again used a three-round format, the most common format since 1912 though there had been variations. The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964 was used for the first two rounds. There were eight first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 athletes; the top two runners in each heat as well as the next eight fastest overall advanced to the semifinals. There were three semifinals with 8 athletes each; the top two runners in each semifinal and the next two fastest overall advanced to the eight-man final.

## Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | Sebastian Coe (GBR) | 1:41.73 | Florence, Italy | 10 June 1981 |
| Olympic record | Joaquim Cruz (BRA) | 1:43.00 | Los Angeles, United States | 6 August 1984 |
In the final Vebjørn Rodal set a new Olympic record at 1:42.58.

## Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 28 July 1996 | 19:15 | Round 1 |
| Monday, 29 July 1996 | 18:50 | Semifinals |
| Wednesday, 31 July 1996 | 20:35 | Final |

## Results
### Round 1
#### Heat 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Vebjørn Rodal | Norway | 1:45.30 | Q |
| 2 | Curtis Robb | Great Britain | 1:45.85 | Q |
| 3 | José Luíz Barbosa | Brazil | 1:46.58 | q |
| 4 | David Matthews | Ireland | 1:46.76 | q |
| 5 | Joachim Dehmel | Germany | 1:47.12 | |
| 6 | Joseph Rakotoarimanana | Madagascar | 1:47.33 | |
| 7 | Tommy Asinga | Suriname | 1:48.29 | |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Philip Kibitok | Kenya | 1:45.34 | Q |
| 2 | Nico Motchebon | Germany | 1:45.82 | Q |
| 3 | Bruno Konczylo | France | 1:46.04 | q |
| 4 | Adem Hecini | Algeria | 1:47.23 | |
| 5 | Abdul Rahman Al-Abdullah | Qatar | 1:48.52 | |
| 6 | Flavio Godoy | Brazil | 1:48.91 | |
| 7 | Chérif Baba Aidara | Mauritania | 1:56.20 | |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Norberto Téllez | Cuba | 1:47.24 | Q |
| 2 | Craig Winrow | Great Britain | 1:47.41 | Q |
| 3 | Pavel Soukup | Czech Republic | 1:47.67 | |
| 4 | Andrés Manuel Díaz | Spain | 1:47.86 | |
| 5 | Atle Douglas | Norway | 1:48.60 | |
| 6 | Cedric Harris | Dominica | 1:51.46 | |
| 7 | Fernando Arlete | Guinea-Bissau | 2:00.07 | |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | David Kiptoo | Kenya | 1:45.11 | Q |
| 2 | Giuseppe D'Urso | Italy | 1:45.27 | Q |
| 3 | Johan Botha | South Africa | 1:45.63 | q |
| 4 | Jimmy Jean-Joseph | France | 1:45.64 | q |
| 5 | Ibrahim Aden | Somalia | 1:47.31 | |
| 6 | Charles Nkazamyampi | Burundi | 1:47.95 | |
| 7 | Tavakalo Kailes | Vanuatu | 1:55.07 | |
| 8 | Naseer Ismail | Maldives | 1:58.70 | |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Johnny Gray | United States | 1:45.87 | Q |
| 2 | Einārs Tupurītis | Latvia | 1:45.88 | Q |
| 3 | Savieri Ngidhi | Zimbabwe | 1:46.46 | q |
| 4 | Balázs Korányi | Hungary | 1:46.63 | q |
| 5 | Antonio Abrantes | Portugal | 1:47.73 | |
| 6 | Clive Terrelonge | Jamaica | 1:48.29 | |
| 7 | Themba Makhanya | Swaziland | 1:59.02 | |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Arthémon Hatungimana | Burundi | 1:47.10 | Q |
| 2 | Andrea Benvenuti | Italy | 1:47.45 | Q |
| 3 | Marius van Heerden | South Africa | 1:47.46 | |
| 4 | David Maxwell Strang | Great Britain | 1:47.96 | |
| 5 | Boris Kaveshnikov | Kyrgyzstan | 1:48.88 | |
| 6 | José Parrilla | United States | 1:49.99 | |
| 7 | Yaya Terap Adoum | Chad | 1:52.68 | |

#### Heat 7

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Benyounes Lahlou | Morocco | 1:45.85 | Q |
| 2 | Fred Onyancha | Kenya | 1:46.07 | Q |
| 3 | Paul Byrne | Australia | 1:47.05 | q |
| 4 | Alex Morgan | Jamaica | 1:47.40 | |
| 5 | Mohamed Babiker Yagoub | Sudan | 1:48.50 | |
| 6 | Manlio Molinari | San Marino | 1:56.08 | |
| — | Roberto Parra | Spain | DNS | |

#### Heat 8

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hezekiél Sepeng | South Africa | 1:45.45 | Q |
| 2 | André Bucher | Switzerland | 1:46.85 | Q |
| 3 | Andrea Giocondi | Italy | 1:47.26 | |
| 4 | Brandon Rock | United States | 1:48.47 | |
| 5 | Jean Destine | Haiti | 1:48.82 | |
| 6 | Saeed Basweidan | Yemen | 1:49.35 | |
| 7 | Greg Rhymer | British Virgin Islands | 1:50.03 |

#### Overall results for round 1

| Rank | Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| Overall | In heat | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | 4 | David Kiptoo | Kenya | 1:45.11 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Giuseppe D'Urso | Italy | 1:45.27 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | Vebjørn Rodal | Norway | 1:45.30 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | Philip Kibitok | Kenya | 1:45.34 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | 4 | Johan Botha | South Africa | 1:45.63 | q |
| 6 | 4 | 4 | Jimmy Jean-Joseph | France | 1:45.64 | q |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | Nico Motchebon | Germany | 1:45.82 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | 7 | Benyounes Lahlou | Morocco | 1:45.85 | Q |
| 8 | 2 | 1 | Curtis Robb | Great Britain | 1:45.85 | Q |
| 10 | 1 | 5 | Johnny Gray | United States | 1:45.87 | Q |
| 11 | 2 | 5 | Einārs Tupurītis | Latvia | 1:45.88 | Q |
| 12 | 3 | 2 | Bruno Konczylo | France | 1:46.04 | q |
| 13 | 2 | 7 | Fred Onyancha | Kenya | 1:46.07 | Q |
| 14 | 1 | 8 | Hezekiél Sepeng | South Africa | 1:45.45 | Q |
| 15 | 3 | 5 | Savieri Ngidhi | Zimbabwe | 1:46.46 | q |
| 16 | 3 | 1 | José Luíz Barbosa | Brazil | 1:46.58 | q |
| 17 | 4 | 5 | Balázs Korányi | Hungary | 1:46.63 | q |
| 18 | 4 | 1 | David Matthews | Ireland | 1:46.76 | q |
| 19 | 2 | 8 | André Bucher | Switzerland | 1:46.85 | Q |
| 20 | 3 | 7 | Paul Byrne | Australia | 1:47.05 | q |
| 21 | 1 | 6 | Arthémon Hatungimana | Burundi | 1:47.10 | Q |
| 22 | 5 | 1 | Joachim Dehmel | Germany | 1:47.12 | |
| 23 | 4 | 2 | Adem Hecini | Algeria | 1:47.23 | |
| 24 | 1 | 3 | Norberto Téllez | Cuba | 1:47.24 | Q |
| 25 | 3 | 8 | Andrea Giocondi | Italy | 1:47.26 | |
| 26 | 5 | 4 | Ibrahim Aden | Somalia | 1:47.31 | |
| 27 | 6 | 1 | Joseph Rakotoarimanana | Madagascar | 1:47.33 | |
| 28 | 4 | 7 | Alex Morgan | Jamaica | 1:47.40 | |
| 29 | 2 | 3 | Craig Winrow | Great Britain | 1:47.41 | Q |
| 30 | 2 | 6 | Andrea Benvenuti | Italy | 1:47.45 | Q |
| 31 | 3 | 6 | Marius van Heerden | South Africa | 1:47.46 | |
| 32 | 3 | 3 | Pavel Soukup | Czech Republic | 1:47.67 | |
| 33 | 5 | 5 | Antonio Abrantes | Portugal | 1:47.73 | |
| 34 | 4 | 3 | Andrés Manuel Díaz | Spain | 1:47.86 | |
| 35 | 6 | 4 | Charles Nkazamyampi | Burundi | 1:47.95 | |
| 36 | 4 | 6 | David Maxwell Strang | Great Britain | 1:47.96 | |
| 37 | 7 | 1 | Tommy Asinga | Suriname | 1:48.29 | |
| 37 | 6 | 5 | Clive Terrelonge | Jamaica | 1:48.29 | |
| 39 | 4 | 8 | Brandon Rock | United States | 1:48.47 | |
| 40 | 5 | 7 | Mohamed Babiker Yagoub | Sudan | 1:48.50 | |
| 41 | 5 | 2 | Abdul Rahman Al-Abdullah | Qatar | 1:48.52 | |
| 42 | 5 | 3 | Atle Douglas | Norway | 1:48.60 | |
| 43 | 5 | 8 | Jean Destine | Haiti | 1:48.82 | |
| 44 | 5 | 6 | Boris Kaveshnikov | Kyrgyzstan | 1:48.88 | |
| 45 | 6 | 2 | Flavio Godoy | Brazil | 1:48.91 | |
| 46 | 6 | 8 | Saeed Basweidan | Yemen | 1:49.35 | |
| 47 | 6 | 6 | José Parrilla | United States | 1:49.99 | |
| 48 | 7 | 8 | Greg Rhymer | British Virgin Islands | 1:50.03 |
| 49 | 6 | 3 | Cedric Harris | Dominica | 1:51.46 | |
| 50 | 7 | 6 | Yaya Terap Adoum | Chad | 1:52.68 | |
| 51 | 7 | 4 | Tavakalo Kailes | Vanuatu | 1:55.07 | |
| 52 | 7 | 2 | Chérif Baba Aidara | Mauritania | 1:56.20 | |
| 53 | 8 | 4 | Naseer Ismail | Maldives | 1:58.70 | |
| 54 | 7 | 5 | Themba Makhanya | Swaziland | 1:59.02 | |
| 55 | 7 | 3 | Fernando Arlete | Guinea-Bissau | 2:00.07 | |
| 56 | 6 | 7 | Manlio Molinari | San Marino | 1:56.08 | |
| — | — | 7 | Roberto Parra | Spain | DNS | |

### Semifinals
#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hezekiél Sepeng | South Africa | 1:45.16 | Q |
| 2 | Nico Motchebon | Germany | 1:45.40 | Q |
| 3 | Philip Kibitok | Kenya | 1:45.58 | |
| 4 | André Bucher | Switzerland | 1:46.41 | |
| 5 | Giuseppe D'Urso | Italy | 1:46.97 | |
| 6 | Paul Byrne | Australia | 1:47.58 | |
| 7 | Bruno Konczylo | France | 1:48.02 | |
| 8 | Craig Winrow | Great Britain | 1:48.57 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Benyounes Lahlou | Morocco | 1:43.99 | Q |
| 2 | Johnny Gray | United States | 1:44.00 | Q |
| 3 | Fred Onyancha | Kenya | 1:44.02 | q |
| 4 | Arthémon Hatungimana | Burundi | 1:44.92 | |
| 5 | Savieri Ngidhi | Zimbabwe | 1:46.78 | |
| 6 | Curtis Robb | Great Britain | 1:47.48 | |
| 7 | Johan Botha | South Africa | 1:48.06 | |
| 8 | José Luíz Barbosa | Brazil | 1:50.33 | |

#### Semifinal 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Norberto Téllez | Cuba | 1:43.79 | Q |
| 2 | David Kiptoo | Kenya | 1:43.90 | Q |
| 3 | Vebjørn Rodal | Norway | 1:43.96 | q |
| 4 | Einārs Tupurītis | Latvia | 1:46.41 | |
| 5 | David Matthews | Ireland | 1:47.83 | |
| 6 | Jimmy Jean-Joseph | France | 1:48.50 | |
| 7 | Balázs Korányi | Hungary | 1:50.30 | |
| — | Andrea Benvenuti | Italy | DNF | |

#### Overall results for semifinals

| Rank | Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| Overall | In heat | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Norberto Téllez | Cuba | 1:43.79 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | David Kiptoo | Kenya | 1:43.90 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | Vebjørn Rodal | Norway | 1:43.96 | q |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | Benyounes Lahlou | Morocco | 1:43.99 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | Johnny Gray | United States | 1:44.00 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | Fred Onyancha | Kenya | 1:44.02 | q |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | Arthémon Hatungimana | Burundi | 1:44.92 | |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | Hezekiél Sepeng | South Africa | 1:45.16 | Q |
| 9 | 2 | 1 | Nico Motchebon | Germany | 1:45.40 | Q |
| 10 | 3 | 1 | Philip Kibitok | Kenya | 1:45.58 | |
| 11 | 4 | 1 | André Bucher | Switzerland | 1:46.41 | |
| 11 | 4 | 3 | Einārs Tupurītis | Latvia | 1:46.41 | |
| 13 | 5 | 2 | Savieri Ngidhi | Zimbabwe | 1:46.78 | |
| 14 | 5 | 1 | Giuseppe D'Urso | Italy | 1:46.97 | |
| 15 | 6 | 2 | Curtis Robb | Great Britain | 1:47.48 | |
| 16 | 6 | 1 | Paul Byrne | Australia | 1:47.58 | |
| 17 | 5 | 3 | David Matthews | Ireland | 1:47.83 | |
| 18 | 7 | 1 | Bruno Konczylo | France | 1:48.02 | |
| 19 | 7 | 2 | Johan Botha | South Africa | 1:48.06 | |
| 20 | 6 | 3 | Jimmy Jean-Joseph | France | 1:48.50 | |
| 21 | 8 | 1 | Craig Winrow | Great Britain | 1:48.57 | |
| 22 | 7 | 3 | Balázs Korányi | Hungary | 1:50.30 | |
| 23 | 8 | 2 | José Luíz Barbosa | Brazil | 1:50.33 | |
| — | — | 3 | Andrea Benvenuti | Italy | DNF | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | 1 | Vebjørn Rodal | Norway | 1:42.58 | OR |
| | 6 | Hezekiél Sepeng | South Africa | 1:42.74 | |
| | 7 | Fred Onyancha | Kenya | 1:42.79 | |
| 4 | 4 | Norberto Téllez | Cuba | 1:42.85 | |
| 5 | 8 | Nico Motchebon | Germany | 1:43.91 | |
| 6 | 5 | David Kiptoo | Kenya | 1:44.19 | |
| 7 | 2 | Johnny Gray | United States | 1:44.21 | |
| 8 | 3 | Benyounes Lahlou | Morocco | 1:45.52 | |