# 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 800 metres

The women's 800 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 26, 27 and 29 August.

## Summary

Eunice Jepkoech Sum of Kenya entered the competition as the defending champion and also as the world-leading athlete for the season with her time of 1:56.99 minutes.
The third semi-final was the fastest, with Melissa Bishop battling Maryna Arzamasava to the line, leaving defending champion and world #1 Eunice Jepkoech Sum as a time qualifier. Bishop's winning 1:57.52 became the new Canadian National Record.
In the final it was the same three players, Arzamasava holding the lead through the final turn, with Sum looking for a way to run around her. With Sum moving to the outside, Arzamasava drifted out, opening a gap on the inside which Bishop moved in to occupy. It was three abreast down the home stretch but Arzamasava never relinquished the lead, Bishop unable to get ahead on the inside and Sum just slightly behind them both.

## Records

Prior to the competition, the records were as follows:
| World record | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 1:53.28 | Munich, West Germany | 26 July 1983 |
| Championship record | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 1:54.68 | Helsinki, Finland | 9 August 1983 |
| World leading | Eunice Jepkoech Sum (KEN) | 1:56.99 | Paris, France | 4 July 2015 |
| African record | Pamela Jelimo (KEN) | 1:54.01 | Zürich, Switzerland | 29 August 2008 |
| Asian record | Liu Dong (CHN) | 1:55.54 | Beijing, China | 9 September 1993 |
| NACAC record | Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB) | 1:54.44 | Barcelona, Spain | 9 September 1989 |
| South American record | Letitia Vriesde (SUR) | 1:56.68 | Gothenburg, Sweden | 13 August 1995 |
| European record | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 1:53.28 | Munich, West Germany | 26 July 1983 |
| Oceanian record | Toni Hodgkinson (NZL) | 1:58.25 | Atlanta, United States | 27 July 1996 |

## Qualification standards

* Entry standards
* 2:01.00

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| 26 August 2015 | 10:25 | Heats |
| 27 August 2015 | 20:05 | Semifinals |
| 29 August 2015 | 19:15 | Final |
All times are local times (UTC+8)

## Results
### Heats

Qualification: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 6 fastest (q) advanced to the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Maryna Arzamasava | Belarus (BLR) | 1:58.69 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 1 | Lynsey Sharp | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 1:58.98 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 1 | Caster Semenya | South Africa (RSA) | 1:59.59 | Q, SB |
| 4 | 1 | Nataliia Lupu | Ukraine (UKR) | 1:59.62 | q, SB |
| 5 | 2 | Eunice Jepkoech Sum | Kenya (KEN) | 1:59.67 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | Olha Lyakhova | Ukraine (UKR) | 1:59.92 | Q, PB |
| 7 | 2 | Sifan Hassan | Netherlands (NED) | 1:59.94 | Q |
| 8 | 2 | Rénelle Lamote | France (FRA) | 2:00.20 | q |
| 9 | 6 | Melissa Bishop | Canada (CAN) | 2:00.23 | Q |
| 10 | 6 | Selina Büchel | Switzerland (SUI) | 2:00.25 | Q |
| 11 | 1 | Christina Hering | Germany (GER) | 2:00.36 | q |
| 12 | 3 | Rababe Arafi | Morocco (MAR) | 2:00.37 | Q, PB |
| 12 | 6 | Malika Akkaoui | Morocco (MAR) | 2:00.37 | Q, SB |
| 14 | 3 | Fiona Benson | Canada (CAN) | 2:00.53 | Q |
| 15 | 3 | Brenda Martinez | United States (USA) | 2:00.54 | Q |
| 16 | 3 | Angie Petty | New Zealand (NZL) | 2:00.62 | q |
| 17 | 6 | Jennifer Meadows | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:00.70 | q |
| 17 | 1 | Molly Beckwith-Ludlow | United States (USA) | 2:00.70 | q |
| 19 | 1 | Tintu Lukka | India (IND) | 2:00.95 | SB |
| 20 | 6 | Aníta Hinriksdóttir | Iceland (ISL) | 2:01.01 | SB |
| 21 | 6 | Anastasiya Tkachuk | Ukraine (UKR) | 2:01.07 | |
| 22 | 4 | Sofia Ennaoui | Poland (POL) | 2:01.16 | Q |
| 23 | 4 | Rose Mary Almanza | Cuba (CUB) | 2:01.33 | Q |
| 24 | 4 | Lucia Klocová | Slovakia (SVK) | 2:01.35 | Q |
| 25 | 2 | Charline Mathias | Luxembourg (LUX) | 2:01.36 | |
| 26 | 4 | Janeth Jepkosgei | Kenya (KEN) | 2:01.40 | |
| 27 | 5 | Fabienne Kohlmann | Germany (GER) | 2:01.42 | Q |
| 28 | 4 | Simoya Campbell | Jamaica (JAM) | 2:01.43 | |
| 29 | 3 | Yevgeniya Subbotina | Russia (RUS) | 2:01.50 | |
| 30 | 5 | Joanna Jóźwik | Poland (POL) | 2:01.62 | Q |
| 31 | 5 | Shelayna Oskan-Clarke | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:01.72 | Q |
| 32 | 2 | Flávia de Lima | Brazil (BRA) | 2:01.76 | |
| 33 | 5 | Natoya Goule | Jamaica (JAM) | 2:02.37 | |
| 34 | 5 | Déborah Rodríguez | Uruguay (URU) | 2:02.46 | |
| 35 | 5 | Noélie Yarigo | Benin (BEN) | 2:02.48 | |
| 36 | 4 | Esther Guerrero | Spain (ESP) | 2:02.64 | |
| 37 | 3 | Zhao Jing | China (CHN) | 2:03.08 | SB |
| 38 | 2 | Habitam Alemu | Ethiopia (ETH) | 2:03.19 | |
| 39 | 6 | Margaret Wambui | Kenya (KEN) | 2:03.52 | |
| 40 | 4 | Ciara Everard | Ireland (IRL) | 2:03.98 | |
| 41 | 5 | Alysia Montaño | United States (USA) | 2:09.57 | |
| 42 | 3 | Donna Koniel | Papua New Guinea (PNG) | 2:12.51 | |
| 43 | 5 | Andrea Foster | Guyana (GUY) | 2:17.39 | |
| 44 | 1 | Aye Aye Aung | Myanmar (MYA) | 2:37.51 | |
| | 3 | Amela Terzić | Serbia (SRB) | DNS | |

### Semifinals

Qualification: First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advanced to the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Melissa Bishop | Canada (CAN) | 1:57.52 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 3 | Maryna Arzamasava | Belarus (BLR) | 1:57.54 | Q, PB |
| 3 | 3 | Eunice Jepkoech Sum | Kenya (KEN) | 1:57.56 | q |
| 4 | 3 | Joanna Jóźwik | Poland (POL) | 1:58.35 | q, PB |
| 5 | 3 | Sifan Hassan | Netherlands (NED) | 1:58.50 | PB |
| 6 | 1 | Rababe Arafi | Morocco (MAR) | 1:58.55 | Q, PB |
| 7 | 1 | Nataliia Lupu | Ukraine (UKR) | 1:58.57 | Q, SB |
| 8 | 1 | Selina Büchel | Switzerland (SUI) | 1:58.63 | |
| 9 | 2 | Shelayna Oskan-Clarke | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 1:58.86 | Q, PB |
| 9 | 2 | Rénelle Lamote | France (FRA) | 1:58.86 | Q, PB |
| 11 | 2 | Olha Lyakhova | Ukraine (UKR) | 1:58.94 | PB |
| 12 | 3 | Malika Akkaoui | Morocco (MAR) | 1:59.03 | SB |
| 13 | 3 | Lucia Klocová | Slovakia (SVK) | 1:59.14 | SB |
| 14 | 3 | Lynsey Sharp | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 1:59.33 | |
| 15 | 1 | Fabienne Kohlmann | Germany (GER) | 1:59.42 | |
| 16 | 2 | Angie Petty | New Zealand (NZL) | 1:59.53 | |
| 17 | 2 | Fiona Benson | Canada (CAN) | 1:59.59 | PB |
| 18 | 1 | Sofia Ennaoui | Poland (POL) | 2:00.11 | PB |
| 19 | 1 | Brenda Martinez | United States (USA) | 2:00.27 | |
| 20 | 2 | Rose Mary Almanza | Cuba (CUB) | 2:00.38 | |
| 21 | 2 | Molly Beckwith-Ludlow | United States (USA) | 2:00.43 | |
| 22 | 1 | Jennifer Meadows | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:00.53 | |
| 23 | 2 | Christina Hering | Germany (GER) | 2:00.81 | |
| 24 | 1 | Caster Semenya | South Africa (RSA) | 2:03.18 | |

### Final

The final was started at 14:15
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time |
| | Maryna Arzamasava | Belarus (BLR) | 1:58.03 |
| | Melissa Bishop | Canada (CAN) | 1:58.12 |
| | Eunice Jepkoech Sum | Kenya (KEN) | 1:58.18 |
| 4 | Rababe Arafi | Morocco (MAR) | 1:58.90 |
| 5 | Shelayna Oskan-Clarke | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 1:58.99 |
| 6 | Nataliia Lupu | Ukraine (UKR) | 1:58.99 |
| 7 | Joanna Jóźwik | Poland (POL) | 1:59.09 |
| 8 | Rénelle Lamote | France (FRA) | 1:59.70 |