The following table shows the world record progression in the men's and women's 800 metres, officially ratified by the IAAF.
The first world record in the men's 800 metres was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912.[1]
As of June 21, 2011, 23 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event.[2] "y" denotes time for 880 yards (804.68 m) ratified as a record for the 800 m.
| Mark | Athlete | Nationality | Location | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.06.0y | A. Wood | Unknown | 1830[3] | ||
| 2.05.0y | J. Blackwood | Addiscombe | April 25, 1857 | ||
| 2.04.0y | Wiliam Way | Oxford | November 25, 1859 | ||
| 2.03.0y | Charlie Grey | Dublin | June 27, 1861 | ||
| 2.03.0y | Percy Thornton | London | December 16, 1865 | ||
| 2.02.5y | Percy Thornton | London | December 16, 1865 | ||
| 2.02.4y | Francis Pelham | Cambridge | March 23, 1867 | ||
| 2.01.0y | Kinross Gair | Edinburgh | June 26, 1867 | ||
| 2.01.0y | George Templer | London | March 27, 1872 | ||
| 2.01.0y | Thomas Christie | London | March 27, 1872 | ||
| 1.59.8y | Arthur Pelham | Cambridge | March 26, 1873 | ||
| 1.59.5y | Walter Slade | Dublin | June 5, 1876 | ||
| 1.58.8y | Walter Slade | Dublin | June 6, 1876 | ||
| 1.58.2y | Walter Slade | Belfast | June 10, 1876 | ||
| 1.57.5y | Frederic Elborough | London | October 7, 1876 | ||
| 1.56.2y | Lawrence Myers | New York City | July 17, 1880 | ||
| 1.55.8y | Lawrence Myers | London | July 2, 1881 | ||
| 1.55.6y | Lawrence Myers | New York City | October 8, 1881 | ||
| 1.55.6y | Lawrence Myers | New York City | September 16, 1882 | ||
| 1.55.4y | Lawrence Myers | Birmingham | July 7, 1884 | ||
| 1.55.4y | Lawrence Myers | New York City | October 3, 1885 | ||
| 1.54.6y | Francis Cross | Oxford | March 9, 1888 | ||
| 1.54.5y | Walter Dohm | New York City | September 19, 1891 | ||
| 1.53.4y | Charles Kilpatrick | New York City | September 21, 1895 | ||
| 1.52.8 | Melvin Sheppard | London | July 21, 1908 | ||
| 1.52.1y | Emilio Lunghi | Montreal | September 15, 1909 |
| Time | Auto | Athlete | Date | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:51.9+ | 1912-07-08 | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| 1:51.6y | 1926-07-03 | London, United Kingdom | |||
| 1:50.6 | 1928-07-14 | Paris, France | |||
| 1:49.8 | 1:49.70 | 1932-08-02 | Los Angeles, United States | ||
| 1:49.8y | 1934-06-16 | Princeton, United States | |||
| 1:49.7 | 1936-08-20 | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| 1:49.6y | 1937-07-11 | New York, United States | |||
| 1:48.4+ | 1938-08-20 | London, United Kingdom | |||
| 1:46.6 | 1939-07-15 | Milan, Italy | |||
| 1:45.7 | 1955-08-03 | Oslo, Norway | |||
| 1:44.3+ | 1962-02-03 | Christchurch, New Zealand | |||
| 1:44.3 | 1:44.40 | 1968-10-15 | Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| 1:44.3 | 1972-07-01 | Eugene, United States | |||
| 1:43.7 | 1973-06-27 | Milan, Italy | |||
| 1:43.5 | 1:43.50 | 1976-07-25 | Montreal, Canada | ||
| 1:43.4 | 1:43.44 | 1977-08-21 | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
| 1:42.4 | 1:42.33 | 1979-07-05 | Oslo, Norway | ||
| 1:41.73 | 1981-06-10 | Florence, Italy | |||
| 1:41.73 | 1997-07-07 | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| 1:41.24 | 1997-08-13 | Zürich, Switzerland | |||
| 1:41.11 | 1997-08-24 | Cologne, Germany | |||
| 1:41.09 | 2010-08-22 | Berlin, Germany | |||
| 1:41.01 | 2010-08-29 | Rieti, Italy | |||
| 1:40.91 | 2012-08-09 | London, United Kingdom[4] |
The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th of a second, depending on the rules then in place.
Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m from 1981.[1] Hence, Sebastian Coe's record at 1:42.4 was rendered as 1:42.33 from that year.
The first world record in the women's 800 metres was recognized by the French: [[Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale]] (FSFI) in 1922,[5] which was absorbed by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1936.
As of June 21, 2009, the IAAF (and the FSFI before it) have ratified 29 world records in the event.[5] "y" denotes time for 880 yards (804.672 m) ratified as a record for the 800 m.
| Time | Auto | Athlete | Date | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:30.4+ | 1922-08-20 | Paris, France | |||
| 2:26.6y | 1922-08-30 | London, United Kingdom | |||
| 2:23.8 | 1927-08-07 | Breslau, Germany | |||
| 2:20.4 | 1928-06-16 | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| 2:19.6 | 1928-07-01 | Brieg, Germany | |||
| 2:16.8 | 1928-08-02 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |||
| 2:16.4* | align=left | 1934-06-14 | Prague, Czechoslovakia[6] [7] | ||
| 2:12.4* | align=left | 1934-08-?? | London, United Kingdom | ||
| 2:15.9 | 1944-08-28 | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| 2:14.8 | 1945-08-19 | Hälsingborg, Sweden | |||
| 2:13.8 | 1945-08-30 | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| 2:13.0 | 1950-07-17 | Moscow, Soviet Union | |||
| 2:12.2 | 1951-07-26 | Moscow, Soviet Union | |||
| 2:12.0 | 1951-08-26 | Minsk, Soviet Union | |||
| 2:08.5 | 1952-06-15 | Kiev, Soviet Union | |||
| 2:07.3 | 1953-08-27 | Moscow, Soviet Union | |||
| 2:06.6 | 1954-09-16 | Kiev, Soviet Union | |||
| 2:05.0 | 1955-09-24 | Zagreb, Yugoslavia | |||
| 2:04.3 | 1960-07-03 | Moscow, Soviet Union | |||
| 2:04.3 | 2:04.50 | 1960-09-07 | Rome, Italy | ||
| 2:01.2+ | 1962-03-03 | Perth, Australia | |||
| 2:01.1 | 1964-10-20 | Tokyo, Japan | |||
| 2:01.0 | 1967-06-28 | Helsinki, Finland | |||
| 2:00.5 | 1968-07-20 | London, United Kingdom | |||
| 1:58.5 | 1:58.45 | 1971-07-11 | Stuttgart, Germany | ||
| 1:57.5 | 1:57.48 | 1973-08-24 | Athens, Greece | ||
| 1:56.0 | 1976-06-12 | Kiev, Soviet Union | |||
| 1:54.9 | 1:54.94 | 1976-07-26 | Montreal, Canada | ||
| 1:54.9 | 1:54.85 | 1980-06-12 | Moscow, Soviet Union | ||
| 1:53.5 | 1:53.43 | 1980-07-27 | Moscow, Soviet Union | ||
| 1:53.28 | 1983-07-26 | Munich, West Germany |
(+) - indicates en route time from longer race.
(*) - Zdeněk Koubek's world records were rescinded by the IAAF after he transitioned to become male.[6] [7]
The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th of a second, depending on the rules then in place.
Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m from 1981.[5] Hence, Nadezhda Olizarenko's record at 1:53.5 was rendered as 1:53.43 from that year.