Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres
| Men's 800 metres at the Games of the I Olympiad | |||||||
| Venue | Panathinaiko Stadium | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | April 6 (heats) April 9 (final) | ||||||
| Competitors | 9 from 6 nations | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
| Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics  | ||
|---|---|---|
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | |
| 400 m | men | |
| 800 m | men | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | |
| Triple jump | men | |
| High jump | men | |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Shot put | men | |
| Discus throw | men | |
The men's 800 metres race was the second-longest of the four flat-track events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The preliminary heats were the third event held on 6 April. The nine competitors were split into two groups. The top two athletes in each heat advanced to the final, which was held on 9 April.
Results
Heats
The two heats of the preliminary round were held on 6 April. The top two runners in each heat advanced.
Heat 1
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Edwin Flack (AUS) |
2:10.0 |
| 2 | .svg.png){kind=small} Nándor Dáni (HUN) |
2:10.2 |
| 3 |  Friedrich Traun (GER) |
2:13.4 |
| 4 | George Marshall (GBR) |
Unknown |
Flack beat Dáni by four feet with the others far behind; his time of 2:10.0 was the inaugural Olympic record.
Heat 2
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Albin Lermusiaux (FRA) |
2:16.6 |
| 2 | .svg.png){kind=small} Dimitrios Golemis (GRE) |
2:16.8 |
| 3 | Georges de la Nézière (FRA) |
Unknown |
| 4 | Angelos Fetsis (GRE) |
Unknown |
| 5 | Dimitrios Tomprof (GRE) |
Unknown |
Lermusiaux beat Golemis by 1¼ yards.
Final
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edwin Flack (AUS) |
2:11.0 |
| 2 | Nándor Dáni (HUN) |
2:11.8 |
| 3 | Dimitrios Golemis (GRE) |
2:28.0 |
| – | Albin Lermusiaux (FRA) |
DNS |
The final consisted of only three runners, as Lermusiaux elected not to compete to save himself for the marathon. Flack won by five meters, and Dáni finished 95 yards ahead of Golemis.
References
- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at la84foundation.org)
- Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at la84foundation.org)
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.