800 metres world record progression

The following table shows the world record progression in the men's and women's 800 metres, officially ratified by the IAAF.

Men

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.

Time	Auto	Athlete	Date	Location
1:51.9+		Ted Meredith (USA)	1912-07-08	Stockholm, Sweden[1]
1:51.6y		Otto Peltzer (GER)	1926-07-03	London, United Kingdom[1]
1:50.6		Sera Martin (FRA)	1928-07-14	Paris, France[1]
1:49.8	1.49.70	Tommy Hampson (GBR)	1932-08-02	Los Angeles, USA[1]
1:49.8y		Ben Eastman (USA)	1934-06-16	Princeton, USA[1]
1:49.7		Glenn Cunningham (USA)	1936-08-20	Stockholm, Sweden[1]
1:49.6y		Elroy Robinson (USA)	1937-07-11	New York, USA[1]
1:48.4+		Sydney Wooderson (GBR)	1938-08-20	Motspur Park, United Kingdom[1]
1:46.6		Rudolf Harbig (GER)	1939-07-15	Milan, Italy[1]
1:45.7		Roger Moens (BEL)	1955-08-03	Oslo, Norway[1]
1:44.3+		Peter Snell (NZL)	1962-02-02	Christchurch, New Zealand[1]
1:44.3	1:44.40	Ralph Doubell (AUS)	1968-10-15	Mexico City, Mexico[1]
1:44.3		Dave Wottle (USA)	1972-07-01	Eugene, Oregon, USA[1]
1:43.7		Marcello Fiasconaro (ITA)	1973-06-27	Milan, Italy[1]
1:43.5	1:43.50	Alberto Juantorena (CUB)	1976-07-16	Montreal, Canada[1]
1:43.4	1:43.44	Alberto Juantorena (CUB)	1977-08-21	Sofia, Bulgaria[1]
1:42.4	1:42.33	Sebastian Coe (GBR)	1979-07-05	Oslo, Norway[1]
1:41.73		Sebastian Coe (GBR)	1981-06-10	Florence, Italy[1]
1:41.73		Wilson Kipketer (DEN)	1997-07-07	Stockholm, Sweden[1]
1:41.24		Wilson Kipketer (DEN)	1997-08-13	Zürich, Switzerland[1]
1:41.11		Wilson Kipketer (DEN)	1997-08-24	Cologne, Germany[1]
1:41.09		David Rudisha (KEN)	2010-08-22	Berlin, Germany[2]
1:41.01		David Rudisha (KEN)	2010-08-29	Rieti, Italy[2]

(+) - indicates en-route time from longer race.

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.

Women

The first world record in the women's 800 metres was recognized by the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) in 1922.^[3] The FSFI 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.^[3] "y" denotes time for 880 yards (804.68 m) ratified as a record for the 800 m.

Time	Auto	Athlete	Date	Location
2:30.4+		Georgette Lenoir (FRA)	1922-08-20	Paris, France[3]
2:26.6y		Mary Lines (GBR)	1922-08-30	London, United Kingdom[3]
2:23.8		Lina Radke (GER)	1927-08-07	Breslau, Germany[3]
2:20.4		Inga Gentzel (SWE)	1928-06-16	Stockholm, Sweden[3]
2:19.6		Lina Radke (GER)	1928-07-01	Brieg, Poland[3]
2:16.8		Lina Radke (GER)	1928-08-02	Amsterdam, Netherlands[3]
2:15.9		Anna Larsson (SWE)	1944-08-28	Stockholm, Sweden[3]
2:14.8		Anna Larsson (SWE)	1945-08-19	Hälsingborg, Sweden[3]
2:13.8		Anna Larsson (SWE)	1945-08-30	Stockholm, Sweden[3]
2:13.0		Yevdokia Vasilyeva (URS)	1950-07-17	Moscow, Soviet Union[3]
2:12.2		Valentina Pomogayeva (URS)	1951-07-26	Moscow, Soviet Union[3]
2:12.0		Nina Otkalenko (URS)	1951-08-26	Minsk, Soviet Union[3]
2:08.5		Nina Otkalenko (URS)	1952-06-15	Kiev, Soviet Union[3]
2:07.3		Nina Otkalenko (URS)	1953-08-27	Moscow, Soviet Union[3]
2:06.6		Nina Otkalenko (URS)	1954-09-16	Kiev, Soviet Union[3]
2:05.0		Nina Otkalenko (URS)	1955-09-24	Zagreb, Yugoslavia[3]
2:04.3		Lyudmila Shevtsova (URS)	1960-07-03	Moscow, Soviet Union[3]
2:04.3	2:04.50	Lyudmila Shevtsova (URS)	1960-09-07	Rome, Italy[3]
2:01.2+		Dixie Willis (AUS)	1962-03-03	Perth, Australia[3]
2:01.1		Ann Packer (GBR)	1964-10-20	Tokyo, Japan[3]
2:01.0		Judy Pollock (AUS)	1967-06-28	Helsinki, Finland[3]
2:00.5		Vera Nikolic (YUG)	1968-07-20	London, United Kingdom[3]
1:58.5	1:58.45	Hildegard Falck (FRG)	1971-07-11	Stuttgart, Germany[3]
1:57.5	1:57.48	Svetla Zlateva (BUL)	1973-08-24	Athens, Greece[3]
1:56.0		Valentina Gerasimova (URS)	1976-06-12	Kiev, Soviet Union[3]
1:54.9	1:54.94	Tatyana Kazankina (URS)	1976-07-26	Montreal, Canada[3]
1:54.9	1:54.85	Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS)	1980-06-12	Moscow, Soviet Union[3]
1:53.5	1:53.43	Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS)	1980-07-27	Moscow, Soviet Union[3]
1:53.28	-	Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH)	1983-07-26	Munich, West Germany[3]

(+) - indicates en-route time from longer race.

Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m from 1981.^[3] Hence, Nadezhda Olizarenko's record at 1:53.5 was rendered as 1:53.43 from that year.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w} "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009." (pdf). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 548. http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf. Retrieved August 9, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "IAAF World Championships: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Daegu 2011." (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2011. pp. Pages 595, 597. http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/06/10/33/61033_PDF_English.pdf. Retrieved August 3, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af} "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009." (pdf). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 641–2. http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf. Retrieved August 9, 2009.