The men's 800 metres

800 metres

The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

was a track and field athletics event held as part of the athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics

These are the results of athletics competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics. 30 events were contested, all for men only.The athletics programme grew by 4 events since the 1908 Summer Olympics. The 5000 and 10000 metre races were introduced for the first time, as the 5 mile event was eliminated...

 programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The competition was held from Saturday, July 6, 1912 to Monday, July 8, 1912.

Forty-eight runners from 16 nations competed. Including all three medalists from 1908, Olympic champion Mel Sheppard

Mel Sheppard

Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...

, the silver medalists Emilio Lunghi

Emilio Lunghi

Emilio Lunghi was an Italian athlete. He won the silver medal in the men's 800 metres race at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, making him the first Italian to win an Olympic medal....

, and the bronze medalist Hanns Braun

Hanns Braun

Hanns Braun was a German athlete.-Biography:He was born in Wernfels and died near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France as fighter-pilot in an airplane-crash in World War I....

.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World Record	1:52.8(*)	Mel Sheppard Mel Sheppard Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...  (GBR Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... )	July 21, 1908
	1:52.1(**)	Emilio Lunghi Emilio Lunghi Emilio Lunghi was an Italian athlete. He won the silver medal in the men's 800 metres race at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, making him the first Italian to win an Olympic medal....	Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...  (CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... )	September 15, 1909
Olympic Record	1:52.8(***)	Mel Sheppard Mel Sheppard Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...  (GBR Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... )	July 21, 1908

(*) unofficial

(**) 880 yards (= 804.68 m)

(***) This track was 536.45 metres= mile in circumference.

The world record of 1:52.8, which had seemed fairly safe through the first two rounds of competition, was broken by all three medalists and tied by the fourth-place runner in the final. Mel Sheppard

Mel Sheppard

Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...

, the previous record-holder, and Ira Davenport beat the old record by .8 seconds at 1:52.0, taking silver and bronze behind Ted Meredith

Ted Meredith

James Edwin "Ted" Meredith was an American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1912 Summer Olympics.He was born in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania and died in Camden, New Jersey, aged 65...

and his new record of 1:51.9. This record became the first official world record for the 800 metres.

Heats

All heats were held on Saturday, July 6, 1912.

Heat 1

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:58.6	QS
2			QS
3
4		2:01.5
5

Heat 2

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:56.0	QS
2			QS
3
DNF		-

Heat 3

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		2:01.8	QS
2			QS
3
4

Heat 4

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:56.5	QS
2			QS
3
4		2:02.0
—		DNF

Heat 5

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:59.0	QS
2			QS
3
4
5
—		DNF
		DNF

Heat 6

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:58.1	QS
2			QS
3
4		2:01.2
5-7
—		DNF

Heat 7

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		2:00.4	QS
2			QS
3
—		DNF
		DNS

Heat 8

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:57.0	QS
2			QS
3
—		DNF

Heat 9

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:57.6	QS
2			QS
3		1:59.2
4		1:59.2
—		DNF
		DNF

Semifinals

Both semi-finals were held on Sunday, July 7, 1912.

Semifinal 1

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:54.4	QF
2		1:54.6	QF
3		1:54.8	QF
4		1:55.0	QF
5
6
—		DNF
		DNF
		DNS

Semifinal 2

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:55.7	QF
2		1:55.8	QF
3		1:55.9	QF
4		1:55.9	QF
5
6-9

Final

The final took place on Monday, July 8, 1912.

Place	Athlete	Time
1		1:51.9 WR
2		1:52.0
3		1:52.0
4		1:52.8
5		1:53.0
6		1:53.0
7
8