Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres
The men's 800 metres event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place July 30, July 31 and August 2. The final was won by the American Mal Whitfield.
Summary
The competitors all started from a crouch start. In the final, Marcel Hansenne bolted from the blocks to take the lead. The tall Arthur Wint worked his way through the crowd and moved into the marking position by the end of the turn. Mal Whitfield smoothly ran around the crowd, past Wint and Hansenne into the lead. Whitfield kept going, extending his lead to five metres uncontested. Ingvar Bengtsson moved forward to challenge Hansenne, holding the edge through the final turn. Coming off the final turn, Wint ran around both of them and set off in chase of Whitfield. He was able to close down a couple of meters but the gap was too much, Whitfield winning easily. Behind them, Herb Barten ran around the outside of Bengtsson and challenged Hansenne to the line, but Hansenne took the bronze.Records
Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.| World record | 1:46.6 | Milan, Italy | 15 July 1939 | |
| Olympic record | 1:49.7 | Los Angeles, United States | 2 August 1932 |
The following new Olympic record was set during this competition:
| Date | Event | Athlete | Time | Notes |
| 2 August | Final | 1:49.2 | OR |
Schedule
All times are British Summer Time.| Date | Time | |
| Friday, 30 July 1948 | 16:00 | Round 1 |
| Saturday, 31 July 1948 | 15:15 | Semifinals |
| Monday, 2 August 1948 | 16:00 | Final |
Results
Round 1
The first four in each heat qualified for the Semi-finals.Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
Heat 5
Heat 6
Semifinals
Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Final
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| Mal Whitfield | 1:49.2 | OR | ||
| Arthur Wint | 1:49.5 | |||
| Marcel Hansenne | 1:49.8 | |||
| 4 | Herb Barten | 1:50.1 | ||
| 5 | Ingvar Bengtsson | 1:50.5 | ||
| 6 | Bob Chambers | 1:52.1 | ||
| 7 | Robert Chef d'Hôtel | 1:53.0 | ||
| 8 | John Parlett | 1:53.4 | ||
| 9 | Niels Holst-Sørensen | 1:54.0 |
Key: OR = Olympic record