Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres


The Women's 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 29 competitors, with four qualifying heats and two semi-finals, before the final took off on Monday September 26, 1988.

Medalists

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics.
World Record1:53.28 Jarmila KratochvílováMunich July 26, 1983
Olympic Record1:53.43 Nadiya OlizarenkoMoscow July 27, 1980

Summary

The final started with returning silver medalist Kim Gallagher running the fastest first turn to take the lead at the break. But that was short lived as the two East German teammates ran past her down the backstretch, Christine Wachtel on the inside, leading Sigrun Wodars tight on her shoulder. Inna Yevseyeva moved to the outside to run past Gallagher, with Slobodanka Čolović in her wake while Gallagher had her teammate Delisa Walton-Floyd a step behind her. As Yevseyeva moved forward, the first lap was a fast 56.43. Through the penultimate turn, Wodars took the lead and pushed the pace. Behind her, a break began to form as Walton-Floyd, Maite Zúñiga and Diane Edwards couldn't keep up. Wachtel made up a little lost ground on the backstretch and pulled shoulder to shoulder with Wodars by the 600 mark in 1:25.5, then taking the lead into the final turn. It was a lead in formality only as Wodars, Yevseyeva and Čolović lining up in close order drill, getting ready to pounce coming off the turn. As the straightaway neared, Gallagher seized the gap on the inside, running through to Wachtel's heels. Yevseyeva struggled to keep up, as Gallagher moved to the outside of Wodars, leaving Čolović with nowhere to run and the first three all having clear running room to the finish line. Just like the World Championships the year before, Wachtel had a slight edge coming off the turn and a long history of winning, but in the big ones, Wodars had slightly more speed to edge ahead and take the gold even more decisively. The race lost, Wachtel struggled toward the end but Gallagher couldn't catch her for the silver.

Final

Semi finals

RANKHEAT 2TIME
1.1:58.44
2.1:58.82
3.1:59.10
4.1:59.66
5.1:59.85
6.1:59.94
7.2:00.15
8.2:02.34

Qualifying heats

RANKHEAT 2TIME
1.2:00.62
2.2:00.83
3.2:00.95
4.2:00.98
5.2:02.85
6.2:03.26
7.2:04.36
8.2:08.93

RANKHEAT 3TIME
1.2:02.24
2.2:02.37
3.2:02.48
4.2:02.57
5.2:02.75
6.2:08.17
7.2:12.18
—DNS

RANKHEAT 4TIME
1.2:01.70
2.2:01.79
3.2:01.81
4.2:01.83
5.2:03.33
6.2:04.74
—DNS