Men · World record

800 Metres

The current record and its documented progression: 24 ratified records from 1912 to 2012, plus 26 earlier marks recorded before the IAAF began ratifying records.

Current record

1:40.91

David RudishaKENLondon · 9 Aug 2012

14 years standing0.1 s improvementAll-time top 50 →

Record progression

Each step is a documented record; red marks the fully automatic timing era

1912 · 1:51.9 Ted Meredith1926 · 1:51.6 Otto Peltzer1928 · 1:50.6 Sera Martin1932 · 1:49.8 Tommy Hampson1934 · 1:49.8 Ben Eastman1936 · 1:49.7 Glenn Cunningham1937 · 1:49.6 Elroy Robinson1938 · 1:48.4 Sydney Wooderson1939 · 1:46.6 Rudolf Harbig1955 · 1:45.7 Roger Moens1962 · 1:44.3 Peter Snell1968 · 1:44.3 Ralph Doubell1972 · 1:44.3 Dave Wottle1973 · 1:43.7 Marcello Fiasconaro1976 · 1:43.5 Alberto Juantorena1977 · 1:43.4 Alberto Juantorena1979 · 1:42.4 Sebastian Coe1981 · 1:41.73 Sebastian Coe1997 · 1:41.73 Wilson Kipketer1997 · 1:41.24 Wilson Kipketer1997 · 1:41.11 Wilson Kipketer2010 · 1:41.09 David Rudisha2010 · 1:41.01 David Rudisha2012 · 1:40.91 David Rudisha 1:40.911:51.90

19121937 · Robinson 1:49.61972 · Wottle 1:44.31997 · Kipketer 1:41.732012 · Rudisha 1:40.91

Documented records

24 ratified · most recent first · Wikipedia (EN) revision 1359312653, imported 2 Sep 2026

MarkAthleteNationVenueDateStood
1:42.4 Sebastian Coe GBR Oslo, Norway 5 Jul 1979 1 yr
1:43.4 Alberto Juantorena CUB Sofia, Bulgaria 21 Aug 1977 1 yr
1:43.5 Alberto Juantorena CUB Montreal, Canada 25 Jul 1976 1 yr
1:43.7 Marcello Fiasconaro ITA Milan, Italy 27 Jun 1973 3 yrs
1:44.3 Dave Wottle USA Eugene, United States 1 Jul 1972 361 d
1:44.3 Ralph Doubell AUS Mexico City, Mexico 15 Oct 1968 3 yrs
1:44.3 Peter Snell NZL Christchurch, New Zealand 3 Feb 1962 6 yrs
1:45.7 Roger Moens BEL Oslo, Norway 3 Aug 1955 6 yrs
1:46.6 Rudolf Harbig GER Milan, Italy 15 Jul 1939 16 yrs
1:48.4 Sydney Wooderson GBR London, United Kingdom 20 Aug 1938 329 d
1:49.6 Elroy Robinson USA New York City, United States 11 Jul 1937 1 yr
1:49.7 Glenn Cunningham USA Stockholm, Sweden 20 Aug 1936 325 d
1:49.8 Ben Eastman USA Princeton, United States 16 Jun 1934 2 yrs
1:49.8 Tommy Hampson GBR Los Angeles, United States 2 Aug 1932 1 yr
1:50.6 Sera Martin FRA Paris, France 14 Jul 1928 4 yrs
1:51.6 Otto Peltzer GER London, United Kingdom 3 Jul 1926 2 yrs
1:51.9 Ted Meredith USA Stockholm, Sweden 8 Jul 1912 13 yrs

Rows link to a profile only where the athlete appears on a published list. Struck marks were rescinded or never ratified, and A marks a performance at altitude; both come from the source article's own key and markers, and eras are kept as it lists them. Nothing is inferred.

Before official ratification

26 entries · not ratified · marks from before the IAAF (now World Athletics) began ratifying records, or never ratified, shown for context only

2:06.0A. Wood GBR1830
2:05.0J. Blackwood GBR25 Apr 1857
2:04.0Wiliam Way GBR25 Nov 1859
2:03.0Charlie Grey IRL27 Jun 1861
2:03.0Percy Thornton GBR16 Dec 1865
2:02.5Percy Thornton GBR16 Dec 1865
2:02.4Francis Pelham GBR23 Mar 1867
2:01.0Kinross Gair GBR26 Jun 1867
2:01.0George Templer USA27 Mar 1872
2:01.0Thomas Christie USA27 Mar 1872
1:59.8Arthur Pelham GBR26 Mar 1873
1:59.5Walter Slade GBR5 Jun 1876
1:58.8Walter Slade GBR6 Jun 1876
1:58.2Walter Slade GBR10 Jun 1876
1:57.5Frederic Elborough GBR7 Oct 1876
1:56.2Lawrence Myers USA17 Jul 1880
1:55.8Lawrence Myers USA2 Jul 1881
1:55.6Lawrence Myers USA8 Oct 1881
1:55.6Lawrence Myers USA16 Sep 1882
1:55.4Lawrence Myers USA7 Jul 1884
1:55.4Lawrence Myers USA3 Oct 1885
1:54.6Francis Cross GBR9 Mar 1888
1:54.5Walter Dohm USA19 Sep 1891
1:53.4Charles Kilpatrick USA21 Sep 1895
1:52.8Melvin Sheppard USA21 Jul 1908
1:52.1Emilio Lunghi ITA15 Sep 1909