Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres

The Women's 800 metres competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. The event were held at the University Olympic Stadium on October 17–19.[1]

Women's 800 metres
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
VenueEstadio Olímpico Universitario
DateOctober 17–19
Competitors24 from 16 nations
Winning time2:00.9 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Madeline Manning  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ileana Silai  Romania
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Mia Gommers  Netherlands
← 1964
1972 →

Madeline Manning became the first Black woman to win an Olympic 800m title. She also became the first American to do so.

Competition format

edit

The competition had four heats in the first round, two semi-finals and a final. The top four in the first round heats progressed. The top four finishers in the semi-final race reached the finals.

Records

edit

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record   Vera Nikolić (YUG) 2:00.5 London, United Kingdom July 20, 1968
Olympic record   Ann Packer (GBR) 2:01.1 Tokyo, Japan October 20, 1964

Results

edit

Round 1

edit

Heat 1

edit
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Vera Nikolić   Yugoslavia 2:05.7 Q
2 Laine Erik   Soviet Union 2:06.5 Q
3 Paola Pigni   Italy 2:06.7 Q
4 Karin Krebs   East Germany 2:07.1 Q
5 Francie Kraker   United States 2:07.3
6 Elizabeth Chesire   Kenya 2:10.9

Heat 2

edit
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Mia Gommers   Netherlands 2:04.0 Q
2 Ileana Silai   Romania 2:04.1 Q
3 Sheila Carey   Great Britain 2:04.1 Q
4 Anna Zimina   Soviet Union 2:04.4 Q
5 Barbara Wieck   East Germany 2:08.5
6 Hana Shezifi   Israel 2:09.2

Heat 3

edit
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Maryvonne Dupureur   France 2:09.5 Q
2 Doris Brown   United States 2:09.5 Q
3 Pat Lowe-Cropper   Great Britain 2:09.5 Q
4 Sylvia Potts   New Zealand 2:09.6 Q
5 Eeva Haimi   Finland 2:09.6
6 Tilly van der Made   Netherlands 2:10.5

Heat 4

edit
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Madeline Manning   United States 2:08.7 Q
2 Abby Hoffman   Canada 2:08.9 Q
3 Jaroslava Jehličková   Czechoslovakia 2:08.9 Q
4 Ilja Keizer   Netherlands 2:08.9 Q
5 Annelise Damm Olesen   Denmark 2:09.0
6 Joan Page-Allison   Great Britain 2:10.2

Semifinals

edit

Heat 1

edit
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Madeline Manning   United States 2:05.8 Q
2 Ileana Silai   Romania 2:05.9 Q
3 Pat Lowe-Cropper   Great Britain 2:06.6 Q
4 Abby Hoffman   Canada 2:07.0 Q
5 Karin Krebs   East Germany 2:08.4
6 Anna Zimina   Soviet Union 2:04.4
7 Ilja Keizer   Netherlands 2:14.8
Vera Nikolić   Yugoslavia DNF

Heat 2

edit
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Mia Gommers   Netherlands 2:05.1 Q
2 Doris Brown   United States 2:05.2 Q
3 Sheila Carey   Great Britain 2:05.2 Q
4 Maryvonne Dupureur   France 2:05.5 Q
5 Laine Erik   Soviet Union 2:06.0
6 Sylvia Potts   New Zealand 2:07.2
7 Paola Pigni   Italy 2:07.8
8 Jaroslava Jehličková   Czechoslovakia 2:13.5

Final

edit
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
  Madeline Manning   United States 2:00.9 OR
  Ileana Silai   Romania 2:02.5
  Mia Gommers   Netherlands 2:02.6
4 Sheila Carey   Great Britain 2:03.8
5 Doris Brown   United States 2:03.9
6 Pat Lowe-Cropper   Great Britain 2:04.2
7 Abby Hoffman   Canada 2:06.8
8 Maryvonne Dupureur   France 2:08.2

References

edit
  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Women's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
edit