Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres

Women's 800 metres
at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad
Venue Olympic Stadium
Dates 18–10 October
Competitors 24 from 16 nations
Medalists
    Great Britain
    France
    New Zealand
Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m   men   women
200 m men women
400 m men women
800 m men women
1500 m men
5000 m men
10,000 m men
80 m hurdles women
110 m hurdles men
400 m hurdles men
3000 m
steeplechase
men
4×100 m relay men women
4×400 m relay men
Road events
Marathon men
20 km walk men
50 km walk men
Field events
Long jump men women
Triple jump men
High jump men women
Pole vault men
Shot put men women
Discus throw men women
Javelin throw men women
Hammer throw men
Combined events
Pentathlon women
Decathlon men

The women's 800 metres was the longest of the four women's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 18 October, 19 October, and 20 October 1964. 24 athletes from 16 nations entered, with 1 not starting the first round. The first round was held on 18 October, the semifinals on 19 October, and the final on 20 October.

Contents

Results

First round

The top five runners in each of the 3 heats advanced, as well as the next fastest runner from across the heats.

First round, heat 1

All three of the eventual medallists were in the first heat.

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Maryvonne Dupureur France 2:04.5
2 Ann Chamberlain New Zealand 2:06.8
3 Nagy Zsuzsa Szabo Hungary 2:07.7
4 Vera Mukhanova Soviet Union 2:08.8
5 Ann Packer Great Britain 2:12.6
6 Waltraud Kaufmann Germany 2:14.6
7 Jette Andersen Denmark 2:15.2
8 Abby Hoffman Canada 2:17.4

First round, heat 2

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Mary Hodson Great Britain 2:08.5
2 Nita Worner Germany 2:08.6
3 Zoya Skobtsova Soviet Union 2:08.6
4 Gerda Kraan Netherlands 2:09.8
5 Maeve Kyle Ireland 2:11.3
6 Sandra Knott United States 2:12.2
7 Aldaanish Ramazan Mongolia 2:21.1
Dixie Willis Australia Did not start

First round, heat 3

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Anne Rosemary Smith Great Britain 2:08.0
2 Antje Gleichfeld Germany 2:08.2
3 Laine Erik Soviet Union 2:08.3
4 Gizela Farkas Yugoslavia 2:08.7
5 Jannie van Eyck-Vos Netherlands 2:09.1
6 Olga Kazi Hungary 2:12.1
7 Kisaki Masako Japan 2:18.6
8 Han Myung Hee South Korea 2:22.7

Semifinals

The top four runners in each semifinal advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Maryvonne Dupureur France 2:04.1 OR
2 Antje Gleichfeld Germany 2:04.6
3 Laine Erik Soviet Union 2:04.7
4 Anne Rosemary Smith Great Britain 2:04.8
5 Vera Mukhanova Soviet Union 2:04.8
6 Jannie van Eyck-Vos Netherlands 2:05.7
7 Mary Hodson Great Britain 2:07.1
8 Olga Kazi Hungary 2:10.2

Semifinal 2

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Ann Chamberlain New Zealand 2:04.6
2 Nagy Zsuzsa Szabo Hungary 2:05.1
3 Ann Packer Great Britain 2:06.0
4 Gerda Kraan Netherlands 2:06.2
5 Nita Worner Germany 2:07.1
6 Zoya Skobtsova Soviet Union 2:07.4
7 Gizela Farkas Yugoslavia 2:09.9
8 Maeve Kyle Ireland 2:12.9

Final

After winning a silver medal in the 400 metres Ann Packer had no plans to run in the 800 metres and had a shopping trip planned until her fiancé, Robbie Brightwell finished fourth in the 400 metres. Disappointed for him, she turned to the 800 metres, an event which she had only raced in five times before.

Packer, who had placed fifth in her first round heat and third in her semifinal started the final as the slowest of the eight contestants. Packer was sixth at 400 metres, lying behind Dupureur, she was third at 600 m and took the lead in the final straight, using her sprinting speed to take the gold medal in world record time [1]. The first five runners all beat the old Olympic record time (set by Dupureur in the semifinals).

Place Athlete Nation Time
1 Ann Packer Great Britain 2:01.1 WR
2 Maryvonne Dupureur France 2:01.9
3 Ann Chamberlain New Zealand 2:02.8
4 Nagy Zsuzsa Szabo Hungary 2:03.5
5 Antje Gleichfeld Germany 2:03.9
6 Laine Erik Soviet Union 2:05.1
7 Gerda Kraan Netherlands 2:05.8
8 Anne Rosemary Smith Great Britain 2:05.8

References