The men's 800 metres made its fourth Olympic appearance at the 1908 Summer Olympics

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...

. The competition was held on July 20, 1908 and on July 21, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres= mile in circumference. It was run in two rounds, with the winners of the eight heats of the first round competing in the final.

38 runners from eleven nations competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World Record	1:53.4(*)	Charles Kilpatrick Charles Kilpatrick Charles Henry Kilpatrick was an American athlete. His best event was the 880 yard run, in which he became the national champion three times and established a long-lived world record time of 1:53.4.-Biography:...	New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	September 21, 1895
Olympic Record	1:56.0(**)	James Lightbody	St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	September 1, 1904

(*) unofficial 880 yards (= 804.68 m)

(**) This track was 536.45 metres= mile in circumference.

In the final Mel Sheppard

Mel Sheppard

Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...

 set a new Olympic and a new unofficial world record, his time of 1:52.8 being 3.2 seconds faster than the pace set by fellow American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 runner James Lightbody four years earlier.

Semifinals

The semifinals were held on July 20, 1908. The winner of each heat advanced to the final the next day, with all other runners eliminated.

Semifinal 1

Ashford went out fast, but tired quickly. The race was a tight match between Bodor, Butterfield, and Björn, each of whom led at times. Lightbody, the defending champion, was always close behind.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:58.6	Q
2		1:58.9
3		Unknown
4		Unknown
—		Did not finish
		Did not finish

Semifinal 2

The second heat was less eventful than the preceding one, with Sheppard leading most of the way; Lintott closed quickly but was four yards behind at the finish.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:58.0	Q
2		1:58.8
3		Unknown

Semifinal 3

Halstead took the lead after 500 metres and held on to beat Lee by two yards.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		2:01.4	Q
2		2:01.7
3		Unknown
4		Unknown

Semifinal 4

Lunghi broke away from the pack near the end of the first lap, leading the rest of the way.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:57.2	Q
2		1:58.0
3		Unknown
—		Did not finish
		Did not finish

Semifinal 5

The fifth heat was the closest of the first round, despite Beard leading the entire way. Buddo and Astley both made tremendous efforts to catch up in the second lap. Astley caught and passed Buddo, but was unable to do the same with Beard, who won by a foot.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:59.8	Q
2		1:59.9
3		Unknown
4		2:10.0
—		Did not finish
		Did not finish

Semifinal 6

Just won by fifty yards.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:57.8	Q
2		2:06.0
—		Did not finish
		Did not finish

Semifinal 7

Bromilow led for most of the race, but Braun used the last turn to move from third to first.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:58.0	Q
2		1:58.3
3		1:58.5
—		Did not finish
		Did not finish
		Did not finish

Semifinal 8

While not having quite the dominant lead that his countryman Just had in the sixth heat, Crawford won by fifteen yards.

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:57.8	Q
2		2:00.0
3		2:00.0
4		Unknown

Final

The final was held on July 21, 1908. Crawford started out fast, leading by fifteen yards halfway through the first lap, but at the end of the lap, he collapsed on the track from exhaustion. Sheppard then took the lead, with Lunghi and Just immediately behind. The time at the 400 metres mark was only 53 seconds. Just could not keep up the pace, fading back to fifth place. Lunghi's efforts were not enough for him to stay with Sheppard the entire way, and Sheppard won by 11 yards; the first four finishers broke James Lightbody's Olympic record of four years earlier.

Place	Athlete	Time
1		1:52.8 WR
2		1:54.2
3		1:55.2
4		1:55.4
5		1:56.4
6		Unknown
—		Did not finish
		Did not finish