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


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.
The 1964 race was run with the contemporary break after a single turn, a style that changed and was reverted over the next decade and a half.

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.
PlaceAthleteNationTime
1Maryvonne Dupureur2:04.5
2Marise Chamberlain2:06.8
3Zsuzsa Szabó2:07.7
4Vera Mukhanova2:08.8
5Ann Packer2:12.6
6Waltraud Kaufmann2:14.6
7Jette Andersen2:15.2
8Abby Hoffman2:17.4

First round, heat 2

PlaceAthleteNationTime
1Mary Hodson2:08.5
2Anita Wörner2:08.6
3Zoya Skobtsova2:08.6
4Gerda Kraan2:09.8
5Maeve Kyle2:11.3
6Sandy Knott2:12.2
7Aldaanish Ramazan2:21.1
—Dixie WillisDid not start

First round, heat 3

PlaceAthleteNationTime
1Anne Smith2:08.0
2Antje Gleichfeld2:08.2
3Laine Erik2:08.3
4Gizela Farkaš2:08.7
5Jannie van Eyck-Vos2:09.1
6Olga Kazi2:12.1
7Masako Kisaki2:18.6
8Han Myung Hee2:22.7

Semifinals

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

Semifinal 1

PlaceAthleteNationTime
1Maryvonne Dupureur2:04.1 OR
2Antje Gleichfeld2:04.6
3Laine Erik2:04.7
4Anne Smith2:04.8
5Vera Mukhanova2:04.8
6Jannie van Eyck-Vos2:05.7
7Mary Hodson2:07.1
8Olga Kazi2:10.2

Semifinal 2

PlaceAthleteNationTime
1Marise Chamberlain2:04.6
2Zsuzsa Szabó2:05.1
3Ann Packer2:06.0
4Gerda Kraan2:06.2
5Anita Wörner2:07.1
6Zoya Skobtsova2:07.4
7Gizela Farkaš2:09.9
8Maeve Kyle2:12.9

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 second slowest of the eight contestants.
After the break in the final Zsuzsa Szabó took the lead with Maryvonne Dupureur and Antje Gleichfeld in close order behind her. Coming off the second turn Dupureur took the lead. At the bell she accelerated further. Packer was sixth at 400 metres, tagging along at the back of the pack behind Dupureur. Along the backstretch, Dupureur opened a gap which she extended through the final turn, five girls hit the 600 mark virtually shoulder to shoulder, with Packer a step behind the wall. Laine Erik was the outside of the wall but had more speed through the turn, the only one in the field looking to have enough speed to try to make progress on the now five metre lead of Dupureur.
Suddenly halfway through the final turn, Packer launched into a sprint, running around the other competitors. She took the lead in the final straight her sprinting speed taking her past Dupureur in a completely different gear to take the gold medal in world record time. The first five runners beat the Olympic record time.
PlaceAthleteNationTime
1Ann Packer2:01.1
2Maryvonne Dupureur2:01.9
3Marise Chamberlain2:02.8
4Zsuzsa Szabó2:03.5
5Antje Gleichfeld2:03.9
6Laine Erik2:05.1
7Gerda Kraan2:05.8
8Anne Smith2:05.8