800 metres, Men

Early in the year, the favorites were expected to be Canada’s Marco Arop, the 2023 World Champion, and Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, silver medalist behind Arop at the 2023 Worlds. A few weeks before the Games, Wanyonyi ran 1:41.70 at the Kenyan Olympic Trials, making him the #3 performer at the time. Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, however, had the best series of marks leading up to Paris, recording 1:41.56 in Paris, on 7 July, and 1:41.46 in Monaco, on 12 July. In the Paris race, Wanyonyi improved upon his time to 1:41.58 for close second behind Sedjati, with Gabriel Tual (FRA) third at 1:41.61, the first time three athletes broke 1:42 in the same race, and they took over #3 through #5 on the all-time list.

The four favorites all made the final, along with American Bryce Hoppel, considered an outside medal threat. The final was fast, as Wanyonyi took the field through 200 metres in 24.4 and led after one lap in 50.3, followed by Tual in 50.4 and Hoppel in 50.5. Tual took the lead on the backstretch, delighting the French crowd, but Wanyonyi regained the lead at 600 metres, passed in 1:15.5, with Hoppel and Tual trailing. At the homestretch, Tual faded and Arop moved up as he and Wanyonyi raced each other to the line for the gold, Wanyonyi outleaning Arop in 1:41.19 to 1:41.20, the fifth and sixth fastest times ever for the event, and a North American record for Arop.

Sedjati was never a factor for the gold medal, but he closed the strongest to edge out Hoppel and take the bronze medal, as Tual eventually finished sixth. As stated, it was fast, with the best-ever marks-for-place set for places 2 through 7. Hoppel’s 1:41.67 in fourth was a US record. Furthermore, four athletes (Wanyonyi, Arop, Sedjati, and Hoppel) broke the 1:42 barrier in the same race.