| | Event type
800 metres, Men
| Date | 29 – 31 July 1928 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam |
| Participants | 49 from 24 countries |
The defending champion, Douglas Lowe, was back, and won the AAA title a few weeks before the 1928 Olympics. He would be challenged by German Otto Peltzer, who set the 880 yard record in 1926, and Frenchman Séra Martin, who had broken the 800 standard a few weeks before the Olympics. Also expected to challenge was the top American, Lloyd Hahn. Lowe jumped off to an early lead in the final, but was caught by Hahn and Canada’s Phil Edwards. At the 400 mark, Hahn led in 55.2 with Lowe and Edwards on his shoulder. Off the last turn, Lowe kicked and there was no answer, as he won by almost 10 metres.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 470 | Douglas Lowe |  GBR | 2:02.2 (2 h6) | 1:55.8 (2 h1) | 1:51.8 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 842 | Erik Byléhn |  SWE | 1:59.8 (2 h1) | 1:55.6 (1 h2) | 1:52.8e (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 709 | Hermann Engelhard |  GER | 1:57.0 (2 h5) | 1:56.8 (3 h2) | 1:53.2e (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 650 | Phil Edwards |  CAN | 1:59.4 (1 h8) | 1:52.8 (2 h3) | 1:53.4e (4) | |||
| 5 | 532 | Lloyd Hahn |  USA | 1:56.8 (1 h5) | 1:52.6 (1 h3) | 1:53.5e (5) | |||
| 6 | 85 | Séra Martin |  FRA | 1:58.8 (1 h7) | 1:53.0 (3 h3) | 1:53.6e (6) | |||
| 7 | 527 | Earl Fuller | USA | 2:03.8 (2 h4) | 1:55.6 (1 h1) | 1:55.0e (7) | |||
| 8 | 571 | Ray Watson | USA | 1:59.6 (3 h3) | 1:56.8 (2 h2) | 1:56.5e (8) | |||
| 9 | 78 | Jean Keller | FRA | 1:59.0 (1 h3) | 1:56.0 (3 h1) | 1:57.0e (9) | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | 4 | László Barsi |  HUN | 1:59.0 (2 h7) | 1:56.2 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | 658 | Brant Little | CAN | 1:57.8 (2 h2) | 1:57.6 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h3 r2/3 | 272 | Paul Martin |  SUI | 1:59.4 (2 h3) | 1:53.3 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | 733 | Otto Peltzer | GER | 1:57.4 (1 h2) | 1:56.3 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | 488 | Ralph Starr | GBR | 1:59.8 (2 h8) | – (5 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h3 r2/3 | 568 | John Sittig | USA | 2:00.6 (3 h1) | 1:53.4 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | 669 | Alex Wilson | CAN | 1:59.2 (1 h1) | 1:57.1 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | 226 | Guido Cominotto |  ITA | 2:02.4 (3 h6) | – (6 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h3 r2/3 | 731 | Fredy Müller | GER | 1:59.4 (3 h7) | 1:53.8 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r2/3 | 390 | Vilém Šindler |  TCH | 1:57.0 (3 h5) | – (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | 591 | Serafín Dengra |  ARG | 2:01.2 (1 h6) | – (7 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h3 r2/3 | 492 | Wilfrid Tatham | GBR | 1:58.2 (3 h2) | – (7 h3) | – | |||
| 8 h3 r2/3 | 200 | Olaf Strand |  NOR | 2:03.8 (3 h4) | 1:59.9 (8 h3) | – | |||
| AC h1 r2/3 | 217 | Norman McEachern |  IRL | 1:59.8 (3 h8) | – (DNF h1) | – | |||
| 1 h4 r1/3 | 54 | Georges Baraton | FRA | 2:03.4 (1 h4) | – (DNS h2) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | 337 | Guus Zeegers |  NED | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | 322 | Adje Paulen | NED | – (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | 745 | Max Tarnogrocki | GER | 1:59.9 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | 876 | Ettore Tavernari | ITA | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | 72 | René Féger | FRA | – (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 4 h6 r1/3 | 396 | Ömer Besim Koşalay |  TUR | – (4 h6) | – | – | |||
| 4 h7 r1/3 | 384 | Adolf Kittel | TCH | 1:59.6 (4 h7) | – | – | |||
| 4 h8 r1/3 | 593 | Leopoldo Ledesma | ARG | – (4 h8) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | 606 | Gérard Bertheloot |  BEL | – (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | 602 | William Whyte |  AUS | – (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | 170 | Alfonso García |  MEX | – (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | 609 | Philippe Coenjaerts | BEL | – (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | 670 | Jack Walter | CAN | – (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 5 h7 r1/3 | 422 | Feliks Malanowski |  POL | 1:59.8 (5 h7) | – | – | |||
| 5 h8 r1/3 | 173 | José Lucílo Iturbe | MEX | – (5 h8) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | 143 | Vasilios Stavrinos |  GRE | – (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | 694 | Albert Larsen |  DEN | – (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | 307 | Andries Hoogerwerf | NED | – (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | 463 | Harry Houghton | GBR | – (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h5 r1/3 | 600 | Charles Stuart | AUS | – (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 6 h7 r1/3 | 214 | Gerry Coughlan | IRL | – (6 h7) | – | – | |||
| 6 h8 r1/3 | 373 | Joaquín Miquel |  ESP | 2:03.2 (6 h8) | – | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/3 | 166 | Louis Schmit |  LUX | – (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 7 h3 r1/3 | 138 | Antonios Mangos | GRE | – (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 7 h7 r1/3 | 208 | Joseph Murphy |  IND | – (7 h7) | – | – | |||
| 434 | António Dias |  POR | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| 30 | József Marton | HUN | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| 788 | Harri Larva |  FIN | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| 285 | Danie Jacobs |  RSA | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 135 | Grigorios Georgakopoulos | GRE | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| 779 | Matti Korpela | FIN | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| 29 | László Magdics | HUN | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| 161 | G. Arnoldy | LUX | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| 799 | Eino Purje | FIN | – (DNS h7) | – | – | ||||
| 141 | L. Passy | GRE | – (DNS h8) | – | – | ||||
| 832 | Ivan Rittig |  YUG | – (DNS h8) | – | – | ||||
| – | Frej Liewendahl | FIN | – (DNS h6) | – | – |
Round One (29 July 1928 — 16:15)
Top three in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Alex Wilson | CAN | 1:59.2 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Erik Byléhn | SWE | 1:59.8 | |||
| 3 | 8 | John Sittig | USA | 2:00.6 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Guus Zeegers | NED | – | |||
| 5 | 1 | Gérard Bertheloot | BEL | – | |||
| 6 | 2 | Vasilios Stavrinos | GRE | – | |||
| 7 | 4 | Louis Schmit | LUX | – | |||
| 6 | António Dias | POR | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Otto Peltzer | GER | 1:57.4 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Brant Little | CAN | 1:57.8 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Wilfrid Tatham | GBR | 1:58.2 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Adje Paulen | NED | – | |||
| 5 | 3 | William Whyte | AUS | – | |||
| 6 | 5 | Albert Larsen | DEN | – | |||
| 1 | József Marton | HUN | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jean Keller | FRA | 1:59.0 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Paul Martin | SUI | 1:59.4 | |||
| 3 | 8 | Ray Watson | USA | 1:59.6 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Max Tarnogrocki | GER | 1:59.9 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Alfonso García | MEX | – | |||
| 6 | 5 | Andries Hoogerwerf | NED | – | |||
| 7 | 3 | Antonios Mangos | GRE | – | |||
| 4 | Harri Larva | FIN | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Georges Baraton | FRA | 2:03.4 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Earl Fuller | USA | 2:03.8 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Olaf Strand | NOR | 2:03.8 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Ettore Tavernari | ITA | – | |||
| 5 | 2 | Philippe Coenjaerts | BEL | – | |||
| 6 | 6 | Harry Houghton | GBR | – | |||
| 3 | Danie Jacobs | RSA | – |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Lloyd Hahn | USA | 1:56.8 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Hermann Engelhard | GER | 1:57.0 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Vilém Šindler | TCH | 1:57.0 | |||
| 4 | 1 | René Féger | FRA | – | |||
| 5 | 7 | Jack Walter | CAN | – | |||
| 6 | 6 | Charles Stuart | AUS | – | |||
| 4 | Grigorios Georgakopoulos | GRE | – | ||||
| 5 | Matti Korpela | FIN | – |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Serafín Dengra | ARG | 2:01.2 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Douglas Lowe | GBR | 2:02.2 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Guido Cominotto | ITA | 2:02.4 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Ömer Besim Koşalay | TUR | – | |||
| 1 | László Magdics | HUN | – | ||||
| 5 | G. Arnoldy | LUX | – | ||||
| 3 | Frej Liewendahl | FIN | – |
Heat Seven
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Séra Martin | FRA | 1:58.8 | |||
| 2 | 2 | László Barsi | HUN | 1:59.0 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Fredy Müller | GER | 1:59.4 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Adolf Kittel | TCH | 1:59.6 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Feliks Malanowski | POL | 1:59.8 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Gerry Coughlan | IRL | – | |||
| 7 | 5 | Joseph Murphy | IND | – | |||
| 6 | Eino Purje | FIN | – |
Heat Eight
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Phil Edwards | CAN | 1:59.4 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Ralph Starr | GBR | 1:59.8 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Norman McEachern | IRL | 1:59.8 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Leopoldo Ledesma | ARG | – | |||
| 5 | 8 | José Lucílo Iturbe | MEX | – | |||
| 6 | 1 | Joaquín Miquel | ESP | 2:03.2 | |||
| 2 | L. Passy | GRE | – | ||||
| 4 | Ivan Rittig | YUG | – |
Semi-Finals (30 July 1928 — 15:25)
Top three in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Earl Fuller | USA | 1:55.6 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Douglas Lowe | GBR | 1:55.8 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Jean Keller | FRA | 1:56.0 | |||
| 4 | 7 | László Barsi | HUN | 1:56.2 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Otto Peltzer | GER | 1:56.3 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Alex Wilson | CAN | 1:57.1 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Vilém Šindler | TCH | – | |||
| 8 | Norman McEachern | IRL | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Erik Byléhn | SWE | 1:55.6 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Ray Watson | USA | 1:56.8 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Hermann Engelhard | GER | 1:56.8 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Brant Little | CAN | 1:57.6 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Ralph Starr | GBR | – | |||
| 6 | 7 | Guido Cominotto | ITA | – | |||
| 7 | 6 | Serafín Dengra | ARG | – | |||
| 4 | Georges Baraton | FRA | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Lloyd Hahn | USA | 1:52.6 | |||
| 2 | 8 | Phil Edwards | CAN | 1:52.8 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Séra Martin | FRA | 1:53.0 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Paul Martin | SUI | 1:53.3 | |||
| 5 | 1 | John Sittig | USA | 1:53.4 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Fredy Müller | GER | 1:53.8 | |||
| 7 | 2 | Wilfrid Tatham | GBR | – | |||
| 8 | 4 | Olaf Strand | NOR | 1:59.9 |
Final (31 July 1928 — 16:20)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Douglas Lowe | GBR | 1:51.8 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Erik Byléhn | SWE | 1:52.8e | |||
| 3 | 6 | Hermann Engelhard | GER | 1:53.2e | |||
| 4 | 8 | Phil Edwards | CAN | 1:53.4e | |||
| 5 | 7 | Lloyd Hahn | USA | 1:53.5e | |||
| 6 | 9 | Séra Martin | FRA | 1:53.6e | |||
| 7 | 1 | Earl Fuller | USA | 1:55.0e | |||
| 8 | 5 | Ray Watson | USA | 1:56.5e | |||
| 9 | 3 | Jean Keller | FRA | 1:57.0e |
Splits
| 400 m | 55.2 | Lloyd Hahn | |