Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres
| Men's 800 metres at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad
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| Venue | Olympic Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 14–16 October | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 47 from 32 nations | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Peter Snell |
 New Zealand
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Bill Crothers |
 Canada
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Wilson Kiprugut |
 Kenya
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The men's 800 metres was the middle of the seven men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 14 October, 15 October, and 16 October 1964. 47 athletes from 32 nations entered, with 1 not starting the first round. The first round was held on 14 October, with the semifinals on 15 October and the final on 16 October.
The top four runners in each of the 6 heats advanced.
The top two runners in each of the three semifinals qualified for the final, as did the two runners with the fastest times from among the 3rd-8th spots across all of the semifinals.
Kerr and Kiprugut both crossed the finish line in 1:46.1, breaking the old Olympic record of 1:46.3.
No fewer than four runners broke the Olympic record that had been set in the semifinals, including the two runners that had set it. Despite the record performances by the other three runners, defending Olympic champion and world record holder Peter Snell still won by half a second to take the gold medal and set the new Olympic record at 1:45.1.
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Wikipedia