History of the 800 M. Run
Event Depth Chart . . .
800
M. Dash
The 800 metres is the event where the demands of speed and speed-endurance
converge. It is related to the half-mile (880 yards or 804.67m) and was
first run in Britain by professionals around 1830.
For a long time, very fast opening laps were the norm. But in 1932 Tom Hampson
(GBR) became the first man to break 1:50 with 1:49.7 which he achieved with
even paced laps (54.8 + 54.9).
When Germany's Rudolf Harbig smashed the world record with 1:46.6 in 1939
it was largely due to the "interval training" devised by his coach Waldemar
Gerschler. This developed specific endurance through fast training repetitions
with short recoveries: i.e. 50 x 100m, 20 x 150m