Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres

Women's 800 metres
at the Games of the XVII Olympiad
VenueOlympic Stadium
DatesSeptember 6 (heats)
September 7 (final)
Medalists
 Lyudmila Lysenko
Soviet Union
 Brenda Jones
Australia
 Ursula Donath
Germany
Video on YouTube Official Video
Athletics at the
1960 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m   men   women
200 m men women
400 m men
800 m men women
1500 m men
5000 m men
10,000 m men
80 m hurdles women
110 m hurdles men
400 m hurdles men
3000 m
steeplechase		 men
4×100 m relay men women
4×400 m relay men
Road events
Marathon men
20 km walk men
50 km walk men
Field events
Long jump men women
Triple jump men
High jump men women
Pole vault men
Shot put men women
Discus throw men women
Javelin throw men women
Hammer throw men
Combined events
Decathlon men

The women's 800 metres middle distance event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between September 6 and September 7. This was the return of the event for the first time since 1928, when officials were concerned about winded athletes following the race and overreacted believing women were not capable of long distance running. This race was the first step in the progression of adding distance events, culminating in the first women's marathon in 1984.

Dixie Willis had the best time in qualifying, thus the Olympic record though Lyudmila Shevtsova had set the world record a month earlier in Moscow. In the final Willis took the race out, marked by Shevtsova. By the final straightaway, Brenda Jones was also with Shevtsova and looking fast challenging Willis for the lead. Suddenly Willis stepped on the curb and fell off the track into the infield. Shevtsova edged into the lead and dipped at the finish to equal her own world record and take the gold in 2:04.3. Jones was electronically timed at being .08 behind though electronic timing would not become official for another 17 years. Ursula Donath was the lucky (somewhat unified) German who was a step behind the top three when Willis exited to get the bronze. Less than two years later, Wilis would improve the world record by three seconds.

Results

Heats

The top two runners in each of the four heats (blue) and the next fastest one (pink) advanced to the final round.

Heat one

Rank Name Nationality Time Notes
1 Antje Gleichfeld Germany 2:11.05 OR
2 Brenda Jones Australia 2:11.14
3 Zinaida Matistovich Soviet Union 2:11.57
4 Maryvonne Dupureur France 2:12.42
5 Diane Charles Great Britain 2:14.24
6 Zofia Walasek Poland 2:16.44
7 Lee Hak-Ja South Korea 2:28.4

Heat two

Rank Name Nationality Time Notes
1 Ursula Donath Germany 2:07.92 OR
2 Beata Żbikowska Poland 2:09.57
3 Florica Grecescu Romania 2:10.10
4 Olga Kazi Hungary 2:11.07
5 Gilda Jannaccone Italy 2:13.72
6 Phyllis Perkins Great Britain 2:15.41
- Pat Daniels United States DQ

Heat three

Rank Name Nationality Time Notes
1 Lyudmila Lysenko Soviet Union 2:09.31
2 Gizella Sasvári-Csóka Hungary 2:09.77
3 Krystyna Nowakowska Poland 2”09.81
4 Eleanor Haslam Canada 2:10.17
5 Bedřiška Kulhavá Czechoslovakia 2:10.23
6 Gerda Kraan Netherlands 2:10.71
7 Nicole Goullieux France 2:13.53

Heat four

Rank Name Nationality Time Notes
1 Dixie Willis Australia 2:06.03 OR
2 Joy Jordan Great Britain 2:07.29
3 Vera Kummerfeldt Germany 2:07.34
4 Yekaterina Parlyuk Soviet Union 2:07.71
5 Ine ter Laak-Spijk Netherlands 2:10.36
6 Gül Çiray Turkey 2:11.55

Final

Rank Name Nationality Time Notes
1st Lyudmila Lysenko Soviet Union 2:04.50 WR
2nd Brenda Jones Australia 2:04.58
3rd Ursula Donath Germany 2:05.73
4 Vera Kummerfeldt Germany 2:06.07
5 Antje Gleichfeld Germany 2:06.63
6 Joy Jordan Great Britain 2:07.95
7 Gizella Sasvári-Csóka Hungary 2:08.11
8 Beata Żbikowska Poland 2:11.91
- Dixie Willis Australia DNF

Key: WR = world record; OR = Olympic record; DNF = did not finish; DQ = disqualified

References

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