| | Event type
800 metres, Men
| Date | 1 – 5 August 1992 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Estadio Olímpico de Montjuïc, Barcelona |
| Participants | 59 from 49 countries |
All the major titles since 1987 had been won by Kenyans. Billy Konchellah was the World Champion in 1987 and 1991, while Paul Ereng had won the 1988 Olympic gold medal, and Sammy Tirop had won the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Ereng was back in Barcelona but did finished last in the second semi-final. Nixon Kiprotich, finalist in 1988, was also back, with William Tanui the third Kenyan runner. The early leader in the final was American Johnny Gray, who passed 400 metres in a quick 49.99. Gray held that lead for much of the last lap, only faltering in the stretch as both Kenyan finalists shot by him with 50 metres to go. Tanui won the gold, outleaning Kiprotich in a close photo-finish (0.04 seconds).
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1141 | William Tanui |  KEN | 1:47.02 (1 h4) | 1:46.59 (1 h3) | 1:43.66 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 1122 | Nixon Kiprotich | KEN | 1:47.45 (1 h6) | 1:46.02 (3 h1) | 1:43.70 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 1701 | Johnny Gray |  USA | 1:46.62 (1 h3) | 1:45.66 (1 h1) | 1:43.97 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 136 | Zequinha Barbosa |  BRA | 1:46.16 (1 h7) | 1:45.32 (2 h2) | 1:45.06 (4) | |||
| 5 | 991 | Andrea Benvenuti |  ITA | 1:47.58 (2 h6) | 1:45.80 (2 h1) | 1:45.23 (5) | |||
| 6 | 754 | Curtis Robb |  GBR | 1:46.16 (1 h5) | 1:45.25 (1 h2) | 1:45.57 (6) | |||
| 7 | 3 | Réda Abdenouz |  ALG | 1:46.82 (2 h7) | 1:46.06 (3 h2) | 1:48.34 (7) | |||
| AC r3/3 | 1874 | Mark Everett | USA | 1:48.65 (2 h1) | 1:46.94 (2 h3) | – ( | |||
| 3 h3 r2/3 | 1500 | Babacar Niang |  SEN | 1:46.79 (3 h3) | 1:46.95 (3 h3) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | 412 | Tomás de Teresa |  ESP | 1:46.78 (2 h3) | 1:46.08 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | 875 | Kennedy Osei |  GHA | 1:47.17 (2 h4) | 1:46.20 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h3 r2/3 | 741 | Tom McKean | GBR | 1:47.85 (1 h2) | 1:48.77 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | 135 | Mbiganyi Thee |  BOT | 1:48.04 (3 h6) | 1:46.13 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | 1288 | Robin van Helden |  NED | 1:48.05 (4 h6) | 1:46.98 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h3 r2/3 | 1320 | Vebjørn Rodal |  NOR | 1:48.00 (5 h3) | 1:49.53 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | 720 | Steve Heard | GBR | 1:46.42 (1 h8) | 1:46.19 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | 424 | Luis González | ESP | 1:46.65 (3 h5) | 1:47.07 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h3 r2/3 | 1065 | Clive Terrelonge |  JAM | 1:46.64 (2 h5) | 1:51.03 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r2/3 | 531 | Anatoly Makarevich |  EUN | 1:47.30 (3 h8) | 1:46.69 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | 1314 | Atle Douglas | NOR | 1:48.08 (2 h2) | 1:48.63 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h3 r2/3 | 1283 | Marko Koers | NED | 1:46.88 (2 h8) | 1:52.23 (7 h3) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r2/3 | 1560 | Tommy Asinga |  SUR | 1:47.23 (4 h3) | 1:46.78 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r2/3 | 1113 | Paul Ereng | KEN | 1:46.65 (4 h5) | 1:49.90 (8 h2) | – | |||
| AC h3 r2/3 | 1380 | Piotr Piekarski |  POL | 1:48.51 (1 h1) | – (DQ h3) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | 1153 | Lee Jin-Il |  KOR | 1:48.68 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | 248 | Freddie Williams |  CAN | 1:48.20 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | 1580 | Sipho Dlamini |  SWZ | 1:48.70 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 3 h7 r1/3 | 1445 | Mohamed Ismail Youssef |  QAT | 1:49.32 (3 h7) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | 1207 | El-Mahjoub Haïda |  MAR | 1:48.72 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | 623 | Frédéric Cornette |  FRA | 1:48.22 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | 397 | José Arconada | ESP | 1:49.23 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h7 r1/3 | 942 | Slobodan Popović |  IOA | 1:49.69 (4 h7) | – | – | |||
| 4 h8 r1/3 | 1745 | Tony Parrilla | USA | 1:48.17 (4 h8) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | 807 | Jörg Haas |  GER | 1:50.42 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | 1797 | Eversley Linley |  VIN | 1:52.49 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | 896 | Malal Sy Savané |  GUI | 1:51.80 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | 19 | João N'Tyamba |  ANG | 1:48.54 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 5 h6 r1/3 | 23 | Dale Jones |  ANT | 1:50.43 (5 h6) | – | – | |||
| 5 h7 r1/3 | 1385 | António Abrantes |  POR | 1:50.89 (5 h7) | – | – | |||
| 5 h8 r1/3 | 1509 | Prince Amara |  SLE | 1:51.76 (5 h8) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | 260 | Symphorien Samba |  CGO | 1:51.75 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | 1263 | Chérif Baba Aidara |  MTN | 1:56.41 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | 263 | Terap Adoum Yaya |  CHA | 1:54.43 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h5 r1/3 | 200 | Zacharia Maidjida |  CAF | 1:50.41 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 6 h6 r1/3 | 1821 | Melford Homela |  ZIM | 1:50.50 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 6 h7 r1/3 | 900 | Desmond Hector |  GUY | 1:51.43 (6 h7) | – | – | |||
| 6 h8 r1/3 | 103 | Stevon Roberts |  BAR | 1:52.30 (6 h8) | – | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/3 | 1657 | Mohamed Salem Al-Tunaiji |  UAE | 1:53.91 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/3 | 1182 | Bassam Kawas |  LBN | 1:58.71 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 7 h3 r1/3 | 1786 | Baptiste Firiam |  VAN | 1:57.96 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 7 h5 r1/3 | 774 | Emiliano Buale |  GEQ | 1:58.95 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 7 h6 r1/3 | 1336 | Abdullah Mohamed Al-Anbari |  OMA | 1:50.72 (7 h6) | – | – | |||
| 7 h8 r1/3 | 1868 | Anwar Mohamed |  YEM | 1:52.71 (7 h8) | – | – | |||
| 8 h1 r1/3 | 1806 | Ilunga Kafila |  COD | 1:57.73 (8 h1) | – | – | |||
| 8 h2 r1/3 | 1223 | Hussain Riyaz |  MDV | 2:00.93 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 8 h6 r1/3 | 1163 | Khambieng Khamiar |  LAO | 2:02.45 (8 h6) | – | – | |||
| 8 h8 r1/3 | 1216 | Francis Munthali |  MAW | 1:56.69 (8 h8) | – | – | |||
| AC h4 r1/3 | 112 | Idrissou Tamimou |  BEN | – (DQ h4) | – | – | |||
| AC h7 r1/3 | 121 | John Palacio |  BIZ | – (DQ h7) | – | – | |||
| 1851 | Momodou Bello N'Jie |  GAM | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| 997 | Giuseppe D'Urso | ITA | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
Round One (1 August 1992)
Top two in each heat and next eight fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One (18:45)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Piotr Piekarski | POL | 1:48.51 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Mark Everett | USA | 1:48.65 | |||
| 3 | 8 | Lee Jin-Il | KOR | 1:48.68 | |||
| 4 | 1 | El-Mahjoub Haïda | MAR | 1:48.72 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Jörg Haas | GER | 1:50.42 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Symphorien Samba | CGO | 1:51.75 | |||
| 7 | 4 | Mohamed Salem Al-Tunaiji | UAE | 1:53.91 | |||
| 8 | 5 | Ilunga Kafila | COD | 1:57.73 |
Splits
| 400 m | 54.48 | Mark Everett | |
Heat Two (18:50)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Tom McKean | GBR | 1:47.85 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Atle Douglas | NOR | 1:48.08 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Freddie Williams | CAN | 1:48.20 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Frédéric Cornette | FRA | 1:48.22 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Eversley Linley | VIN | 1:52.49 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Chérif Baba Aidara | MTN | 1:56.41 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Bassam Kawas | LBN | 1:58.71 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Hussain Riyaz | MDV | 2:00.93 |
Splits
| 400 m | 53.33 | Tom McKean | |
Heat Three (18:55)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Johnny Gray | USA | 1:46.62 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Tomás de Teresa | ESP | 1:46.78 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Babacar Niang | SEN | 1:46.79 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Tommy Asinga | SUR | 1:47.23 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Vebjørn Rodal | NOR | 1:48.00 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Terap Adoum Yaya | CHA | 1:54.43 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Baptiste Firiam | VAN | 1:57.96 |
Splits
| 400 m | 52.80 | Johnny Gray | |
Heat Four (19:00)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | William Tanui | KEN | 1:47.02 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Kennedy Osei | GHA | 1:47.17 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Sipho Dlamini | SWZ | 1:48.70 | |||
| 4 | 5 | José Arconada | ESP | 1:49.23 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Malal Sy Savané | GUI | 1:51.80 | |||
| 3 | Idrissou Tamimou | BEN | – | ||||
| 7 | Giuseppe D'Urso | ITA | – |
Splits
| 400 m | 53.14 | William Tanui | |
Heat Five (19:05)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Curtis Robb | GBR | 1:46.16 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Clive Terrelonge | JAM | 1:46.64 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Luis González | ESP | 1:46.65 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Paul Ereng | KEN | 1:46.65 | |||
| 5 | 8 | João N'Tyamba | ANG | 1:48.54 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Zacharia Maidjida | CAF | 1:50.41 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Emiliano Buale | GEQ | 1:58.95 | |||
| 5 | Momodou Bello N'Jie | GAM | – |
Splits
| 400 m | 51.93 | Clive Terrelonge | |
Heat Six (19:10)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Nixon Kiprotich | KEN | 1:47.45 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Andrea Benvenuti | ITA | 1:47.58 | |||
| 3 | 8 | Mbiganyi Thee | BOT | 1:48.04 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Robin van Helden | NED | 1:48.05 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Dale Jones | ANT | 1:50.43 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Melford Homela | ZIM | 1:50.50 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Abdullah Mohamed Al-Anbari | OMA | 1:50.72 | |||
| 8 | 2 | Khambieng Khamiar | LAO | 2:02.45 |
Splits
| 400 m | 53.46 | Nixon Kiprotich | |
Heat Seven (19:15)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Zequinha Barbosa | BRA | 1:46.16 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Réda Abdenouz | ALG | 1:46.82 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Mohamed Ismail Youssef | QAT | 1:49.32 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Slobodan Popović | IOA | 1:49.69 | |||
| 5 | 2 | António Abrantes | POR | 1:50.89 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Desmond Hector | GUY | 1:51.43 | |||
| 7 | John Palacio | BIZ | – |
Splits
| 400 m | 51.25 | Zequinha Barbosa | |
Heat Eight (19:20)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Steve Heard | GBR | 1:46.42 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Marko Koers | NED | 1:46.88 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Anatoly Makarevich | EUN | 1:47.30 | |||
| 4 | 8 | Tony Parrilla | USA | 1:48.17 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Prince Amara | SLE | 1:51.76 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Stevon Roberts | BAR | 1:52.30 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Anwar Mohamed | YEM | 1:52.71 | |||
| 8 | 4 | Francis Munthali | MAW | 1:56.69 |
Splits
| 400 m | 53.46 | Steve Heard | |
Semi-Finals (2 August 1992)
Top two in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final.
Heat One (20:30)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Johnny Gray | USA | 1:45.66 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Andrea Benvenuti | ITA | 1:45.80 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Nixon Kiprotich | KEN | 1:46.02 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Tomás de Teresa | ESP | 1:46.08 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Mbiganyi Thee | BOT | 1:46.13 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Steve Heard | GBR | 1:46.19 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Anatoly Makarevich | EUN | 1:46.69 | |||
| 8 | 2 | Tommy Asinga | SUR | 1:46.78 |
Splits
| 400 m | 51.10 | Johnny Gray | |
Heat Two (20:38)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Curtis Robb | GBR | 1:45.25 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Zequinha Barbosa | BRA | 1:45.32 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Réda Abdenouz | ALG | 1:46.06 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Kennedy Osei | GHA | 1:46.20 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Robin van Helden | NED | 1:46.98 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Luis González | ESP | 1:47.07 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Atle Douglas | NOR | 1:48.63 | |||
| 8 | 4 | Paul Ereng | KEN | 1:49.90 |
Splits
| 400 m | 50.70 | Zequinha Barbosa | |
Heat Three (20:46)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | William Tanui | KEN | 1:46.59 | |||
| 2 | 8 | Mark Everett | USA | 1:46.94 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Babacar Niang | SEN | 1:46.95 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Tom McKean | GBR | 1:48.77 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Vebjørn Rodal | NOR | 1:49.53 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Clive Terrelonge | JAM | 1:51.03 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Marko Koers | NED | 1:52.23 | |||
| 6 | Piotr Piekarski | POL | – |
Splits
| 400 m | 53.66 | William Tanui | |
Final (5 August 1992 — 21:05)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | William Tanui | KEN | 1:43.66 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Nixon Kiprotich | KEN | 1:43.70 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Johnny Gray | USA | 1:43.97 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Zequinha Barbosa | BRA | 1:45.06 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Andrea Benvenuti | ITA | 1:45.23 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Curtis Robb | GBR | 1:45.57 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Réda Abdenouz | ALG | 1:48.34 | |||
| 7 | Mark Everett | USA | – |
Splits
| 400 m | 49.99 | Johnny Gray | |