In a shock moment at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Athing Mu suffered a fall that meant she wouldn’t be heading to Paris to defend her 800-meter title at the 2024 Olympic Games.

That means a new champion will emerge from the talented pool of stars who already were expected to put on a great show against Mu. 

• Subscribe To FloTrack To Watch Track And Field And Cross Country All Season
• USA Track And Field Olympic Roster
• What Is The Olympic Track And Field Repechage Round? We've Got Answers

The preliminary round of the women’s 800m was completed Friday, and the 24-athlete field now is set for the semifinals, which will take place Saturday at 1:50 p.m. Eastern. The final is scheduled for Saturday at 3:20 p.m. EDT.

The men will hit the track at Stade de France for their preliminary round Wednesday at 5:55 a.m. Eastern. The repechage round is scheduled for Thursday at 6 a.m. EDT, the semifinals will be Friday at 5:30 a.m. EDT, and the final will follow at 1:25 p.m. on Aug. 10.

Women’s 800 Meters At The 2024 Summer Olympics

With reigning champion Mu out of the 2024 Olympics, the front-runners for this year’s gold medal in the women’s 800 meters are 2020 runner-up Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain and 2023 world champion Mary Moraa of Kenya. 

The top performer in the qualifying round this week at Stade de France was Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma, who topped Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie for the gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in March.

From the initial round, 18 performers automatically qualified for the semifinals and didn’t have to run again before that. The list of automatic qualifiers includes Team USA’s Nia Akins and Juliette Whittaker.

Two Americans get through to the 800m Semi-Final and 18 women automatically qualify for the next round of the 800m.

All other finishers will compete in the repechage round tomorrow - plus, the USA set a new record (3:07.41!) in the Mixed Team Relays! 🇺🇸 #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/MLFK8oPKyA

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 2, 2024

Athletes who didn’t automatically qualify in the preliminary rounds had a chance to advance to the semifinals via the repechage round. This is new for the Olympics in 2024, while bringing the concept into track and field was announced by World Athletics in July 2022.

What Is The Repechage Round?

The new-to-the-Olympics repechage round gives all athletes the chance to run two races at the Olympics, compared to possibly just one in the past. It also could serve as a second chance for someone who may have suffered some kind of mishap.

The concept has been introduced for all individual track events from the 200 meters to the 1,500, including the hurdles. The first event to feature the change was the women’s 800 meters on Saturday. 

Previously, 24 runners moved directly to the semifinals. With the new format, 18 advance automatically, and the rest come from the repechage round. For the 800, it’s the winner in each of the four heats and the next two best times overall.

Read more: What Is A Repechage Round At The 2024 Olympics? Here’s What To Know

During Saturday’s repechage round, Germany’s Majtie Kolberg (1.59.08) ran the fastest time. 

Additional qualifiers were Kenya's Vivian Chebet Kiprotich, France's Anais Bourgoin, Switzerland's Valentina Rosamilia, Austrailia's Abbey Caldwell and Cuba's Rose Mary Almanza. 

American Allie Wilson ran the fifth-fastest time in the round but finished third in her heat and didn't qualify. Wilson missed advancing by .08 seconds.

Men’s 800 Meters At The 2024 Summer Olympics

The men’s 800-meter race still is a few days away, so other events have taken up the spotlight, but recent activity in this category has created some thoughtful and intense discussion.

At the recent Wanda Diamond League event in Paris (July 7), the men’s field for the 800 was deep and talented, with a record six athletes breaking the 1:43 mark in the same race.

The winner, Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati ran a personal-best 1:41.56 to take the title. It also marked the third-fastest time in history.

The competitive race was not a fluke, as Sedjati raised the bar a week later at the Diamond League event in Monaco, winning with a 1:41.46 effort. 

Obviously, Sedjati is in top form for the Olympics and is at the front of the discussion for continuing his amazing 2024 on the sport’s biggest stage, though the conversation also includes Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, another owner of a sub-1:42 time in the event. 

The world record in the men’s 800 meters is 1:40.91 by Kenya’s David Rudisha in 2012.

Canada’s Marco Arop won the gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest ahead of Wanyonyi.

Recent world indoor champion Bryce Hoppel of the United States is ranked fourth in the world this year behind Wanyonyi, Arop and Sedjati.

Kenya has dominated the men’s 800 in recent Olympics, taking the title each time since 2008 – Wildred Bungei (2008), David Rudisha (2012, 2016) and Emmanuel Korir (2020).

2024 Olympic Track And Field Schedule For 800-Meter Races

All Times Eastern

Aug. 2

1. 1:45 p.m.: Women’s 800m Round 1, Stade de France

Aug. 3

• 5:10 a.m.: Women’s 800m Repechage Round, Stade de France

Aug. 4

• 2:40 p.m.: Women's 800m Semifinal, Stade de France

Aug. 5

• 3:45 p.m.: Women's 800m Final, Stade de France

Aug. 7

1. 5:55 a.m.: Men’s 800m Round 1, Stade de France

Aug. 8

• 6 a.m.: Men’s 800m Repechage Round, Stade de France

Aug. 9

• 5:30 a.m.: Men's 800m Semifinal, Stade de France

Aug. 10

• 1:25 p.m.: Men's 800m Final, Stade de France

How To Watch The 2024 Paris Olympic Summer Games 

The Olympics are on the NBC family of networks, including the Peacock streaming app. 

Get The Latest Paris 2024 Olympic Track News On FloTrack

FloTrack is on the ground in Paris with the latest news. Get the latest news and notes and vibes from Paris on FloTrack. 

FloTrack Is The Streaming Home For Many Track And Field Meets Each Year

Don't miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

Join The Track & Field Conversation On Social

• Follow us on Twitter @FloTrack
• Follow us on Instagram @flotrack
• Follow us on TikTok @flotracktv
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook