Men's 800m Final: Quick Takes And Picks
Men's 800m Final: Quick Takes And Picks
American distance running could continue its already stellar Olympics tonight in the men's 800m. The U.S. hasn't medaled in the men's 800m since 1992, but C
American distance running could continue its already stellar Olympics tonight in the men's 800m. The U.S. hasn't medaled in the men's 800m since 1992, but Clayton Murphy and Boris Berian automatically qualified out of their semifinals. Tonight, at 9:25 PM Eastern, they'll look to improve on Duane Solomon's and Nick Symmonds' 4-5 finish from the legendary 2012 Olympic final. Below, we give our quick takes and predictions.
​Gordon Mack: The first heat of the men's semifinals was absolutely insane! Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France and Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria negative-split a 1:43 by running 52.16 for the first 400m and 51.69 for the second 400m. I think the race tonight is going to go out in 50-high, and as a result, Rudisha will be vulnerable to the kicks of the 1500m guys like Makhloufi and Murphy. Also, Berian will get fourth!
​Meg Bellino: Clayton Murphy and Boris Berian did not look good in their first-round races, but they sure looked strong in their semifinals. They're young, and less experienced than the likes of David Rudisha, but they each have big wins under their belts in 2016 and race fearlessly. Why can't they medal?
Rudisha ran a wonderful semifinal, and although he finished third in the Kenyan trials, I'm picking the world record-holder as the lone Kenyan to walk away with an 800m medal.
Someone else who looked shockingly good through both rounds is 2012 1500m gold medalist Taoufik Makhloufi. You don't have to be a fan of his questionably timed, perfect performances, but the man is a solid medal pick for this evening.
​Dennis Young​: As Gordon said, Bosse and Makhloufi looked ridiculously good negatively splitting 1:43 in their semifinals. Alfred Kipketer won the 800m at the Kenyan Trials, Monaco Diamond League, and his Olympic semifinal--arguably the three highest-stakes races of 2016. And Rudisha is a 1:40 guy, the defending world and Olympic champion, the world record-holder and greatest 800m runner ever. ​
Ferguson Rotich's running credentials are a little more peccable--he only qualified on time in the semifinals, and lost to Berian at the Prefontaine Classic--but you can impress your friends with two fun facts about him. He changed his first name to Ferguson because he enjoyed Alex Ferguson's management of Manchester United. And a Kenyan team coach was mysteriously found in possession of his credential at drug testing, though it seems possible that the coach was just trying to use Rotich's credential for a free lunch.
Of course, that's one set of information. Another is that, in 2016, Berian only lost twice in finals. Both times, he finished runner-up against Murphy, who hasn't lost in a final once this year. But I'd rather go into this race assuming that Bosse, Makhloufi, Kipketer, and Rudisha are unbeatable. It wasn't ​that ​long ago that the U.S. was a world power in this event with five medals in the six Olympics we participated in from 1968 to 1992. There hasn't been an American Olympic medal since then. But I'm going to watch this race like a pessimist, and be thrilled if Berian or Murphy leaves with hardware.
THE PICKS
We're all picking Rudisha and Makhloufi to medal; Meg, Gordon, and Adam are all picking Murphy for an Olympic bronze. As recently as February, Murphy was a 20-year-old true junior at Akron with zero NCAA titles. Watch our Workout Wednesday with him from January:
Berian was at the center of one of the most interesting stories of the year when Nike filed a lawsuit against him to stop him from signing with New Balance. Relive every twist and turn of the case here.
​Gordon Mack: The first heat of the men's semifinals was absolutely insane! Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France and Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria negative-split a 1:43 by running 52.16 for the first 400m and 51.69 for the second 400m. I think the race tonight is going to go out in 50-high, and as a result, Rudisha will be vulnerable to the kicks of the 1500m guys like Makhloufi and Murphy. Also, Berian will get fourth!
​Meg Bellino: Clayton Murphy and Boris Berian did not look good in their first-round races, but they sure looked strong in their semifinals. They're young, and less experienced than the likes of David Rudisha, but they each have big wins under their belts in 2016 and race fearlessly. Why can't they medal?
Rudisha ran a wonderful semifinal, and although he finished third in the Kenyan trials, I'm picking the world record-holder as the lone Kenyan to walk away with an 800m medal.
Someone else who looked shockingly good through both rounds is 2012 1500m gold medalist Taoufik Makhloufi. You don't have to be a fan of his questionably timed, perfect performances, but the man is a solid medal pick for this evening.
​Dennis Young​: As Gordon said, Bosse and Makhloufi looked ridiculously good negatively splitting 1:43 in their semifinals. Alfred Kipketer won the 800m at the Kenyan Trials, Monaco Diamond League, and his Olympic semifinal--arguably the three highest-stakes races of 2016. And Rudisha is a 1:40 guy, the defending world and Olympic champion, the world record-holder and greatest 800m runner ever. ​
Ferguson Rotich's running credentials are a little more peccable--he only qualified on time in the semifinals, and lost to Berian at the Prefontaine Classic--but you can impress your friends with two fun facts about him. He changed his first name to Ferguson because he enjoyed Alex Ferguson's management of Manchester United. And a Kenyan team coach was mysteriously found in possession of his credential at drug testing, though it seems possible that the coach was just trying to use Rotich's credential for a free lunch.
Of course, that's one set of information. Another is that, in 2016, Berian only lost twice in finals. Both times, he finished runner-up against Murphy, who hasn't lost in a final once this year. But I'd rather go into this race assuming that Bosse, Makhloufi, Kipketer, and Rudisha are unbeatable. It wasn't ​that ​long ago that the U.S. was a world power in this event with five medals in the six Olympics we participated in from 1968 to 1992. There hasn't been an American Olympic medal since then. But I'm going to watch this race like a pessimist, and be thrilled if Berian or Murphy leaves with hardware.
THE PICKS
| MEG | GORDON | ADAM | DENNIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Rudisha | Taoufik Makhloufi | David Rudisha | David Rudisha |
| Taoufik Makhloufi | David Rudisha | Taoufik Makhloufi | Alfred Kipketer |
| Clayton Murphy | Clayton Murphy | Clayton Murphy | Taoufik Makhloufi |
Berian was at the center of one of the most interesting stories of the year when Nike filed a lawsuit against him to stop him from signing with New Balance. Relive every twist and turn of the case here.