Atlanta Olympics 1996 men's 800m Final

The 1996 Olympic 800m final in Atlanta was one of the best championship races, the only thing missing was the world champion Wilson Kipketer whose Danish citizenship hadn't come through in time and didn't get a clearance from Kenya to run.
The old man Johnny Gray took it out fast as he always did and set the race up. The first four men were under 1.43.
1.Vebjørn Rodal (NOR) 1:42.58
2.Hezekiel Sepeng (RSA) 1:42.74
3.Fred Onyancha (KEN) 1:42.79
4.Norberto Téllez (CUB) 1:42.85
5. Nico Motchebon (GER) 1:43.91
6. David Kiptoo (KEN) 1:44.19
7. Johnny Gray (USA) 1:44.21
8. Benyounes Lahlou (MAR) 1:45.52

[@spatzlelg]

Rodal was in the commentary box for the Rudisha WR at the London Games. He was in awe of how Rudisha owned the race from the front and that race took the title of the fastest ever champion 800m.

[@Dervarengang]

Gratulerer med OL-gullet, Vebjørn Rodal!!! Et fullkomment løp!

[@the_katman2181]

How Sepeng stepped around the back of that whole group with less than a hundred to go and finish in second is unbelievable.

[@Fletcher689908]

A legendary sporting moment for a small country. Thanks for posting this!

[@GOATAli]

Possibly the toughest and most exciting track distance there is. It is a 90 percent sprint for two laps, unreal.

[@peros70]

This performance is rated best single achivement by an norwegian athlete in history. Career-wise we had Sonia Henie, Bjørn Dæhlie and Ole Einar Bjørndalen who have won more than Rodal, but after all 800 meter track and field is a world sport with decent competitors from almost every country participating in sports. Winter sports are only taken serious in 15-20 countries, Still quite impressive by a small nation (Norway just passed 5 million inhabitants) to top all-time gold medal wins in the winter olympic history (107, compare that to neighbour Sweden who have more people to choose from and similar climate but still just won 48 gold medals since 1924...).

[@Taunus_P5-HT-V8]

It was. Then came Warholm..

[@Karanar]

No its not. People forget he won because the best runner wasn't competing, not because he was the best runner. Wilson Kipketer was MUCH better than Rodal and he was at his best around this time.

[@Karanar]

@@Taunus_P5-HT-V8 and Ingebrigtsen.

[@spatzlelg]

Bring back Johnny Gray, he loved taking the race out quickly. No problem putting this on youtube, it needed to be here.

[@runforafriend]

this is the biggest sensation in norvegian sport history from my point of view.

[@TorstenBM]

Great quality! Thx so much for puting this vid on youtube!

[@yllarnet]

I agree. I rank this just above Thor Hushovd and Alexander Dale Oen's gold medals from the world championships.

[@thenorseguy2495]

Jeg glemmer aldri denne natten. En av de største øyeblikkene i norsk idrettshistorie. 1996 ble forøvrig et flott år for Rennebu. I tillegg til Rodals OL gull ble sambygdingene Vegard Heggem matchvinner mot AC Milan.

[@christiaangreyling2045]

Hezekiel’s race of his life! Champion!

[@ulfthom]

his olympic record made here 1,42,58 is still holding, may be a kenyan can beat it in london 2012? Vebjørn Rodal one of the biggest athlets from Norway

[@runcaz7802]

A Kenyan in 2012? You called it.

[@hephzbah1130]

This was one of the fastest 1st laps that Gray has ever run. He was trained to front run. He has legitimate world class 400 meter speed(43 and change 4x400 split in prime). However, he lacked mental toughness in a clutch sadly. I used to witness him in training. He was incredible. Super fast back to back 400 meter times w/short recovery. Truly if he had ever married his awesome speed with racing fierceness Gray would have cracked the world record long ago.

[@maureenforan5723]

Gray was one of a kind. ''Catch me if you can" . Anytime he was on the menu and you found out that day before any race, you're pre-race strategy was suddenly altered, trashed, obsolete !! Sorry, no lollygaggin' today! You were in for a fast race ! You were in for some hurt! It quickly became a two lap war and Johnny supplied the ammo !!! At almost every race, he made announcers mention "a world record pace" because his front running tactics made it possible each and every time! It's easy for critics to say "sit back, Johnny! sit back! "That was never his style nor shouldn't have been!

[@hephzbah1130]

@@maureenforan5723: Merle McGee: our coach trained us to front run, or run no less than contact. Johnny was awesome at that.

[@sabobber]

Vebjørn Rodal is the greatest, can't believe he's my trainer!

[@erikkire94]

Dette løpet er det mest imponerende i norsk friidretts historie.

[@luciusmarcus76]

E assim foi quebrado o recorde olímpico dessa prova, que pertencia ao brasileiro Joaquim Cruz desde os Jogos Olímpicos de Los Angeles-1984.

[@cegtown]

@dchartier1 Agreed. No sprinter wants to train for this event. Its the shortest discipline not run in lanes the whole distance around the track. It takes speed, endurance, and race tactics to win the 800m. The 400m is in lanes and pretty much you against the clock (yes, I know, it does take speed, endurance and race tactics as well, but you don't get boxed-in during the 400) The 800 is a "real" race against other athletes.

[@cegtown]

Geez!!! The camera misses a huge move by Rodal on the backstrech.

[@spatzlelg]

@dal4018 What actually happened was Kipketer went to Denmark to study in 1990 and unlike say Norway or Sweden, where he would have been eligible to become a citizen after 5 years. In Denmark it was 7 years, so they needed Kenyan permission to release him as the Danes wouldn't fast track the citizen application. Kenya said no, therefore no Kipketer in this race.

[@robertbrowne4049]

spatzlelg They were 100% correct he should have run for Kenya.

[@kennethwoods6525]

That's history's loss. I remember being in the stands feeling weird because Kipketer wasn't there (and Javier Sotomayor somehow loss to Charles Austin). 🙈

[@trackandfieldarchive]

@cegtown i wouldnt necessarily say that it relies too much on speed training. When i went to college in the states, I was given way too much volume. i was a 400m runner moving up, and all the volume killed my speed. It wasnt until i moved back home to my country that i started to get my speed back and in one season i went from 1:48 to 1:46, and getting that speed back was the key. So to say the american way is too speed based isnt necessarily true.

[@MrLoaded2012]

Atlanta 1996 was superb, and also the last free-for-all doping fest in those pre-EPO days.

[@peterdvideos]

Gray’s front running made him a sitting duck.

[@cegtown]

@jamescounty we are in agreement. he seems like a good kid and id like to see him do well. great potential. good basic speed. good runners' build. hope he stays at it.

[@sh0werp0wer]

Probably the best Norwegian sports result in a sport they do not otherwise excel in.. It's a great accomplishment, but Norway has MANY sports accomplishments in the winter olympics that are at least on the same level

[@agehellander8419]

Warholm

[@ellos94]

I just love how you can feel the adrenaline cick. Makes me proud to be norwegian

[@ulfthom]

what a fast finish, olympic record! this was outclassing from an outsider!

[@runcaz7802]

Great race, made better by solid commentary. That's important!

[@contrarian717]

Johny, 4 Olympic finals. That's amazing. I just wish he could be a bit more streched that final 50m.

[@trackandfieldarchive]

god i feel bad for tellez. poor bastard, u run 1.42.85 and not get a medal. Im just glad he got a silver behind kipketer in 97 world champs in athens. Too good of an athlete not to get a medal at a major title.

[@ViennaTV]

great finish

[@frognerbadet]

@koolkurd82 Vebjørn Rodal's 1.42.59 in 1996 was faster than Kipketer had ever run up til then. Rodal also had the fastest time in 1996 prior to OL.

[@carlpeterkirkebo2036]

????? Kipketer ran 1:42.51 July 10 1996. That was three weeks prior to Rodal's win in Atlanta. Furthermore, Rodal ran 1:42.58 and not .59 as you stated.

[@ulfthom]

to see the bancroft america at this point was a breakthrough for me

[@cegtown]

@redwinger219 There is a Johnny Gray in races other than Championship races. He's called the rabbit.

[@KingLiopleurodon]

The best Olympic 800 since the 1976 classic. Rodal ran an altogether brilliant race, perhaps the perfect tactical 800. He kept a cool head at all times, he was perfectly placed, and made a decisive kick at exactly the right time. But almost everybody ran to maximize their performance; Gray did what he needed to. Tellez was unfortunate. Sepeng may have regretted leaving everything quite so late but it seems he was surprised by his own finishing powers. Who wouldn't, with a 1:42.7PR in the OG

[@poetshazza1113]

What I never liked about Johnny Grey is that he never changed his race strategy. The World ranks knew he had no closing kick so the elites never worried about him because he runs like a pacer and not a runner. He had great talent but never the skill to strategize his runs for winning. He always disappointed me in the Big Races.

[@mc1703]

@KingLiopleurodon Rodal ran the best tactical race no doubt. IMO Sepeng was in the best shape for this race. I estimate Sepeng ran an extra 3m in the last 150m, and if he had got his tactics right would have possibly gone 1:42.20-1:42:35. This race just re-enforces my respect for Johnny Gray!

[@trickygoose2]

@dchartier1 Johnny Gray was a great athlete with an amazing number of fast times. When it came to championships he was great for the neutral as he always ensured a fast pace if there wasn't someone like Barbosa or one of the Kenyans setting one. I was quite pleased that he managed to get that one bronze medal in Barcelona but it is not a great return for an athlete of his calibre.

[@cegtown]

@xedvux Who knows what happens in a championship setting. After heats , semis and finals the favorite is no shoe-in winner. You are correct-credit to Rodal. I was at this race. It was one of the best if not the best at the Games.

[@spatzlelg]

@dal4018 No, I don't have it.

[@rrampaer]

Incredible race from Rodal he earned it the hard way ! too bad for kipketer duh

[@thewalkingjoke3843]

why is everybody talking about Johhny Gray who finished in 7th wheb we all should talk about Rodal??

[@stevebbuk]

Did Johnny Gray ever win a 800m race from the front..

[@bjarnester]

@papmjny Bollocks. The Norwegian atheletics "wonder" consisted of 1 guy in sprint, Rodal (800 m), Hattestad in javelin and Steinar Hoen doing high jump. With Norway winning in such diverse disciplines; are you seriously suggesting they invented a "magic" pill that made you best at everything or could it be they had a lot of good athletes these years?

[@ulfthom]

i heard johnny gray is a trainer today, hope he trains in another style than he run

[@dchartier1]

@ejnar95 How FAST is his SON?

[@dchartier1]

@MrWakethesheeple I agree that such a runner would probably be NECESSARY to BREAK 1:40. Trouble is, pretty much ANYONE with SUB-45.0 quarter speed is going to FOCUS on the QUARTER rather than the HALF, even though he COULD be BETTER at the HALF. We'll just have to WAIT for a good COACH to talk some SENSE into such a runner. WARINER would be JUST SUCH A GUY. He's got the DISTANCE RUNNER rather than SPRINTER build, and mid-43 QUARTER SPEED. I see a 1:39 in HIM. But he'll NEVER do it...

[@john130781]

yes bruva tru talk Johnny Gray living Don - set the pace all over the world - if u need a world record holla at johnny Gray living Don

[@thescatman5029]

I never was a big fan of the tactic known as The Johnny Gray Twilight Zone........!

[@skillsman112]

The commentators Sound Australian.

[@FranchiseIndustries]

@kolsto94 nah, he is just stunned that he managed second place. If you look at a lap earlier, he was dead last with 350m to go. Vebjørn being second last shows that running sub 50 on the first lap is not the way to go. For an even more exagerated scenario, watch the 1972 olympics. Havent seen anything more epic.

[@maureenforan5723]

Even if KIPKETER was cleared to run, this race would've been a handful for him. FOUR men breaking 1:43 (after heats) He may NOT of medaled at all with all the men in tight formation, getting boxed in and the jostling that final 150m Tellez had to go 3 wide n almost into the 3rd lane for that entire final curve and even thought he finished 4th ,he STILL broke the previous OL !

[@spatzlelg]

@mc1703 He'd feel like shit running such a time which would get him gold in most other Olympic finals.

[@dchartier1]

Gray was a REAL middle distance runner! He takes it out BALLS TO THE WALL straight from the gun and tries to leave NOTHING on the track! That's the kind of GUTS and HEART that the U.S. NEEDS to gain some RESPECT in the half-mile today! Compare that to the CHICKEN SH*T racing of Andrew Wheating, who WOULDN'T take out a race hard IF HIS LIFE DEPENDED ON IT! And that's why Gray will be REMEMBERED and Wheating will SOON BE FORGOTTEN!

[@BaumerPaulGefreiter]

Winning an Olympic medal in XC is way easier than winning one on the track. At winter Olympics, there is no African or Caribbean concurrence.

[@audunspachmo9673]

1:51 "What the hell? A white guy took the gold! That's not supposed to happen" :p

[@ulfthom]

im not sure kipketer would match this at the big final day

[@mc1703]

if someone had told tellez he would go to atlanta and run 1:42.85 for fourth...

[@ulfthom]

@papmjny what do u talk about?

[@ulfthom]

rodal a winner, not many of them, but we have a few in norway

[@Magnusur1]

The reason why he did not participate, was because he hadn't lived long enough time in Denmark to participate for them. He could have competed for Kenya or under the olympic flag, but he chose to wave goodbye to the gold medal, because Denmark was his home country. I actually think that's pretty brave!

[@spatzlelg]

@bootymanager Still went out in 49.55 and had a slight stumble at the start.

[@dchartier1]

@trickygoose2 Trouble is, runners with THAT KIND OF TALENT in EITHER EVENT tend to focus ONLY on the 400 or 1500. Some say that Earl Jones had the TALENT to go 1:39. He ran his first lap in 49 EASY. But 1:43 ended up being his LIMIT. I have the UTMOST respect for RUDISHA, but I think he's UNLIKELY to go sub-1:40. He has the SPEED, but I'm not CONVINCED that he has the STRENGTH. But it's good to have another true MIDDLE DISTANCE SPECIALIST like Kipketer! But I expect EXCITING THINGS!

[@tamkiller6028]

he got own :P

[@Gjestrumen]

wrong, Jamaica had a team in Bob-sled..

[@krakhour2]

I am x ray tech..that was supine on the ground. Prone is stomach down with back up dude

[@bootymanager]

Gray was past his best. He was 36 at the time

[@dchartier1]

@trickygoose2 I concur. With his SPEED and GUTS, he definitely had a SUB-1:42 in him, maybe even a SUB-1:41. He just NEVER really made it all COME TOGETHER in the big championships. I'm really HOPING I see a sub-1:40 in my lifetime. It's sad that in just 30 YEARS the WR has dropped ONLY about 0.7 seconds. But I DEFINITELY think that a 1:39 is POSSIBLE. I think if we could just get a runner with 44-second 400 relay SPEED who can BUILD low-3:50 mile STAMINA., a 1:39 is WITIHN REACH.

[@leonardtoo985]

Rudisha was a 44 guy. Hope he will be back and do it

[@entusiastic8]

Well, he didn't.

[@Raimakusa]

1:44? At thirty-six years of age? My goodness.

[@tofuzbasketman]

go rodal!

[@cegtown]

@jamescounty Wheating trained under the Oregon program which runs more than 30-40 miles a week I assure you. Wheating is a World class runner but not yet World elite class. maybe soon.

[@wolverine76ag]

You have to enter to win...and he did not enter.....go rodal:)

[@adamd4390]

Would of been wr had the race not been so competitive as rodal had to run wide with 300 to go

[@Gjestrumen]

not here, brah

[@dchartier1]

Now THAT'S how your run the HALF, and it's ALL thanks to my MAN Johnny Gray! Gray goes BALLS OUT from the GUN and leaves NOTHING on the track at the FINISH LINE! So much better than these CHICKEN SH*T racers like Andrew Wheating we're STUCK WITH these days! Too bad Gray couldn't win another medal like in '92, but STILL, he showed the GUTS and DETERMINATION of a CHAMPION. We won't see the LIKES OF HIM for a while given the "talent" in America THESE DAYS...

[@ulfthom]

@mamowolde yes but juantorena would have had big problems with rodal

[@maureenforan5723]

without a doubt , the GREATEST Olympic 800 final in history(yes, even greater than Rudisha's London '12) in the fact that 4 men BROKE the previous OL in a single race with sub1:43's and a 5th man under 1:44! What struck me was Tellez in that he went almost into the 3rd lane along the final curve, thus giving away a precious meter or so to that lead pack, and he still broke 1:43 !! Had he tucked in along that curve, given that he didn't get boxed in, he would've been a lot closer to Rodal !

[@cegtown]

@dchartier1 I'm not being racist but honest when I say that no Black American 800m runner (like Earl Jones)will ever hold the 800m WR, and its no ones fault but the American training philosophy. American training lies too heavily on speed training alone (especially for speed- talented 800m runners). I doubt and feel confident in saying that neither Earl Jones nor Johnny Gray ever exceeded 30-40 miles training in a week. The rest of the World, including Coe, ran/runs much more mileage.

[@user-me8qj6zk8n]

A white man.. impressive

[@666zerowolf]

Rodal...a forgotten champion! Gray...never got a gold...never adjusted his tactics...dumbo! Seems like a coach from the ignorant usa would have gotten with Gray after 16 f in years and said..."hey...lets try to run a slightly slower first lap and not die with 100 meters to go time after time after time after time...insanity..doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome!

[@hydro_phil]

+John Rogan u know some ppl just cant run that way. i had a training partner and he would fail on the last 100 no matter how he started so he just did his best before... he d never become a champ, but he made it to 1:50 at the end of his career and it was a great succes for him. u cant blame gray for not giving his best everytime

[@666zerowolf]

Alberto Juantorena had superior coaching. Progress is only measured with a stop watch in the absurd USA....they actually do not deserve to get any medals considering the low level of coaching.

[@ulfthom]

one white man

[@RicardoGarcia-kv8it]

Lol lol lol lol hello mr Kenyas lol lol white men can run

[@papmjny]

whole norwegian Athletics wonder came suddenly up 1992 and disappeared 1998 for good. They talked about blood laboratory...

[@Lynlloyd]

Erroneous. Look at Andreas Thorkildsen winning gold medals in javelin in 2004 and 2008. And let's not forger about Karsten Warholm, 400 meter hurdles or indeed the Ingebritsen brothers.

[@sjuro54]

I think your memory is slipping. It was the Finns that got caught blood doping ;-)

[@davd1986]

Don't be racist.

[@tosj0298]

You're the racist here. You're the one who hates Norwegians.

[@DezoCorka007]

The great EPO run! Oh, those were the times, when blood doping was undetectable!

[@adamd4390]

Geert W like 2012

[@ToldoMexes]

One word Doping

[@RUNISFAST]

Idiot get a life😂

[@666zerowolf]

epo runs out at 770 meters johnny....try a higher octane next time.....jogging the last 30 meters.

[@Magnusur1]

Kipketer would have won it:-(

[@robertbrowne4049]

Magnusur1 not necessarily so on the previous year he only beat Rodal by a small margin.

[@thenorseguy2495]

You have to be in it to win it

[@YngtchieMusic]

I would have won the 800 meters. I just never bothered to compete. Or train. But I would have won, because I wrote so on the Internet.

[@StewartJsR]

As much as I like this race, ZERO chance Mr Rodahl was clean. ZERO.

[@exentr]

This is internet. You don't need proof. Fake news and statements without sources is good enough. I am Tottenham striker, Harry Kane.

[@francishooton3933]

don't talk rubbish. Look at his face. He looks lean and fit.. I watched that race live.