The women's 800 metres was the longest of the four women's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics

At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the athletics competition included 36 events, 24 for men and 12 for women. The women's 400 metres and women's pentathlon events were newly introduced at these Games. There were a total number of 1016 participating athletes from 82 countries.-Men's...

 program in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. It was held on 18 October, 19 October, and 20 October 1964. 24 athletes from 16 nations entered, with 1 not starting the first round. The first round was held on 18 October, the semifinals on 19 October, and the final on 20 October.

First round

The top five runners in each of the 3 heats advanced, as well as the next fastest runner from across the heats.

First round, heat 1

All three of the eventual medallists were in the first heat.

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Maryvonne Dupureur Maryvonne Dupureur Maryvonne Samson Dupureur was a French middle distance who specialized in the 800 metres.Born in Saint-Brieuc, she won the silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan...		2:04.5
2	Ann Chamberlain		2:06.8
3	Nagy Zsuzsa Szabo		2:07.7
4	Vera Mukhanova		2:08.8
5	Ann Packer Ann Packer Ann Elizabeth Packer MBE is a former British sprinter, hurdler and long jumper. She won a gold medal in the 800 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo....		2:12.6
6	Waltraud Kaufmann		2:14.6
7	Jette Andersen		2:15.2
8	Abby Hoffman		2:17.4

First round, heat 2

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Mary Hodson		2:08.5
2	Nita Worner		2:08.6
3	Zoya Skobtsova		2:08.6
4	Gerda Kraan Gerda Kraan Gerarda Maria Kraan is a retired female middle distance runner from the Netherlands, who twice represented her native country at the Summer Olympics: 1960 and 1964 . In 1962 she won the gold medal in the women's 800 metres race at the 1962 European Championships in Belgrade.-References:...		2:09.8
5	Maeve Kyle Maeve Kyle Maeve Esther Enid Kyle, OBE, née Shankey, , is an Irish Olympic athlete and hockey player. She competed in the 100m and 200m in the Melbourne Olympics and subsequently in the Rome Olympics and Tokyo Olympics...		2:11.3
6	Sandra Knott		2:12.2
7	Aldaanish Ramazan		2:21.1
—	Dixie Willis Dixie Willis Dixie Isabel Willis is a former Australian middle distance runner, who won the gold medal in the women's 880 yards event at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. She was selected to compete over 800 metres for her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics...		Did not start

First round, heat 3

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Anne Rosemary Smith Anne Rosemary Smith Anne Rosemary Smith was a sprinter and middle distance runner, who specialised in the 1500m and mile events. She represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic games, reaching the final in the 800m event...		2:08.0
2	Antje Gleichfeld Antje Gleichfeld Antje Gleichfeld, née Braasch is a German middle distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres.She finished fifth at the Olympic Games in 1960 and 1964. She won the bronze medal at the 1966 European Championships...		2:08.2
3	Laine Erik Laine Erik Laine Erik-Kallas is a retired female middle distance runner from Estonia, who twice represented the Soviet Union at the Summer Olympics: 1964 and 1968. She set her personal best in the women's 800 metres on 1967-09-04 at a meet in Kiev.-References:...		2:08.3
4	Gizela Farkas		2:08.7
5	Jannie van Eyck-Vos		2:09.1
6	Olga Kazi Olga Kazi Olga Kazi-Gyulai is a retired female middle distance runner from Hungary, who twice represented her native country at the Summer Olympics: 1960 and 1964. She set her personal best in the women's 800 metres on 1962-09-16 at the European Championships in Belgrade.-References:**...		2:12.1
7	Kisaki Masako		2:18.6
8	Han Myung Hee		2:22.7

Semifinal 1

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Maryvonne Dupureur		2:04.1 OR
2	Antje Gleichfeld		2:04.6
3	Laine Erik		2:04.7
4	Anne Rosemary Smith		2:04.8
5	Vera Mukhanova		2:04.8
6	Jannie van Eyck-Vos		2:05.7
7	Mary Hodson		2:07.1
8	Olga Kazi		2:10.2

Semifinal 2

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Ann Chamberlain		2:04.6
2	Nagy Zsuzsa Szabo		2:05.1
3	Ann Packer		2:06.0
4	Gerda Kraan		2:06.2
5	Nita Worner		2:07.1
6	Zoya Skobtsova		2:07.4
7	Gizela Farkas		2:09.9
8	Maeve Kyle		2:12.9

Final

After winning a silver medal in the 400 metres Ann Packer had no plans to run in the 800 metres and had a shopping trip planned until her fiancé, Robbie Brightwell

Robbie Brightwell

Robert Ian Brightwell MBE is a former track and field athlete.He moved to England with his family in 1946 and grew up in Donnington, Shropshire...

 finished fourth in the 400 metres. Disappointed for him, she turned to the 800 metres, an event which she had only raced in five times before.

Packer, who had placed fifth in her first round heat and third in her semifinal started the final as the slowest of the eight contestants. Packer was sixth at 400 metres, lying behind Dupureur, she was third at 600 m and took the lead in the final straight, using her sprinting speed to take the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

in world record time . The first five runners all beat the old Olympic record time (set by Dupureur in the semifinals).

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Ann Packer		2:01.1 WR
2	Maryvonne Dupureur		2:01.9
3	Ann Chamberlain		2:02.8
4	Nagy Zsuzsa Szabo		2:03.5
5	Antje Gleichfeld		2:03.9
6	Laine Erik		2:05.1
7	Gerda Kraan		2:05.8
8	Anne Rosemary Smith		2:05.8