Fastest Negative Split 800m?

2007 world champs is your definite proof!!!

lease wrote:

Jim Ryun: 53.3/51.6, 1:44.9.

For 880 *yards* (about .7sec longer than 800m).

Wasn't trying to start any kind of argument here. The thread title asked for the fastest negative-split 800. This is the fastest I knew about.

Wilson Kipketer ran a 1:42.5 - splits 52.0/50.5.

A friend of mine who once held the indoor 880y U.S. record in the 60's went 1:50 (60/50)

OK - slight change in topic. What do you think is the most extreme negative split that could produce a sub-1:50 time?

I'm thinking 62/47.9 for a 1:49.9.

Maybe some like Evertt could do a 63/46.9 but he had sub 45 speed.

blind guess wrote:

OK - slight change in topic. What do you think is the most extreme negative split that could produce a sub-1:50 time?

I'm thinking 62/47.9 for a 1:49.9.

redman2 wrote:

Wilson Kipketer ran a 1:42.5 - splits 52.0/50.5.

According to the IAAF World Records Progression book, Wilson Kipketer ran 52.3/50.5 for 1:42.77 in Monaco on 8/16/97. Don't know about any of his three 1:42.5x races.

Another notable one from quite a while ago: Dave Wottle at teh '72 Olympic Trials. 1:44.30 with splits of 52.9/51.4.

Cram's 1:42.88 run in Zurich '85 did not have negative splits; they were 51.2, 51.7.

You are probably thinking of his Commonwealth victory in '86, where he ran 51.7 and 51.5 to record 1:43.22.

The most impressive negative split run I ever saw was Coe's run in Moscow. Yes he was 2nd and though he didn't seem to close much on Ovett on the 2nd lap, he actually run every bend in lane 2, meaning he ran an extra 3.5m on each bend. This means had he not run so wide, he would have covered each bend at least 0.4/0.5 secs faster.

His official splits were 55.3, 50.5 (Ovett's were 54.9, 50,5)

If Coe had run 800m rather than 812m, then his splits would have been c. 54.9, 49.7 (giving him a finishing time of about 1:44.6!) He was well inside 50 sec pace on the 2nd lap and his final 200m in 24.9 must have been worth about 24.5! Ovett, running sensibly on the inside of lane 1, covered the last 200m in 25.1. Unfortunately Coe couldn't pull back more than a couple of metres, because he had so many runners to pass on the last bend.

DangerZone wrote:

My time wasn't sub 1:50, but I ran a 1:57 and change with splits of 64/53. It was on my third 800m race. I always ran negative splits on my 800m. Usually my last 200m were under 23 seconds. I always had a habit of going out too slow. I've done 88/52 before as well, that was my largest negative.

The closest I came to running non-negative splits was when I was puking before the race. It was state qualifications (I blamed it on something I ate, but I was probably nervous). I ran 67/66 and got pissed at myself after the race... All I needed was a 2:04 to qualify for state... I know I could have run harder.

You usually broke 23 seconds for your final 200m of 800m races? That's incredible. Why aren't you a 100m-400m runner with that kind of speed?