On July 26, 1983, Czechoslovakia’s Jarmila Kratochvilova set the world record in the 800m with an astonishing time of 1:53.28 in Munich, West Germany. She negative split in 56.82/56.46. She was 32 years old at the time. Primarily a 400m runner (Olympic silver in 1980), this was only the second time she had ever competed in the 800m. Her only previous race was in September 1982 when she ran 1:56.59.
Two weeks later, at the first World Championships held in Helsinki, Finland, Kratochvilova broke the world record in the 400m with a time of 47.99, becoming the first woman to break 48 seconds. (Her record was broken two years later by East Germany’s Marita Koch but remains the #2 time ever run). In addition to the WR and gold in the 400m, she also won gold in the 800m in a time of 1:54.68 (#7 all-time) and anchored the 4x400m relay to a silver medal.
At age 27, her best 200m was 23.96; five years later, at age 32, she ran the 400m at nearly the identical pace (47.99).
According to the World Athletics Tables:
23.96 = 1040 points = 54.28 = 2:07.05
47.99 = 1288 points
1:53.28 = 1286 points
Her 400m progression was as follows:
Age 25 – 53.39
Age 27 – 51.09
Age 28 – 52.31
Age 29 – 49.46
Age 30 – 48.61 (#2 all-time when it was run)
Age 31 – 48.85
Age 32 – 47.99 (World record at the time)
Age 33 – 49.02
Age 34 – 49.89
Kratochvilova’s PRs at the time she set the 800m record were:
100m – 11.09
200m – 21.97 (4th fastest ever at the time, #3 performer – only Marita Koch and Evelyn Ashford had run faster)
400m – 48.45 (dropped to 47.99 two weeks later)
In 1943, the world record was 2:16.8; forty years later, the record was 1:53.28. Another forty years later, the record remains 1:53.28.
As far as I know, there is no video of the 800m race in its entirety. Below is a video of the second lap of the WR race. The 400m world record from Helsinki is also linked, as is a 1995 documentary about Kratochvilova.
