With defending champion Athing Mu of the United States not in Paris to defend her 800-meter title at the 2024 Olympic Games, Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, the silver medalist at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, rose to the occasion and claimed the gold medal.

Now, almost a week later, it’s time for the men to put on their own show at Stade de France, and all of the favorites are among the runners who advanced through the preliminary round (Aug. 7) and/or repechage round (Aug. 8) and the three semifinal heats Friday.

The final of the men’s 800 is scheduled for Saturday at 1:25 p.m. Eastern.

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The semifinals of the men’s 800 on Friday didn’t end of with the types of times the athletes have been running in recent meets, but perhaps they’re saving their best for the final.

Djamel Sedjati of Algeria won the opening heat with a 1:45.08 performance. 

Marco Arop of Canada won the second in 1:45.05. 

The third heat featured the fastest times of the day and both time-based qualifiers. Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya set the pace with a time of 1:43.32, while five athletes turned in sub-1:44 times.

The eight athletes who will line up for the final, and their semifinal times are:

• Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Kenya (1:43.32) 
• Bryce Hoppel, United States (1:43.41)
• Max Burgin, Great Britain (1:43.50)
• Mohamed Attaoui, Spain (1:43.69)
• Marco Arop, Canada (1:45.05)
• Djamel Sedjati, Algeria (1:45.08)
• Gabriel Tual, France (1:45.16)
• Tshepiso Masalela, Botswana (1:45.33)

At the recent Wanda Diamond League event in Paris (July 7), the men’s field for the 800 was deep and talented, with a record six athletes breaking the 1:43 mark in the same race, so five doing so in the semifinal in Paris makes sense. It also could be a preview of an insane final.

The winner of that Diamond League race was Sedjati, who ran a personal-best 1:41.56 to take the title. It also marked the third-fastest time in history.

The competitive race was not a fluke, as Sedjati raised the bar a week later at the Diamond League event in Monaco, winning with a 1:41.46 effort. 

Sedjati clearly was peaking at the right time, but the Olympic final certainly could be anyone’s race, as the entire field has had success at the highest levels:

• Wanyonyi is another owner of a sub-1:42 time in the event. 
• Arop won the gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest ahead of Wanyonyi.
• Hoppel, the recent world indoor champion is ranked fourth in the world this year behind Wanyonyi, Arop and Sedjati.

Kenya has dominated the men’s 800 in recent Olympics, taking the title each time since 2008 – Wildred Bungei (2008), David Rudisha (2012, 2016) and Emmanuel Korir (2020).

The world record in the men’s 800 meters is 1:40.91 by Kenya’s David Rudisha in 2012.

Read More: When Are The 800m Races At The 2024 Paris Olympic Games: What To Know

Who Is Team USA’s Bryce Hoppel?

Bryce Hoppel, 26, was an All-American at the University of Kansas, where he claimed four Big 12 titles and two national championships – the 800 indoor and outdoor titles in 2019. 

Since leaving Kansas in 2019, Hoppel has won multiple USATF national titles – he’s actually been dominant in the 800 in the USA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships since 2020 – and qualified for his first Olympics in June 2021, which allowed him to compete in the COVID-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. There, he advanced to the semifinals of the 800 but did not make the final.

Since the calendar has turned to 2024, Hoppel has been at his best, taking the 800 title at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, before heading off to Eugene, Oregon, three months later to qualify for his second Olympics.

Hoppel won the men’s 800 at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in June with a Trials-record time of 1:42.77 to claim one of the three spots on the line for Paris. The previous record was set in 1992.

Team USA’s Bryce Hoppel Is Thinking Fast Times

What is Hoppel thinking heading into the final of the men’s 800 on Saturday?

🇺🇸Bryce Hoppel is thinking fast times heading into tomorrow's 800m final 👀#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/S0xgY94qQQ

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 9, 2024

2024 Olympic Track And Field Schedule For Men’s 800-Meter Race

All Times Eastern

Aug. 7

1. 5:55 a.m.: Men’s 800m Round 1, Stade de France

Aug. 8

• 6 a.m.: Men’s 800m Repechage Round, Stade de France

Aug. 9

• 5:30 a.m.: Men's 800m Semifinal, Stade de France

Aug. 10

• 1:25 p.m.: Men's 800m Final, Stade de France

Keely Hodgkinson Gets Her Olympic Gold In The 800

Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson won the women's 800 at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

KEELY HODGKINSON GETS HER GOLD.

After a Silver at the Tokyo Olympics, Silver at the World Championships in Budapest 2023, and a Silver at the World Championships in Eugene... Keely Hodgkinson claims her Gold in Paris.#Paris2024 | 📸 Getty pic.twitter.com/gXVkgH4R0k

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 5, 2024

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