The event was won by 0.64 seconds by Joaquim Cruz of Brazil, the nation's first medal in the men's 800 metres.

Sebastian Coe of Great Britain repeated his silver-medal performance from 1980, the eighth man to win two medals in the event.

Edwin Koech on the far outside and Joaquim Cruz went out hard around the first turn, with Earl Jones and Johnny Gray to the inside.

The lead group was marked by British rivals, defending champion Steve Ovett and world record holder Sebastian Coe.

Gray's added speed seemed to force the leaders to run faster to stay ahead of him, while Ovett withered out the back of the field.

[2] Of the 55 nations represented, 20 had never had a competitor in the men's 800 metres before: Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, the Gambia, Grenada, Jordan, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland, the United Arab Emirates, North Yemen, and Zimbabwe all appeared in the event for the first time.