It seemed like Borzakovskiy was reluctant to catch the leaders, then realized the pace was not too fast, with 50 metres before the end of the first lap, he noticeably accelerated from dead last to join the fight.

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who had lucked into the slowest qualifying time in the semi-final round, ran comfortably in a box inside of Kipketer through 500 meters.

Borzakovskiy (2003 world runner-up) and Wilfred Bungei of Kenya (who held the #1 ranking) were also serious contenders for gold.

[2] Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Palestine, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam appeared in the event for the first time.

Great Britain made its 24th appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

For the men's 800 metres, each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run the race in 1:46.00 or faster during the qualification period.

[6] Qualification rule: The top two finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next two fastest overall runners (q) advanced to the final.