Medal count by country in the Women's 800m at the Summer Olympics 1928-2020

The Women's 800m was introduced as an Olympic Event in 1928, but then disappeared until it became a permanent fixture since 1960. Athletes from the Soviet Union saw the most success in this event, winning three golds and seven total medals between 1960 and 1992, sweeping the podium in the Moscow Games in 1980. Since then, athletes from a relatively wide variety of nations have won medals in the Women's 800m. South Africa's Caster Semenya is the only woman to have won two gold medals in this event, in 2012 and 2016 respectively; although her gold medal for the 2012 Olympics was not given to her until 2017, when Russian athlete Mariya Savinova was stripped of her gold for doping violations. Semenya was unable to defend her title in the 2020 Games, due to rules that prohibited her from competing due to her naturally high testosterone levels.