Russia, and André Bucher of Switzerland (a semifinalist in Atlanta). Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Macedonia, Moldova, and Uganda appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain made its 23rd appearance, most among all nations, having had no competitors in the event only in the 1904 Games in St. Louis. Qualification Each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run 1:46.30 or faster during the qualification period. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. If an NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had run 1:47.20 or faster could be entered. Competition format The men's 800 metres again used a three-round format, the most common format since 1912 though there had been variations. The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964 was used for the first two rounds. There were eight first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 athletes; the top two runners in each heat as well as the next eight fastest overall advanced to the semifinals. There were three semifinals with 8 athletes each (except that one had an extra runner due to an advancement by obstruction rule in the first round); the top two runners in each semifinal and the next two fastest overall advanced to the eight-man final. Records Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows. No world or Olympic records were set during the competition. The following national records were established during the competition: Schedule All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10) Results Round 1 The first round was held on Saturday, 23 September 2000. Heat 1 Heat 2 Heat 3 Heat 4 Heat 5 Heat 6 Heat 7 Heat 8 Overall results for round 1 Semifinals Semifinal 1 Semifinal 2 Semifinal 3 Overall results for semifinals Final Source: Official Report of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics References External links Men's 800m final – IAAF report Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics 800 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 2000 Summer Olympics