The women's 800 metres at the 2022 European Athletics Championships was held over three rounds at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany, from 18 to 20 August 2022. It was the twenty-first time that the event was contested at the European Athletics Championships. Athletes could qualify by running the entry standard of 2:00.40 min, by wild card for the defending champion, or by their World Athletics Rankings position.

Thirty-one athletes from seventeen nations competed in round 1, where sixteen athletes advanced to the semi-finals. Subsequently, eight athletes advanced to the final, which was won by Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1:59.04 min, followed by Rénelle Lamote of France in 1:59.49  min in second place and Anna Wielgosz of Poland in 1:59.87 min in third place.

Background

In the 800 metres, athletes run two laps on a standard 400-metre track, starting in separate lanes before breaking for the inside lanes after the first bend."800 Metres", World Athletics. Retrieved 14 July 2026. The women's 800 metres was introduced at the European Athletics Championships in 1954 and had been contested twenty times before 2022."Statistics Handbook", European Athletics, 31 May 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2026. The track and field events of the 2022 European Athletics Championships were held at the Olympiastadion (English: Olympic Stadium) in Munich, Germany."Athletics Timetable", European Athletics, 11 August 2022. Archived 14 August 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2026.

Before the 2022 championships, the world and European record was 1:53.28 min set by Jarmila Kratochvílová of Czechoslovakia in 1983 and the championship record was 1:55.41 min set by Olga Mineyeva of the Soviet Union at the 1982 championships. The world leading performance of 1:56.30 min was run by Athing Mu of the United States and the European leading performance of 1:56.38 min was run by Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, when they won the gold and silver medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships on 24 July 2022. Nataliya Krol of Ukraine was the defending champion after winning the 2018 European Athletics Championships final in 2:00.38 min."European Athletics Championships 2018 – 800m Women – Final - Results", European Athletics, 10 August 2018. Archived 19 August 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2026.

+ Records before the 2022 European Athletics Championships Record Athlete (nation) Location Date World record 1:53.28 Munich, Germany 26 July 1983 European record Championship record 1:55.41 Athens, Greece 8 September 1982 World leading"All time Top lists – Senior – 800 Metres women (World 2022)", World Athletics. Retrieved 14 July 2026. 1:56.30 Eugene, United States 24 July 2022 Europe leading"All time Top lists – Senior – 800 Metres women (Europe 2022)", World Athletics. Retrieved 14 July 2026. 1:56.38

Qualification For the women's 800 metres, athletes could qualify by running the entry standard of 2:00.40 min or faster during the qualification period from 7 July 2021 to 26 July 2022, by wild card for a defending champion, or by their position on the World Athletics Rankings for the event on 26 July 2022. The target was to qualify thirty-two athletes."Qualification System and Entry Standards", European Athletics, 17 August 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2026. A final entry list with thirty-five athletes from eighteen nations was published on 8 August 2022."Final Entries - Athletes List by event and SB", European Athletics, 8 August 2022, p. 33. Retrieved on 14 July 2026.

Results Round 1

On 18 August 2022, thirty-one athletes from seventeen nations competed in the four heats of round 1, starting at 10:45 (UTC+2). Sixteen athletes, the first three athletes in each heat () and the next four fastest athletes overall (), qualified for the semi-finals. In the first heat, Lucia Pinacchio of Spain ran a personal best () of 1:59.04 min. Being the fastest race, the four non-automatic qualifiers all came from this first heat. In the third heat, Vanessa Scaunet of Belgium did not finish ()."Athletics – Women's 800m – Round 1 – Results", European Championships, 18 August 2022. Archived 24 September 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2026.

+ Results of round 1 Rank Heat Lane Athlete Nation Note 1 1 7 2:00.89 , 2 1 3 2:01.16 3 1 2 2:01.59 4 1 5 2:01.63 , 5 1 4 2:01.80 6 1 6 2:01.89 7 3 6 2:02.22 8 4 1 2:02.36 9 3 4 2:02.43 10 1 8 2:02.52 11 4 2 2:02.77 12 3 7 2:02.80 13 3 1 2:02.91 14 3 3 2:02.99 15 4 6 2:03.00 16 4 7 2:03.24 17 3 8 2:03.45 18 4 8 2:03.48 19 4 4 2:03.64 20 4 5 2:03.66 21 2 8 2:03.72 22 4 3 2:03.92 23 2 2 2:04.12 24 2 4 2:04.32 25 2 3 2:04.36 26 3 5 2:04.57 27 2 7 2:04.60 28 2 5 2:06.34 29 2 6 2:07.02 30 1 1 2:23.76 3 2

Semi-finals On 19 August 2022, sixteen athletes from eleven nations competed in the two heats of the semi-finals, starting at 10:50 (UTC+2). Eight athletes, the first three athletes in each heat () and the next two fastest athletes overall (), qualified for the final. The two non-automatic qualifiers came from the second heat. Defending champion Nataliia Krol of Ukraine did not qualify for the final."Athletics – Women's 800m – Semi-finals – Results", European Championships, 19 August 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2026.

+ Results of the semi-finals Rank Heat Lane Athlete Nation Note 1 2 4 2:00.23 2 2 6 2:00.30 3 2 5 2:00.53 4 1 5 2:00.67 5 2 3 2:00.86 6 1 6 2:01.05 7 2 7 2:01.12 8 1 4 2:01.15 9 1 1 2:01.20 10 1 2 2:01.32 11 2 2 2:01.59 12 1 3 2:01.67 13 1 7 2:01.84 14 2 8 2:02.15 15 1 8 2:04.15 16 2 1 2:06.82

Final On 20 August 2022, eight athletes from six nations competed in the final at 20:15 (UTC+2)."Athletics – Women's 800m – Final – Results", European Championships, 20 August 2022. Archived 24 September 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2026. Christina Hering of Germany was in the lead after the first lap in 58.60 s, followed by Rénelle Lamote of France and Jemma Reekie and Keely Hodgkinson both representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Euan Crumley, "Classy Keely Hodgkinson lands European gold", Athletics Weekly, 18 February 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2026. In the last bend, Reekie and Hodgkinson had taken over the lead. Reekie didn't hold on to a medalling position, but Hodgkinson won the race in 1:59.04 min, followed by Lamote in 1:59.49 min in second place and Anna Wielgosz of Poland in 1:59.87 min in third place. Euan Crumley of Athletics Weekly called it a "convincing victory" for Hodgkinson. Sean Ingle of The Guardian called it a "classy run" and saw "a familiar display of class and authority" from Hodgkinson.Sean Ingle, "Keely Hodgkinson takes gold with classy run in European 800m", The Guardian, 20 August 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2026.

In an interview, Hodgkinson said about the final race: "I wanted to do something a little bit different. I think it might have been a bit obvious if I'd gone to the front like I have been doing all year. The last 120m I went for it and hopefully it was enough." Lamotte said: "I thought I could win today, but I lacked confidence in myself. It doesn't matter, I ensure this silver medal which is very important to me. It's a party!"Denis Ménétrier, "Championnats d’Europe d’athlétisme : Rénelle Lamote médaillée d’argent du 800 mètres, le relais masculin en bronze dans le 4 × 400 mètres" (in French), Le Monde, 20 August 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2026. Wielgosz said: "I was considering ending my career. It is impossible for someone to support themselves with their own savings. I'm shocked that I managed to get through this mentally. Now I'm just happy.""Polki szaleją! Chciała kończyć karierę, a teraz ma medal" (in Polish), Fakt, 20 August 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2026.

+ Results of the final Rank Lane Athlete Nation Note 5 1:59.04 6 1:59.49 1 1:59.87 4 2 1:59.92 5 3 2:00.31 6 7 2:00.68 7 8 2:00.82 8 4 2:01.64

References

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