Who won the first Olympic women’s 800 metres title, at Amsterdam 1928?

Lina Radke won the first Olympic women’s 800 metres title at Amsterdam 1928.

Representing Germany, Radke won the inaugural Olympic women’s 800-metre race in 2 minutes 16.8 seconds. Her time was a world record and made her the first Olympic champion in the event.

The race became controversial because several competitors appeared exhausted after finishing. Contemporary officials and journalists wrongly treated this as evidence that women were not suited to longer track races. The women’s 800 metres was subsequently removed from the Olympic programme and did not return until Tokyo 1964.

Radke is sometimes confused with Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four athletics gold medals at London 1948, or Mildred Didrikson, a champion in other events at Los Angeles 1932. Neither won the inaugural Olympic 800 metres.