10 June 1981 remains a red-letter day in the long history of 800m running, for it was in Florence late that night that Sebastian Coe lowered his own world record from 1:42.33 to 1:41.73.

Athing Mu’s world U20 indoor 800m record of 1:58.40, set at the SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on 27 February, has been ratified.

Grenada’s 2012 Olympic 400m champion Kirani James will continue his comeback at the Ostrava Golden Spike, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on 19 May.

Sprinter or middle-distance runner? It’s a question many have asked Poland’s Patryk Dobek this year, one he now also has to ask himself.

Global medallists Raevyn Rogers, Donavan Brazier and Christian Taylor are preparing for an early-season top-quality test of their form at the USATF Grand Prix – the first World Athletics Continental Tour Gold standard meeting of 2021 – on Saturday (24).

Elliot Giles vividly recalls the turning point in his career.

Career paths for the vast majority of athletes rarely take a constantly upward trajectory. Injury, loss of form and a multitude of other factors contribute to setbacks, often frequently so.

The Queensland Track Classic was the first Australian casualty of the coronavirus pandemic last year, but Brisbane’s major athletics meeting bounced back with a vengeance in 2021.

The nature of his recent victories had hinted at a big breakthrough, but even Elliot Giles appeared surprised when he crossed the line in 1:43.63 to win the men's 800m at the Copernicus Cup – part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour – in Torun on Wednesday (17).

The book of world records may have survived the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, but continental records took a hammering at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Staten Island on Saturday (13).

There is no minimum size required to be a powerhouse, and when it comes to running the 800m at the highest level, Puerto Rico is near the top of the list.

In the latest in our mini-series, we look at world 800m champion Halimah Nakaayi’s journey to the Tokyo Olympics.