The Dirty Stuff: Why the women’s 800m is so difficult to assess

Welcome to The Dirty Stuff. In each episode we choose an event and gender category, and give you a rundown of the top 10 all-time performers. We investigate each runner’s history of doping, or lack thereof. Our goal is to determine which are the cleanest and dirtiest events in our sport. This week’s focus is the women’s 800m.

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The women’s 800m hosts the oldest world record on the books. Because many of the athletes on this top ten list ran their times before modern drug testing, it is difficult to accurately assess how dirty or clean this event really is. Add the controversy around 46XY DSD runners, and the waters get even murkier. 

You can read the New York Times article referenced in this episode HERE

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