The 21 competitors first raced in three heats on July 30. The top three finishers from each of the heats advanced directly to the semifinals. Four competitors did not start. The rest competed in the repechages.
Heat 1 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Frank-Peter Bischof|GDR|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.13 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Milan Janić|YUG|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.62 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Patrick Lefoulen|FRA|1980 Summer}} | 1:47.10 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Jorge Colome|CUB|1980 Summer}} | 1:49.63 | QR |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Declan Burns|IRL|1980 Summer}} | 1:50.08 | QR |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Grayson Bourne|GBR|1980 Summer}} | 1:51.80 | QR |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Helmut Lehmann|SUI|1980 Summer}} | 1:52.02 | QR |
Heat 2 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Vladimir Parfenovich|URS|1980 Summer}} | 1:44.80 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Anders Andersson|SWE|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.46 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Grzegorz Śledziewski|POL|1980 Summer}} | 1:47.17 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Felix Masár|TCH|1980 Summer}} | 1:47.33 | QR |
- | {{flagIOCathlete|Wolfgang Hartl|AUT|1980 Summer}} | Did not start |
- | {{flagIOCathlete|Oreste Perri|ITA|1980 Summer}} | Did not start |
- | {{flagIOCathlete|Herminio Menéndez|ESP|1980 Summer}} | Did not start |
Heat 3 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|John Sumegi|AUS|1980 Summer}} | 1:44.45 | QS |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Vasile Dîba|ROU|1980 Summer}} | 1:45.45 | QS |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ian Ferguson|NZL|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.02 | QS |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Zoltán Sztanity|HUN|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.36 | QR |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Jan Baaijens|NED|1980 Summer}} | 1:49.21 | QR |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Theo Claessens|BEL|1980 Summer}} | 1:51.61 | QR |
- | {{flagIOCathlete|Ivan Manev|BUL|1980 Summer}} | Did not start |
Taking place on July 30, the top three finishers from each repechage advanced to the semifinals.
The top three finishers in each of the three semifinals (raced on August 1) advanced to the final.
Semifinal 1 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Frank-Peter Bischof|GDR|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.21 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ian Ferguson|NZL|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.87 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Anders Andersson|SWE|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.93 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Grayson Bourne|GBR|1980 Summer}} | 1:48.34 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Helmut Lehmann|SUI|1980 Summer}} | 1:51.60 |
Semifinal 2 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Vladimir Parfenovich|URS|1980 Summer}} | 1:43.24 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Vasile Dîba|ROU|1980 Summer}} | 1:45.71 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Zoltán Sztanity|HUN|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.41 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Patrick Lefoulen|FRA|1980 Summer}} | 1:47.12 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Theo Claessens|BEL|1980 Summer}} | 1:49.72 |
Semifinal 3 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|John Sumegi|AUS|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.11 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Milan Janić|YUG|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.92 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Felix Masár|TCH|1980 Summer}} | 1:47.11 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Grzegorz Śledziewski|POL|1980 Summer}} | 1:47.31 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Jan Baaijens|NED|1980 Summer}} | 1:48.61 |
The final was held on August 1.
width=30 bgcolor=gold | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Vladimir Parfenovich|URS|1980 Summer}} | 1:43.43 | bgcolor=silver | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|John Sumegi|AUS|1980 Summer}} | 1:44.12 |
bgcolor=cc9966 | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Vasile Dîba|ROU|1980 Summer}} | 1:44.90 |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Milan Janić|YUG|1980 Summer}} | 1:45.63 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Frank-Peter Bischof|GDR|1980 Summer}} | 1:45.97 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Anders Andersson|SWE|1980 Summer}} | 1:46.32 |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ian Ferguson|NZL|1980 Summer}} | 1:47.36 |
8. | {{flagIOCathlete|Felix Masár|TCH|1980 Summer}} | 1:48.18 |
9. | {{flagIOCathlete|Zoltán Sztanity|HUN|1980 Summer}} | 1:48.32 |