How the race they said women couldn't run took centre stage

For 32 years, the women's 800m was absent from the Olympics, with its competitors deemed too frail. Now, it is one of the most hotly anticipated events on the track.

This extraordinary story starts at the 1928 Olympic Games, which represented a huge - if temporary - step forward for women's sports.

The Amsterdam Games were the first to allow women to compete in track and field events. Five women's events were added to the programme - the 100m, high jump, discus, 400m hurdles and, controversially at the time, 800m.

German athlete Karoline Lina Radke , external became the first woman to win Olympic gold in the 800m - but she would also be the last for another 32 years.

The event was removed from the Games after reports - later proven to be false - claimed competitors suffered extreme exhaustion after the race, and the International Olympic Committee decided women were too frail to compete , external over the two-lap distance.

Fast forward almost 100 years and the event now gets headline status at major events.

In recent times, it's been the battle between Britain's Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson and the Swiss European champion Audrey Werro that has captivated fans.

So how did the 800m become the 'one to watch'? BBC Sport spoke to the women who helped shape the race to find out.