The men's 200 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 24 to 26. There were 54 competitors from 41 nations. The event was won by Shawn Crawford of the United States, the nation's 17th victory in the men's 200 metres. His teammates Bernard Williams (silver) and Justin Gatlin (bronze) completed the sixth American sweep in the event and first since 1984.
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands, were held at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, 29 July and Monday, 30 July. Eighty-one runners entered, though ultimately seventy-six runners from 32 nations competed. NOCs were limited to 4 competitors each. The event was won by Percy Williams of Canada, taking the nation's first men's 100 metres gold medal. Jack London of Great Britain took silver, marking the third consecutive Games that Great Britain had a medalist in the event. Georg Lammers won bronze, Germany's first medal in the event since 1896. For the first time in modern Olympic history, the United States won no medals in the event.
The men's 100 metres was the shortest of the men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo, Japan. It was held at the Olympic Stadium on 14 and 15 October 1964. 76 athletes from 49 nations entered, with 3 not starting in the first round. Nations were limited to three athletes each, per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The first two rounds were held on 14 October, with the semifinals and the final on the following day.
The men's 400 metres hurdles was the longer of the men's hurdle races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 14 October, 15 October, and 16 October 1964. 39 athletes from 26 nations competed, with 1 more not starting in the first round. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The first round was held on 14 October, with the semifinals on 15 October and the final on 16 October. The event was won by Rex Cawley of the United States, the nation's sixth consecutive and 11th overall victory in the men's 400 metres hurdles. For the first time since 1952, the Americans did not sweep the event. John Cooper earned Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1928 with his silver; Salvatore Morale took Italy's first-ever medal in the 400 metres hurdles with his bronze.
The men's 200 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 72 competitors from 59 nations, with ten qualifying heats (72), five quarterfinal races (40) and two semifinals (16), before the final (8) took off on Wednesday September 28, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Joe DeLoach of the United States, beating his teammate and defending champion Carl Lewis by 0.04 seconds in the final. The defeat ended Lewis's hopes of repeating his 1984 quadruple, despite running the final under his own Olympic record time. It was the United States' 14th victory in the men's 200 metres. Lewis was the seventh man to win multiple medals in the event, matching Andy Stanfield for the best result to that point. Robson da Silva earned Brazil's first medal in the event with his bronze.
The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 38 competitors, with five qualifying heats and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took place on Sunday September 25, 1988. One athlete did not start, so there were 37 competitors from 28 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Andre Phillips of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and 14th overall victory in the event. Amadou Dia Ba earned Senegal's first medal in the event with his silver. Dia Ba broke up a potential American sweep, as 1976 and 1984 champion Edwin Moses took bronze and Kevin Young placed fourth. Moses was the second man to earn three medals in the event.
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 and 24 November. Sixty-five athletes from 31 nations competed; each nation was limited to three athletes. The final was won by American Bobby Morrow, marking the fifth consecutive victory by a different American. Hec Hogan of Australia won that country's first medal in the event since 1900. The competition took place in strong winds, with the final run into a 2.5 m/s (5.6 mph) headwind.
The men's 200 metres was an event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. There were 67 competitors from 32 countries. The first and second rounds were held on Monday 26 November and the semifinals and final on Tuesday 27 November. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
The men's 200 metres was an event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. It was held on 31 July and 1 August 1928 at the Olympic Stadium. There were 59 competitors from 29 nations. Nations had been limited to 4 athletes each since 1920. The event was won by Percy Williams of Canada, the nation's second victory in the event. The win broke a streak of three victories by the United States; with no Americans on the podium, the nation's six-Games medal streak was broken as well. Walter Rangeley of Great Britain took silver, giving Great Britain a four-Games medal streak in the event. Germany earned its first men's 200 metres medal with Helmut Körnig's bronze.
The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Fifty athletes from 20 nations competed. NOCs were limited to 4 competitors each. The event was won by Ray Barbuti of the United States, the first title for the Americans in the event since 1912 and the fifth overall. Jimmy Ball won Canada's first medal in the event, a silver.
The men's 200 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 76 competitors from 58 nations, with ten qualifying heats (76), four quarterfinals (32), and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took off on Wednesday August 8, 1984. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Carl Lewis of the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's 200 metres since 1968 and 13th overall. It was the third gold medal of the Games for Lewis, who was attempting to match Jesse Owens in winning the 100, 200, long jump, and 4x100 relay; his victory in this event left only the relay to go, in which the United States was heavily favored. The American team competed a medal sweep in this event, the first since 1956 and the fifth overall for the United States, with Kirk Baptiste earning silver and Thomas Jefferson taking bronze.
The men's 200 metres was held on 2 September and 3 September as part of the athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics, which were held in Rome. 74 athletes from 54 nations entered, but only 62 athletes from 47 nations ultimately competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Livio Berruti of Italy, the first victory in the event by a nation outside of North America and snapping a five-Games winning streak by the United States. The Americans finished with a silver medal, by Lester Carney, to extend their medal streak to six Games. Abdoulaye Seye of France took bronze. Berruti's gold and Seye's bronze were the first medal for their nations in the men's 200 metres.
The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. The competition was held between September 3 and September 6, 1960. 59 competitors from 44 nations entered, but 54 competitors from 41 nations participated. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Otis Davis of the United States, the second consecutive and ninth overall title in the event for an American. Carl Kaufmann's silver was the second straight silver for a German in the event, while Malcolm Spence's bronze was the first medal for South Africa in the 400 metres since 1920.
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, were held at Olympiastadion on 2 and 3 August. The final was won by American Jesse Owens, and teammate Ralph Metcalfe repeated as silver medalist. Tinus Osendarp of the Netherlands won that nation's first medal in the men's 100 metres, a bronze.
The men's 200 metres sprint event at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place between 2 August and 3 August. There were 51 competitors from 28 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Mel Patton. His countryman Barney Ewell earned silver, making this the third consecutive Games the United States took the top two spots in the event. Lloyd La Beach's bronze gave Panama a medal in its debut in the event.
The men's 800 metres middle distance event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between August 31 and September 2. Fifty-one athletes from 35 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between August 31 and September 2. There were 34 competitors from 23 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Glenn Davis of the United States, the first man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the 400 metres hurdles. As of the 2016 Games, he remains the only man to do so; three others have won two gold medals in the event, but all three did so in nonconsecutive Games. It was the United States' fifth consecutive and 10th overall victory in the event. The Americans also completed their second consecutive medal sweep in the event, as Cliff Cushman took silver and Dick Howard took bronze.
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between September 7 and September 8.
The men's 200 metres was an event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on 3–4 September. There were 57 competitors from 42 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union, the nation's first medal in the event. Larry Black took silver, extending the United States' podium streak in the men's 200 metres to nine Games. Italy earned its first medal in the event since 1960 with Pietro Mennea's bronze.
The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The competition was held between 16–18 of October. Times are listed as both hand timing and automatic timing. Hand timing was the official time used in the 1968 Olympics. Fifty-five athletes from 36 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Lee Evans of the United States, the fourth consecutive and 11th overall title in the event by an American. The Americans swept the podium, the second time a podium sweep occurred in the men's 400 metres.
