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 200 metres was the second-shortest of the men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. 63 athletes from 48 nations entered, with 6 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 two rounds were held on 16 October, with the semifinals and the final on 17 October. The event was won by Henry Carr of the United States, the nation's 11th victory in the event. Fellow American Paul Drayton took silver; it was the fifth time in six Games that the United States had the top two finishers. Edwin Roberts gave Trinidad and Tobago its first medal in the men's 200 metres with his bronze.
The men's 400 metres was the third-shortest of the men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 17 October, 18 October, and 19 October 1964. 55 athletes from 36 nations entered, with 5 not starting in the first round. The first two rounds were held on 17 October, with the semifinals on 18 October and the final on 19 October. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Mike Larrabee of the United States, the third consecutive and tenth overall victory for an American in the event. Trinidad and Tobago and Poland each earned their first medal in the 400 metres.
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 sprint event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 2 and August 3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There were 25 athletes from 13 nations. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes. After missing the podium entirely in 1928, the United States swept the medals in the event in 1932. It was the second medal sweep in the event by the United States, as well as the nation's sixth victory in eight Games. Eddie Tolan won gold, with George Simpson winning silver and Ralph Metcalfe winning bronze.
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 200 metres was an event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were 79 participating athletes from 65 nations, with eleven qualifying heats. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Michael Marsh of the United States, the nation's third consecutive and 15th overall victory in the event. The Americans would take a second medal for the third consecutive Games as well, this time with Michael Bates earning bronze. The silver medal went to Frankie Fredericks, taking Namibia's first medal in the men's 200 metres.
The men's 100 metres event was one of the events in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The competition was held on July 24, 1980, and on July 25, 1980. Sixty-five athletes from 40 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Allan Wells of Great Britain, that nation's first title in the men's 100 metres since 1924. Cuba took its first medal in the event since 1964, with Silvio Leonard's silver matching the nation's best result. Petar Petrov's bronze was Bulgaria's first Olympic medal in the men's 100 metres.
The men's 200 metres was an event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The competition was held on July 27, 1980, and on July 28, 1980. There were 57 competitors from 37 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Pietro Mennea of Italy, the nation's first victory in the event since 1960 and second overall. Great Britain earned its first medal in the men's 200 metres since 1928 with Allan Wells' silver. Don Quarrie of Jamaica, the defending champion, took bronze. Mennea and Quarrie were the fifth and sixth men to earn multiple medals in the event.
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 100 metres sprint event at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was held at Olympic Stadium on July 23 and 24. Sixty-three athletes from 40 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Hasely Crawford of Trinidad and Tobago, earning the nation's first gold medal and making Crawford a national hero. Don Quarrie's silver medal made Jamaica only the third country to reach the men's 100 metres podium three consecutive times. Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union was unable to defend his title, but by taking bronze became the third man to medal twice in the event. For only the second time, the United States did not have a medalist in the event.
The men's 200 metres was an event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The competition was held on 25 July 1976 and 26 July 1976. There were 45 competitors from 33 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
The men's 200 metres sprint event at the 1936 Olympic Games took place between August 4 and August 5. There were 44 athletes from 22 nations competing. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by African American Jesse Owens, with silver going to Mack Robinson. Owens thus reached 3 gold medals in 1936, with the sprint relay still to come. The Netherlands earned its first medal in the men's 200 metres with Tinus Osendarp's 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 100 metres sprint event at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, was held at Olympiastadion on 31 August and 1 September. Eighty-five athletes from 55 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union, the first medal in the men's 100 metres for that nation. Jamaican Lennox Miller, silver medalist four years earlier, became the second man to make the podium twice in the event by taking bronze.
The men's 200 metres sprint event at the 1952 Olympic Games took place between July 22 and July 23. There were 71 competitors from 35 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Andy Stanfield. Americans also took silver and bronze as the United States swept the medals in the event for the third time.
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 400 metres was an event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on 3, 4 and 7 September. Sixty-four athletes from 49 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Vince Matthews of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive and 12th overall victory in the event. The Americans' hopes to repeat their podium sweep of four years earlier were dashed by injury in the final. Bronze medalist Julius Sang became the first black African to win a sprint Olympic medal, earning Kenya's first medal in the event.
The men's 400 metres hurdles was an event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on 31 August - 2 September. There were 37 competitors from 25 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by John Akii-Bua of Uganda, the nation's first medal in the event and first gold medal in any Olympic event. Ralph Mann returned the United States to the podium after a one-Games absence with his silver medal, while David Hemery added a bronze to his 1968 gold to become the fifth man to earn multiple medals in the event while extending Great Britain's podium streak in the 400 metres hurdles to three Games.
