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 0.22 seconds by Shawn Crawford of the United States, the nation's 17th victory in the men's 200 metres after missing the podium entirely four years prior. His teammates Bernard Williams (silver) and Justin Gatlin (bronze) completed the sixth American sweep in the event and first since 1984.
The men's 400 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 20 to 23. Sixty-two athletes from 48 nations competed. The event was won by Jeremy Wariner of the United States, the sixth in what would ultimately be 7 consecutive American victories stretching from 1984 to 2008 and the 18th overall title in the event by the United States. The United States swept the podium for the 4th time in the event.
The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 23 to 26. There were 35 competitors from 24 nations. The event was won by Félix Sánchez of the Dominican Republic, the nation's first medal in the men's 400 metres hurdles. Silver went to Danny McFarlane of Jamaica, returning to the podium in the event for the first time since 1992. Naman Keïta's bronze was France's first medal in the event in over 100 years; the last Frenchman to medal in the long hurdles was Henri Tauzin in 1900. The United States' five-Games gold medal streak ended; for only the second time in the history of the event, Americans competed but won no medals.
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 27 to 28. The sixteen teams competed in a two-heat qualifying round in which the first three teams from each heat, together with the next two fastest teams, were given a place in the final race.
Jeremy Matthew Wariner is a retired American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals and six World Championships medals. He is the sixth fastest competitor in the history of the 400 m event with a personal best of 43.45 seconds, behind Wayde van Niekerk, Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds and the fifth fastest all-time mark when he set it in 2007.
LaShawn Merritt is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He is a former Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him the eleventh fastest of all time.
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 15 and 16 August at the Beijing National Stadium. 80 athletes from 64 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by Jamaican Usain Bolt in a world record time of 9.69 seconds. It was Jamaica's first title in the event, and first medal in the event since 1976. Jamaica became the first country to join the men's 100 metre winners since Trinidad and Tobago, also in 1976; Richard Thompson won the country's fourth overall medal in the event with his silver.
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 22 and 23 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
The men's 200 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 18–20 August at the Beijing National Stadium. There were 63 competitors from 53 nations. Jamaican Usain Bolt set a new world record of 19.30 seconds in the final, and won by the largest margin of victory in an Olympic 200 metres final. It was Jamaica's first victory in the event since 1976 and second overall, matching Canada and Italy for second-most. The apparent silver and bronze medalists, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles and Wallace Spearmon of the United States, were both disqualified. Those medals went to Americans Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix, who had been fourth and fifth across the finish line; Crawford gave his silver medal to Martina afterward. Crawford was the 10th man to win two medals in the 200 metres, and the third for whom those medals were gold and silver; nobody had yet won two gold medals.
The men's 800 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 20–23 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Fifty-eight athletes from 40 nations competed. The qualifying standards were 1:46.00 and 1:47.00. The final on 23 August resulted in a triumph for Kenyan runner Wilfred Bungei in an official time of 1:44.65, winning by 0.05 seconds. It was the first victory in the event for Kenya since 1992 and the third overall. Ismail Ahmed Ismail's silver medal was Sudan's first Olympic medal in any competition.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 15–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Forty-eight athletes from 30 nations competed.
The men's 110 metres hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 18–21 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Forty-two athletes from 32 nations competed. The event was won by Dayron Robles of Cuba, the nation's second gold medal in the high hurdles.
The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 16–18 August at the Beijing National Stadium. There were 26 competitors from 19 nations. The event was won by Angelo Taylor of the United States, the nation's 18th victory in the men's 400 metres hurdles. Taylor was the seventh man to win multiple medals in the event, and third to win two golds. The United States completed its fifth podium sweep in the men's long hurdles, as Kerron Clement and Bershawn Jackson took silver and bronze.
The men's 400 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 18, 19 and 21 August. The winning margin was 0.54 seconds.
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 22 and August 23.
The men's 400 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 4–6 August. Forty-nine athletes from 38 nations competed. The event was won by 0.52 seconds by Kirani James of Grenada, earning the country its first Olympic medal. Luguelín Santos's silver was the Dominican Republic's first medal in the men's 400 metres. Lalonde Gordon's bronze was Trinidad and Tobago's first medal in the event since 1964.
The men's 110 metres hurdles competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 7–8 August. Fifty-three athletes from 33 nations competed. The event was won by Aries Merritt of the United States, the nation's first championship in the event since 1996 and 19th overall. Hansle Parchment's bronze was Jamaica's first medal in the men's high hurdles.
The men's 200 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 7–9 August. There were 54 competitors from 40 nations. The event was won by Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the first man to repeat as champion in the 200 metres. His teammates Yohan Blake (silver) and Warren Weir (bronze) completed the medal sweep; it was the seventh sweep in the men's 200 metres and the first by a nation other than the United States. Bolt's gold medal was Jamaica's third in the event, moving out of a tie with Canada and Italy for second-most overall.
The men's 200 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 16–18 August in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange. There were 77 competitors from 48 nations. The event was won by Usain Bolt of Jamaica, his third consecutive gold medal in the event. Bolt earned his eighth overall gold, needing only the 4x100 metres relay the next day to complete the sprint triple-triple. It was Jamaica's fourth victory in the event, second-most among nations. Andre De Grasse earned Canada's first medal in the event since 1928 with his silver; Christophe Lemaitre's bronze was France's first since 1960. The United States missed the podium for only the fifth time in the history of the men's 200 metres; it was the first time that it had done so in consecutive Games.
The men's 400 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 12 and 14 August at the Olympic Stadium. Fifty-three athletes from 35 nations competed. The event was won by 0.73 seconds by Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa, who broke the world record and won the nation's second gold medal in the men's 400 metres. Kirani James of Grenada and LaShawn Merritt of the United States became the sixth and seventh men to win two medals in the event, but Michael Johnson remained the only man with two gold medals.
