The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes predominantly rely on anaerobic energy system during the 200 m sprint. Similarly to other sprint distances, the 200 m begins from the starting blocks. When the sprinters adopt the 'set' position in the blocks they are able to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles. This enables them to stride forwards more powerfully when the race begins and start faster.
Aaron Brown is a Canadian sprinter who specializes in the 100 and 200 metres. As part of Canada's 4×100 m relay team, he is the 2024 Olympic gold medalist, 2020 Olympic silver medalist, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and the 2022 World champion. Brown has also won two World bronze medals as part of Canada's 4×100 m relay teams in 2013 and 2015.
Andre De Grasse is a Canadian sprinter. A seven-time Olympic medallist, De Grasse is the 2020 Olympic champion in the 200 m, and also won the silver in the 200 m in 2016. He won a second silver in the 4×100 relay in 2020. He also has three Olympic bronze medals, placing third in the 100 m at both the 2016 and 2020 Games, and also in the 4×100 m relay in 2016. De Grasse won his second Olympic gold medal as a part of the 4×100 m relay team at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The win tied him with swimmer Penny Oleksiak as Canada's most decorated Olympians of all time.
Noah Lyles is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 60 meters, 100 meters and 200 meters. His personal best of 19.31 seconds in the 200 m is the American record, and makes him the third fastest of all-time in the event. He is a one-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion.
The men's 100 metres at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 4−5 August. This meet was announced as the last competition for Usain Bolt. The race was won by Justin Gatlin of the United States, ahead of Gatlin's team-mate Christian Coleman, with Usain Bolt finishing third.
The men's 200 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 3 and 4 August 2021 at the Olympic Stadium. 48 athletes from 33 nations competed, including five universality places. Canada earned its first gold medal in the event since 1928 and third overall, as Andre De Grasse added gold to his 2016 silver to become the 12th man to earn multiple medals in the 200 metres. Kenneth Bednarek and Noah Lyles, both of the United States, took silver and bronze as Americans reached the podium for the first time since 2008. Jamaica's three-Games gold medal streak in the event ended, with Usain Bolt having retired.
Kenneth Bednarek is an American track and field sprinter from Rice Lake, Wisconsin. He specializes in the 200-meter distance, having won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2022 World Championships, and at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The men's 200 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 29 September to 1 October 2019. The winning margin was 0.12 seconds.
Erriyon Knighton is an American sprinter specializing in the 100 meters and 200 meters. At the age of 18, he won the bronze medal in the 200 m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, becoming the youngest ever individual sprint medalist in Championships history. He is the 2023 U.S. Champion in the 200 meters.
Jerome Blake is a Canadian track and field athlete specializing in the sprint events. As a member of the Canadian 4 × 100 m relay team, he is the 2024 Olympic gold medallist, 2020 Olympic silver medallist and the 2022 World champion.
Letsile Tebogo is a Motswana sprinter. He won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 200 metres event, with his win earning the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana. He also won the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships in the 100 m and followed it up with a bronze medal in the 200 m five days later.
The following table is an overview of national records in the 200 metres.
The men's 200 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene from 18 to 21 July 2022. The winning margin was 0.46 seconds.
The men's 100 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 19 and 20 August 2023.
The men's 200 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest from 23 to 25 August 2023. The winning margin was 0.23 seconds.
The men's 100 metres event at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on 3 August and 4 August at the Stade de France in Paris. Noah Lyles won the gold medal, setting a new personal best in the 100m and giving the United States its first victory in the event since 2004. Jamaican Kishane Thompson finished in second, taking the silver medal. The winning time of 9.79 was achieved by both Lyles and Thompson, but Lyles crossed the line five one thousandths of a second faster to take gold. Lyles' teammate Fred Kerley finished third in 9.81, winning bronze.
The women's 200 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, between 4 and 6 August 2024. This was the twentieth time that the women's 200 metres was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 48 athletes were able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
The men's 400 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, between 4-7 August 2024. This was the 30th time that the men's 400 metres was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 48 athletes were able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, from 5 to 9 August 2024. This was 28th time that the men's 400 metres hurdles was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 40 athletes were able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
