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.
Gabrielle Lisa Thomas is an American track and field athlete in 100 and 200 meter sprint. She won the bronze medal in the 200 m and a silver as part of the women's 4 × 100 m relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On August 25, 2023, she claimed the 200m silver medal in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a time of 21.81 seconds. She would also go on to win gold as part of Team USA in the women's 4x100m relay final with a championship record of 41.03 seconds.
Dafne Schippers is a Dutch retired track and field athlete who competed in sprinting and the combined events. She holds the European record in the 200 metres with a time of 21.63 seconds, making her the sixth-fastest woman of all time at this distance. She also holds the Dutch records in the 100 metres and long jump, and shares the Dutch records in the 60 metres indoor and 4 × 100 metres relay.
Geraldina "Dina" Rachel Asher-Smith, OLY is a British sprinter.
The 200 metres hurdles is a rarely run hurdling event in track and field competitions. Sometimes, this event is referred to as the low hurdles. It was run twice in the Summer Olympics, in 1900 and 1904.
Veronica Shanti Pereira is a Singaporean track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 m, 200 m, 4 x 100 m, and 4 x 400 m. She holds the 100 m national record (11.20s), 200 m national record (22.57s), 200 m SEA Games record (22.69s), and the 200 m Asian Athletics Championships games record (22.70s). She was ranked 1st in Asia in 2023 for both the 100 m and 200 m based on World Athletics' records.
Andre De Grasse is a Canadian sprinter. A six-time Olympic medalist, 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.
Elaine Thompson-Herah is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. Regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, she is a five-time Olympic champion, the fastest woman alive in the 100 m, and the second fastest alive in the 200 m.
Noah Lyles is an American professional track and field sprinter competing in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 200 m bronze medalist and a six-time World champion, having won the 200 m and 4 × 100 m at the 2019 World Championships, the 200 m at the 2022 World Championships, and the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m events at the 2023 World Championships, becoming the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to complete the sprint treble at a World Championships. At the 2022 Championships, Lyles also earned a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. He holds personal bests of 9.83 seconds for the 100 m and 19.31 seconds for the 200 m, the latter being an American record making him the third fastest on the respective world all-time list.
The following table is an overview of national records in the 200 metres.
Australia
France
Germany
United States
Canada
New Zealand