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 ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece ...
. 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.
In the United States and elsewhere, athletes previously ran the 220-yard dash (201.168 m) instead of the 200 m (218.723 yards), though the distance is now obsolete. The standard adjustment used for the conversion from times recorded over 220 yards to 200 m times is to subtract 0.1 seconds, but other conversion methods exist. Another obsolete version of this race is the 200 metres straight, which was run on tracks that contained such a straight. Initially, when the International Amateur Athletic Association (now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations) started to ratify world records in 1912, only records set on a straight track were eligible for consideration. In 1951, the IAAF started to recognise records set on a curved track. In 1976, the straight record was discarded.
The race attracts runners from other events, primarily the 100 metres, wishing to double up and claim both titles. This feat has been achieved by men eleven times at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
: by
Archie Hahn
Charles Archibald Hahn (September 14, 1880 – January 21, 1955) was an American track athlete and is widely regarded as one of the best sprinters of the early 20th century. He is the first athlete to win both the 100m and 200m race at the sam ...
in 1904,
Ralph Craig
Ralph Cook Craig (June 21, 1889 – July 21, 1972) was an American track and field athlete. He was the winner of the sprint double at the 1912 Summer Olympics.Percy Williams in 1928, Eddie Tolan in 1932,
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games.
Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lif ...
Valeriy Borzov
Valeriy Pylypovych Borzov ( uk, Валерій Пилипович Борзов; russian: Валерий Филиппович Борзов, Valeriy Filippovich Borzov; born 20 October 1949) is a former Soviet sprinter. He is a two-time Olympian, ...
in 1972, Carl Lewis in 1984, and most recently by Jamaica's
Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight-ti ...
Betty Cuthbert
Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert, (20 April 1938 – 6 August 2017) was an Australian athlete and a four-time Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's "Golden Girl". During her career, she set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres ...
Valerie Brisco-Hooks
Valerie Ann Brisco-Hooks (born July 6, 1960, in Greenwood, Mississippi) is an Olympian who won three gold medals as an Olympic track and field athlete at the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, California, making her the first Olympian to win gold ...
in 1984, and later by Michael Johnson from the United States and
Marie-José Pérec
Marie-José Pérec (born 9 May 1968) is a retired French track and field sprinter who specialised in the 200 and 400 metres and is a three-time Olympic gold medalist.
Athletics career
Pérec won the 1991 World Championships 400 metres title ...
of France both in 1996.
Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight-ti ...
is the only man to repeat as Olympic champion, Bärbel Wöckel (née Eckert),
Veronica Campbell-Brown
Veronica Campbell-Brown CD ( Campbell; born 15 May 1982) is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 meters.
and Elaine Thompson-Herah are the three women who have repeated as Olympic champion.
The men's world record holder is
Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight-ti ...
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
Shericka Jackson
Shericka Jackson, OD (born 16 July 1994) is a Jamaican sprinter competing in the 100 m, 200 m, and 400 metres. She is the fastest woman alive and second fastest woman of all time in the 200 metres since 2022.
Jackson started her car ...
(JAM).
Races run with an aiding wind measured over 2.0 metres per second are not acceptable for record purposes.
Any performance with a following wind of more than 2.0 metres per second is not counted for record purposes. Below is a list of
wind-assisted
In track and field, wind assistance is the benefit that an athlete receives during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather that can affect sport.
Due to a tailwind helping to enhance the speed of the a ...
times (equal or superior to 19.70). Only times that are superior to legal bests are shown:
* Kenny Bednarek ran 19.49 (+6.1 m/s) at high altitude in Hobbs, New Mexico on 17 May 2019, 19.65 (+4.0 m/s) on 10 April 2021 in Miramar, Florida, and 19.65 (+3.2 m/s) in
on 26 August 2021.
* Andre De Grasse ran 19.58 (+2.4 m/s) in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, ...
on 12 June 2015.
* Leroy Burrell ran 19.61 (+4.1 m/s) in
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...
on 19 May 1990. Until 1 August 1996, it was the best performance in any condition.
* Terrance Laird ran 19.64 (+5.6 m/s) at high altitude in Hobbs, New Mexico on 17 May 2019.
Women (outdoor)
*Updated July 2022
Assisted marks
Any performance with a following wind of more than 2.0 metres per second is not counted for record purposes. Below is a list of
wind-assisted
In track and field, wind assistance is the benefit that an athlete receives during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather that can affect sport.
Due to a tailwind helping to enhance the speed of the a ...
times (equal or superior to 21.80). Only times that are superior to legal bests are shown:
*
Tamara Clark
Tamara Clark (born 9 January 1999) is an American track and field athlete who competes as a sprinter.
Representing the University of Alabama, Clark received five All-American awards and swept the 100 and 200 meters at the 2021 SEC Championshi ...
ran 21.72 (+3.1 m/s) in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...
on 23 June 2013.
Men (indoor)
*Updated February 2022.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 20.30:
*
Frankie Fredericks
Frank "Frankie" Fredericks (born 2 October 1967) is a former track and field athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia's only ...
also ran 20.10 (1999), 20.18 (1999) and 20.26 (1995).
* Wallace Spearmon also ran 20.10 (2005), 20.19 (2008) and 20.21 (2005).
* Divine Oduduru also ran 20.18 (2018) and 20.21 (2018).
*
Trayvon Bromell
Trayvon Jaquez Bromell (born July 10, 1995) is an American professional track and field athlete specializing in sprinting events. He was the first junior to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters with a time of 9.97 seconds, the former ju ...
also ran 20.23 (2015).
* Elijah Hall also ran 20.26 (2018).
*
Matthew Boling
Matthew Boling (born June 20, 2000) is an American track and field athlete specializing in the sprints and long jump. He won four gold medals at the 2019 Pan American U20 Championships in the 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 ...
also ran 20.27 (2022).
* Terrance Laird also ran 20.28 (2021).
*
Shawn Crawford
Shawn Crawford (born January 14, 1978) is a retired American sprint athlete. He competed in the 100 meters and 200 meters events. In the 200 meter sprint, Crawford won gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver at the 2008 Summer Olym ...
also ran 20.30 (2002).
Women (indoor)
*Updated February 2022.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 22.45:
* Irina Privalova also ran 22.15 (1993), 22.16 (1994), 22.26 (1992), 22.32 (1995), 22.36 (1992), 22.41 (1991) and 22.45 (1991).
*
Abby Steiner
Abby Kathryn Steiner (born November 24, 1999) is an American track and field sprinter. She is the U.S. indoor record holder in the 200 m and 300 m, and the NCAA record holder in the 200 m. Steiner holds personal bests of 10.9 ...
also ran 22.16 (2022), 22.37 (2022), 22.38 (2021), 22.41 (2021), 22.45 (2022).
*
Merlene Ottey
Merlene Joyce Ottey (born 10 May 1960) is a Jamaican- Slovenian former track and field sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978, and continued to do so for 24 years, before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012. She is ...
also twice ran 22.24 (1991), 22.34 (1989) and 22.37 (1991).
*
Veronica Campbell-Brown
Veronica Campbell-Brown CD ( Campbell; born 15 May 1982) is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 meters.