# Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

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 0.12 seconds 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.

## Background

This was the 21st appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. Four of the eight finalists from the 1988 Games returned: bronze medalist Robson da Silva of Brazil, fourth-place finisher Linford Christie of Great Britain, fifth-place finisher Atlee Mahorn of Canada, and sixth-place finisher Gilles Quénéhervé of France. Michael Johnson was the favorite coming into the Games; he had won the 1991 World Championship and was ranked #1 in the world in 1990 and 1991. He had been beaten in June by Frankie Fredericks of Namibia, however, and teammate Michael Marsh had been only 0.07 seconds behind Johnson at the U.S. trials. Before the Games, Johnson came down with food poisoning; while he still competed, he was clearly not at full strength.
Bahrain, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, Grenada, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, San Marino, and Togo each made their debut in the event. Some former Soviet republics competed as the Unified Team. One Yugoslav athlete competed as an Independent Olympic Participant. The United States made its 20th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

## Competition format

The competition used the four round format introduced in 1920: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1960 was used in the heats and quarterfinals.
There were 11 heats of 7 or 8 runners each, with the top 3 men in each advancing to the quarterfinals along with the next 7 fastest overall. The quarterfinals consisted of 5 heats of 8 athletes each; the 3 fastest men in each heat and the next fastest overall advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals, each with 8 runners. The top 4 athletes in each semifinal advanced. The final had 8 runners. The races were run on a 400 metre track.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Pietro Mennea (ITA) | 19.72 | Mexico City, Mexico | 12 September 1979 |
| Olympic record | Joe DeLoach (USA) | 19.75 | Seoul, South Korea | 28 September 1988 |
Michael Marsh set a new Olympic and North American record with 19.73 seconds in his semi‑final. It was also a sea‑level record.

## Schedule

The schedule featured three days of competition for the first time since 1908, up from two days in previous Games, with the semifinals and final on separate days.
All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Monday, 3 August 1992 | 10:20 18:20 | Heats Quarterfinals |
| Wednesday, 5 August 1992 | 18:30 | Semifinals |
| Thursday, 6 August 1992 | 18:40 | Final |

## Results
### Heats
#### Heat 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Frankie Fredericks | Namibia | 20.74 | Q |
| 2 | Andreas Berger | Austria | 21.02 | Q |
| 3 | Edgardo Guilbe | Puerto Rico | 21.75 | Q |
| 4 | Wyndell Dickinson | Virgin Islands | 21.78 | |
| 5 | Bothloko Shebe | Lesotho | 21.96 | |
| 6 | Apisai Driu Baibai | Fiji | 22.07 | |
| 7 | Médard Makanga | Republic of the Congo | 22.18 | |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Michael Johnson | United States | 20.80 | Q |
| 2 | Patrick Stevens | Belgium | 20.93 | Q |
| 3 | Sérgio de Menezes | Brazil | 21.17 | Q |
| 4 | Francis Ogola | Uganda | 21.29 | q |
| 5 | Miguel Ángel Gómez | Spain | 21.46 | q |
| 6 | Samuel Nchinda-Kaya | Cameroon | 21.50 | |
| 7 | Sriyantha Dissanayake | Sri Lanka | 21.61 | |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Oluyemi Kayode | Nigeria | 20.42 | Q |
| 2 | Atlee Mahorn | Canada | 21.01 | Q |
| 3 | Boevi Lawson | Togo | 21.05 | Q |
| 4 | Ouattara Lagazane | Ivory Coast | 21.13 | q |
| 5 | Simon Kipkemboi | Kenya | 21.57 | |
| 6 | Dejan Jovković | Independent Olympic Participants | 21.77 | |
| 7 | Amadou Sy Savané | Guinea | 21.86 | |
| 8 | Jaime Zelaya | Honduras | 22.05 | |

#### Heat 4

Quénéhervé was originally disqualified, putting Seaksarn Boonrat in third place and qualifying the Thai runner for the quarterfinals. When Quénéhervé was reinstated, both men advanced on placement (Seaksarn Boonrat would have advanced on time, but this resulted in him not using one of the "lucky loser" places).
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Michael Bates | United States | 20.91 | Q |
| 2 | Gilles Quénéhervé | France | 20.99 | Q |
| 3 | Kennedy Ondiek | Kenya | 21.04 | Q |
| 4 | Seaksarn Boonrat | Thailand | 21.39 | Q |
| 5 | Eswort Coombs | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 22.07 | |
| 6 | Bounhom Siliphone | Laos | 23.64 | |
| — | Afonso Ferraz | Angola | DNS | |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Daniel Cojocaru | Romania | 21.20 | Q |
| 2 | Linford Christie | Great Britain | 21.23 | Q |
| 3 | Stefan Burkart | Switzerland | 21.33 | Q |
| 4 | Abel Tshaka Nzimande | South Africa | 21.43 | q |
| 5 | Mateaki Mafi | Tonga | 22.05 | |
| 6 | Lamin Marikong | The Gambia | 22.33 | |
| 7 | Randolph Foster | Costa Rica | 22.47 | |
| 8 | Abdullah Salem Al-Khalidi | Oman | 22.48 | |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Marcus Adam | Great Britain | 20.62 | Q |
| 2 | Nikolay Antonov | Bulgaria | 20.94 | Q |
| 3 | Nelson Boateng | Ghana | 21.03 | Q |
| 4 | Henrico Atkins | Barbados | 21.28 | q |
| 5 | Ato Boldon | Trinidad and Tobago | 21.65 | |
| 6 | Shahanuddin Choudhury | Bangladesh | 21.88 | |
| 7 | Kaminiel Selot | Papua New Guinea | 22.36 | |
| 8 | Boureima Kimba | Niger | 22.49 | |

#### Heat 7

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Olapade Adeniken | Nigeria | 20.79 | Q |
| 2 | Clive Wright | Jamaica | 20.98 | Q |
| 3 | Edvin Ivanov | Unified Team | 21.10 | Q |
| 4 | Giannis Zisimidis | Cyprus | 21.51 | |
| 5 | Aldo Canti | San Marino | 21.69 | |
| 6 | Gabriel Simeon | Grenada | 22.09 | |
| 7 | Kenmore Hughes | Antigua and Barbuda | 22.18 | |

#### Heat 8

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Dean Capobianco | Australia | 20.86 | Q |
| 2 | Torbjörn Eriksson | Sweden | 21.08 | Q |
| 3 | Ibrahima Tamba | Senegal | 21.25 | Q |
| 4 | Sayed Mubarak Al-Kuwari | Qatar | 21.87 | |
| 5 | Adam Hassan Sakak | Sudan | 21.96 | |
| 6 | Robinson Stewart | Swaziland | 21.97 | |
| — | Jean-Charles Trouabal | France | DNF | |
| — | Juan Vicente Matala | Equatorial Guinea | DSQ | |

#### Heat 9

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | John Regis | Great Britain | 20.63 | Q |
| 2 | Sidnei de Souza | Brazil | 20.72 | Q |
| 3 | Emmanuel Tuffour | Ghana | 21.07 | Q |
| 4 | Horace Dove-Edwin | Sierra Leone | 21.38 | q |
| 5 | Khaled Ibrahim Jouma | Bahrain | 21.55 | |
| 6 | Harouna Pale | Burkina Faso | 21.65 | |
| 7 | Boubout Dieng | Mauritania | 22.75 | |

#### Heat 10

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Mike Marsh | United States | 20.38 | Q |
| 2 | Neil De Silva | Trinidad and Tobago | 20.89 | Q |
| 3 | Peter Ogilvie | Canada | 21.11 | Q |
| 4 | Ousmane Diarra | Mali | 21.73 | |
| 5 | Hussain Arif | Pakistan | 21.75 | |
| 6 | Pat Kwok Wai | Hong Kong | 22.45 | |
| 7 | Ahmed Shageef | Maldives | 22.54 | |

#### Heat 11

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Robson da Silva | Brazil | 20.62 | Q |
| 2 | Cameron Taylor | New Zealand | 20.91 | Q |
| 3 | Christoph Pöstinger | Austria | 21.02 | Q |
| 4 | Anthony Wilson | Canada | 21.21 | q |
| 5 | Valentin Ngbogo | Central African Republic | 21.51 | |
| 6 | Claude Roumain | Haiti | 22.51 | |
| — | Fletcher Wamilee | Vanuatu | DNS | |

### Quarterfinals
#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Marcus Adam | Great Britain | 20.43 | Q |
| 2 | Michael Johnson | United States | 20.55 | Q |
| 3 | Neil de Silva | Trinidad and Tobago | 20.66 | Q |
| 4 | Atlee Mahorn | Canada | 20.78 | |
| 5 | Christoph Pöstinger | Austria | 20.83 | |
| 6 | Sergio de Menezes | Brazil | 21.00 | |
| 7 | Horace Dove-Edwin | Sierra Leone | 21.80 | |
| — | Eduardo Guilbe Alomar | Puerto Rico | DNS | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Robson da Silva | Brazil | 20.35 | Q |
| 2 | Olapade Adeniken | Nigeria | 20.47 | Q |
| 3 | Clive Wright | Jamaica | 20.70 | Q |
| 4 | Edvin Ivanov | Unified Team | 20.78 | |
| 5 | Cameron Taylor | New Zealand | 20.83 | |
| 6 | Samuel Nelson Boateng | Ghana | 21.04 | |
| 7 | Ouattara Lagazane | Ivory Coast | 21.39 | |
| 8 | Francis Ogola | Uganda | 21.41 | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Michael Bates | United States | 20.22 | Q |
| 2 | Oluyemi Kayode | Nigeria | 20.22 | Q |
| 3 | Linford Christie | Great Britain | 20.52 | Q |
| 4 | Dean Capobianco | Australia | 20.61 | |
| 5 | Peter Ogilvie | Canada | 20.77 | |
| 6 | Andreas Berger | Austria | 21.02 | |
| 7 | Seksarn Boon Rat | Thailand | 21.30 | |
| — | Tshakile Nzimande | South Africa | DNS | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Michael Marsh | United States | 20.08 | Q |
| 2 | Sidney Telles | Brazil | 20.69 | Q |
| 3 | Torbjörn Eriksson | Sweden | 20.81 | Q |
| 4 | Kennedy Ondieki | Kenya | 20.86 | |
| 5 | Gilles Quénéhervé | France | 20.96 | |
| 6 | Daniel Cojocaru | Romania | 20.96 | |
| 7 | Ibrahim Tamba | Senegal | 21.28 | |
| 8 | Miguel Ángel Gómez | Spain | 21.32 | |
| 9 | Stefan Burkart | Switzerland | 21.52 | |

#### Quarterfinal 5

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Frankie Fredericks | Namibia | 20.02 | Q |
| 2 | John Regis | Great Britain | 20.16 | Q |
| 3 | Nikolay Antonov | Bulgaria | 20.50 | Q |
| 4 | Emmanuel Tuffour | Ghana | 20.58 | q |
| 5 | Patrick Stevens | Belgium | 20.67 | |
| 6 | Henrico Atkins | Barbados | 21.19 | |
| 7 | Anthony Wilson | Canada | 21.22 | |
| 8 | Boevi Youlou Lawson | Togo | 21.47 | |

### Semifinals
#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Michael Marsh | United States | 19.73 | Q, OR |
| 2 | John Regis | Great Britain | 20.09 | Q |
| 3 | Robson da Silva | Brazil | 20.15 | Q |
| 4 | Oluyemi Kayode | Nigeria | 20.23 | Q |
| 5 | Linford Christie | Great Britain | 20.38 | |
| 6 | Nikolay Antonov | Bulgaria | 20.55 | |
| 7 | Clive Wright | Jamaica | 20.82 | |
| 8 | Torbjörn Eriksson | Sweden | 20.85 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Frankie Fredericks | Namibia | 20.14 | Q |
| 2 | Michael Bates | United States | 20.39 | Q |
| 3 | Olapade Adeniken | Nigeria | 20.39 | Q |
| 4 | Marcus Adam | Great Britain | 20.63 | Q |
| 5 | Emmanuel Tuffour | Ghana | 20.78 | |
| 6 | Michael Johnson | United States | 20.78 | |
| 7 | Sidney Telles | Brazil | 20.88 | |
| — | Neil de Silva | Trinidad and Tobago | DSQ | |

### Final

Held on August 6, 1992.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| | Michael Marsh | United States | 20.01 |
| | Frankie Fredericks | Namibia | 20.13 |
| | Michael Bates | United States | 20.38 |
| 4 | Robson da Silva | Brazil | 20.45 |
| 5 | Olapade Adeniken | Nigeria | 20.50 |
| 6 | John Regis | Great Britain | 20.55 |
| 7 | Oluyemi Kayode | Nigeria | 20.67 |
| 8 | Marcus Adam | Great Britain | 20.80 |