# Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

The men's 200 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 72 competitors from 59 nations, with ten qualifying heats (72), five quarterfinal races (40) and two semifinals (16), before the final (8) took off on Wednesday September 28, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Joe DeLoach of the United States, beating his teammate and defending champion Carl Lewis by 0.04 seconds in the final. The defeat ended Lewis's hopes of repeating his 1984 quadruple, despite running the final under his own Olympic record time. It was the United States' 14th victory in the men's 200 metres. Lewis was the seventh man to win multiple medals in the event, matching Andy Stanfield for the best result to that point (a gold and a silver). Robson da Silva earned Brazil's first medal in the event with his bronze.

## Background

This was the 20th appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. Three of the eight finalists from the 1984 Games returned: gold medalist Carl Lewis of the United States, fifth-place finisher Ralf Lübke of West Germany, and seventh-place finisher Pietro Mennea of Italy. Mennea was competing in his fifth Games in this event, having won bronze in 1972, finished fourth in 1976, and won gold in 1980 previously. Lewis was attempting to repeat his 1984 quadruple of winning the 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump, and 4x100 metres relay (and had started well on that goal, winning the 100 and the long jump). He had placed second in the U.S. trials to Joe DeLoach in this event, however, and the competition between the two was expected to be tight. Nobody else running the event was thought to be close to the American pair.
Burkina Faso, Chinese Taipei, the Maldives, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Yemen, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Vietnam each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 19th 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 10 heats of 7 or 8 runners each, with the top 3 men in each advancing to the quarterfinals along with the next 10 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 1988 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Pietro Mennea (ITA) | 19.72 | Mexico City, Mexico | 12 September 1979 |
| Olympic record | Carl Lewis (USA) | 19.80 | Los Angeles, United States | 8 August 1984 |
Joe DeLoach and Carl Lewis both finished the final under the Olympic record time; DeLoach's 19.75 seconds became the new record, while Lewis's 19.79 seconds was good for silver.

## Schedule

All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Monday, 26 September 1988 | 11:05 14:00 | Heats Quarterfinals |
| Wednesday, 28 September 1988 | 13:40 16:00 | Semifinals Final |

## Results
### Heats

First 3 from each heat (Q) and the next 10 fastest (q) qualified for the quarterfinals.
| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Gilles Quénéhervé | France | 20.55 | Q |
| 1 | 3 | Atlee Mahorn | Canada | 20.55 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Roy Martin | United States | 20.65 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Cyprian Enweani | Canada | 20.65 | Q |
| 5 | 10 | Stefano Tilli | Italy | 20.68 | Q |
| 6 | 8 | Daniel Sangouma | France | 20.70 | Q |
| 7 | 10 | Carl Lewis | United States | 20.72 | Q |
| 8 | 10 | Olapade Adeniken | Nigeria | 20.77 | Q |
| 9 | 6 | Kennedy Ondiek | Kenya | 20.79 | Q |
| 10 | 3 | Ralf Lübke | West Germany | 20.81 | Q |
| 11 | 8 | Patrick Stevens | Belgium | 20.84 | Q |
| 12 | 8 | Norbert Dobeleit | West Germany | 20.86 | q |
| 13 | 4 | John Regis | Great Britain | 20.90 | Q |
| 14 | 6 | Troy Douglas | Bermuda | 20.91 | Q |
| 15 | 4 | Clive Wright | Jamaica | 20.94 | Q |
| 16 | 1 | Michael Rosswess | Great Britain | 20.95 | Q |
| 17 | 2 | Kenji Yamauchi | Japan | 20.98 | Q |
| 17 | 5 | Joe DeLoach | United States | 20.98 | Q |
| 17 | 6 | Attila Kovács | Hungary | 20.98 | Q |
| 20 | 10 | John Myles-Mills | Ghana | 21.04 | q |
| 21 | 7 | Linford Christie | Great Britain | 21.05 | Q |
| 22 | 5 | Mark Garner | Australia | 21.09 | Q |
| 23 | 5 | Edgardo Guilbe | Puerto Rico | 21.09 | Q |
| 24 | 2 | Iziaq Adeyanju | Nigeria | 21.10 | Q |
| 24 | 6 | Pietro Mennea | Italy | 21.10 | q |
| 26 | 7 | Bruno Marie-Rose | France | 21.11 | Q |
| 27 | 9 | Robson da Silva | Brazil | 21.12 | Q |
| 28 | 10 | Mostefa-Kamel Selmi | Algeria | 21.24 | q |
| 29 | 2 | Jang Jae-keun | South Korea | 21.27 | q |
| 30 | 5 | Andreas Berger | Austria | 21.29 | q |
| 31 | 9 | Luís Barroso | Portugal | 21.31 | Q |
| 32 | 1 | Harouna Pale | Burkina Faso | 21.33 | Q |
| 32 | 8 | Li Feng | China | 21.33 | q |
| 32 | 9 | Jimmy Flemming | Virgin Islands | 21.33 | Q |
| 35 | 1 | Nchinda Samuel-Kaya | Cameroon | 21.45 | q |
| 35 | 7 | Courtney Brown | Canada | 21.45 | Q |
| 37 | 2 | Lee Shiunn-Long | Chinese Taipei | 21.53 | q |
| 38 | 8 | Ousmane Diarra | Mali | 21.55 | q |
| 39 | 3 | Oliver Daniels | Liberia | 21.59 | Q |
| 40 | 1 | Henri Ndinga | Republic of the Congo | 21.66 | |
| 41 | 1 | Fabian Muyaba | Zimbabwe | 21.66 | |
| 42 | 4 | Ibrahima Tamba | Senegal | 21.68 | Q |
| 43 | 3 | Leung Wing Kwong | Hong Kong | 21.69 | |
| 44 | 7 | Luís Cunha | Portugal | 21.72 | |
| 45 | 4 | Issa Alassane Ousséni | Benin | 21.74 | |
| 46 | 6 | Lindel Hodge | British Virgin Islands | 21.78 | |
| 47 | 3 | Sunday Olweny | Uganda | 21.79 | |
| 48 | 6 | Abdullah Al-Khalidi | Oman | 21.82 | |
| 49 | 2 | Aouf Abdul Rahman Youssef | Iraq | 21.88 | |
| 49 | 6 | André François | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 21.88 | |
| 51 | 3 | Muhammad Afzal | Pakistan | 21.89 | |
| 52 | 2 | Takale Tuna | Papua New Guinea | 21.95 | |
| 53 | 5 | Henriko Atkins | Barbados | 21.98 | |
| 54 | 10 | Jerry Jeremiah | Vanuatu | 22.01 | |
| 55 | 1 | Markus Büchel | Liechtenstein | 22.02 | |
| 56 | 3 | Mohamed Fahd Al-Bishi | Saudi Arabia | 22.09 | |
| 57 | 8 | Abdullah Ali Ahmed | Libya | 22.11 | |
| 58 | 7 | Carlos Moreno | Chile | 22.13 | |
| 59 | 9 | Alexandre Yougbare | Burkina Faso | 22.14 | |
| 60 | 7 | Odia Silweya | Malawi | 22.24 | |
| 61 | 9 | Gustavo Envela Mahua | Equatorial Guinea | 22.33 | |
| 62 | 4 | Maloni Bole | Fiji | 22.44 | |
| 63 | 7 | Peauope Suli | Tonga | 22.49 | |
| 64 | 1 | Mohamed Shah Alam | Bangladesh | 22.52 | |
| 65 | 4 | Claude Roumain | Haiti | 22.60 | |
| 65 | 10 | Howard Lindsay | Antigua and Barbuda | 22.60 | |
| 67 | 8 | Nguyễn Đình Minh | Vietnam | 22.65 | |
| 68 | 5 | Robert Loua | Guinea | 22.78 | |
| 69 | 9 | Benny Kgarametso | Botswana | 22.79 | |
| 70 | 2 | Sahim Saleh Mehdi | South Yemen | 22.95 | |
| 71 | 6 | Ismail Asif | Maldives | 23.17 | |
| — | 9 | Gaspar Fernandes | Angola | DSQ | |
| — | 4 | Samuel Birch | Liberia | DNS | |
| — | 5 | Simon Kipkemboi | Kenya | DNS | |
| — | 7 | Boeviyoulou Lawson | Togo | DNS | |

### Quarterfinals
#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Carl Lewis | United States | 20.57 | Q |
| 2 | John Regis | Great Britain | 20.61 | Q |
| 3 | Cyprian Enweani | Canada | 20.62 | Q |
| 4 | Edgardo Guilbe | Puerto Rico | 20.73 | q |
| 5 | Kenji Yamauchi | Japan | 20.94 | |
| 6 | Jimmy Flemming | Virgin Islands | 21.23 | |
| 7 | Moustafa Kamel Salmi | Algeria | 21.26 | |
| 8 | Ousmane Diarra | Mali | 21.46 | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Bruno Marie-Rose | France | 20.48 | Q |
| 2 | Roy Martin | United States | 20.54 | Q |
| 3 | Troy Douglas | Bermuda | 20.70 | Q |
| 4 | Kennedy Ondiek | Kenya | 20.79 | |
| 5 | Attila Kovács | Hungary | 21.19 | |
| 6 | Lee Shiunn-Long | Chinese Taipei | 21.34 | |
| 7 | Harouna Pale | Burkina Faso | 21.35 | |
| — | Pietro Mennea | Italy | DNS | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Linford Christie | Great Britain | 20.49 | Q |
| 2 | Atlee Mahorn | Canada | 20.59 | Q |
| 3 | Ralf Lübke | West Germany | 20.80 | Q |
| 4 | Luís Barroso | Portugal | 20.81 | |
| 5 | Patrick Stevens | Belgium | 20.94 | |
| 6 | John Myles-Mills | Ghana | 20.95 | |
| 7 | Andreas Berger | Austria | 21.40 | |
| 8 | Ibrahima Tamba | Senegal | 21.93 | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Joe DeLoach | United States | 20.56 | Q |
| 2 | Gilles Quénéhervé | France | 20.77 | Q |
| 3 | Olapade Adeniken | Nigeria | 20.92 | Q |
| 4 | Norbert Dobeleit | West Germany | 20.98 | |
| 5 | Mark Garner | Australia | 21.08 | |
| 6 | Jang Jae-Geun | South Korea | 21.35 | |
| 7 | Li Feng | China | 21.38 | |
| 8 | Oliver Daniels | Liberia | 22.25 | |

#### Quarterfinal 5

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Robson da Silva | Brazil | 20.41 | Q |
| 2 | Stefano Tilli | Italy | 20.67 | Q |
| 3 | Michael Rosswess | Great Britain | 20.74 | Q |
| 4 | Daniel Sangouma | France | 20.81 | |
| 5 | Clive Wright | Jamaica | 20.87 | |
| 6 | Isiag Adeyanju | Nigeria | 21.01 | |
| 7 | Courtney Brown | Canada | 21.18 | |
| 8 | Samuel Nchinda-Kaya | Cameroon | 21.39 | |

### Semifinals
#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Carl Lewis | United States | 20.23 | Q |
| 2 | Robson da Silva | Brazil | 20.28 | Q |
| 3 | Atlee Mahorn | Canada | 20.43 | Q |
| 4 | Gilles Quénéhervé | France | 20.54 | Q |
| 5 | Stefano Tilli | Italy | 20.59 | |
| 6 | Roy Martin | United States | 20.62 | |
| 7 | John Regis | Great Britain | 20.69 | |
| 8 | Ralf Lübke | West Germany | 21.23 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Joe DeLoach | United States | 20.06 | Q |
| 2 | Linford Christie | Great Britain | 20.33 | Q |
| 3 | Bruno Marie-Rose | France | 20.50 | Q |
| 4 | Michael Rosswess | Great Britain | 20.51 | Q |
| 5 | Cyprian Enweani | Canada | 20.57 | |
| 6 | Olapade Adeniken | Nigeria | 20.67 | |
| 7 | Edgardo Guilbe | Puerto Rico | 20.77 | |
| 8 | Troy Douglas | Bermuda | 20.84 | |

### Final

Carl Lewis' time of 19.79 seconds was the fastest non-winning time until the 1996 Olympic final.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | Joe DeLoach | United States | 19.75 | OR |
| | Carl Lewis | United States | 19.79 | |
| | Robson da Silva | Brazil | 20.04 | |
| 4 | Linford Christie | Great Britain | 20.09 | NR |
| 5 | Atlee Mahorn | Canada | 20.39 | |
| 6 | Gilles Quénéhervé | France | 20.40 | |
| 7 | Michael Rosswess | Great Britain | 20.51 | |
| 8 | Bruno Marie-Rose | France | 20.58 | |