Meritzer Williams and Virgil Hodge participated in the women's 200 meters sprint. During the 18 August Qualifications, Hodge was placed in heat one, and Williams in heat three. Hodge ranked third in her heat, earning a time of 23.14 seconds, falling behind Susanthika Jayasinghe of Sri Lanka and Allyson Felix of the United States. Felix, who ranked first and later became silver medalist, was 0.12 seconds faster than Hodge in this round. Meritzer Williams earned a time of 23.83 seconds in her round, ranking seventh of eight in her heat, just ahead of eighth-place runner Benin's Fabienne Fereaz. American runner Marshevet Hooker, who ranked first in Williams' heat and later took fifth place in finals, was 0.76 seconds faster than Meritzer Williams.