The men's 200 metres sprint event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 2 and August 3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There were 25 athletes from 13 nations. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes.Official Report, p. 377. After missing the podium entirely in 1928, the United States swept the medals in the event in 1932. It was the second medal sweep in the event by the United States (after 1904), as well as the nation's sixth victory in eight Games. Eddie Tolan won gold by 0.2 seconds, with George Simpson winning silver and Ralph Metcalfe winning bronze.

Afterwards, the film of the race revealed that Metcalfe had run 201.5 meters due to a measurement error: despite being offered a re-run by race officials, Metcalfe graciously declined.

Background

This was the eighth appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. None of the six finalists from the 1928 Games returned. The Americans were favored coming into the Games, particularly Eddie Tolan and Ralph Metcalfe. Tolan had won the 100 metres over Metcalfe two days before the final of the 200 metres.

The Republic of China made its debut in the event. The United States made its eighth appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.

Competition format

The competition used the four round format introduced in 1920: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 7 heats of between 2 and 5 runners each, with the top 3 men in each advancing to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals consisted of 4 heats of 5 athletes each; the 3 fastest men in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals, each with 6 runners. Again, the top 3 athletes advanced. The final had 6 runners. The races were run on a now-standard 400 metre track.

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:

*On a straightaway; no world record existed for running on a curve at the time.Official Report, p. 386.

Ralph Metcalfe set a new Olympic record in the first quarterfinal with a time of 21.5 seconds. Eddie Tolan matched the new record in the second quarterfinal. Carlos Bianchi broke it in the third, with 21.4 seconds; Arthur Jonath matched Bianchi's time in the fourth quarterfinal. That record survived the semifinals, but Tolan bettered it with 21.2 seconds in the final.

Schedule

Date Time Round Tuesday, 2 August 1932 15:0017:30 HeatsQuarterfinals Wednesday, 3 August 1932 14:3017:00 SemifinalsFinal

Results

Heats

Seven heats were held; the fastest three runners advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Heat 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Erich Borchmeyer 22.1 2 Takayoshi Yoshioka 22.3 3 Stanley Engelhart

Heat 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Willie Walters 21.9 2 Eddie Tolan 22.0 3 Stanley Fuller 22.4 4 Enrique Sánchez 22.8

Heat 3

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harold Wright 22.8 2 Ralph Metcalfe 22.9 3 Stuart Black 23.1 4 Liu Changchun China23.4

Heat 4

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Itaro Nakajima 22.2 2 Fritz Hendrix 22.9

Heat 5

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Roberto Genta 25.3 Q 2 Chris Berger 26.1Q 3 George Simpson 29.0Q

Heat 6 Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Arthur Jonath 21.9 2 Allan Elliot 22.2 3 Carlos Bianchi 22.3 4 Andrej Engel 22.3 5 Everardo Múzquiz 23.0

Heat 7

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Bert Pearson 22.3 2 Danie Joubert 22.3 3 Teiichi Nishi 22.4 4 Ronald Vernieux 22.8

Quarterfinals

Four heats were held; the three fastest runners in each heat advanced to the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Ralph Metcalfe 21.5 , 2 Willie Walters 21.5 3 Erich Borchmeyer 21.6 4 Itaro Nakajima 21.9 5 Chris Berger 22.0

Quarterfinal 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Eddie Tolan 21.5 , 2 Bert Pearson 21.7 3 Roberto Genta 21.8 4 Fritz Hendrix 21.9 5 Stanley Fuller 22.0

Quarterfinal 3

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Carlos Bianchi 21.4 , 2 George Simpson 21.5 3 Danie Joubert 21.7 4 Takayoshi Yoshioka 21.8 5 Stuart Black 22.0

Quarterfinal 4

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Arthur Jonath 21.4 , 2 Harold Wright 21.7 3 Allan Elliot 21.8 4 Stanley Engelhart 21.9 5 Teiichi Nishi 22.1

Semifinals

Two heats were held; the fastest three runners advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Ralph Metcalfe 21.5 2 George Simpson 21.5 3 Carlos Bianchi 21.6 4 Danie Joubert 21.7 5 Erich Borchmeyer 21.8 6 Bert Pearson 21.9

Semifinal 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Arthur Jonath 21.5 2 Willie Walters 21.7 3 Eddie Tolan 21.7 4 Harold Wright 21.8 5 Allan Elliot 21.9 6 Roberto Genta 22.0

Final

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes Eddie Tolan 21.2 George Simpson 21.4 Ralph Metcalfe 21.5 4 Arthur Jonath 21.5 5 Carlos Bianchi 21.6 6 Willie Walters 21.9

References