The men's 200 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Thursday, August 19, 1920, and on Friday, August 20, 1920. Forty-eight sprinters from 22 nations competed. Nations were limited to 4 athletes each, down from the 12 allowed in previous Games. The event was won by Allen Woodring of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event and fourth in five Games. Fellow American Charley Paddock took silver. Great Britain reached the podium for a second consecutive Games with Harry Edward's bronze.
Background
This was the fifth 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 finalists from the pre-war 1912 Games returned. The favorite was Charley Paddock, winner of the U.S. trials and the 1919 Inter-Allied Championships. The strongest non-American competitor was Harry Edward of Great Britain, the 1920 AAA champion.
Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland each made their debut in the event. The United States made its fifth appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.
Competition format
The competition expanded to four rounds: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 12 heats of between 3 and 5 runners each, with the top 2 men in each advancing to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals consisted of 5 heats of between 4 and 5 athletes each; the two fastest men in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals, each with 5 runners. In that round, the top three athletes advanced. The final had 6 runners.
The race was run on a 390-metre track that was wet and soft.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.
* unofficial 220 yards (= 201.17 m)
** straight course
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.
Schedule
Date Time Round Thursday, 19 August 1920 14:0016:00 Round 1Quarterfinals Friday, 20 August 1920 14:4516:00 SemifinalsFinal
Results Times were generally only published for the winners of each heat. Some of the times listed below are estimates based on contemporary reports of the races.
Round 1
Heat 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 René Tirard 23.2 2 Agne Holmström 23.3 3 Diego Ordóñez 23.7 4 Shinichi Yamaoka 23.9 5 Bjarne Guldager
Heat 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 George Davidson 22.6 2 Alexander Ponton 22.8 3 Félix Mendizábal 23.2 4 Harry van Rappard 23.7
Heat 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Vojtěch Plzák 23.4 2 William Hill 23.8 3 Marcel Gustin 24.3
Heat 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Paul Brochart 23.2 2 William Hunt 23.5 3 Giovanni Orlandi 23.8 4 Paul Hammer 24.0 5 Federico Reparez
Heat 5
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Robert Caste 23.0 2 Harold Abrahams 23.3 3 Willie Bukes 23.4 4 Rolf Stenersen 23.8
Heat 6
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Charley Paddock 23.2 2 August Sørensen 23.8 3 Victor d'Arcy 24.0 4 Ahmed Khairy
Heat 7
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Sven Krokström 23.8 2 Max Houben 24.2 3 Dimitrios Karambatis 24.2
Heat 8
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Loren Murchison 23.2 2 Nils Sandström 23.6 3 Carlos Pajarón 24.2 4 August Waibel
Heat 9
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Allen Woodring 22.8 2 Cor Wezepoel 23.3 3 Francis Irvine 23.3 4 Ichiro Kaga 5 Edmond Médécin
Heat 10
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harry Edward 22.8 2 Jack Oosterlaak 23.2 3 Sven Malm 23.3 4 Mario Riccobono 5 Reinhold Saulmann 25.4
Heat 11
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 René Lorain 25.0 2 Albert Heijnneman 25.4 3 Cyril Coaffee
Heat 12
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Morris Kirksey 23.4 2 Josef Imbach 23.5 3 Jean-René Seurin 23.6
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Loren Murchison 22.8 2 Josef Imbach 23.1 3 René Tirard 23.2 4 August Sørensen
Quarterfinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harry Edward 22.0 2 Allen Woodring 22.1 3 Robert Caste 22.2 4 William Hunt 22.4 5 Agne Holmström 22.5
Quarterfinal 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 George Davidson 22.8 2 Charley Paddock 22.9 3 René Lorain 23.0 4 Nils Sandström 23.3 5 Max Houben
Quarterfinal 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Morris Kirksey 22.6 2 Alexander Ponton 22.7 3 Harold Abrahams 23.0 4 Vojtěch Plzák 23.1 5 Cor Wezepoel 23.3
Quarterfinal 5
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jack Oosterlaak 23.0 2 Paul Brochart 23.2 3 William Hill 23.2 4 Sven Krokström 23.3 — Albert Heijnneman
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Loren Murchison 22.4 2 Harry Edward 22.5 3 George Davidson 22.5 4 Morris Kirksey 22.5 — Paul Brochert
Semifinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Allen Woodring 22.4 2 Charley Paddock 22.5 3 Jack Oosterlaak 22.7 4 Alexandre Penton 22.9 — Josef Imbach
Final
Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time 3 Allen Woodring 22.0 4 Charley Paddock 22.0 5 Harry Edward 22.2 4 6 Loren Murchison 22.2 5 1 George Davidson 22.3 6 2 Jack Oosterlaak 22.3
References
Further reading