Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

This was the 26th appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. Two of the eight finalists from the 2008 Games returned: gold medalist Usain Bolt of Jamaica, fifth-place finisher Christian Malcolm of Great Britain, and the two men who had finished second and third but been disqualified for stepping out of their lanes: Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles and Wallace Spearmon of the United States. Bolt, in addition to being reigning Olympic champion, had won the 2009 and 2011 World Championships.

Bolt was looking to do something no man had done before: repeat as 200 metres Olympic champion. Jesse Owens ran afoul of harsh amateurism rules after his 1936 win (and would have lost any opportunity to repeat with the outbreak of World War II in any case); Andy Stanfield lost by 0.22 seconds in 1956 after winning in 1952; Pietro Mennea made the final four times and came away with a gold and a bronze; Carl Lewis lost by 0.04 seconds in 1988 after winning in 1984; food poisoning robbed Michael Johnson of his first opportunity in 1992 before he won in 1996; Bolt himself had made Shawn Crawford the third gold-silver winner by beating him in 2008. He was a heavy favorite in the event; countryman Yohan Blake was his biggest challenger, but Bolt had beaten Blake to repeat as 100 metres champion earlier in London and was considered stronger in the 200 metres. The United States, which had the winner in 5 of the last 7 appearances of the event, had no strong runner to challenge Bolt.^[2]

For the first time, no nations made their debut in the event. The United States made its 25th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

The semifinal round showed all three Jamaican athletes were the class of the field. In heat one, Yohan Blake had a huge lead and relaxed down the straightaway, almost too much as Wallace Spearmon and Christophe Lemaitre raced to the line behind him in the fastest heat of the day. Usain Bolt dominated the second heat, jogging and looking around for non-existent challengers down the straight. And in heat three, Warren Weir was running easily, easing up at the finish to let Churandy Martina take the first spot, knowing he had qualified in the second position. Slowest qualifier Álex Quiñónez, racing hard for his 20.37, was on the opposite side of a clear dividing line in the field.

In the final, Bolt, who was in lane 7, moved past his Jamaican teammate Weir after only 50 metres; coming off the bend and onto the final 100-metre straight, Bolt's lead over the rest of the field had grown to several metres, however Blake began to pull him back. Due to the lead he had built in the first 120 meters, it was Bolt who crossed the line first in a time of 19.32, already easing off before the line. In doing so, he became the first man in history to do the "double double" – winning both the 100 and 200 metres twice, back to back (he would later break this record by winning the 4 × 100 m relay and completing the Double Triple, at the same Olympics). Blake took the silver medal, as he had done in the 100 metres final, again behind Bolt. His time was the fastest ever time to not win a gold medal. Weir completed the 1–2–3 sweep for the Jamaicans by winning the bronze medal, the second time in any international competition that Jamaica has achieved this (after the women did it in the 2008 100 metres).^[3]

Bolt's time of 19.32 was coincidentally the time he had beaten when he first broke the 200 metres world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, set by Michael Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics 200 metres.^[4]

As of December 2023, Blake's time of 19.44 seconds remains the fastest non-winning time in history.

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 3 qualified athletes in the men's 200 metres event if all athletes met the A standard, or 1 athlete if they met the B standard. The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the qualifying period that had the approval of the IAAF. For the sprints and short hurdles, including the 200 metres, only outdoor meets were eligible. The A standard for the 2012 men's 200 metres was 20.55 seconds; the B standard was 20.65 seconds. The qualifying period for was from 1 May 2011 to 8 July 2012. NOCs could also have an athlete enter the 200 metres through a universality place. NOCs could enter one male athlete in an athletics event, regardless of time, if they had no male athletes meeting the qualifying A or B standards in any men's athletic event.^[5][6][7]

For the first time since 1920 established a four-round competition, the number of rounds was changed. The 2012 competition had only three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals and a final. The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1960 was used in the semifinals for the first time, as the number of semifinals increased from 2 to 3.^[2][8]

There were 7 quarterfinals of 7 or 8 runners each, with the top 3 men in each as well as the next 3 fastest overall advancing to the semifinals. There were 3 semifinals, each with 8 runners. The top 2 athletes in each semifinal and the next 2 overall advanced. The final had 8 runners. The races were run on a 400 metre track.^[2][8]

Prior to this competition, the existing global records were as follows:

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition. The following new national records were set during the competition.

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 3 fastest times (q) qualified.^[10]

Qual. rule: first 2 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.^[11]