Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

This was the 16th appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. One of the eight finalists from the 1968 Games returned: fourth-place finisher (and 1964 bronze medalist) Edwin Roberts of Trinidad and Tobago. Larry Black was the top American and one of the favorites, along with 1971 Pan American Games winner Don Quarrie of Jamaica. European champion Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union was also a contender.{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/results/61029 |work=Olympedia |title=200 metres, Men |access-date=4 January 2021}}

Chad, the Republic of the Congo, East Germany, Lesotho, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, and Suriname each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 16th appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the men's 200 metres to date.

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 again in the heats and, for the first time, in the quarterfinals.

There were 9 heats of between 7 and 8 runners each (before withdrawals), with the top 4 men in each advancing to the quarterfinals along with the next 4 fastest overall. The quarterfinals consisted of 5 heats of 8 athletes each; the 3 fastest men in each heat as well as the next fastest runner overall advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals, each with 8 runners. Again, the top 4 athletes advanced. The final had 8 runners. The races were run on a 400 metre track.

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

{{World Olympic Record

| world_athlete = {{flagathlete|Tommie Smith|USA}}

| world_mark = 19.83

| world_place = Mexico City, Mexico

| world_date = 16 October 1968

| olympic_athlete = {{flagIOCathlete|Tommie Smith|USA|1968 Summer}}

| olympic_mark = 19.83

| olympic_place = Mexico City, Mexico

| olympic_date = 16 October 1968

}}

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

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

The top four runners in each of the nine heats and the next fastest four advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Wind assisted.

The top three runners (blue) in each of the five heats and the next fastest (green) advanced to the semifinal round.

Top four in each heat advance to final.

Quarrie pulled his hamstring during the race and could not finish.

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222651/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1972/1972s3.pdf Official report]

{{Olympics200metres}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 200 m Men}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metres}}

Men's 200 metres

Category:200 metres at the Olympics

Category:Men's events at the 1972 Summer Olympics