Venue Olympic Stadium Competitors 63 from 48 nations | Dates 16–17 October | |
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The men's 200 metres was the second-shortest of the men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 16 October and 17 October 1964. 63 athletes from 48 nations entered, with 6 not starting in the first round. The first two rounds were held on 16 October, with the semifinals and the final on 17 October.
Contents
First round
The top four runners in each of the 8 heats advanced.
Second round
The four fastest runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinals.
Semifinals
The top four runners in each of the two semifinals qualified for the final.
Semifinal 1
Drayton tied the Olympic record in this semifinal, three-tenths of a second short of the world record.
Semifinal 2
The second semifinal was the fourth race of the 200 metres in which an American won and an Italian took second place.
Final
Drayton matched his semifinal time, which had tied the Olympic record at 20.5 seconds, but Carr did even better, setting a new Olympic record of 20.3 seconds to bump Drayton to the silver medal. Carr's time was only one-tenth of a second off the world record.