Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres
| Women's 200 metres at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Beijing National Stadium | |||||||||
| Dates | August 19 August 20 August 21 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 46 from 36 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 21.74 s | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
The women's 200 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 19–21 August (final) at the Beijing National Stadium.[1] The winning margin was 0.19 seconds. The winner had the second fastest reaction time in the final.
Allyson Felix, the young American athlete and already a double World champion, entered the 200m race in Beijing as a favorite for the gold. Defending champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica also appeared to be in great form, setting a new personal best of 21.94 seconds at the Olympic trials.
In the final, Campbell-Brown had the quickest start and made up the stagger very quickly on Allyson Felix, who had been drawn in the lane outside of her. Running a stellar curve and accelerating out of the bend, the Jamaican athlete held her form to cross the line in 21.74 seconds, the fastest time of the decade and a new personal best.
Veronica Campbell-Brown, who suffered from injuries that led to disappointment in the 200m in the 2007 World Championships, returned to form to become only the second woman in history to win back-to-back Olympic 200m titles. Allyson Felix was once again relegated to the silver medal in a seasonal best of 21.93, the second-fastest time of her career. Jamaican Kerron Stewart won the bronze medal by just a hundredth of a second.
The qualifying standards were 23.00 s (A standard) and 23.20 s (B standard).[2]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world record, Olympic record, and world leading time were as follows:
| World record | 21.34 s | Seoul, South Korea | 29 September 1988 | |
| Olympic record | 21.34 s | Seoul, South Korea | 29 September 1988 | |
| World Leading | 21.94 s | Kingston, Jamaica | 29 June 2008 |
No new world or Olympic records were set for this event.
Results
Round 1
Qualification: First 4 in each heat (Q) and the next 8 fastest (q) advance to the Round 2.
Round 2
Qualification: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 4 fastest (q) advance to the Semifinals.
Semifinals
Qualification: First 4 in each heat (Q) advance to the Final.[4]
Semifinal 1
20 August 2008 - 21:55 Wind: 0.0 m/s
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes | React |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Veronica Campbell-Brown | 22.19 | Q | 0.187 | |
| 2 | 7 | Kerron Stewart | 22.29 | Q | 0.217 | |
| 3 | 4 | Muna Lee | 22.29 | Q, PB | 0.186 | |
| 4 | 9 | Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie | 22.51 | Q | 0.165 | |
| 5 | 6 | Yuliya Chermoshanskaya | 22.57 | DSQ | 0.204 | |
| 6 | 3 | Nataliya Pyhyda | 22.95 | 0.160 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Susanthika Jayasinghe | 22.98 | 0.245 | ||
| 8 | 2 | Roxana Díaz | 23.12 | 0.177 |
Semifinal 2
20 August 2008 - 22:04 Wind: -0.2 m/s

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes | React |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Allyson Felix | 22.33 | Q | 0.181 | |
| 2 | 9 | Marshevet Hooker | 22.50 | Q | 0.196 | |
| 3 | 5 | Sherone Simpson | 22.50 | Q | 0.175 | |
| 4 | 3 | Cydonie Mothersille | 22.61 | Q, SB | 0.212 | |
| 5 | 4 | Muriel Hurtis-Houairi | 22.71 | 0.188 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Roqaya Al-Gassra | 22.72 | 0.259 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Emily Freeman | 22.83 | 0.201 | ||
| 8 | 2 | Aleksandra Fedoriva | 23.22 | 0.202 |
Final
21 August 2008 - Wind: 0.6 m/s
| Rank | Lane | Name | Country | Reaction Time | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Veronica Campbell-Brown | 0.172 | 21.74 | PB | ||
| 5 | Allyson Felix | 0.193 | 21.93 | SB | ||
| 6 | Kerron Stewart | 0.199 | 22.00 | |||
| 4 | 9 | Muna Lee | 0.176 | 22.01 | PB | |
| 5 | 7 | Marshevet Hooker | 0.200 | 22.34 | PB | |
| 6 | 8 | Sherone Simpson | 0.167 | 22.36 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie | 0.175 | 22.61 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Cydonie Mothersille | 0.206 | 22.68 |
References
- ^ "Olympic Athletics Competition Schedule". IAAF. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ^ "Entry Standards - The XXIX Olympic Games - Beijing, China - 8/24 August 2008". IAAF. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ^ "Olympic Games 2008 - Results 08-19-2008 - 200 Metres W Heats". IAAF. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "Iaaf.org - Olympic Games 2008 - Results 200 Metres W Semi-Final". Archived from the original on 2008-08-26. Retrieved 2008-08-26. Retrieved 2008-08-26.