In one of the most stunning upsets in sprinting history, Konstantinos Kenteris of Greece won the men's 200-metres final by half a metre in 20.09 seconds, with Darren Campbell of Great Britain second in 20.14 and favourite Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago third in 20.20, edging Obadele Thompson of Barbados who was fourth also in 20.20. Fifth was Christian Malcolm of Britain in 20.23, followed by Brazil's Claudinei da Silva, in 20.28, and American's Coby Miller and John Capel in 20.35 and 20.49.
The race was extremely close almost the whole way. The eight finalists came off the turn with hardly more than a metre from first to last, with perhaps Campbell a scorch ahead. As they charged down the homestretch, Capel, who ran a brilliant 20.10 into a 1.7 ms/ in his semi, was the first to fade, halfway down the straight. In the last 30m or so, Kenteris edged ahead of Campbell and drew slightly away with a final surge that saw him cross the line with his arms spread wide.
Kenteris, who had been better-known as a 400-metre runner until he concentrated on the 200 this year, had been only the 55th fastest performer on the 1999 world list with 20.50. He improved his best to a national record of 20.25 coming into the Games, and lowered it to 20.14 finishing second in his quarterfinal to Campbell's 20.14. Two hours before the final he won his semi-final in 20.20.
Tonight's race marked the first time a Greek man has won an Olympic sprint championship in nearly two millennia. It's also the first time since 1928 (except for the 1980 U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics) that an American did not win a medal in the Olympic 200 metres.