WCH Tokyo 25 facts and figures: men's 200m

Last three sets of World Athletics Championships medallists

2023: 1 Noah Lyles (USA) – 19.52 (-0.2), 2 Erriyon Knighton (USA) – 19.75, 3 Letsile Tebogo (BOT) – 19.81
2022: 1 Noah Lyles (USA) – 19.31 (+0.4), 2 Kenny Bednarek (USA) – 19.77, 3 Erriyon Knighton (USA) – 19.80
2019: 1 Noah Lyles (USA) – 19.83 (-0.3), 2 Andre de Grasse (CAN) – 19.95, 3 Alex Quiñónez (ECU) – 19.98

Last two sets of Olympic medallists

Fastest winning times in World Athletics Championships history

Usain Bolt (JAM) – 19.19 (2009, -0.3)
Noah Lyles (USA) – 19.31 (2022, +0.4)
Usain Bolt (JAM) – 19.40 (2011, +0.8)

Slowest winning time in World Athletics Championships history

John Capel (USA) – 20.30 (2003, +0.1)

Best marks on Japanese soil

19.62 (-0.5) 1 Andre de Grasse (CAN) - Tokyo (Olympics) 04.08.2021
19.68 (-0.5) 2 Kenny Bednarek (USA) - Tokyo (Olympics) 04.08.2021
19.73 (+0.2) 1SF Andre de Grasse (CAN) - Tokyo (Olympics) 03.08.2021

Best marks on Asian soil

19.30 (-0.9) 1 Usain Bolt (JAM) - Beijing (Olympics) 20.08.2008
19.40 (+0.8) 1 Usain Bolt (JAM) - Daegu (World Championships) 03.09.2011
19.55 (-0.1) 1 Usain Bolt (JAM) - Beijing (World Championships) 27.08.2015

Biggest winning margins

0.62s – 2009: Usain Bolt (JAM) – 19.19, Alonso Edward (PAN) – 19.81
0.46s – 2022: Noah Lyles (USA) – 19.31, Kenny Bednarek (USA) – 19.77
0.33s – 1991: Michael Johnson (USA) – 20.01, Frankie Fredericks (NAM) – 20.34
0.33s – 1995: Michael Johnson (USA) – 19.79, Frankie Fredericks (NAM) – 20.12

​​Smallest winning margins

0.00s – 1987: Calvin Smith (USA) – 20.16, Gilles Quenéhervé (FRA) – 20.16
0.01s – 2003: John Capel (USA) – 20.30, Darvis Patton (USA) – 20.31
0.02s – 2017: Ramil Guliyev (TUR) – 20.09, Wayde van Niekerk (RSA) – 20.11

Best mark by round

Heat — 19.98 (−0.3) Noah Lyles (USA), 2022
Quarterfinal — 20.05 (+0.8) Michael Johnson (USA), 1991
Semifinal — 19.62 (+1.1) Noah Lyles (USA), 2022
Final — 19.19 (−0.3) Usain Bolt (JAM), 2009

Multiple winners

1983/87 - Calvin Smith (USA)
1991/95 - Michael Johnson (USA)
2009/11/13/15 - Usain Bolt (JAM)
2019/22/23 - Noah Lyles (USA)

Winners by country

11 - United States
4 - Jamaica
1 - Namibia
1 - Trinidad & Tobago
1 - Greece
1 - Türkiye

Five historic facts

• The United States have won 11 of the 19 world 200m titles, including the last three courtesy of Noah Lyles
• The United States also swept the medals in both 2005 and 2022. In fact, the US took a 1-2-3-4 in 2005, the first time any nation had swept the top four places in any event at the World Championships
• The only non-Usain Bolt/Noah Lyles winner since 2009 was Ramil Guliyev (TUR) who won gold in 2017 in 20.09, the last time the title was won with a winning time outside 20 seconds
• The United States won gold in both the 1991 and 2007 editions of the World Championships in Tokyo and Osaka respectively. Michael Johnson won his first world title in 1991 in 20.01 against a headwind of 3.4 m/s!
• Usain Bolt won his first medal at the World Championships on Japanese soil in Osaka in 2007 with silver behind Tyson Gay (USA) before winning four successive titles between 2009-15 

Potential storylines

• Can Noah Lyles match Bolt by becoming a four-time world champion in the men’s 200m?
• Can Letsile Tebogo (BOT) become just the second African winner of this title after Frankie Fredericks (NAM) in Stuttgart in 1993?
• Three finalists from the 100m have entered the 200m: Lyles, Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek (USA)
• Can the United States sweep the medals for the third time at the World Championships?
• Gout Gout (AUS) will be making his senior major championships debut. At 17 he will become the youngest ever athlete to compete in the 200m at the World Championships
• Could Gout become the event's youngest finalist? The youngest finalist in event history is Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (JPN) at 18y/157d in 2017
• 13 entrants have broken the 20 second-barrier in 2025