| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS | WIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 4 | Carlo Simionato |
ITA |
20.76 | +1.1 |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | Pietro Mennea |
ITA |
20.80 | +1.8 |
| 3 | 1 | 3 | Joao Batista da Silva |
BRA |
20.93 | +0.7 |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | Sergey Sokolov |
URS |
20.94 | +1.8 |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | Frank Emmelmann |
GDR |
20.95 | +1.8 |
| 6 | 1 | 8 | Jean-Jacques Boussemart |
FRA |
20.99 | +1.3 |
| 7 | 2 | 4 | Elliott Quow |
USA |
21.01 | +1.1 |
| 8 | 2 | 1 | Cameron Sharp |
GBR |
21.07 | +1.8 |
| 9 | 3 | 2 | Paul Narracott |
AUS |
21.08 | +1.8 |
| 10 | 1 | 6 | Calvin Smith |
USA |
21.10 | +0.4 |
| 11 | 2 | 3 | Vladimir Muravyov |
URS |
21.12 | +0.7 |
| 12 | 2 | 6 | Leroy Reid |
JAM |
21.13 | +0.4 |
| 13 | 3 | 4 | Atlee Mahorn |
CAN |
21.14 | +1.1 |
| 14 | 1 | 5 | Allan Wells |
GBR |
21.14 | -2.1 |
| 15 | 3 | 1 | Bruce Frayne |
AUS |
21.15 | +1.8 |
| 16 | 2 | 5 | Boubacar Diallo |
SEN |
21.17 | -2.1 |
| 17 | 2 | 8 | Luke Watson |
GBR |
21.20 | +1.3 |
| 18 | 3 | 8 | Alfred Nyambane |
KEN |
21.21 | +1.3 |
| 19 | 4 | 2 | Luis Schneider |
CHI |
21.23 | +1.8 |
| 20 | 4 | 1 | Christopher Brathwaite |
TTO |
21.24 | +1.8 |
| 21 | 1 | 7 | Innocent Egbunike |
NGR |
21.28 | -1.1 |
| 22 | 4 | 4 | Ángel Heras |
ESP |
21.29 | +1.1 |
| 23 | 5 | 4 | Roland Jokl |
AUT |
21.30 | +1.1 |
| 24 | 3 | 6 | Patrick Barré |
FRA |
21.34 | +0.4 |
| 25 | 3 | 3 | Desai Williams |
CAN |
21.36 | +0.7 |
| 26 | 4 | 8 | Neville Hodge |
ISV |
21.38 | +1.3 |
| 27 | 4 | 6 | Jae-keun Chang |
KOR |
21.39 | +0.4 |
| 28 | 5 | 1 | Héctor Daley |
PAN |
21.49 | +1.8 |
| 29 | 2 | 7 | István Nagy |
HUN |
21.50 | -1.1 |
| 30 | 3 | 7 | Andreas Rizzi |
FRG |
21.51 | -1.1 |
| 31 | 6 | 1 | Earl Haley |
GUY |
21.55 | +1.8 |
| 32 | 5 | 6 | Gustavo Capart |
ARG |
21.66 | +0.4 |
| 33 | 3 | 5 | Christopher Madzokere |
ZIM |
21.68 | -2.1 |
| 34 | 5 | 8 | Larry Myricks |
USA |
21.74 | +1.3 |
| 35 | 5 | 2 | Giorgio Mautiño Batuello |
PER |
21.78 | +1.8 |
| 36 | 4 | 3 | Mohamed Yudi Purnomo |
INA |
21.88 | +0.7 |
| 37 | 6 | 4 | David Sawyerr |
SLE |
22.23 | +1.1 |
| 38 | 4 | 5 | Dean Greenaway |
IVB |
22.24 | -2.1 |
| 39 | 6 | 8 | Georges Taniel |
VAN |
22.28 | +1.3 |
| 40 | 4 | 7 | Oumar Faye |
GAM |
22.30 | -1.1 |
| 41 | 6 | 6 | Ruben Inacio |
ANG |
22.33 | +0.4 |
| 42 | 5 | 3 | Joseph Leota |
SAM |
22.33 | +0.7 |
| 43 | 7 | 1 | Moussa Savadogo |
MLI |
22.33 | +1.8 |
| 44 | 7 | 4 | John Albertie |
LCA |
22.53 | +1.1 |
| 45 | 6 | 2 | Nguyen Truong Hoa |
VIE |
22.68 | +1.8 |
| 46 | 7 | 6 | Trevor Davis |
AIA |
22.80 | +0.4 |
| 47 | 5 | 7 | Sikendar Iqbal |
PAK |
22.91 | -1.1 |
| 48 | 8 | 1 | Awudu Nuhu |
GHA |
22.93 | +1.8 |
| 49 | 7 | 8 | José Flores |
HON |
22.94 | +1.3 |
| 50 | 7 | 2 | Gervais Kirolo |
CAF |
23.10 | +1.8 |
| 51 | 6 | 3 | Nagib Salem Ahmed |
YEM |
23.22 | +0.7 |
| 52 | 7 | 3 | Colin Bradford |
JAM |
24.15 | +0.7 |
| 7 | Peni Bati |
FIJ |
DNS | -1.1 | ||
| 7 | Donald Quarrie |
JAM |
DNS | -1.1 | ||
| 5 | Juan Nuñez |
DOM |
DNS | -2.1 | ||
| 5 | Pierfrancesco Pavoni |
ITA |
DNS | -2.1 | ||
| 5 | Tony Sharpe |
CAN |
DNS | -2.1 |