| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS | WIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Carl Lewis |
USA |
20.21 Q | +0.6 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | Robson da Silva |
BRA |
20.24 Q | +0.4 |
| 3 | 1 | 3 | Frank Fredericks |
NAM |
20.24 Q | +0.4 |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | John Regis |
GBR |
20.39 Q | +0.6 |
| 5 | 3 | 3 | Jean-Charles Trouabal |
FRA |
20.40 Q | +0.4 |
| 6 | 1 | 4 | Michael Marsh |
USA |
20.40 Q | -1.0 |
| 7 | 2 | 4 | Dean Capobianco |
AUS |
20.44 Q | -1.0 |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | David Dollé |
SUI |
20.45 Q | +1.2 |
| 9 | 3 | 2 | Johan Rossouw |
RSA |
20.55 Q | +0.6 |
| 10 | 4 | 3 | Damien Marsh |
AUS |
20.58 Q | +0.4 |
| 11 | 2 | 1 | Emmanuel Tuffour |
GHA |
20.58 Q | +1.2 |
| 12 | 3 | 1 | Robert Kurnicki |
GER |
20.58 Q | +1.2 |
| 13 | 4 | 2 | Andrey Fedoriv |
RUS |
20.59 Q | +0.6 |
| 14 | 3 | 4 | Nelson Boateng |
GHA |
20.69 Q | -1.0 |
| 15 | 4 | 4 | Atlee Mahorn |
CAN |
20.70 Q | -1.0 |
| 16 | 5 | 3 | Glenroy Gilbert |
CAN |
20.81 | +0.4 |
| 17 | 4 | 1 | Jason Hendrix |
USA |
20.82 Q | +1.2 |
| 18 | 6 | 3 | Giorgio Marras |
ITA |
20.87 | +0.4 |
| 19 | 5 | 2 | Patrick Delice |
TTO |
20.88 | +0.6 |
| 20 | 7 | 3 | Patrick Stevens |
BEL |
20.89 | +0.4 |
| 21 | 5 | 4 | Oleg Fatun |
RUS |
20.92 | -1.0 |
| 22 | 6 | 2 | Geir Moen |
NOR |
20.99 | +0.6 |
| 23 | 6 | 4 | Aléxandros Terzián |
GRE |
21.00 | -1.0 |
| 24 | 5 | 1 | Raymond Stewart |
JAM |
21.02 | +1.2 |
| 25 | 7 | 2 | Stanislav Georgiev |
BUL |
21.03 | +0.6 |
| 26 | 6 | 1 | Koji Ito |
JPN |
21.04 | +1.2 |
| 27 | 7 | 1 | Torbjörn Eriksson |
SWE |
21.07 | +1.2 |
| 28 | 7 | 4 | Joseph Gikonyo |
KEN |
21.09 | -1.0 |
| 29 | 8 | 2 | Kennedy Ondiek |
KEN |
21.50 | +0.6 |
| 30 | 8 | 4 | Sidnei Telles De Souza |
BRA |
21.69 | -1.0 |
| 31 | 8 | 3 | Nikolay Antonov |
BUL |
39.46 | +0.4 |
| 1 | Daniel Effiong |
NGR |
DNF | +1.2 |