| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS | WIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Frank Fredericks |
NAM |
20.26 Q | +0.8 |
| 2 | 1 | 4 | Robson da Silva |
BRA |
20.33 Q | -0.1 |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | Michael Johnson |
USA |
20.35 Q | +0.1 |
| 4 | 2 | 3 | Claudinei da Silva |
BRA |
20.35 Q | +0.8 |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | Jeff Williams |
USA |
20.36 Q | +0.4 |
| 6 | 2 | 4 | Geir Moen |
NOR |
20.37 Q | -0.1 |
| 7 | 2 | 1 | Patrick Stevens |
BEL |
20.41 Q | +0.1 |
| 8 | 3 | 1 | Andrew Tynes |
BAH |
20.49 Q | +0.1 |
| 9 | 3 | 4 | Damien Marsh |
AUS |
20.49 Q | -0.1 |
| 10 | 3 | 3 | John Regis |
GBR |
20.51 Q | +0.8 |
| 11 | 4 | 3 | Steve Brimacombe |
AUS |
20.52 Q | +0.8 |
| 12 | 2 | 2 | Iván GarcÃa |
CUB |
20.52 Q | +0.4 |
| 13 | 4 | 4 | Solomon Wariso |
GBR |
20.55 Q | -0.1 |
| 14 | 3 | 2 | Obadele Thompson |
BAR |
20.57 Q | +0.4 |
| 15 | 4 | 1 | Aléxios Alexópoulos |
GRE |
20.57 Q | +0.1 |
| 16 | 4 | 2 | Jean-Charles Trouabal |
FRA |
20.60 Q | +0.4 |
| 17 | 5 | 4 | Kevin Little |
USA |
20.60 | -0.1 |
| 18 | 6 | 4 | Emmanuel Tuffour |
GHA |
20.61 | -0.1 |
| 19 | 5 | 2 | Robert Kurnicki |
GER |
20.67 | +0.4 |
| 20 | 5 | 3 | Sergejs Inšakovs |
LAT |
20.73 | +0.8 |
| 21 | 6 | 2 | Kevin Widmer |
SUI |
20.74 | +0.4 |
| 22 | 6 | 3 | Koji Ito |
JPN |
20.80 | +0.8 |
| 23 | 7 | 3 | Chris Donaldson |
NZL |
20.82 | +0.8 |
| 24 | 5 | 1 | David Dollé |
SUI |
20.84 | +0.1 |
| 25 | 6 | 1 | Lars Hedner |
SWE |
20.87 | +0.1 |
| 26 | 7 | 1 | Charles Gitonga |
KEN |
20.90 | +0.1 |
| 27 | 7 | 2 | Sergiy Osovych |
UKR |
21.00 | +0.4 |
| 28 | 8 | 3 | Neil de Silva |
TTO |
21.01 | +0.8 |
| 29 | 7 | 4 | Ato Boldon |
TTO |
21.81 | -0.1 |
| 30 | 8 | 1 | Mark Keddell |
NZL |
40.08 | +0.1 |
| 2 | Thomás Sbókos |
GRE |
DQ | +0.4 | ||
| 4 | Raymond Stewart |
JAM |
DNS | -0.1 |