The first round of the men's 200m run at the Paris Olympics is over, with the races yielding some extraordinary action. 48 sprinters lined up on the tracks of Stade De France; 18 were made it to the semis.
The action started on Monday, August 5, with Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh finishing in just 20.20 seconds to top Heat 1. This remained the fastest time of the day until Heat 3, when Letsile Tebogo ran a 20.10s almost effortlessly.
Kenny Bednarek soon outdid Tebogo's 20.10s, clocking 19.96s in Heat 4. This made the American the fastest man of the 200m heats at the Paris Olympics. Joining Bednarek as the only other sprinter under the 20 second mark was his compatriot Erriyon Knighton, who ran a 19.99 in Heat 5.
Last but not least, Noah Lyles graced the tracks of Stade De France in Head 6, beginning his speciality event campaign. Lyles, the freshly crowned 100m Olympic champion, had a slow start and eased up well before the finish line. He still won his heat with a comfortable 20.19s.
Paris Olympics 2024: Full list of athletes who qualified for the 200m semifinals from round one
Heat 1
Joseph Fahnbullah, Liberia - 20.20s
Eseosa Fostine Desalu, Italy - 20.26s
Wayde Van Niekerk, South Africa - 20.42s
Heat 2
Tarsis Gracious Orogot, Uganda - 20.32s
Wanya McCoy, Bahamas - 20.35s
Renan Correa, Brazil - 20.41s
Heat 3
Letsile Tebogo, Botswana - 20.10s
Makanakaishe Charamba, Zimbabwe - 20.27s
Filippo Tortu, Italy - 20.29s
Heat 4
Kenny Bednarek, America - 19.96s
Alexander Ogando, Dominican Republic - 20.04s
Joshua Hartmann, Germany -20.30s
Heat 5
Erriyon Knighton, America - 19.99s
Tapiwanashe Makarawu, Zimbabwe - 20.07s
Shaun Maswanganyi, South Africa - 20.20s
Heat 6
Noah Lyles, America - 20.19s
Andre De Grasse, Canada - 20.30s
Towa Uzawa, Japan - 20.33s
Paris Olympics 2024: 200m full schedule
The athletes who failed to make it to the semifinals of the Paris Olympics from the first round will get another chance to keep their Olympic dreams alive. The repechage rounds will take place on August 6 at 12:30 PM local time, i.e 6:30 AM ET.
A day later, sprinters will be on track for the semifinals, scheduled for 20:02 PM local time (14:02 PM ET). The 200m Olympic champion will be crowned on August 8, with the finals taking place at 20:30 PM local time (14:30 PM ET).
Audiences in America can tune into the action on NBC, NBC's Peacock, or the USA Network.