{"id":1680,"date":"2012-10-30T19:41:14","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T02:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1680"},"modified":"2012-10-31T06:07:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-31T13:07:00","slug":"1680","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1680","title":{"rendered":"Top Ten 200 Meter Races of All Time – Men"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Usain<\/a>
\nNow that the 100 is out of the way it’s forward to the deuce – and frankly the 100 was easier! Here’s the deal. The issue is that this is not about individual performances, it’s supposed to be about the race – the entire race. That said, there have been many great performances where the overall race didn’t match up. Then there are some outstanding races where the times were not stellar – at least by today’s standards. <\/p>\n

So I’m guessing, even before I finalize this list, that there will be issues with it for some people. In the end, I think the list is solid and defensible. This event has been neglected throughout the years and run as an afterthought by many. The last half decade or so has seen times drop precipitously, but the lack of great head to heads has diminished many races – even in the major championships. We do get a lot of Bolt on the list, though not as high as some would think.<\/p>\n

All that said, there have been some great races and here are my choices for the 10 best in the modern era.<\/p>\n

1. 1996<\/a><\/strong> Olympics<\/strong> – After a lot of thought and mental wrestling, Atlanta gets the top spot. It wasn’t an easy choice however. At the end of the day, it was the best finish for a top three; a close finish among the rest off the field; and the game changer that was the winning and runner-up times – and the race was exciting. 19.32 was literally Beamonesque as it took a dozen years for the record to fall – yet it showed what was capable. Second place was just as important as it was faster than the record at the start of the year. And bronze in 19.80 was unheard of. The finish behind the medals was also close, though I would have liked something closer to 20.00. And one can only wonder how things would have turned out if Marsh had run to form.<\/p>\n

19.32 – Michael Johnson
\n19.68 – Frank Frederick
\n19.80 – Ato Boldon
\n20.14 – Obadele Thompson
\n20.17 -Jeff Williams
\n20.21 – Ivan Garcia
\n20.27 – Patrick Stevens
\n20.48 – Michael Marsh<\/p>\n

2. 2006<\/a><\/strong> Lausanne Grand Prix <\/strong>– Another game changing race and the only come from behind victory in the event for a race won under 19.70. When sub 20 was still a rare occurrence, and ten years after Atlanta, we get four men at 19.90 or better and the sterling come out of nowhere win by Xavier Carter. Atlanta showed what was possible, the 2006 season brought it into focus, and this race more than any other that season moved the event permanently into the New Millennium. Carter’s stretch run may be the most impressive ever in a major 200. Unfortunately he was not able to replicate and it became his Beamon moment in the sport.<\/p>\n

19.63 – Xavier Carter
\n19.70 – Tyson Gay
\n19.88 – Usain Bolt
\n19.90 – Wallace Spearmon
\n20.10 – Lashawn Merritt
\n20.18 – Francis Obikwelu<\/p>\n

3. 1968<\/a><\/strong> Olympics<\/strong> – After MUCH thought, the first sub20 in a major (Carlos had the first at the Trials), a WR, and a sizzling come from behind win by Smith, and a come from behind sneak in for the bronze medal, moved this race into the #3 spot. Great turn by Carlos, even greater stretch run by Smith – and Norman. Terrific action in the straight. And they revised the all time list. <\/p>\n

19.83 – Tommie Smith
\n20.06 – Peter Norman
\n20.09 – John Carlos
\n20.34 – Edwin Roberts
\n20.51 – Roger Bambuck
\n20.62 – Larry Questad
\n20.63 – Michael Fray
\n20.66 – Joachim Eigenherr<\/p>\n

4. 2001<\/a><\/strong> World Championships<\/strong> – No sub20, but too close and exciting to be lower. Kederis duplicated his come from behind win from Sydney running past the field in the closing meters. As he did so, the field bunched up on itself in a finish closer than the average 100 Meter final! If it had been sub20 of any kind it would have been number one. This was a great race by any definition.<\/p>\n

20.04 – Kostas Kenteris
\n20.20 – Chris Williams
\n20.20 – Shawn Crawford
\n20.20 – Kim Collins
\n20.22 – Christian Malcolm
\n20.24 – Stephan Buckland
\n20.25 – Kevin Little
\n20.38 – Marlon Devonish <\/p>\n

5. 1987<\/a><\/strong> World Championships<\/strong> – Again no sub20 – but then only recently is that a semi common phenomenon. It was another great finish however, under the spotlight of a World Championship. This time only .02 separated the medals. Another .03 separating the next three finishers. Not quite as close as Edmonton, but still worthy of a 100 meter final.The win also gave Smith the first set of back to back wins at Worlds in the event against one of the more solid fields in the 80’s.<\/p>\n

20.16 – Calvin Smith
\n20.16 – Giles Queneherve
\n20.18 – John Regis
\n20.22 – Robson da Silva
\n20.23 – Vladimir Krylov
\n20.25 – Floyd Heard
\n20.45 – Pier Francisco Pavoni
\n20.75 – Atlee Mahorn <\/p>\n

6. 2009<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0 World Championships<\/strong> – The WR race garners this spot on the strength of the three 19.8s that followed Bolt’ s massive lead. The gap between Bolt and the field was just too big to call this a race, but with, five men under 20, this race had to make the list. I know many look at 19.19 and say great race – and it was for Bolt. Unfortunately everyone else was along for the ride.<\/p>\n

19.19 – Usain Bolt
\n19.81 – Alonso Edward
\n19.85 – Wallace Spearmon
\n19.89 – Shawn Crawford
\n19.98 – Steve Mullings
\n20.39 – Charles Clark
\n20.61 – Ramil\u00a0 Guliyev
\n20.68 – David Alerte<\/p>\n

7. 1988<\/a><\/strong> Olympics <\/strong>– How about a major upset at near WR time? That’s what we got in Seoul when Deloach repeated his Trials win over Lewis at the Games just .03 off the WR – with Lewis only .04 back. The race for bronze was also close, and was near 20.00, but the rest of the field wasn’t strong enough to move this race up. <\/p>\n

19.75 – Joe Deloach
\n19.79 – Carl Lewis
\n20.04 – Robson da Silva
\n20.09 – Linford Christie
\n20.39 – Atlee Mahorn
\n20.40 – Giles Queneherve
\n20.51 – Michael Rosswess
\n20.58 – Bruno Marie Rose<\/p>\n

8. 2011<\/a><\/strong> Brussels Diamond League<\/strong> – On the list, off the list. I’ve played that game over and over. At the end of the day the fact that it is the best 1,2 finish ever in a head to head put it on the list. Another pair of\u00a0 sub 20’s helped, though they were too far back to matter. This race shows just how much the Circuit is missing by not getting stronger fields and featuring the event. All that said the race between Blake and Dix was classic!<\/p>\n

19.26 – Yohan Blake
\n19.53 – Walter Dix
\n19.91 – Nickel Ashmeade
\n19.97 – Jaysuma Ndure
\n20.41 – Rondell Sorrillo
\n20.57 – Ainsley Waugh
\n20.73 -Jonathan A strand
\n20.74 – Rytis Sakalsuskas<\/p>\n

9. 2012<\/a><\/strong> Olympics<\/strong> – The “magic” number 19.32 appears on the list a second time as Bolt finishes in the identical time that MJ made famous. The difference now is that the WR had been lowered, and the places behind the first two are not as impressive in 2012 with a huge gap back to bronze and only four under 20. Still that 1,2 finish is the best ever – I just wish the rest of the field had finished better.<\/p>\n

19.32 – Usain Bolt
\n19.44 – Yohan Blake
\n19.84 – Warren Weir
\n19.90 – Wallace Spearmon
\n20.00 – Churandy Martina
\n20.19 – Christophe Lemaitre
\n20.57 – Alex Quinonez
\n20.69 – Anaso Jobodwana<\/p>\n

10. 2011<\/a><\/strong> World Championships<\/strong> – Another big win for Bolt with the field stretched out behind him. Almost too stretched out to make the list as the race was not very exciting. However, strength of results slipped it in, with three men at 19.80 or better, and four under 20.00. <\/p>\n

19.40 – Usain Bolt
\n19.70 – Walter Dix
\n19.80 – Christophe Lemaitre
\n19.95 – Jaysuma Ndure
\n20.29 – Nickel Ashmeade
\n20.31 – Bruno de Barros
\n20.34 – Rondell Sorrillo<\/p>\n

That was difficult. I can almost imagine what the women’s list will look like – but let’s give it a shot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that the 100 is out of the way it’s forward to the deuce – and frankly the 100 was easier! Here’s the deal. The issue is that this is not about individual performances, it’s supposed to be about the race – the entire race. That said, there have been many great performances where the overall race didn’t match up. Then there are some outstanding races where the times were not stellar – at least by today’s standards. So I’m guessing, even before I finalize this list, that there will be issues with it for some people. In the end, I think the list is solid and defensible. This event has been neglected throughout the years and run as an afterthought by many. The last half decade or so has seen times drop precipitously, but the lack of great head to heads has diminished many races – even in the major championships. We do get a lot of Bolt on the list, though not as high as some would think. All that said, there have been some great races and here are my choices for the 10 best in the modern era. 1. 1996 Olympics – After a lot of thought and mental wrestling, Atlanta gets the top spot. It wasn’t an easy choice however. At the end of the day, it was the best finish for a top three; a close finish among the rest off the field; and the game changer that was the winning and runner-up times – and the race was exciting. 19.32 was literally Beamonesque as it took a dozen years for the record to fall – yet it showed what was capable. Second place was just as important as it was faster than the record at the start of the year. And bronze in 19.80 was unheard of. The finish behind the medals was also close, though I would have liked something closer to 20.00. And one can only wonder how things would have turned out if Marsh had run to form. 19.32 – Michael Johnson 19.68 – Frank Frederick 19.80 – Ato Boldon 20.14 – Obadele Thompson 20.17 -Jeff Williams 20.21 – Ivan Garcia 20.27 – Patrick Stevens 20.48 – Michael Marsh 2. 2006 Lausanne Grand Prix – Another game changing race and the only come from behind victory in the event for a race won under 19.70. When sub 20 was still a rare occurrence, and ten years after Atlanta, we get four men at 19.90 or better and the sterling come out of nowhere win by Xavier Carter. Atlanta showed what was possible, the 2006 season brought it into focus, and this race more than any other that season moved the event permanently into the New Millennium. Carter’s stretch run may be the most impressive ever in a major 200. Unfortunately he was not able to replicate and it became his Beamon moment in the sport. 19.63 – Xavier Carter 19.70 – Tyson Gay 19.88 – Usain Bolt 19.90 – Wallace Spearmon 20.10 – Lashawn Merritt 20.18 – Francis Obikwelu 3. 1968 Olympics – After MUCH thought, the first sub20 in a major (Carlos had the first at the Trials), a WR, and a sizzling come from behind win by Smith, and a come from behind sneak in for the bronze medal, moved this race into the #3 spot. Great turn by Carlos, even greater stretch run by Smith – and Norman. Terrific action in the straight. And they revised the all time list. 19.83 – Tommie Smith 20.06 – Peter Norman 20.09 – John Carlos 20.34 – Edwin Roberts 20.51 – Roger Bambuck 20.62 – Larry Questad 20.63 – Michael Fray 20.66 – Joachim Eigenherr 4. 2001 World Championships – No sub20, but too close and exciting to be lower. Kederis duplicated his come from behind win from Sydney running past the field in the closing meters. As he did so, the field bunched up on itself in a finish closer than the average 100 Meter final! If it had been sub20 of any kind it would have been number one. This was a great race by any definition. 20.04 – Kostas Kenteris 20.20 – Chris Williams 20.20 – Shawn Crawford 20.20 – Kim Collins 20.22 – Christian Malcolm 20.24 – Stephan Buckland 20.25 – Kevin Little 20.38 – Marlon Devonish 5. 1987 World Championships – Again no sub20 – but then only recently is that a semi common phenomenon. It was another great finish however, under the spotlight of a World Championship. This time only .02 separated the medals. Another .03 separating the next three finishers. Not quite as close as Edmonton, but still worthy of a 100 meter final.The win also gave Smith the first set of back to back wins at Worlds in the event against one of the more solid fields in the 80’s. 20.16 – Calvin Smith 20.16 – Giles Queneherve 20.18 – John Regis 20.22 – Robson da Silva 20.23 – Vladimir Krylov 20.25 – Floyd Heard 20.45 – Pier Francisco Pavoni 20.75 – Atlee Mahorn 6. 2009\u00a0 World Championships – The WR race garners this spot on the strength of the three 19.8s that followed Bolt’ s massive lead. The gap between Bolt and the field was just too big to call this a race, but with, five men under 20, this race had to make the list. I know many look at 19.19 and say great race – and it was for Bolt. Unfortunately everyone else was along for the ride. 19.19 – Usain Bolt 19.81 – Alonso Edward 19.85 – Wallace Spearmon 19.89 – Shawn Crawford 19.98 – Steve Mullings 20.39 – Charles Clark 20.61 – Ramil\u00a0 Guliyev 20.68 – David Alerte 7. 1988 Olympics – How about a major upset at near WR time? That’s what we got in Seoul when Deloach repeated his Trials win over Lewis at the Games just .03 off the WR – with Lewis only .04 back. The race for bronze was also close, and was near 20.00, but the rest of the field wasn’t strong enough to move this race up. 19.75 – Joe Deloach 19.79 – Carl Lewis 20.04 – Robson da Silva 20.09 – Linford Christie 20.39 – Atlee Mahorn 20.40 – Giles Queneherve 20.51 – Michael Rosswess 20.58 – Bruno Marie Rose 8. 2011 Brussels Diamond League – On the list, off the list. I’ve played that game over and over. At the end of the day the fact that it is the best 1,2 finish ever in a head to head put it on the list. Another pair of\u00a0 sub 20’s helped, though they were too far back to matter. This race shows just how much the Circuit is missing by not getting stronger fields and featuring the event. All that said the race between Blake and Dix was classic! 19.26 – Yohan Blake 19.53 – Walter Dix 19.91 – Nickel Ashmeade 19.97 – Jaysuma Ndure 20.41 – Rondell Sorrillo 20.57 – Ainsley Waugh 20.73 -Jonathan A strand 20.74 – Rytis Sakalsuskas 9. 2012 Olympics – The “magic” number 19.32 appears on the list a second time as Bolt finishes in the identical time that MJ made famous. The difference now is that the WR had been lowered, and the places behind the first two are not as impressive in 2012 with a huge gap back to bronze and only four under 20. Still that 1,2 finish is the best ever – I just wish the rest of the field had finished better. 19.32 – Usain Bolt 19.44 – Yohan Blake 19.84 – Warren Weir 19.90 – Wallace Spearmon 20.00 – Churandy Martina 20.19 – Christophe Lemaitre 20.57 – Alex Quinonez 20.69 – Anaso Jobodwana 10. 2011 World Championships – Another big win for Bolt with the field stretched out behind him. Almost too stretched out to make the list as the race was not very exciting. However, strength of results slipped it in, with three men at 19.80 or better, and four under 20.00. 19.40 – Usain Bolt 19.70 – Walter Dix 19.80 – Christophe Lemaitre 19.95 – Jaysuma Ndure 20.29 – Nickel Ashmeade 20.31 – Bruno de Barros 20.34 – Rondell Sorrillo That was difficult. I can almost imagine what the women’s list will look like – but let’s give it a shot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/sa3DCY-1680","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1705,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1705","url_meta":{"origin":1680,"position":0},"title":"Top Ten 400 Meter Races of All Time – Women","author":"CHill","date":"November 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This one was a bit harder than the others. In large part because the all time list is heavily populated by Eastern Bloc athletes. At the end of the day however, the results sorted themselves out because many of the too times occurred in races that were outside of major\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 10 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 10 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1705#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sanya R-R","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Sanya-R-R_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1672,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1672","url_meta":{"origin":1680,"position":1},"title":"Top 100 Meter Races of the Modern Era","author":"CHill","date":"October 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A reader had a great idea, to go through and create lists of the top 10 races by event. Nice idea, so I decided to give it a shot. So I'm starting with the 100 - first the men then will follow with the women - and will work my\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 14 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 14 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1672#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Me for Blog pic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Me-for-Blog-pic_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1691,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1691","url_meta":{"origin":1680,"position":2},"title":"Top 200 Meter Races of All Time – Women","author":"CHill","date":"November 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The men's event was tough, the women were even tougher. The biggest problem being depth, as most races over the years have suffers from lack of great depth. Just as in the 100, the great female sprint crews of the 90s have a presence on this list, but there is\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1691#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Allyson Felix2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Allyson-Felix2_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1695,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1695","url_meta":{"origin":1680,"position":3},"title":"Top Ten 400 Meters of the Modern Era – Men","author":"CHill","date":"November 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Here we go with the 400's. Definitely a bit tougher task, because as the distance increases, so do the odds that things may not be so close at the finish - making the task of evaluating much more difficult. That said, there were races that shone through - because competitors\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 9 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 9 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1695#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sprinter Shadow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Sprinter-Shadow_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1960,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1960","url_meta":{"origin":1680,"position":4},"title":"World Championships Review, Events","author":"CHill","date":"August 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"As I said previously, this meet lacked the \"Championship\" feel for me. I think some of it had to do with the negativity leading up to the meet - the bans. But the competition\/performances were lacking. In retrospect it's what I predicted early on - a transitional championship dominated primarily\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"World Championships\"","block_context":{"text":"World Championships","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=world-championships"},"img":{"alt_text":"Brianna Rollins","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Brianna-Rollins_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1676,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1676","url_meta":{"origin":1680,"position":5},"title":"Top Ten 100 Meter Races of all Time – Women","author":"CHill","date":"October 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This was a very interesting exercise. The men's list was relatively easy to put together, as there have been some very memorable races for the men. 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