The 200 meter sprint
begins with a staggered start on a curved track and
normally results in a faster average time due to a
smaller portion of the race spent in the acceleration
phase. However, the curve does impede top speeds.
Sprinters often prefer the middle lanes as the inside
lanes have a very sharp turn. Pietro Mennea's
1979 200 meters record of 19.72 set in Mexico City stood until
Michael Johnson broke that record in 1996. Michael
Johnson's 19.32 200 meter record set in the 1996 Olympics
was beaten by Usain Bolt in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with
a time of 19.30. Florence Griffith Joyner holds the
women's 200 meter world record with a time of 21.34 set at the
1998 Olympic games.
Usain Bolt smashes his own 200 meter
world record set in the 2008 Olympics and destroys the field in
a 2009 World Championship time of 19.19 seconds in
Berlin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=000J8GN9NNg
Usain Bolt of Jamaica
astonishes everyone in the 2008 Olympic final in a new 200
meter Olympic and World record of 19.30 seconds, breaking
Michael Johnson's 200 meter world record set in the 1996
Olympics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z94Zh4aQQZU
Michael Johnson smashes the previous 200
meter World Record in the Atlanta 1996 Olympic
final leaving his competitors well behind in a World
Record time of 19.32 seconds which stood till
2008
