The women's 200 metres competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium between 15–17 August.[1] The winning margin was 0.10 seconds. The winner, Elaine Thompson from Jamaica, had the fifth fastest reaction time in the final.
In the semi-final round, both World Championship medalists #3 of all time, Schippers and #5 of all time, Thompson ran in the first heat. Schippers won the race over Thompson, who ran her season best, but Thompson didn't look like she was running all out at the end while Schippers ran just .03 off her season best. They led Deajah Stevens and Dina Asher-Smith to the time qualifiers. Tori Bowie equalled Thompson's 22.13 in the third semi.
In the final, Thompson went out hard, making up the stagger on Ivet Lalova-Collio to her outside in the first 60 metres. She had a one-metre lead over Schippers before the end of the turn. Tori Bowie stumbled out of the blocks and was another metre back in a battle for fifth place with Dina Asher-Smith. Schippers started to gain on Thompson towards the line but did not catch the winner. Two metres behind, Bowie won the bronze medal having overtaken Asher-Smith, Michelle-Lee Ahye and 10 metres before the finish line Marie Josée Ta Lou.[4]
The women's 200 m competition consisted of three rounds: a round one heats stage with nine races, three semifinal races, and a single final. Each race featured eight athletes. The top two in each heat progressed to the semifinals, as did the six fastest non-qualifiers. The top two finishers in each of the three semifinals qualified for the final with the two fastest non-qualifiers.[1]
Records
Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.