Details: Category: 1992 Olympic Games Barcelona - (Athletics); Last Updated: 24 July 2016; Published: 23 March 2016; Hits: 166

Tags:

Host City: Barcelona, Spain

Format: Top four in each heat advanced to the final.

Date Started: August 3, 1992

Format: Top four in each heat advanced to the semi-finals

Date Finished: August 6, 1992

Format: Top four in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the quarter-finals.

(Competitors: 51; Countries: 40; Finalists: 8)

Venue(s): Montjuïc Olympic Stadium, Barcelona

Overview by IAAF

After the 100m final, Torrence caused a furor by suggesting that two of the medallists had taken drugs, but then retracted her statement, effectively increasing the pressure on herself for the 200m. Nevertheless, she had the fastest time before the final with her semi-final win in 21.72, ahead of Cuthbert (21.75) and Privalova (22.08). Ottey qualified for her fourth 200m final by winning her semi-final by 2m from Guidry in 22.12. The eight finalists represented just three countries. The four principals occupying the central lanes were even coming off the turn, with Torrence timed in 11.27. Torrence blasted away from Cuthbert and Ottey to win by 2m in 21.81.

Summary by Sports-reference.com

Katrin Krabbe (GER) had won the 1991 World Championships and the 1990 Europeans. A tall, attractive blond, the former East German seemed about to capitalize on her fame with endorsements not previously available to her. But early in 1992 she and some of her teammates went to train in South Africa. There were accusations that this was done to avoid drug testing and the Germans responded by sending a testing team down there. All of the women tested negative but then it was revealed that all of the urine samples had come from the same person. They were all suspended for four years by the German Track Federation, but after appeals to the IAAF this was revoked. However, in June Krabbe withdrew from the Olympics, because of the stress she had been through in the past few months. In July she did test positive, this time for clenbuterol, and she never competed again.

With Krabbe out, the favorite's role fell to Jamaica's Merlene Ottey who had had been bronze medalist in 1980 and placed fourth in 1984. She had won medals at all three World Championships, though never a gold, and was 1990 Commonwealth Champion. Her biggest challenge was expected to come from American Gwen Torrence. Torrence was considered a possibility to win the 100/200 but a few days earlier had finished fourth in the 100. She then claimed that )Two of the three medalists are not clean. I'm sick and tired of it.) The 100 medalists had been Gail Devers (USA/gold), Juliet Cuthbert (JAM/silver), and Irina Privalova (EUN/bronze). Torrence never said who the two were, and a few days later she retracted her statement but it added to the controversy of the 200. In the final Torrence, Privalova, Cuthbert and Ottey were drawn in the middle of the track. The four were even as they came off the turn but Torrence was the strongest on the run-in and won by over 2/10ths from Cuthbert.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics.

World Record	21.34	Florence Griffith-Joyner	Seoul (KOR)	September 29, 1988
Olympic Record	21.34	Florence Griffith-Joyner	Seoul (KOR)	September 29, 1988

			Results

*200 m*	Women		Final	6 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	21.81	-0.6	Gwen Torrence	United States	USA	12 Jun 65
2	22.02	-0.6	Juliet Cuthbert	Jamaica	JAM	9 Apr 64
3	22.09	-0.6	Merlene Ottey	Jamaica	JAM	10 May 60
4	22.19	-0.6	Irina Privalova	Russia	RUS	22 Nov 68
5	22.30	-0.6	Carlette Guidry	United States	USA	4 Sep 68
6	22.58	-0.6	Grace Jackson Small	Jamaica	JAM	14 Jun 61
7	22.60	-0.6	Michelle Burrell	United States	USA	8 May 65
8	22.63	-0.6	Galina Malchugina	Russia	RUS	17 Dec 62
*200 m*	Women		Semifinal 1	5 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.12	-1.6	Merlene Ottey	Jamaica	JAM	10 May 60
2	22.31	-1.6	Carlette Guidry	United States	USA	4 Sep 68
3	22.44	-1.6	Galina Malchugina	Russia	RUS	17 Dec 62
4	22.58	-1.6	Grace Jackson Small	Jamaica	JAM	14 Jun 61
5	22.60	-1.6	Silke Knoll	Germany	GER	21 Feb 67
6	22.61	-1.6	Pauline Davis-Thompson	Bahamas	BAH	9 Jul 66
7	23.08	-1.6	Elinda Vorster	South Africa	RSA	8 Sep 65
8	23.26	-1.6	Sisko Hanhijoki	Finland	FIN	25 Apr 62
*200 m*	Women		Semifinal 2	5 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	21.72	-0.1	Gwen Torrence	United States	USA	12 Jun 65
2	21.75	-0.1	Juliet Cuthbert	Jamaica	JAM	9 Apr 64
3	22.08	-0.1	Irina Privalova	Russia	RUS	22 Nov 68
4	22.39	-0.1	Michelle Burrell	United States	USA	8 May 65
5	22.60	-0.1	Mary Onyali	Nigeria	NGR	3 Feb 68
6	23.01	-0.1	Jennifer Stoute	Great Britain	GBR	16 Apr 65
7	23.03	-0.1	Melinda Gainsford-Taylor	Australia	AUS	1 Oct 71
	DNS	-0.1	Anelia Nuneva	Bulgaria	BUL	30 Jun 62
*200 m*	Women		Heat 1	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.01	0	Juliet Cuthbert	Jamaica	JAM	9 Apr 64
2	22.42	0	Michelle Burrell	United States	USA	8 May 65
3	22.44	0	Pauline Davis-Thompson	Bahamas	BAH	9 Jul 66
4	22.46	0	Silke Knoll	Germany	GER	21 Feb 67
5	22.50	0	Marina Trandenkova	Russia	RUS	7 Jan 67
6	22.93	0	Wang Huei-Chen	Chinese Taipei	TPE	21 Feb 70
7	23.61	0	Simmone Jacobs	Great Britain	GBR	5 Sep 66
8	23.64	0	Valérie Jean-Charles	France	FRA	27 Jan 69
*200 m*	Women		Heat 2	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.21	0	Gwen Torrence	United States	USA	12 Jun 65
2	22.59	0	Grace Jackson Small	Jamaica	JAM	14 Jun 61
3	22.99	0	Elinda Vorster	South Africa	RSA	8 Sep 65
4	23.09	0	Sisko Hanhijoki	Finland	FIN	25 Apr 62
5	23.09	0	Lucrécia Jardim	Portugal	POR	28 Jan 71	NUR
6	23.63	0	Laloa Ravaonirina	Madagascar	MAD	8 Nov 63
7	23.89	0	Damayanthi Dharsha	Sri Lanka	SRI	13 Feb 75
8	24.06	0	Georgette Nkoma	Cameroon	CMR	16 Jun 65
*200 m*	Women		Heat 3	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.22	1.2	Galina Malchugina	Russia	RUS	17 Dec 62
2	22.26	1.2	Carlette Guidry	United States	USA	4 Sep 68
3	22.62	1.2	Anelia Nuneva	Bulgaria	BUL	30 Jun 62
4	22.73	1.2	Jennifer Stoute	Great Britain	GBR	16 Apr 65
5	23.10	1.2	Sabine Rieger	Germany	GER	6 Nov 63
6	23.75	1.2	Iolanda Oanta	Romania	ROU	11 Oct 65
7	23.80	1.2	Karen Clarke	Canada	CAN	7 Oct 71
8	24.12	1.2	Heather Samuel	Antigua and Barbuda	ANT	6 Jul 70
*200 m*	Women		Heat 4	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	21.94	-0.9	Merlene Ottey	Jamaica	JAM	10 May 60
2	22.45	-0.9	Irina Privalova	Russia	RUS	22 Nov 68
3	22.60	-0.9	Mary Onyali	Nigeria	NGR	3 Feb 68
4	23.03	-0.9	Melinda Gainsford-Taylor	Australia	AUS	1 Oct 71
5	23.19	-0.9	Andrea Thomas	Jamaica	JAM	6 Apr 63
6	23.41	-0.9	Karin de Lange	Netherlands	NED	15 Jan 64
7	23.41	-0.9	Sabine Tröger	Austria	AUT	7 Jun 67
8	24.26	-0.9	Ruth Morris	United States Virgin Islands	ISV	7 Oct 66
*200 m*	Women		Heat 1	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	23.06	0.7	Mary Onyali	Nigeria	NGR	3 Feb 68
2	23.22	0.7	Irina Privalova	Russia	RUS	22 Nov 68
3	23.26	0.7	Lucrécia Jardim	Portugal	POR	28 Jan 71
4	23.82	0.7	Damayanthi Dharsha	Sri Lanka	SRI	13 Feb 75
5	23.86	0.7	Melissa Medlicott	Australia	AUS	7 Jun 68
6	24.19	0.7	Olga Mutanda	Cote d'Ivoire	CIV	3 Apr 67
7	25.07	0.7	Vaciseva Tavaga	Fiji	FIJ	16 Nov 73
*200 m*	Women		Heat 2	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.95	0.3	Merlene Ottey	Jamaica	JAM	10 May 60
2	23.15	0.3	Jennifer Stoute	Great Britain	GBR	16 Apr 65
3	23.27	0.3	Sisko Hanhijoki	Finland	FIN	25 Apr 62
4	23.37	0.3	Wang Huei-Chen	Chinese Taipei	TPE	21 Feb 70
5	23.52	0.3	Andrea Thomas	Jamaica	JAM	6 Apr 63
6	24.45	0.3	My Linh Truong Hoang	Vietnam	VIE	27 Jun 69
7	24.64	0.3	Zoila Stewart Lee	Costa Rica	CRC	1 Nov 68
*200 m*	Women		Heat 3	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.99	0.2	Juliet Cuthbert	Jamaica	JAM	9 Apr 64
2	23.14	0.2	Elinda Vorster	South Africa	RSA	8 Sep 65
3	23.47	0.2	Pauline Davis-Thompson	Bahamas	BAH	9 Jul 66
4	24.09	0.2	Heather Samuel	Antigua and Barbuda	ANT	6 Jul 70
5	24.15	0.2	Maguy Nestoret	France	FRA	28 Jul 69
6	24.59	0.2	Ngozi Mwanamwambwa	Zambia	ZAM	26 Feb 71
7	24.76	0.2	Nednapa Chommuak	Thailand	THA	9 Aug 71
8	25.28	0.2	Deirdre Caruana	Malta	MLT	26 Oct 72
*200 m*	Women		Heat 4	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.83	0	Silke Knoll	Germany	GER	21 Feb 67
2	23.00	0	Michelle Burrell	United States	USA	8 May 65
3	23.53	0	Karin de Lange	Netherlands	NED	15 Jan 64
4	23.90	0	Simmone Jacobs	Great Britain	GBR	5 Sep 66
5	24.50	0	Ágnes Kozáry	Hungary	HUN	28 Sep 66
6	24.56	0	Prisca Phillips	Barbados	BAR
	DNF	0	Oumou Sow	Guinea	GUI	70
*200 m*	Women		Heat 5	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	23.08	0.5	Galina Malchugina	Russia	RUS	17 Dec 62
2	23.41	0.5	Sabine Rieger	Germany	GER	6 Nov 63
3	23.72	0.5	Sabine Tröger	Austria	AUT	7 Jun 67
4	24.17	0.5	Ruth Morris	United States Virgin Islands	ISV	7 Oct 66
5	25.03	0.5	Dawnette Douglas	Bermuda	BER	21 Jul 71
6	26.03	0.5	Manda Kanoute	Mali	MLI	63
	DQ	0.5	Chen Zhaojing	China	CHN	5 Apr 69
*200 m*	Women		Heat 6	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.82	1.3	Carlette Guidry	United States	USA	4 Sep 68
2	23.18	1.3	Melinda Gainsford-Taylor	Australia	AUS	1 Oct 71
3	23.32	1.3	Anelia Nuneva	Bulgaria	BUL	30 Jun 62
4	23.57	1.3	Karen Clarke	Canada	CAN	7 Oct 71
5	23.69	1.3	Valérie Jean-Charles	France	FRA	27 Jan 69
6	24.15	1.3	Gailey Dube	Zimbabwe	ZIM	25 Jul 69
7	24.67	1.3	Melrose Mansaray	Sierra Leone	SLE	19 Jul 72
	DQ	1.3	Jacqueline Soliz	Bolivia	BOL	22 Sep 64
*200 m*	Women		Heat 7	3 August

Rank	Mark	Wind	Athlete	Country	NOC	Birth Date	Records
1	22.66	-0.7	Gwen Torrence	United States	USA	12 Jun 65
2	22.72	-0.7	Grace Jackson Small	Jamaica	JAM	14 Jun 61
3	22.79	-0.7	Marina Trandenkova	Russia	RUS	7 Jan 67
4	23.58	-0.7	Laloa Ravaonirina	Madagascar	MAD	8 Nov 63
5	23.83	-0.7	Iolanda Oanta	Romania	ROU	11 Oct 65
6	23.85	-0.7	Georgette Nkoma	Cameroon	CMR	16 Jun 65
7	27.65	-0.7	Ruth Mangue	Equatorial Guinea	GEQ	23 Jun 75