Classic sprinters versus long-limbed specialists
The 200m event pits basic speedsters against more technical runners
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While the title "world’s fastest man" and all the accolades that entails is cast upon the Olympic 100m champion, the winner of the 200m is by comparison a poor cousin. Nevertheless it is one of the most exciting events on the Olympic program for it pits classic sprinters against the long limbed specialists who can run tight turns with speed.
Who can forget the post-Atlanta matchup between Donovan Bailey, the Olympic 100m champion, and Michael Johnson, the Olympic 200m and 400m champion over the rarely run distance of 150m in Toronto’s SkyDome?
Though the American was peerless in both his specialties, he was pitted against Bailey after American media questioned who was really deserving of the "fastest" tag since Johnson’s top speed rivaled the Canadian’s. The race was marred, however, when Johnson pulled a quadriceps muscle and failed to finish.
The 100m-200m double
The 200m-400m double is much harder to accomplish because the time schedule is not as favourable. Yet France’s Marie-Jose Perec, now a television commentator for French Television, accomplished the rare double at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Her fantastic performance was largely overshadowed by the American media saturation of Michael Johnson who also won these events. Valerie Briscoe-Hooks was also successful in Los Angeles in 1984 though her events were subject to the Soviet boycott.
On your marks
As in the 100m race, the starter will use the commands "On your marks" to call the athletes to the starting line. Once they are settled in the blocks and perfectly still the starter will announce "Set" before firing the gun.
A false start results in another gun being fired to bring the athletes back for another attempt. The first false start is charged to the field regardless of who is responsible. Anyone who false starts again is disqualified.
A quick start is important in both events yet athletes can still recover from a less than perfect start because of the additional distance compared with the 100m sprint. Lane assignments are also important in both races as the races are staggered to ensure each runner runs the exact distance. Generally the best athletes will want to be in the middle lanes or at least have their chief rivals on the outside of them so they can see how they are progressing.
Running blind
The outside lane is a disadvantage because the athlete is "running blind" and will not see the competitors until they all enter the home straight. If they have run the bend too slowly they could find themselves behind as the others will have "made up the stagger" on them. Of course, the 400m is also run entirely in lanes. The staggered start is spread over two bends making pace judgement crucial.
Athletes drawn in the inside lanes must run a much tighter turn. Sometimes this can be a challenge and runners find themselves stepping into a rival's lane. If they take two steps over the line dividing the lines A track side marshal will wave a red flag and the athlete can be disqualified.
Wind readings are taken from the inside of the track, half way up the home straight, during 200m races just as they are in the 100m. Because the 400m runners may run with a tail wind for part of the race and into a headwind at other times wind readings are not taken in the one lap race.
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