These are the official results of the
Women's 200m metres event at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. The final was held on August 9, 1984.
Coming into the final, future world record holder
Florence Griffith had the fastest times in both the heats and semi final rounds. The winner of the other semi final, one hundredth behind was
Valerie Brisco-Hooks
Valerie Ann Brisco-Hooks (born July 6, 1960, in Greenwood, Mississippi) is an Olympian who won three gold medals as an Olympic track and field athlete at the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, California, making her the first Olympian to win gold ...
, who had already won the
400 metres title. Brisco-Hooks, coming back after a weight gain during her pregnancy two years earlier, was not touted as a potential multi gold medalist, unlike her American teammate
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996, ...
whose performance was virtually expected. She did not accomplish the 200/400 double at the Olympic Trials.
In the final, Florence Griffith, running in lane four, the middle of the track, took the early lead through the turn. Griffith easily made up the stagger on her American teammate
Randy Givens
Randy Jenelle Givens (born March 27, 1962) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. She set personal bests of 11.06 seconds for the 100-meter dash and 22.31 seconds for the 200-meter dash. Givens was a 2 ...
to her outside just after completing half the turn. In lane 2,
Merlene Ottey-Page was the closest challenger, gaining on
Kathy Cook
Kathryn Jane Cook (née Smallwood; born 3 May 1960) is a former elite athlete, specialising in sprint and sprint relays. She is one of the most successful female sprinters in British athletics history. She is three-times an Olympic bronze meda ...
between her and Griffith. Out in lane 7, Brisco-Hooks caught
Grace Jackson
Grace Jackson-Small (born 14 June 1961) is a Jamaican former athlete who competed mainly in the 100 and 200 metres. She won an Olympic silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and is a former Jamaican record-holder ...
to her outside shortly after Griffith had passed Givens. At the end of the turn, Griffith had a slight advantage on Ottey-Page, a metre up on Brisco-Hooks who was just slightly ahead of Cook. All the way down the home straight Griffith held her advantage over Ottey-Page, but Brisco-Hooks was in a different gear. Halfway down the straight, Brisco-Hooks had already caught the pair and was pulling away to an easy 3 metre victory. In the last 40 metres, Cook closed ground rapidly, diving for the line and just missing the bronze medal from Ottey-Page, while Griffith was less than a half a metre ahead. Jackson came from dead last at the end of the turn to finish a metre behind Ottey-Page and Cook.
Brisco-Hoocks accomplished the first 200-400 double in the Olympics. This was the second step of three gold medals in the single games won by Brisco-Hooks. To this point in history, only
Fanny Blankers-Koen
Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen (26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earn ...
with 4 in 1948, and
Betty Cuthbert
Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert, (20 April 1938 – 6 August 2017) was an Australian athlete and a four-time Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's "Golden Girl". During her career, she set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres ...
in 1956 were the only women to have achieved this in Athletics. Four years alter, Griffith under her new married name Florence Griffith-Joyner, would also achieve three golds along with the silver medal in the 4x400 relay (where she took the baton from Brisco-Hooks). This was the third medal out of what would become nine career Olympic medals for Ottey. That too is the most for a woman in Athletics, equaled in 2016 by Allyson Felix, who was coached in part by Brisco-Hooks and Griffith's coach, future brother-in-law,
Bob Kersee
Bob Kersee (born in the Canal Zone, Panama) is an American track coach. He was the coach and husband of Olympic gold medallist Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Career
He is a graduate of San Pedro High School, Los Angeles Harbor College where he was a state ...
.
Medalists
Abbreviations
Results
Heats
Qualification rule: First 5 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advance to the quarterfinals.
Wind:
Heat 1: -2.0 m/s, Heat 2: -0.4 m/s, Heat 3: -1.5 m/s, Heat 4: +0.9 m/s, Heat 5: +2.3 m/s, Heat 6: -0.7 m/s
Quarterfinals
*Held on 1984-08-08
Semifinals
*Held on 1984-08-09
Final
See also
*
1982 Women's European Championships 200 metres (Athens)
*
1983 Women's World Championships 200 metres (Helsinki)
*
1984 Friendship Games 200 metres (Prague)
*
1986 Women's European Championships 200 metres (Stuttgart)
*
1987 Women's World Championships 200 metres (Rome)
References
External links
Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1984 Summer Olympics - Women's 200 Metres
200 metres at the Olympics
1984 in women's athletics
Women's events at the 1984 Summer Olympics