[2] His countryman Barney Ewell earned silver, making this the third consecutive Games the United States took the top two spots in the event.

Lloyd La Beach's bronze gave Panama a medal in its debut in the event.

European champion Nikolay Karakulov did not compete because the Soviet Union did not yet participate in the Olympics.

[1] Bermuda, Burma, Ceylon, Cuba, Iceland, Iraq, Jamaica, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay each made their debut in the event.

The United States made its 10th appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.