The gold medal was won by Great Britain's Linford Christie, who had originally won the bronze medal in 1988 but was elevated to silver following the disqualification of original gold medalist Ben Johnson for using stanozolol.

Silver went to Namibia's Frankie Fredericks, who also finished second in the 200 metres in Barcelona, while Dennis Mitchell of the United States of America won the bronze.

The United States made its 21st appearance in the event, most of any country, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

The event retained the same basic four round format introduced in 1920: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final.

The 16 semifinalists competed in two heats of 8, with the top four in each semifinal advancing to the eight-man final.