After winning three successive World Championships in a row, the 2020 bronze medalist, Noah Lyles was the favorite.

The defending champion, Andre De Grasse, was the silver medalist in 2016 and at the 2019 World Championships.

Fourth place in 2021 was the youngster Erriyon Knighton, now 20 years old but experienced, having finished third in 2022 and second in 2023.

Another wild card here is the sole appearance of these games by 400 metre world record holder and 2016 Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk.

The first semi-final saw Bednarek running a relaxed 20.00 but Alexander Ogando displaced De Grasse.

Bednarek and Lyles also recorded sprints that ranked among the top ten fastest 200m times in Olympic history.

The 2024 edition of the event introduced a significant change to the competition format, in the addition of a repechage round.

[10] In the first round, the top 3 in each of the 6 heats advanced to the semifinals, with all remaining runners relegated to the repechage.