The women's 200 metres event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on 29–31 August (final) at the Nagai Stadium.
Having run the fastest time in the world this year, Allyson Felix entered as the favorite to retain her World Championship title. Her rival Veronica Campbell-Brown was her only threat from retaining her title.
In the final both Felix and Campbell-Brown shot out of the blocks like rockets, matching each other stride for stride, it was a bloody battle for the gold medal position. Coming into the straight, at the midpoint of the race, Veronica seemed to have a slight advantage over Allyson. Then Felix produced a display of speed and strength endurance that was simply astonishing, pulling away from the reigning olympic champion to win by a five-metre margin. Veronica and Susanthika Jayasinghe took second and third place respectively.
At just 19 years old Felix ran under 22 seconds for the first time, winning in 21.81 seconds (the only athlete to run under 22 seconds for this race) - this being the time of the Century at the time. Felix wrote herself into history and gave the world a glimpse of what was to come and would go on to be : one of the best track and field athletes in history - the most decorated track and field athlete ever!
Medalists
| Gold | Allyson Felix United States (USA) |
| Silver | Veronica Campbell Jamaica (JAM) |
| Bronze | Susanthika Jayasinghe Sri Lanka (SRI) |
Records
| World Record | 21.34 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | Seoul, South Korea | September 29, 1988 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship Record | 21.74 | Silke Gladisch | Rome, Italy | September 3, 1987 |
Results
Heats
Qualification: First 4 in each heat(Q) and the next 8 fastest (q) advance to the quarterfinals.
Heat 1
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Allyson Felix | United States (USA) |
22.50 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Susanthika Jayasinghe | Sri Lanka (SRI) |
22.55 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 3 | Sherry Fletcher |  Grenada (GRN) |
22.94 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Roxana Díaz |  Cuba (CUB) |
23.06 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Tahesia Harrigan | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Cayman Islands (CAY) |
23.46 | q |
| 6 | 6 | Myriam Léonie Mani |  Cameroon (CMR) |
23.66 | |
| - | 2 | Fabienne Féraez |  Benin (BEN) |
DNS |
Heat 2
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | LaShauntea Moore | United States (USA) |
22.93 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie |  Bahamas (BAH) |
23.07 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Yelena Bolsun |  Russia (RUS) |
23.11 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Zudikey Rodríguez |  Mexico (MEX) |
23.96 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Kay Khine Lwin | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Myanmar (MYA) |
24.50 | SB |
| 6 | 8 | Abdikarim Sheikh Fowzio |  Somalia (SOM) |
30.87 | PB |
| - | 7 | Emily Freeman |  Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) |
DSQ | |
| - | 9 | Rakia Al-Gassra |  Bahrain (BHR) |
DNS |
Heat 3
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Tezzhan Naimova |  Bulgaria (BUL) |
22.84 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | LaVerne Jones |  U.S. Virgin Islands (ISV) |
23.04 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | Yuliya Chermoshanskaya | Russia (RUS) |
23.21 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Iryna Shtanhyeyeva |  Ukraine (UKR) |
23.23 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Geraldine Pillay |  South Africa (RSA) |
23.39 | q |
| 6 | 6 | Gretta Taslakian |  Lebanon (LIB) |
24.35 | |
| - | 8 | Monika Bejnar |  Poland (POL) |
DNS |
Heat 4
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Sanya Richards | United States (USA) |
22.74 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Cydonie Mothersill |  British Virgin Islands (IVB) |
22.86 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | Aleen Bailey | Jamaica (JAM) |
22.94 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Vida Anim |  Ghana (GHA) |
23.16 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Guzel Khubbieva |  Uzbekistan (UZB) |
23.25 | q, SB |
| 6 | 6 | Louise Ayétotché |  Ivory Coast (CIV) |
23.34 | q |
| 7 | 8 | Ewelina Klocek | Poland (POL) |
23.38 | q |
| 8 | 9 | Kirsten Nieuwendam |  Suriname (SUR) |
24.52 | NR |
Heat 5
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Muriel Hurtis-Houairi |  France (FRA) |
22.83 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Kim Gevaert | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium (BEL) |
22.91 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Virgil Hodge |  Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) |
23.00 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Cathleen Tschirch |  Germany (GER) |
23.30 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Felipa Palacios |  Colombia (COL) |
23.32 | q |
| 6 | 8 | Olena Chebanu | Ukraine (UKR) |
23.40 | q, SB |
| 7 | 6 | Kadiatou Camara |  Mali (MLI) |
23.48 |
Heat 6
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Veronica Campbell | Jamaica (JAM) |
22.87 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Torri Edwards | United States (USA) |
22.90 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Joice Maduaka | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) |
23.22 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Affoué Amandine Allou | Ivory Coast (CIV) |
23.24 | Q, SB |
| 5 | 7 | Natalia Rusakova | Russia (RUS) |
23.24 | q |
| 6 | 8 | Ionela Târlea-Manolache |  Romania (ROM) |
23.48 | |
| 7 | 6 | Sakie Nobuoka |  Japan (JPN) |
23.74 | SB |
Quarterfinals
First 4 of each Quarterfinal qualifies (Q).
Heat 1
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Sanya Richards | United States (USA) |
22.31 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 7 | Susanthika Jayasinghe | Sri Lanka (SRI) |
22.55 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 4 | Virgil Hodge | Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) |
22.84 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | LaVerne Jones | U.S. Virgin Islands (ISV) |
23.03 | Q |
| 5 | 8 | Yuliya Chermoshanskaya | Russia (RUS) |
23.15 | |
| 6 | 3 | Olena Chebanu | Ukraine (UKR) |
23.21 | SB |
| 7 | 9 | Felipa Palacios | Colombia (COL) |
23.24 | |
| 8 | 2 | Cathleen Tschirch | Germany (GER) |
23.50 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Allyson Felix | United States (USA) |
22.61 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Yelena Bolsun | Russia (RUS) |
22.80 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Cydonie Mothersill | Cayman Islands (CAY) |
22.82 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Kim Gevaert | Belgium (BEL) |
22.96 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Guzel Khubbieva | Uzbekistan (UZB) |
23.28 | |
| 6 | 2 | Tahesia Harrigan | British Virgin Islands (IVB) |
23.52 | |
| 7 | 8 | Joice Maduaka | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) |
23.62 | |
| 8 | 9 | Zudikey Rodríguez | Mexico (MEX) |
24.31 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Veronica Campbell | Jamaica (JAM) |
22.55 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Torri Edwards | United States (USA) |
22.62 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | Tezzhan Naimova | Bulgaria (BUL) |
22.87 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Sherry Fletcher | Grenada (GRN) |
23.02 | Q |
| 5 | 8 | Iryna Shtanhyeyeva | Ukraine (UKR) |
23.17 | |
| 6 | 9 | Ewelina Klocek | Poland (POL) |
23.26 | PB |
| 7 | 2 | Vida Anim | Ghana (GHA) |
23.47 | |
| 8 | 3 | Louise Ayétotché | Ivory Coast (CIV) |
23.60 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Aleen Bailey | Jamaica (JAM) |
22.60 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 7 | LaShauntea Moore | United States (USA) |
22.71 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Roxana Díaz | Cuba (CUB) |
22.79 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie | Bahamas (BAH) |
22.81 | Q |
| 5 | 4 | Muriel Hurtis-Houairi | France (FRA) |
22.86 | |
| 6 | 3 | Natalia Rusakova | Russia (RUS) |
22.97 | |
| 7 | 9 | Affoué Amandine Allou | Ivory Coast (CIV) |
23.46 | |
| 8 | 2 | Geraldine Pillay | South Africa (RSA) |
23.55 |
Semifinals
First 4 of each Semifinal qualifies (Q).
Heat 1
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Allyson Felix | United States (USA) |
22.21 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Veronica Campbell | Jamaica (JAM) |
22.44 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Torri Edwards | United States (USA) |
22.51, SB | Q |
| 4 | 9 | Cydonie Mothersill | Cayman Islands (CAY) |
22.78 | Q |
| 5 | 8 | Sherry Fletcher | Grenada (GRN) |
22.96 | |
| 6 | 6 | Yelena Bolsun | Russia (RUS) |
23.01 | |
| 7 | 3 | Virgil Hodge | Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) |
23.06 | |
| - | 2 | Kim Gevaert | Belgium (BEL) |
DNS |
Heat 2
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (sec) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Sanya Richards | United States (USA) |
22.50 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Aleen Bailey | Jamaica (JAM) |
22.65 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Susanthika Jayasinghe | Sri Lanka (SRI) |
22.66 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | LaShauntea Moore | United States (USA) |
22.73 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Tezzhan Naimova | Bulgaria (BUL) |
22.88 | |
| 6 | 8 | Roxana Diaz | Cuba (CUB) |
22.98 | |
| 7 | 9 | Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie | Bahamas (BAH) |
23.27 | |
| 8 | 2 | LaVerne Jones | U.S. Virgin Islands (ISV) |
23:34 |
Final
31 August 2007
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Allyson Felix | United States (USA) |
21.81 | WL |
 |
Veronica Campbell | Jamaica (JAM) |
22.34 | SB |
 |
Susanthika Jayasinghe | Sri Lanka (SRI) |
22.63 | |
| 4 | Torri Edwards | United States (USA) |
22.65 | |
| 5 | Sanya Richards | United States (USA) |
22.70 | |
| 6 | Aleen Bailey | Jamaica (JAM) |
22.72 | |
| 7 | LaShauntea Moore | United States (USA) |
22.97 | |
| 8 | Cydonie Mothersille | Cayman Islands (CAY) |
23.08 |