Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres
# Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres

The women's 200 metres sprint event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place on September 4 & 7. The favorite would have been Republic of China's Chi Cheng, who set world records in the 200 meters and 220 yards distances in 1970. She suffered a career ending injury at the end of 1970. An attempted surgery in 1971, failed. The top 3 ranked women in the world in 1971, were the 3 women on the podium in Munich. European Champion Renate Stecher (GDR), Commonwealth Champion Raelene Boyle (AUS), and the defending Champion Irena Szewinska of Poland.

## Heats

Top five in each heat (blue) and the next two fastest (pink) advanced to quarterfinal round.

### Heat 1

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Alice Anum | Ghana | 6 | 23.15 |
| 2 | Barbara Ferrell | United States | 5 | 23.38 |
| 3 | Rosie Allwood | Jamaica | 1 | 23.56 |
| 4 | Donna Murray | Great Britain | 3 | 23.76 |
| 5 | Juana Mosquera | Colombia | 2 | 24.20 |
| 6 | Carolina Rieuwpassa | Indonesia | 7 | 24.68 |
| - | Irene Fitzner | Argentina | 4 | DNS |

### Heat 2

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Renate Stecher | East Germany | 2 | 22.96 |
| 2 | Raelene Boyle | Australia | 4 | 23.58 |
| 3 | Nadezhda Besfamilnaya | Soviet Union | 3 | 23.62 |
| 4 | Amelita Alanes | Philippines | 5 | 25.28 |
| 5 | Helen Olaye | Nigeria | 1 | 25.30 |
| 6 | Mabel Saeluzika | Malawi | 6 | 28.29 |
| - | Carmen Valdes | Cuba | 7 | DNS |

### Heat 3

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Annegret Kroniger | West Germany | 4 | 23.37 |
| 2 | Wilma van Gool | Netherlands | 6 | 23.86 |
| 3 | Della Pascoe | Great Britain | 2 | 23.97 |
| 4 | Hannah Afriyie | Ghana | 3 | 24.38 |
| 5 | María Luisa Vilca | Peru | 1 | 24.46 |
| 6 | Josefa Vicent | Uruguay | 7 | 25.09 |
| 7 | Meas Kheng | Khmer Republic | 5 | 25.86 |

### Heat 4

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ellen Strophal | East Germany | 1 | 23.54 |
| 2 | Pam Greene | United States | 7 | 23.96 |
| 3 | Una Morris | Jamaica | 6 | 23.99 |
| 4 | Pirjo Wilmi | Finland | 3 | 24.16 |
| 5 | Rose Musani | Uganda | 5 | 25.37 |
| 6 | Laura Pierre | Trinidad and Tobago | 4 | 26.32 |
| - | Eva Glesková | Czechoslovakia | 2 | DNS |

### Heat 5

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Irena Szewińska | Poland | 3 | 23.37 |
| 2 | Christiane Krause | West Germany | 7 | 23.51 |
| 3 | Jackie Thompson | United States | 6 | 23.67 |
| 4 | Karoline Käfer | Austria | 1 | 24.42 |
| 5 | Russel Carrero | Nicaragua | 5 | 28.02 |
| - | Silvia Chivas | Cuba | 2 | DNS |
| - | Claudette Powell | Bahamas | 4 | DNS |

### Heat 6

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Marina Sidorova | Soviet Union | 5 | 23.46 |
| 2 | Sylviane Telliez | France | 4 | 23.51 |
| 3 | Christina Heinich | East Germany | 6 | 23.90 |
| 4 | Margaret Critchley | Great Britain | 2 | 24.04 |
| 5 | Marcia Trotman | Barbados | 7 | 24.06 |
| 6 | Beatrice Lungu | Zambia | 1 | 25.11 |
| 7 | Fatima El-Faquir | Morocco | 3 | 25.27 |

## Quarterfinals

Top four in each heat advanced to semifinal round (blue).

### Heat 1

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Irena Szewińska | Poland | 7 | 22.79 |
| 2 | Nadezhda Besfamilnaya | Soviet Union | 3 | 23.20 |
| 3 | Christina Heinich | East Germany | 6 | 23.23 |
| 4 | Barbara Ferrell | United States | 1 | 23.30 |
| 5 | Una Morris | Jamaica | 5 | 23.62 |
| 6 | Marcia Trotman | Barbados | 2 | 24.00 |
| 7 | Amelita Alanes | Philippines | 4 | 24.98 |
| - | Josefa Vicent | Uruguay | 8 | DNS |

### Heat 2

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ellen Strophal | East Germany | 8 | 22.93 |
| 2 | Alice Anum | Ghana | 5 | 22.95 |
| 3 | Wilma van Gool | Netherlands | 2 | 23.22 |
| 4 | Christiane Krause | West Germany | 4 | 23.22 |
| 5 | Della Pascoe | Great Britain | 73 | 23.72 |
| 6 | Juana Mosquera | Colombia | 1 | 24.00 |
| 7 | María Luisa Vilca | Peru | 7 | 24.48 |
| 8 | Rose Musani | Uganda | 6 | 25.28 |

### Heat 3

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Renate Stecher | East Germany | 1 | 23.31 |
| 2 | Rosie Allwood | Jamaica | 7 | 23.33 |
| 3 | Sylviane Telliez | France | 8 | 23.69 |
| 4 | Donna Murray | Great Britain | 6 | 23.69 |
| 5 | Pam Greene | United States | 5 | 23.85 |
| 6 | Karoline Käfer | Austria | 4 | 23.92 |
| 7 | Hannah Afriyie | Ghana | 3 | 24.47 |
| - | Russel Carrero | Nicaragua | 2 | DNS |

### Heat 4

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Raelene Boyle | Australia | 7 | 23.06 |
| 2 | Annegret Kroniger | West Germany | 3 | 23.14 |
| 3 | Jackie Thompson | United States | 4 | 23.22 |
| 4 | Marina Sidorova | Soviet Union | 8 | 23.33 |
| 5 | Pirjo Wilmi | Finland | 5 | 23.68 |
| 6 | Margaret Critchley | Great Britain | 2 | 24.05 |
| 7 | Carolina Rieuwpassa | Indonesia | 1 | 25.03 |
| 8 | Helen Olaye | Nigeria | 6 | 25.09 |

## Semifinals

Top four in each heat advanced to the final round (blue).

### Heat 1

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ellen Strophal | East Germany | 7 | 22.90 |
| 2 | Raelene Boyle | Australia | 3 | 22.92 |
| 3 | Irena Szewińska | Poland | 6 | 22.92 |
| 4 | Rosie Allwood | Jamaica | 1 | 23.14 |
| 5 | Christiane Krause | West Germany | 2 | 23.17 |
| 6 | Jackie Thompson | United States | 4 | 23.18 |
| 7 | Marina Sidorova | Soviet Union | 8 | 23.40 |
| - | Wilma van Gool | Netherlands | 5 | DNS |

### Heat 2

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Renate Stecher | East Germany | 8 | 22.83 |
| 2 | Annegret Kroniger | West Germany | 5 | 23.05 |
| 3 | Christina Heinich | East Germany | 6 | 23.28 |
| 4 | Alice Anum | Ghana | 4 | 23.30 |
| 5 | Nadezhda Besfamilnaya | Soviet Union | 1 | 23.31 |
| 6 | Sylviane Telliez | France | 3 | 23.34 |
| 7 | Barbara Ferrell | United States | 2 | 23.39 |
| 8 | Donna Murray | Great Britain | 7 | 24.03 |

## Final

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Lane | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Renate Stecher | East Germany | 6 | 22.40 | WR |
| | Raelene Boyle | Australia | 4 | 22.45 | |
| | Irena Szewińska | Poland | 5 | 22.74 | |
| 4 | Ellen Strophal | East Germany | 3 | 22.75 | |
| 5 | Christina Heinich | East Germany | 7 | 22.89 | |
| 5 | Annegret Kroniger | West Germany | 1 | 22.89 | |
| 7 | Alice Anum | Ghana | 8 | 22.99 | |
| 8 | Rosie Allwood | Jamaica | 2 | 23.11 | |

Key: WR = world record; DNS = did not start; T = Tie

