200 metres for record purposes. 200 metres The 200 metres (also spelled 200 meters) is a sprint running event. On an outdoor race 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the "stadion" and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes rely on different energy systems during the longer sprint. In the United States and
Roger Bannister running track new running track at Iffley Road. Building work began on the one-third of a mile (536 metres) track in September 1876 by the contractor Mr Hobdell. The ground was leased from Christ Church. The building work was finished two days before the first meeting, on 29–30 November 1876. In 1948, Roger Bannister, then a 19-year-old student at Exeter College, was elected President of Oxford University’s Athletic Club. He made it a prime aim of his presidency to replace the bumpy, uneven track with a new six-lane track. Two years later, in 1950, the new 440 yards track was refurbished and