Women's 200 metres world record progression

The first World Record in the 200 m for women (athletics) was recognised by the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) in 1922. The FSFI was absorbed by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1936. However, the IAAF did not maintain a record category for 200 m (bend) as opposed to 200 m (straight) until after 1951. The IAAF eliminated the 200 m (straight) record after 1976. "y" denotes times set at 220 yards (201.17 m) which were ratified as world records.

To June 21, 2009, the IAAF (and the FSFI before it) have ratified 26 world records in the event.^[1]

Records 1922–36; 1951–76

Time	Wind	Auto	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
27.8+			Alice Cast	United Kingdom	Paris, France	August 20, 1922[1]
26.8y			Mary Lines	United Kingdom	Waddon, United Kingdom	September 23, 1922[1]
26.2y			Eileen Edwards	United Kingdom	London, United Kingdom	August 20, 1924[1]
26.0			Eileen Edwards	United Kingdom	Paris, France	October 3, 1926[1]
25.4			Eileen Edwards	United Kingdom	Berlin, Germany	June 12, 1927[1]
24.6			Tollien Schuurman	Netherlands	Brussels, Belgium	August 13, 1933[1]
23.6			Stanislawa Walasiewicz[2]	Poland	Warsaw, Poland	August 4, 1935[1]
23.6		23.73	Marjorie Jackson	Australia	Helsinki, Finland	July 25, 1952[1]
23.4		23.59	Marjorie Jackson	Australia	Helsinki, Finland	July 25, 1952[1]
23.2			Betty Cuthbert	Australia	Sydney, Australia	September 16, 1956[1]
23.2y			Betty Cuthbert	Australia	Hobart, Tasmania	March 7, 1960[1]
22.9	1.4		Wilma Rudolph	United States	Corpus Christi, USA	July 9, 1960[1]
22.9y	0.0		Margaret Burvill	Australia	Perth, Australia	February 22, 1964[1]
22.7	0.8		Irena Szewińska	Poland	Warsaw, Poland	August 8, 1965[1]
22.5A	2.0	22.58A	Irena Szewińska	Poland	Mexico City, Mexico	October 18, 1968[1]
22.4	0.8	22.62	Chi Cheng	Taiwan	Munich, Germany	July 12, 1970[1]
22.4	1.1	22.40	Renate Stecher	East Germany	Munich, Germany	September 7, 1972[1]
22.1	1.6	22.38	Renate Stecher	East Germany	Dresden, Germany	July 21, 1973[1]
22.1	1.9	22.21	Irena Szewińska	Poland	Potsdam, Germany	June 13, 1974[1]

(+) denotes en route time set during longer race

The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Wind" column indicates the wind assistance in metres per second, 2.0 m/s the current maximum allowable, a negative indicates the mark was set running into a wind; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th or 100th of a second, depending on the rules then in place. A "y" indicates a distance measured in yards and ratified as a world record in this event.

Records from 1977

From 1975, the IAAF accepted separate automatically electronically timed records for events up to 400 metres. Starting January 1, 1977, the IAAF required fully automatic timing to the hundredth of a second for these events.^[1]

Irena Szewińska's 22.21 from 1974 was the fastest eligible 200 metre performance at that time.

Time	Wind	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
22.21	1.9	Irena Szewińska	Poland	Potsdam, East Germany	June 13, 1974[1]
22.06	1.2	Marita Koch	East Germany	Erfurt, East Germany	May 28, 1978[1]
22.02	−1.4	Marita Koch	East Germany	Leipzig, East Germany	June 3, 1979[1]
21.71	0.7	Marita Koch	East Germany	Karl Marx Stadt, East Germany	June 10, 1979[1]
21.71	0.3	Marita Koch	East Germany	Potsdam, East Germany	July 21, 1984[1]
21.71	1.9	Heike Drechsler	East Germany	Jena, East Germany	June 29, 1986[1]
21.71	−0.8	Heike Drechsler	East Germany	Stuttgart, West Germany	August 29, 1986[1]
21.56	1.7	Florence Griffith-Joyner	United States	Seoul, South Korea	September 29, 1988[1]
21.34	1.2	Florence Griffith-Joyner	United States	Seoul, South Korea	September 29, 1988[1]