The men's 200 metres event at the 1997 European Athletics U23 Championships was held in Turku, Finland, on 11, 12, and 13 July 1997.
| Gold | Julian Golding | |
| Silver | Alessandro Attene | |
| Bronze | Ryszard Pilarczyk |
13 July
Wind: 0.3 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 20.46 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 20.68 | ||||
| align=left | align=left | | 20.87 | ||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 20.99 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 20.99 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.13 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.14 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.14 |
12 July
Qualified: first 4 in each to the Final
Wind: 1.7 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 20.85 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 20.93 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 21.03 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 21.09 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 21.11 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.41 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 21.49 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.78 |
Wind: 1.8 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 20.50 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 20.79 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 20.95 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 21.11 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.17 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.22 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.38 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 21.46 |
11 July
Qualified: first 3 in each heat and 4 best to the Semifinal
Wind: 3.7 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 20.44 w | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 21.07 w | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 21.10 w | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 21.14 w | q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 21.32 w | q | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 21.35 w | ||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.57 w |
Wind: 0.9 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 20.72 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 21.16 | Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 21.17 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.69 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 21.73 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 21.86 |
Wind: 2.5 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 20.85 w | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 20.96 w | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 21.19 w | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 21.33 w | q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 21.34 w | q | ||
| align=left | align=left | DNF |
Wind: 1.4 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 21.08 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 21.37 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 21.39 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 21.48 | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 21.51 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 21.74 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | | 21.82 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | | 21.88 |
According to an unofficial count, 27 athletes from 18 countries participated in the event.
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