John Capel of the United States surged ahead towards the finish to seize the men's 200 metres gold by a mere one-hundredth of a second from compatriot Darvis Patton.
Shingo Suetsugu gave Japan its second medal of the ninth World Athletics Championships, also a bronze, when he overcame a rather poor start -- he was seventh off the blocks -- to finish third in 20.39.
Like Capel, Suetsugu edged out British medal hope Darren Campbell by one-hundredth of a second.
Stephane Buckland of Mauritius, who was first off the blocks, eventually finished fifth in 20.41 seconds.
Veteran Frankie Fredericks of Namibia finished seventh in 20.47, well below his personal best of 19.68, set at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, losing out in the photo finish to the third American in the race, Joshua J Johnson, who also finished in 20.47s.
Nigerian Uchenna Emedolu was last off the blocks and also finished last, in 20.62 seconds.