100 metres

The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1928 for women.

The reigning 100 m Olympic champion is often named "the fastest man in the world." The World Championships 100 metres has been contested since 1983. Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are the reigning world and Olympic champions in the men's and women's 100 metres, respectively.

On an outdoor 400 metres running track, the 100 m is run on the home straight, with the start usually being set on an extension to make it a straight-line race. Runners begin in the starting blocks and the race begins when an official fires the starter's pistol. Sprinters typically reach top speed after somewhere between 50–60 m. Their speed then slows towards the finish line.

The 10-second barrier has historically been a barometer of fast men's performances, while the best female sprinters take eleven seconds or less to complete the race. The current men's world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2009, while the women's world record of 10.49 seconds set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 remains unbroken.

Usain Bolt

Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, CD (/ˈjuːseɪn/; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican sprinter. Regarded as the fastest person ever timed, he is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977. Along with his teammates, he also set the world record in the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events, and the first man since Leonidas of Rhodes to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting, and an eleven-time World champion. He was the first to achieve the "double double" of winning 100 m and 200 m titles at consecutive Olympics (2008 and 2012), and topped this through the first "double triple" (including 4×100 m relays).

Although gaining worldwide popularity for a sprint double victory at the Beijing Games, Bolt has had more victories as a 200 m runner. While he had not won any significant 100 m title prior to the 2008 Olympics, he had won numerous crowns in the 200 m event at the youth, junior and senior levels. Further, at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Bolt completed a hat-trick of 200 m world titles by winning his third straight gold in the event. His 2009 record breaking margin for 100 m, from 9.69 seconds (his own previous world record) to 9.58, is the highest since the start of fully automatic time measurements.

Men's 100 metres world record progression

The first record in the 100 metres for men (athletics) was recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912. The record now is 9.58 seconds which was run by Usain Bolt.

As of 21 June 2011, the IAAF had ratified 67 records in the event, not including rescinded records.

Unofficial progression before the IAAF

IAAF record progression

Records 1912–1976

The first manual time of 9.9 seconds was recorded for Bob Hayes in the final of the 100 metres at the 1964 Olympics. Hayes' official time of 10.0 seconds was determined from the electronic time of 10.06 and rounding down to the nearest tenth of a second to give the appearance of a manual time. This method was unique to the Olympics of 1964 and 1968. The officials at the track recorded Hayes' time as 9.9 seconds.

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.

Justin Gatlin

Justin Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is an American sprinter, who is an Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter dash. His 100m personal best is 9.74 seconds. He is a twice World indoor champion in the 60-meter dash.

In 2001, he incurred a two-year ban from Athletics for testing positive for a banned substance; the ban was later reduced to one year on appeal.

In 2006, he incurred a four-year ban from track and field for testing positive for a banned substance, with this sanction erasing his then-world-record time of 9.77s in the 100m. Gatlin began competing again in August 2010, soon after his eligibility was reinstated. In June 2012 at the US Olympic trials, Gatlin ran a time of 9.80s, which was the fastest-ever time for a man over the age of 30.

At the London 2012 Olympics, Gatlin ran a time of 9.79s in the 100 m final, earning him a bronze medal. His performance at the 2012 Olympic 100 meter final contributed to the fastest 100m race ever, which saw three men run under the 9.80-second barrier. Gatlin became the world leader of 2014 in the 200 meters on 18 July, when he won his race in 19.68 seconds at the Diamond League event in Monaco.

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