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.

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As of 21 June 2011, the IAAF had ratified 67 records in the event, not including rescinded records.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

IAAF Diamond League

The IAAF Diamond League is an annual series of track and field meetings held from 2010 onwards, beginning with the 2010 IAAF Diamond League. It was designed to replace the IAAF Golden League, which was held annually since 1998.

While the Golden League was formed to increase the profile of the leading European athletics competitions, the Diamond League's aim is to "enhance the worldwide appeal of athletics by going outside Europe for the first time." In addition to the original Golden League members (except Berlin) and other traditional European meetings, the series includes events in China, Qatar, and the United States.

Editions

Scoring system

Each one of the thirty-two disciplines (sixteen for male athletes, sixteen for females) is staged a total of seven times during the season. The top three athletes at each meeting are awarded points, and in the case of the Final meeting of the discipline the points are doubled.

1st place: 4 points; (Final: 8 points)
2nd place: 2 points; (Final: 4 points)
3rd place: 1 point; (Final: 2 points)

UK Athletics

UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials. UK Athletics introduced the British Athletics brand in 2013 to act as the identity for athletics in the United Kingdom, while UK Athletics continue in the role of governance.

It has four member organisations, one from each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom: England Athletics, Scottishathletics, Welsh Athletics, and Athletics Northern Ireland.

History

UK Athletics was founded in 1999 as a successor to the British Athletics Federation, which had collapsed for financial reasons. Prominent among the reasons was the cost of the legal bills in the Diane Modahl contract dispute case.

Former long distance runner David Moorcroft, previously Chief Executive of the British Athletics Federation, continued in the same role at the newly formed UKA. He headed the organisation until 2006 when he stepped down after Great Britain's worst performance at a European Athletics Championships for twenty years. The results in Gothenburg (their sole gold medal coming in the 100 m relay) were below expectations and failed to meet the target for improving British athletics in preparation for the upcoming 2012 London Olympics. Moorcroft's departure triggered a restructuring of the organisation and the creation of the role of chairman, to which businessman Ed Warner was appointed. The current chief executive is Niels de Vos.Lynn Davies, the former Olympic champion long jumper, is the incumbent president.

British Athletics Championships

The Amateur Athletics Association (of England) Championships or AAAs Championships, were widely considered to be the British Athletics Championships, even though the corporation did not include Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The event was open to all UK athletes and (with the exception of a few years) to overseas athletes as well. The AAAs was founded in 1880, (1922 for women) and incorporated the UK Olympic trials in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. The 2006 AAAs Championships were the last to be the de facto British Championships, when they were incorporated into the 2006 UK Championships (and trials).

In 1977, a separate event, the UK National Championships was created. The UK Championships was a closed competition limited to British athletes only. The UK Championships incorporated the UK Olympic trials in 1980. The importance of the meeting declined, due to the AAAs Championships remaining the premier domestic event and also because they were usually held in May. In 1993, the event was renamed the British Championships. There was no event in 1994-96. The event was briefly resurrected in 1997 and incorporated the World Championships trials, before being discontinued.