100 metres


The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash 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 inaugural World Championships were in 1983.
On an outdoor 400-metre running track, the 100 m is held on the home straight, with the start usually being set on an extension to make it a straight-line race. There are three instructions given to the runners immediately before and at the beginning of the race: "on your marks", "set", and the firing of the starter's pistol. The runners move to the starting blocks when they hear the "on your marks" instruction. The following instruction, to adopt the "set" position, allows them to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles: this will help them to start faster. A race-official then fires the starter's pistol to signal the race beginning and the sprinters stride forwards from the blocks. Sprinters typically reach top speed after somewhere between 50 and 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 men's world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2009, while the women's world record is 10.49 seconds, set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.
The 100 metres is considered one of the blue ribbon events of the Olympics and is among the highest profile competitions at the games. It is the most prestigious 100 metres race at an elite level and is the shortest sprinting competition at the Olympics – a position it has held at every edition except for a brief period between 1900 and 1904, when a men's 60 metres was contested. The unofficial "world's fastest man or woman" title typically goes to the Olympic or world 100 metres champion.
The 200 metre time almost always yields a "faster" average speed than a 100-metre race time, since the initial slow speed at the start is spread out over the longer distance. The current men's Olympic champion is Noah Lyles, while the current world champion is Oblique Seville. The current women's Olympic champion is Julien Alfred, and the world champion is Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

Race dynamics

Start

At the start, some athletes play psychological games such as trying to be last to the starting blocks.
At high level meets, the time between the gun and first kick against the starting block is measured electronically, via sensors built in the gun and the blocks. A reaction time less than 0.100 s is considered a false start. This time interval accounts for the sum of the time it takes for the sound of the starter's pistol to reach the runners' ears, and the time they take to react to it.
For many years a sprinter was disqualified if responsible for two false starts individually. However, this rule allowed some major races to be restarted so many times that the sprinters started to lose focus. The next iteration of the rule, introduced in February 2003, meant that one false start was allowed among the field, but anyone responsible for a subsequent false start was disqualified.
This rule led to some sprinters deliberately false-starting to gain a psychological advantage: an individual with a slower reaction time might false-start, forcing the faster starters to wait and be sure of hearing the gun for the subsequent start, thereby losing some of their advantage. To avoid such abuse and to improve spectator enjoyment, the IAAF implemented a further change in the 2010 season – a false starting athlete now receives immediate disqualification. This proposal was met with objections when first raised in 2005, on the grounds that it would not leave any room for innocent mistakes. Justin Gatlin commented, "Just a flinch or a leg cramp could cost you a year's worth of work." The rule had a dramatic impact at the 2011 World Championships, when current world record holder Usain Bolt was disqualified.

Mid-race

Runners usually reach their top speed just past the halfway point of the race and progressively decelerate to the finish. Maintaining that top speed for as long as possible is a primary focus of training for the 100 m. Pacing and running tactics do not play a significant role in the 100 m, as success in the event depends more on pure athletic qualities and technique.

Finish

The winner, by IAAF Competition Rules, is determined by the first athlete with their torso over the nearer edge of the finish line. There is therefore no requirement for the entire body to cross the finish line. When the placing of the athletes is not obvious, a photo finish is used to distinguish which runner was first to cross the line.

Climatic conditions

Climatic conditions, in particular air resistance, can affect performances in the 100 m. A strong head wind is very detrimental to performance, while a tail wind can improve performances significantly. For this reason, a maximum tail wind of is allowed for a 100 m performance to be considered eligible for records, or "wind legal".
Furthermore, sprint athletes perform a better run at high altitudes because of the thinner air, which provides less air resistance. In theory, the thinner air would also make breathing slightly more difficult, but this difference is negligible for sprint distances where all the oxygen needed for the short dash is already in the muscles and bloodstream when the race starts. While there are no limitations on altitude, performances made at altitudes greater than 1000 m above sea level are marked with an "A".

10-second and 11-second barriers

The 10-second mark had been widely considered a barrier for the 100 metres in men's sprinting. The first man to break the 10 second barrier with automatic timing was Jim Hines at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Since then, more than 200 sprinters have run faster than 10 seconds. Similarly, 11 seconds is considered the standard for female athletes. The first woman to go under 11 seconds was Marlies Göhr in 1977.

Record performances

Major 100 m races, such as at the Olympic Games, attract much attention, particularly when the world record is thought to be within reach.
The men's world record has been improved upon twelve times since electronic timing became mandatory in 1977. The current men's world record of 9.58 s is held by Usain Bolt of Jamaica, set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships final in Berlin, Germany on 16 August 2009, breaking his own previous world record by 0.11 s. The current women's world record of 10.49 s was set by Florence Griffith-Joyner of the US, at the 1988 United States Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, Indiana, on 16 July 1988 breaking Evelyn Ashford's four-year-old world record by 0.27 seconds. The extraordinary nature of this result and those of several other sprinters in this race raised the possibility of a technical malfunction with the wind gauge which read at 0.0 m/s – a reading which was at complete odds to the windy conditions on the day with high wind speeds being recorded in all other sprints before and after this race as well as the parallel long jump runway at the time of the Griffith-Joyner performance. The next best wind legal performance is Elaine Thompson-Herah's 10.54 second clocking in 2021 at the Prefontaine Classic. Griffith-Joyner's next best legal performance of 10.61 from 1988, would have her third on the all-time list behind Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Some records have been marred by prohibited drug use – in particular, the scandal at the 1988 Summer Olympics when the winner, Canadian Ben Johnson, was stripped of his medal and world record.
Jim Hines, Ronnie Ray Smith and Charles Greene were the first to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 m, all on 20 June 1968, the Night of Speed. Hines also recorded the first legal electronically timed sub-10 second 100 m in winning the 100 metres at the 1968 Olympics. Bob Hayes ran a wind-assisted 9.91 seconds at the 1964 Olympics.

Continental records

''Updated 1 August 2025''

All-time top 25 men


Time Wind Reaction AthleteNationDatePlace
119.58+0.90.14616 August 2009Berlin
29.63+1.50.1655 August 2012London
39.69±0.00.16516 August 2008Beijing
249.69+2.00.17820 September 2009Shanghai
249.69−0.10.14223 August 2012Lausanne
69.71+0.90.14416 August 2009Berlin
79.72+1.70.15731 May 2008New York City
479.72+0.22 September 2008Lausanne
99.74+1.70.1379 September 2007Rieti
599.74+0.90.16115 May 2015Doha
119.75+1.129 June 2012Kingston
119.75+1.50.1795 August 2012London
119.75+0.90.1644 June 2015Rome
119.75+1.40.1549 July 2015Lausanne
6119.75+0.827 June 2025Kingston
169.76+1.83 May 2008Kingston
169.76+1.30.15416 September 2011Brussels
169.76−0.10.15231 May 2012Rome
169.76+1.40.14630 August 2012Zürich
7169.76+0.60.12828 September 2019Doha
7169.76+1.218 September 2021Nairobi
7169.76+1.424 June 2022Eugene
239.77+1.60.15014 June 2005Athens
239.77+1.50.14511 June 2006Gateshead
239.77+1.00.14818 August 2006Zürich
239.77+1.028 June 2008Eugene
239.77−1.35 September 2008Brussels
239.77+0.97 September 2008Rieti
239.77+0.410 July 2009Rome
239.77−0.30.16311 August 2013Moscow
239.77+0.60.1785 September 2014Brussels
239.77+0.90.15323 August 2015Beijing
239.77+1.55 June 2021Miramar
10239.77+1.218 September 2021Nairobi
239.77+1.824 June 2022Eugene
239.77+0.928 June 2024Kingston
10239.77+0.30.15714 September 2025Tokyo
129.78+0.929 August 2010Rieti
139.79+0.116 June 1999Athens
139.79+1.00.1784 August 2024Saint-Denis
139.79+1.81 August 2025Eugene
169.80+1.34 June 2011Eugene
169.80+0.11 August 2021Tokyo
189.82+1.721 June 2014Port of Spain
189.82+1.00.1494 August 2024Saint-Denis
189.82+1.323 July 2025Eisenstadt
189.82+1.81 August 2025Eugene
229.83+0.91 August 2021Tokyo
229.83+0.91 August 2021Tokyo
229.83+1.30.15024 June 2023New York City
229.83+1.81 August 2025Eugene