This article is about the 100 metres race. For lengths on the order of magnitude of 100 metres, see Orders of magnitude (length) § 1 hectometre.
Athletics 100 metres
Start of the men's 100 metres final at the 2012 Olympic Games in London
World records
Men
Usain Bolt (JAM) 9.58 (2009)
Women
Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA) 10.49[a] (1988)
Olympic records
Men
Usain Bolt (JAM) 9.63 (2012)
Women
Elaine Thompson-Herah (JAM) 10.61 (2021)
World Championship records
Men
Usain Bolt (JAM) 9.58 (2009)
Women
Sha'Carri Richardson (USA) 10.65 (2023)
World junior (U20) records
Men
Issamade Asinga (SUR) 9.89 (2023)
Women
Sha'Carri Richardson (USA) 10.75 (2019)
Start (green) and end (red) points of a 100 metre race, marked on a running track
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the 100-meter (109.36 yd) 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.
Women's 100 m Final – 2015 World Championships, won by Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
The reigning 100 m Olympic or world champion is often named "the fastest man or woman in the world". Noah Lyles and Sha'Carri Richardson are the world champions; Marcell Jacobs and Elaine Thompson-Herah are the men's and women's Olympic champions.
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 current 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.[a]
^ abcLinthorne, Nicholas P. (June 1995). "The 100-m World Record by Florence Griffith-Joyner at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials" (PDF). Brunel University. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
^"Women's outdoor 100m". All-time top lists. IAAF. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
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Global Information
Usain Bolt (JAM) 9.58 (2009)
Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA) 10.49[a] (1988)
Issamade Asinga (SUR) 9.89 (2023)
