100 metres

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For other uses of 100 metres, see 1 E2 m.

100 m is the classic sprints race distance. The reigning 100 m world record holder is often named "the fastest man/woman in the world", and the 100 m Olympic title is usually considered among the most prestigious. A distance of 100 yards (91 m) was often run in the past, but this is now obsolete. Indoors, events are normally held over 60 m (sometimes 50 m or 55 m) as few facilities have a 100 m indoor straight.

On an outdoor 400 m running track, the 100 m is run on the home straight. Many 60 m prodigies lose to seasoned 100 m runners, as training needs to be done in order to maintain form and power through this race. Beginners can actually become winded after running this distance. Top sprinters do significant amounts of training with weights and boxers punch-ball, as upper body strength is needed to maintain balance. Illegal drug use has been seen by some as a means to gain a competitive edge; in particular, the scandal involving Ben Johnson has tarnished the event.

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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 record has only been broken a handful of times since the introduction of electronic timing in 1968, and never by more than 0.05 seconds at a time. The current world record holder is Asafa Powell of Jamaica, who ran a time of 9.77 seconds in Athens on June 14, 2005. The reigning Olympic champion is Justin Gatlin of the United States.

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Start

The start play psychological games such as trying to be last to the starting blocks, although direct intimidation would be considered unsporting. The starter will keep the sprinters in the set position for an unpredictable time of around 2 seconds and then fire the starting gun.

The time between the gun and first kick against the starting block is measured electronically, via sensors built in the gun and the blocks. Anything less than 0.1s reaction time is deemed to imply that the start was anticipated. The 0.1 second interval accounts for the sum of the time it takes for the sound of the starter's pistol to propagate through the air and reach the runners' ears, and the time it takes for a human to process the auditory stimulus and react to it. This has been measured to be 0.12 second or longer, but an extra 0.02 second is subtracted just to be on the safe side. Still, it has been questioned by some fast starters.

For many years a sprinter was only disqualified if they were responsible for two false starts. However this rule led to some sprinters deliberately false starting once for psychological advantage, and some major races being restarted so many times that the sprinters started to lose focus. The new rule is that after one false start, anyone responsible for a false start is disqualified immediately.

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Famous 100 metre runners


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Top ten all-time athletes — men

Updated by July 27, 2005

Rank Time Athlete Nation Date Place
1. 9.77 Asafa Powell JAM 14 June 2005 Athens
2. 9.78 Tim Montgomery USA 14 September 2002 Paris
3. 9.79 Maurice Greene USA 16 June 1999 Athens
4. 9.84 Donovan Bailey CAN 27 July 1996 Atlanta
4. 9.84 Bruny Surin CAN 22 August 1999 Seville
6. 9.85 Leroy Burrell USA 6 July 1994 Lausanne
6. 9.85 Justin Gatlin USA 22 August 2004 Athens
8. 9.86 Carl Lewis USA 25 August 1991 Tokyo
8. 9.86 Frank Fredericks NAM 3 July 1996 Lausanne
8. 9.86 Ato Boldon TRI 19 April 1998 Walnut
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Top ten all-time athletes — women

Updated by July 27, 2005

Rank Time Athlete Nation Date Place
1. 10.49 Florence Griffith Joyner USA 16 July 1988 Indianapolis
2. 10.65 Marion Jones USA 12 September 1998 Johannesburg
3. 10.73 Christine Arron FRA 19 August 1998 Budapest
4. 10.74 Merlene Ottey JAM 7 September 1996 Milan
5. 10.76 Evelyn Ashford USA 22 August 1984 Zürich
6. 10.77 Irina Privalova RUS 6 July 1994 Lausanne
6. 10.77 Ivet Lalova BUL 19 June 2004 Plovdiv
8. 10.78 Dawn Sowell USA 3 June 1989 Provo
9. 10.79 Xuemei Li CHN 18 October 1997 Shanghai
9. 10.79 Inger Miller USA 22 August 1999 Seville
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See also

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_metres"
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