100m: champions and records
The history of men’s 100m records began on July 6th, 1912, in Stockholm (Sweden), with the first officially sanctioned (by the IAAF – then the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now the International Association of Athletics Federations) record time of 10,6 ‘’, run by Don Lippincott and Jackson Scholz of the USA.
Since then, the world record time has improved by 0,91’’ (91 hundredths of a second) to 9,69’’, run by Usain Bolt of Jamaica on August 16th, 2008 at the Beijing Olympics 100m final. Astonishingly, an improvement of only 8,6% over 96 years!
The record has been beaten 24 times in that period, on average once every 4 years, by 50 different athletes (in 3, recent, cases it has been revoked for doping problems) of 12 different nations: the USA lead the pack with 31 record-breaking athletes, followed by Canada with 4, Jamaica and Germany with 3, Cuba with 2, Japan, Panama, Great Britain, Venezuela, South Africa, the Netherlands and France with 1.
The full progression is set below:
|
Time
|
Athlete
|
Nationality
|
Location of race
|
Date
|
|
10.6
|
Don Lippincott[1]
|
|
|
|
|
Jackson Scholz
|
United States
|
September 16, 1920
|
||
|
10.4
|
Charlie Paddock[1]
|
United States
|
Redlands, California, USA
|
April 23, 1921
|
|
Eddie Tolan
|
United States
|
Stockholm, Sweden
|
August 8, 1929
|
|
|
Copenhagen, Denmark
|
August 25, 1929
|
|||
|
10.3
|
Percy Williams[1]
|
Canada
|
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
August 9, 1930
|
|
Arthur Jonath
|
Germany
|
Bochum, Germany
|
July 5, 1932
|
|
|
Eddie Tolan
|
United States
|
Los Angeles, California, USA
|
August 1, 1932
|
|
|
Ralph Metcalfe
|
United States
|
Los Angeles, California, USA
|
August 1, 1932
|
|
|
Ralph Metcalfe
|
United States
|
Budapest, Hungary
|
August 12, 1933
|
|
|
Eulace Peacock
|
United States
|
Oslo, Norway
|
August 6, 1934
|
|
|
Chris Berger
|
Netherlands
|
Amsterdam, Netherlands
|
August 26, 1934
|
|
|
Ralph Metcalfe
|
United States
|
Osaka, Japan
|
September 15, 1934
|
|
|
Dairen, China
|
September 23, 1934
|
|||
|
Takanori Yoshioka
|
Japan
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
June 15, 1935
|
|
|
10.2
|
Jesse Owens[1]
|
United States
|
Chicago, Illinois, USA
|
June 20, 1936
|
|
Harold Davis
|
United States
|
Compton, California, USA
|
June 6, 1941
|
|
|
Lloyd LaBeach
|
Panama
|
Fresno, California, USA
|
May 15, 1948
|
|
|
Barney Ewell
|
United States
|
Evanston, Illinois, USA
|
July 9, 1948
|
|
|
Emmanuel McDonald Bailey
|
Great Britain
|
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
|
August 25, 1951
|
|
|
Heinz Fütterer
|
West Germany
|
Yokohama, Japan
|
October 31, 1954
|
|
|
Bobby Joe Morrow
|
United States
|
Houston, Texas, USA
|
May 19, 1956
|
|
|
Ira Murchison
|
United States
|
Compton, California, USA
|
June 1, 1956
|
|
|
Bobby Joe Morrow
|
United States
|
Bakersfield, California, USA
|
June 22, 1956
|
|
|
Ira Murchison
|
United States
|
Los Angeles, California, USA
|
June 29, 1956
|
|
|
Bobby Joe Morrow
|
United States
|
|||
|
10.1
|
Willie Williams[1]
|
United States
|
Berlin, Germany
|
August 3, 1956
|
|
Ira Murchison
|
United States
|
|
August 4, 1956
|
|
|
Leamon King
|
United States
|
Ontario, California, USA
|
October 20, 1956
|
|
|
Santa Ana, California, USA
|
October 27, 1956
|
|||
|
Ray Norton
|
United States
|
San Jose, California, USA
|
April 18, 1959
|
|
|
10.0
|
Armin Hary[1]
|
West Germany
|
Zürich, Switzerland
|
June 21, 1960
|
|
Harry Jerome
|
Canada
|
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
|
July 15, 1960
|
|
|
Horacio Esteves
|
Venezuela
|
Caracas, Venezuela
|
August 15, 1964
|
|
|
Bob Hayes
|
United States
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
October 15, 1964
|
|
|
Jim Hines
|
United States
|
Modesto, California, USA
|
May 27, 1967
|
|
|
Enrique Figuerola
|
Cuba
|
Budapest, Hungary
|
June 17, 1967
|
|
|
Paul Nash
|
South Africa
|
Krugersdorp, South Africa
|
April 2, 1968
|
|
|
Oliver Ford
|
United States
|
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
|
May 31, 1968
|
|
|
Charles Greene
|
United States
|
Sacramento, California, USA
|
June 20, 1968
|
|
|
Roger Bambuck
|
France
|
|||
|
9.9
|
Jim Hines[1]
|
United States
|
Sacramento, California, USA
|
June 20, 1968
|
|
Ronnie Ray Smith
|
United States
|
|||
|
Charles Greene
|
United States
|
|||
|
Jim Hines
|
United States
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
October 14, 1968
|
|
|
Steve Williams
|
United States
|
Los Angeles, California, USA
|
June 21, 1972
|
|
|
Eddie Hart
|
United States
|
Eugene, Oregon, USA
|
July 1, 1972
|
|
|
Reynaud Robinson
|
United States
|
|||
|
Silvio Leonard
|
Cuba
|
Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
|
June 5, 1975
|
|
|
Steve Williams
|
United States
|
Siena, Italy
|
July 16, 1975
|
|
|
Berlin, Germany
|
August 22, 1975
|
|||
|
Gainesville, Florida, USA
|
March 27, 1976
|
|||
|
Harvey Glance
|
United States
|
Columbia, South Carolina, USA
|
April 3, 1976
|
|
|
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
|
May 1, 1976
|
|||
|
Don Quarrie
|
Jamaica
|
Modesto, California, USA
|
May 22, 1976
|
Electronic timing (post-1976)
|
Time
|
Athlete
|
Nationality
|
Location of race
|
Date
|
|
|
10.06
|
Bob Hayes
|
United States
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
October 15, 1964
|
|
|
10.03
|
Jim Hines
|
United States
|
Sacramento, USA
|
June 20, 1968
|
|
|
10.02
|
Charles Green
|
United States
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
October 13, 1968
|
|
|
9.95
|
Jim Hines
|
United States
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
October 14, 1968
|
|
|
9.93
|
Calvin Smith
|
United States
|
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
|
July 3, 1983
|
|
|
Carl Lewis
|
United States
|
Rome, Italy
|
August 30, 1987
|
|
|
|
Zürich, Switzerland
|
August 17, 1988
|
|
|||
|
9.83
|
Ben Johnson
|
Canada
|
Rome, Italy
|
August 30, 1987
|
|
|
9.92
|
Carl Lewis
|
United States
|
Seoul, South Korea
|
September 24, 1988
|
|
|
9.90
|
Leroy Burrell
|
United States
|
New York, New York, USA
|
June 14, 1991
|
|
|
9.86
|
Carl Lewis
|
United States
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
August 25, 1991
|
|
|
9.85
|
Leroy Burrell
|
United States
|
Lausanne, Switzerland
|
July 6, 1994
|
|
|
9.84
|
Donovan Bailey
|
Canada
|
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
|
July 27, 1996
|
|
|
9.79
|
Maurice Greene
|
United States
|
Athens, Greece
|
June 16, 1999
|
|
|
9.78
|
Tim Montgomery
|
United States
|
Charléty, Paris, France
|
September 14, 2002
|
|
|
9.77
|
Asafa Powell
|
Jamaica
|
Athens, Greece
|
June 14, 2005
|
|
|
Justin Gatlin
|
United States
|
Doha, Qatar
|
May 12, 2006
|
|
|
|
Asafa Powell
|
Jamaica
|
Gateshead, England
|
June 11, 2006
|
|
|
|
Zurich, Switzerland
|
August 18, 2006
|
|
|||
|
9.74
|
Rieti, Italy
|
September 9, 2007
|
|
||
|
9.72
|
Usain Bolt
|
Jamaica
|
New York, USA
|
May 31, 2008
|
|
|
9.69
|
Beijing, China
|
August 16, 2008
|
|
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article "Men’s 100m world record progression" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_100_metres_world_record_progression
And what about the ladies? The first officially-sanctioned world record was timed at 12,8’’ on August 20th, 1922, in Paris, by the British athlete Mary Lines. The progression since then has been higher than in men: 2,21’’ seconds, or 18,3% of the original time. The current world record is held by the American Florence Griffith Joyner, at 10,49’’, but, having been set on July 16th, 1988, in Indianapolis, USA, it’s, incredibly, already 21 years old!
The full progression is set below:
|
Time
|
Athlete
|
Nationality
|
Location
|
Date
|
|
12.8
|
Mary Lines
|
United Kingdom
|
Paris, France
|
August 20, 1922
|
|
12.7 (110 yards)
|
Emmi Haux
|
Germany
|
Frankfurt, Germany
|
May 21, 1923
|
|
12.8
|
Marie Mejzlikova
|
Czechoslovakia
|
Prague, Czechoslovakia
|
May 13, 1923
|
|
12.4
|
Leni Schmidt
|
Germany
|
Leipzig, Germany
|
August 30, 1925
|
|
12.2 (110 yards)
|
Leni Junker
|
Germany
|
Wiesbaden, Germany
|
September 13, 1925
|
|
12.4
|
Gundel Wittmann
|
Germany
|
Braunschweig, Germany
|
August 22, 1926
|
|
12.2
|
Leni Junker
|
Germany
|
Hanover, Germany
|
August 29, 1926
|
|
12.1 (110 yards)
|
Gertrud Gladitsch
|
Germany
|
Stuttgart, Germany
|
July 3, 1927
|
|
12.2
|
Kinue Hitomi
|
Japan
|
Osaka, Japan
|
May 20, 1928
|
|
12.0
|
Betty Robinson
|
United States
|
Chicago, Illinois, United States
|
June 2, 1928
|
|
12.0
|
Myrtle Cook
|
Canada
|
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
|
July 2, 1928
|
|
12.0
|
Leni Junker
|
Germany
|
Magdeburg, Germany
|
August 1, 1931
|
|
12.0
|
Tollien Schuurman
|
Netherlands
|
Amsterdam, Netherlands
|
August 31, 1930
|
|
11.9
|
Tollien Schuurman
|
Netherlands
|
Haarlem, Netherlands
|
June 5, 1932
|
|
11.9
|
Hilda Strike
|
Canada
|
Los Angeles, United States
|
August 2, 1932
|
|
11.9
|
Käthe Krauss
|
Germany
|
London, England
|
August 11, 1934
|
|
11.9
|
Helen Stephens
|
United States
|
Fulton, United States
|
April 10, 1935
|
|
11.8
|
Helen Stephens
|
United States
|
Saint Louis, United States
|
June 1, 1935
|
|
11.6
|
Helen Stephens
|
United States
|
Kansas City, United States
|
June 8, 1935
|
|
11.5
|
Helen Stephens
|
United States
|
Dresden, Germany
|
August 10, 1936
|
|
11.5
|
Lulu Mae Hymes
|
United States
|
Tuskegee
|
May 6, 1939
|
|
11.5
|
Rowena Harrison
|
United States
|
Tuskegee
|
May 6, 1939
|
|
11.5
|
Fanny Blankers-Koen
|
Netherlands
|
Amsterdam, Netherlands
|
September 5, 1943
|
|
11.5
|
Marjorie Jackson
|
Australia
|
Helsinki, Finland
|
July 22, 1952
|
|
11.4
|
Marjorie Jackson
|
Australia
|
Gifu, Japan
|
October 4, 1952
|
|
11.3
|
Shirley Strickland
|
Australia
|
Warsaw, Poland
|
August 4, 1955
|
|
11.3
|
Vera Krepkina
|
Soviet Union
|
Kiev, Soviet Union
|
September 13, 1958
|
|
11.3
|
Wilma Rudolph
|
United States
|
Rome, Italy
|
September 2, 1960
|
|
11.2
|
Wilma Rudolph
|
United States
|
Stuttgart, West Germany
|
July 19, 1961
|
|
11.2
|
Wyomia Tyus
|
United States
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
April 15, 1964
|
|
11.1
|
Irena Kirszenstein
|
Poland
|
Prague, Czechoslovakia
|
July 9, 1965
|
|
11.1
|
Wyomia Tyus
|
United States
|
Kiev, Soviet Union
|
July 31, 1965
|
|
11.1
|
Barbara Ferrell
|
United States
|
Santa Barbara, United States
|
July 2, 1967
|
|
11.1
|
Wyomia Tyus
|
United States
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
April 21, 1968
|
|
11.1
|
Lyudmila Samotyosova
|
Soviet Union
|
Leninakan, Soviet Union
|
August 15, 1968
|
|
11.1
|
Margaret Bailes
|
United States
|
Aurora, Philippines
|
August 18, 1968
|
|
11.1
|
Barbara Ferrell
|
United States
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
October 14, 1968
|
|
11.1
|
Irena Szewinska
|
Poland
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
October 14, 1968
|
|
11.0
|
Wyomia Tyus
|
United States
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
October 15, 1968
|
|
11.0
|
Chi Cheng
|
Chinese Taipei
|
Vienna, Austria
|
July 18, 1970
|
|
11.0
|
Renate Meißner
|
East Germany
|
Berlin, East Germany
|
August 2, 1970
|
|
11.0
|
Ellen Strophal
|
East Germany
|
Potsdam, East Germany
|
June 15, 1972
|
|
11.0
|
Eva Gleskova
|
Czechoslovakia
|
Budapest, Hungary
|
July 1, 1972
|
|
10.9
|
Renate Stecher
|
East Germany
|
Leipzig, East Germany
|
June 30, 1973
|
Records from 1976
|
Time
|
Athlete
|
Nationality
|
Location
|
Date
|
|
11.07
|
Renate Stecher
|
East Germany
|
Munich, West Germany
|
September 2, 1972
|
|
11.04
|
Inge Helten
|
West Germany
|
Fürth, West Germany
|
June 13, 1976
|
|
11.01
|
Annegret Richter
|
West Germany
|
Montreal, Canada
|
July 25, 1976
|
|
10.88
|
Marlies Oelsner
|
East Germany
|
Dresden, East Germany
|
July 1, 1977
|
|
10.88
|
Marlies Göhr
|
East Germany
|
Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany
|
July 9, 1982
|
|
10.81
|
Marlies Göhr
|
East Germany
|
Berlin, East Germany
|
June 8, 1983
|
|
10.79
|
Evelyn Ashford
|
United States
|
US Air Force Academy, United States
|
July 3, 1983
|
|
10.76
|
Evelyn Ashford
|
United States
|
Zürich, Switzerland
|
August 22, 1984
|
|
10.49
|
Florence Griffith Joyner
|
United States
|
Indianapolis, United States
|
July 16, 1988
|
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article "Women’s 100m world record progression" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_100_metres_world_record_progression
