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100 metres

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This article is about the 100-metre race. For lengths on the order of magnitude fo 100 metres, see 1 hectometre.

100 m (one hundred metres) is the shortest outdoor sprint race distance in athletics. The reigning 100 m Olympic champion is often named "the fastest man/woman in the world".

In the past, athletes often competed over 100 yards (91 m) instead of the 100 m, especially in the United States. This shorter distance 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, the start being set on an extension to make it a straight-line race. Illegal drug use has been seen by some people as a means to gain a competitive edge; in particular, the scandal at the 1988 Summer Olympics when the winner Ben Johnson was stripped of his medal.

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 eleven times since the introduction of electronic timing in 1968, never being surpassed by more than 0.05 s at a time. The current men's world record of 9.72 s is held by Usain Bolt of Jamaica, set in New York on May 31 2008. The current women's world record of 10.49 s was set by Florence Griffith-Joyner, in Indianapolis, Indiana on 16 July 1988.

Due to the progression of record times compared to longer distances, the downward march of the 100 m record has been criticized as more a measure of technological advances than athletic greatness.[1]

Start

At the start, some athletes play psychological games such as trying to be last to the starting blocks, although direct intimidation would be considered unsportsmanlike. The starter will keep the sprinters in the set position for an unpredictable time of around two 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. A reaction time less than 0.1 s is considered a false start. The 0.1-second 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 it takes for a human to react to it.

For many years a sprinter was disqualified if responsible for two false starts individually. However, this rule was allowing some major races to be restarted so many times that the sprinters started to lose focus. The new rule is that, after one false start, anyone responsible for a subsequent false start is disqualified immediately. This rule has 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.

Climatic conditions

Climatic conditions are a crucial factor for good performances in the 100 m. Air resistance is the primary climatic factor in sprint performances. 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 2.0 m/s is allowed for a 100 m performance to be considered eligible for records, or "wind legal". Furthermore, sprint athletes perform better at high altitudes because of the thinner air, which provides less air resistance. While there are no limitations on altitude, performances made at altitudes greater than 1000 m above sea level are marked with an "A".[2]

For example, on 13 April 1996, Obadele Thompson of Barbados ran the fastest 100 m race ever in El Paso, Texas. He was clocked at 9.69 s. However, it was achieved with a tail wind in excess of 5 m/s, well over the IAAF legal limit of 2.0 m/s, and the mark was not officially recognized.

Fastest 100 metres runners

Top thirteen all-time athletes — men

Updated 19 April 2008

Rank Time Wind (m/s) Athlete Nation Date Location
1 9.72 +1.7 Usain Bolt  Jamaica 31 May 2008 New York
2 9.74 +1.7 Asafa Powell  Jamaica 9 September 2007 Rieti
3 9.76 +1.8 Usain Bolt  Jamaica 3 May 2008 Jamaica
4 9.79 +0.1 Maurice Greene  United States 16 June 1999 Athens
5 9.84 +0.7 Donovan Bailey  Canada 27 July 1996 Atlanta
+0.2 Bruny Surin  Canada 22 August 1999 Seville
+1.0 Tyson Gay  United States 18 August 2006 Zürich
−0.5 24 June 2007 Indianapolis
8 9.85 +1.2 Leroy Burrell  United States 6 July 1994 Lausanne
+0.6 Justin Gatlin  United States 22 August 2004 Athens
+1.7 Olusoji Fasuba  Nigeria 12 May 2006 Doha
11 9.86 +1.2 Carl Lewis  United States 25 August 1991 Tokyo
−0.4 Frankie Fredericks  Namibia 3 July 1996 Lausanne
+1.8 Ato Boldon  Trinidad and Tobago 19 April 1998 Walnut
+0.6 Francis Obikwelu  Portugal 22 August 2004 Athens

Notes

  • Donovan Bailey's 9.84 at Atlanta on 27 July 1996 is currently the Olympic record.
  • Justin Gatlin ran 9.77 in Doha on 12 May 2006, which was at the time ratified as a world record. However, the performance was annulled in 2007 after he failed a doping test in April 2006.
  • Ben Johnson ran 9.79 at Seoul on 24 September 1988, but he was disqualified after he tested positive for stanozolol after the race. He subsequently admitted to drug use between 1981 and 1988, and his time of 9.83 at Rome on 30 August 1987 was invalidated. Carl Lewis's 9.92 in the Seoul race was therefore recognized as the world record, and his two prior runs of 9.93 were seen as having equalled the previous world record.
  • Tim Montgomery's time (9.78 at Paris on 14 September 2002) was invalidated following his indictment in the BALCO scandal on drug use and drug trafficking charges. The time had stood as the world record until Asafa Powell first ran 9.77.

Top ten all-time athletes — women

Updated 27 July 2005

Rank Time Wind (m/s) Athlete Nation Date Location
1 10.49 0.0 Florence Griffith Joyner  United States 16 July 1988 Indianapolis
2 10.65A +1.1 Marion Jones  United States 12 September 1998 Johannesburg
3 10.73 +2.0 Christine Arron  France 19 August 1998 Budapest
4 10.74 +1.3 Merlene Ottey  Jamaica 7 September 1996 Milan
5 10.76 +1.7 Evelyn Ashford  United States 22 August 1984 Zürich
6 10.77 +0.9 Irina Privalova  Russia 6 July 1994 Lausanne
+0.7 Ivet Lalova  Bulgaria 19 June 2004 Plovdiv
8 10.78A +1.0 Dawn Sowell  United States 3 June 1989 Provo
9 10.79 0.0 Li Xuemei  China 18 October 1997 Shanghai
−0.1 Inger Miller  United States 22 August 1999 Seville

See also

References

  1. ^ McClelland, Ted (2007-09-27). "World's Fastest Sham". Sports Nut column. Slate.
  2. ^ 100 metres IAAF

Sources

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