50 metres
| Athletics 50 metres | |
|---|---|
| World records | |
| Men |  Donovan Bailey 5.56 A (1996) |
| Women |  Irina Privalova 5.96 (1995) |
50 metres, or 50-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field, featured as an alternative to the 60 metres running event. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is used in the Special Olympics but otherwise a rare distance. The World Masters Rankings has recorded the event since the 2010s.[1]
Records and personal bests in the 50 metres are frequently achieved in February and March as these dates coincide with the indoor athletics season.
All-time top 25
[edit]Indoor results only
+ = en route to a longer distance
A = affected by altitude
Men
[edit]- Updated February 2025.[2]
- B Ben Johnson of Canada ran 5.55 at Ottawa, Canada on 31 January 1987, but this time was rescinded after Johnson admitted to using steroids between 1981 and 1988.
Notes
[edit]Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 5.63:
- Maurice Greene also ran 5.59+ (1999).
- Michael Green also ran 5.62+ (1997).
- Donovan Bailey also ran 5.62 (1996).
- Deji Aliu also ran 5.63+ (1999).
- Freddy Mayola also ran 5.63+ (2001).
Outdoor best performances
[edit] |
+ = en route to 100m mark. N.B. The Seville marks listed are excluding the athlete's reaction times. Bolt's & Su's times are inclusive.
| Rank | Time | Wind (m/s) | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.40+ (calculated; add 0.127, or 0.13) | +0.2 | Bruny Surin | Canada
|
22 August 1999 | Seville | [5] |
| 2 | 5.42+ (calculated; add 0.132, or 0.14) | Maurice Greene |  United States
| ||||
| 3 | 5.43+ (calculated; add 0.140) | Dwain Chambers |  Great Britain
| ||||
| 4 | 5.45+ | +0.9 | Su Bingtian |  China
|
1 August 2021 | Tokyo | [6] |
| 5 | 5.46+ (calculated; add 0.136, or 0.14) | +0.2 | Tim Harden | United States
|
22 August 1999 | Seville | [7] |
| 6 | 5.47+ (calculated) | +0.9 | Usain Bolt |  Jamaica
|
16 August 2009 | Berlin | [8] |
Women
[edit]- Correct as of February 2026.[9]
Note: Angella Issajenko of Canada ran a world record 6.06 in Ottawa on 13 January 1987, this performance was rescinded after Issajenko's admittance of long term drug use at the Dubin Inquiry in 1989.
Notes
[edit]Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 6.11:
- Irina Privalova also ran 6.01 (1994), 6.03 (1994), 6.04 (1993), 6.05+ (1993, 1997), 6.07 (1994), 6.08 (1994), 6.08+ (1997), 6.09 (1994) and 6.11+ (1996).
- Gail Devers also ran 6.03 (1999) and 6.10 (1993).
- Merlene Ottey also ran 6.06+ (1999), 6.08+ (1999) and 6.11+ (1996).
- Savatheda Fynes also ran 6.07+ (1999).
- Philomena Mensah also ran 6.07+ (1999).
- Christy Opara-Thompson also ran 6.11+ (1997).
Outdoor best performances
[edit]+ = en route to 100m mark
| Time | Wind (m/s) | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.93+ (calculated) | −0.1 | Marion Jones |  United States
|
22 August 1999 | Seville |
World leading times
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "50 Meter Dash Now Ranked!". MastersRankings.com. World Masters Rankings.
- ^ "All Time Top Lists - Senior Indoor 50 Metres Men". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "60 Metres Results" (PDF). www.meeting-pasdecalais.com. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ "Czech Indoor Gala – 60m Results". World Athletics. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Biomechanical Analysis of the World Championships in Athletics Seville 1999". IAAF. IAAF. 2001. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ Pierre-Jean Vazel (8 October 2021). "Analyzing the Olympic 100-meter sprints". hmmrmedia.com. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ "Biomechanical Analysis of the World Championships in Athletics Seville 1999". IAAF. IAAF. 2001. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Biomechanical Analysis 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics" (PDF). IAAF. 17 August 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ "All-time women's best 50m". IAAF. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "60m Round 1 Heat 2 – 50m Split Times". World Athletics. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "60m Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
- ^ "60m Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
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