This article is about the 100-metre race. For lengths on the order of magnitude of 100 metres, see 1 hectometre.
Usain Bolt is the current record holder of the 100 metres at 9.72 seconds.
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", even though the 200m has had a faster average speed in the men's race since the mid 1990s.
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.
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 at the Icahn Stadium in New York on 31 May 2008 at the Reebok Grand Prix. 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 distance races, the downward march of the 100 m record has been criticized as more a measure of technological advances in training technology than athletic greatness.[1]
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.
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, introduced in February 2003, 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". The fastest recorded time for the distance, although excluded from the records because of wind assistance, was 9.68 s by Tyson Gay of the United States on 29 June 2008 during the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon; the tail wind speed was 4.1 m/s, more than double the IAAF legal limit.[2]
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".[3]
Fastest 100 metres runners
Top thirteen all-time athletes — men
Updated 10 June 2008[4]
Notes
- Donovan Bailey's 9.84 at Atlanta on 27 July 1996 is the current 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 eleven all-time athletes — women
Updated 27 July 2005
See also
References
- ^ McClelland, Ted (2007-09-27). "World's Fastest Sham". Sports Nut column. Slate.
- ^ Zinser, Lynn (June 30, 2008), "Shattering Limits on the Track, and in the Pool" The New York Times
- ^ 100 metres IAAF
- ^ Top List - 100m IAAF
External links
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