100 metres

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

100 m (one hundred metres) is the classic sprints race distance. The reigning 100 m Olympic champion is often named "the fastest man/woman in the world". 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: the start being set on an extension to make it a straight line race. Many top level 60 m runners fail to excel at the 100 m. Competitive runners complete the event without breathing, and so it is an example of anaerobic exercise. Illegal drug use has been seen by some 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 record has been lowered 10 times since the introduction of electronic timing in 1968, and never by more than 0.05 seconds. The current world record of 9.77 seconds is held jointly between the reigning Olympic champion Justin Gatlin of the United States and Asafa Powell of Jamaica. Gatlin was reported as having run a time of 9.76 seconds in Doha on May 12, 2006, but five days later he was denied the out-right record after Tissot admitted an error in not rounding 9.766 to 9.77.

In the women's competition the world record belongs to Florence Griffith Joyner who ran a time of 10.49 seconds in Indianapolis on 16 July, 1988.

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 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 a 0.1 second reaction time 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 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.

For many years a sprinter was only disqualified if they were responsible for two false starts. However, this rule was causing 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 subsequent false start is disqualified immediately, though this rule has led to some sprinters deliberately false starting to gain a psychological advantage especially if they're one of the slower starters in the field.

Fastest 100 metre runners

Top ten all-time athletes — men

Updated June 11, 2006

Rank	Time	Wind (m/s)	Athlete	Date	Location
1.	9.77	+1.5 +1.6	Asafa Powell	11 June 2006 14 June 2005	Gateshead Athens
1.	9.77	+1.7	Justin Gatlin	12 May 2006	Doha
3.	9.79	+0.1	Maurice Greene	16 June 1999	Athens
4.	9.84	+0.7	Donovan Bailey	27 July 1996	Atlanta
4.	9.84	+0.2	Bruny Surin	22 August 1999	Seville
6.	9.85	+1.2	Leroy Burrell	6 July 1994	Lausanne
6.	9.85	+1.7	Olusoji Fasuba	12 May 2006	Doha
8.	9.86	+1.2	Carl Lewis	25 August 1991	Tokyo
8.	9.86	−0.4	Frank Fredericks	3 July 1996	Lausanne
8.	9.86	+1.8	Ato Boldon	19 April 1998	Walnut
8.	9.86	+0.6	Francis Obikwelu	22 August 2004	Athens

Ben Johnson's times (9.79 at Seoul on 24 September 1988 and 9.83 at Rome on 30 August 1987) were invalidated following an admission of extended drug use in 1988.

Tim Montgomery's time (9.78 at Paris on 14 September 2002) was invalidated following indictment in the BALCO scandal on drug use and drug trafficking charges.

Donovan Bailey's time is currently the Olympic record.

Justin Gatlin briefly held the out-right world record of 9.76 from 12 May 2006 until 17 May 2006, when the IAAF corrected his time of 9.766, in order to round it up to 9.77, in accordance with IAAF rules. ^*

Asafa Powell equalled his best time ever, 9.77, with a wind speed of +1.5m/s on 11 June 2006.

Top ten all-time athletes — women

Updated by July 27, 2005

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

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Record performances

Start

Fastest 100 metre runners

Top ten all-time athletes — men

Top ten all-time athletes — women

See also