Men’s 100 Metres World Record

Who would have predicted that a fellow named Bolt would some day end up as the fastest human being?

Who would have predicted that a fellow named Bolt would some day end up as the fastest human being on the planet. Last week, one year after he clocked an astounding 9.69 at the Beijing Olympics, Usain Bolt shaved a massive tenth of a second off his own world record to return an even more astonishing time of 9.58 seconds. How far has this most glamorous of track records travelled since the time they started keeping track of it?

The first 100 metres record for men was recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912. As of 21 June 2009, the IAAF has ratified 65 records in the event, not including the annulled ones. (Bolt’s run will soon be added to that illustrious list.)

From 1975, the IAAF started accepting separate electronically timed records for events up to 400 metres. Jim Hines’ October 1968 Olympic gold medal run is, at 9.95 seconds, the most significant electronic 100 metre world record because it held firm for an incredible 14 years and 252 days. On 3 July 1983, it was lowered to 9.93 seconds by Calvin Smith at an event in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It remains, to this date, the longest standing 100 metres world record in the history of this marquee event.

At the 1987 Seoul Olympics, the legendary Carl Lewis was declared the winner and world record holder in a memorable race that saw Ben Johnson being disqualified after he had destroyed all comers, including Lewis, in 9.79 explosive steroid-charged seconds. Lewis’s legal, ratified, steroid-free time was a comparatively languorous 9.92 seconds.

Speaking of records, the first official 100 metres world mark was set by Don Lippincott of the US in Stockholm on 6 July 1912. The delightfully-named Lippincott clocked a leisurely 10.6 seconds and was timed manually. Considering this is an event in which every millisecond of a second counts, we’ve come a very long way since.

The exhilarating thing for people like yours truly is that Bolt is just 22, well short of the traditional prime age for sprinters. How much lower he takes this coveted mark remains to be seen. Watch his space.

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Avinash Subramaniam