Men 's 100 metres World record progression - wikipedia Men 's 100 metres World record progression IAAF - ratified world record progression for the men 's 100 m. The first record in the 100 metres for men ( athletics ) was recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912. The record now is 9.58 seconds which was run by Usain Bolt. As of 21 June 2011, the IAAF had ratified 67 records in the event, not including rescinded records. Contents 1 Unofficial progression before the IAAF 2 IAAF record progression 2.1 Records 1912 -- 1976 2.2 Records since 1977 2.3 Low altitude record progression 1968 -- 1987 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References Unofficial progression before the IAAF Time Athlete Nationality Location of races Date 10.8 Luther Cary United States Paris, France July 4, 1891 Cecil Lee United Kingdom Brussels, Belgium September 25, 1892 Etienne De Re Belgium Brussels, Belgium August 4, 1893 L. Atcherley United Kingdom Frankfurt / Main, Germany April 13, 1895 Harry Beaton United Kingdom Rotterdam, Netherlands August 28, 1895 Harald Anderson - Arbin Sweden Helsingborg, Sweden August 9, 1896 Isaac Westergren Sweden Gävle, Sweden September 11, 1898 Sweden Gävle, Sweden September 10, 1899 Frank Jarvis United States Paris, France July 14, 1900 Walter Tewksbury United States Paris, France July 14, 1900 Carl Ljung Sweden Stockholm, Sweden September 23, 1900 Walter Tewksbury United States Philadelphia, United States October 6, 1900 André Passat France Bordeaux, France June 14, 1903 Louis Kuhn Switzerland Bordeaux, France June 14, 1903 Harald Grønfeldt Denmark Aarhus, Denmark July 5, 1903 Eric Frick Sweden Jönköping, Sweden August 9, 1903 10.6 Knut Lindberg Sweden Gothenburg, Sweden August 26, 1906 10.5 Emil Ketterer Germany Karlsruhe, Germany July 9, 1911 Richard Rau Germany Braunschweig, Germany August 13, 1911 Richard Rau Germany Munich, Germany May 12, 1912 Erwin Kern Germany Munich, Germany May 26, 1912 IAAF record progression Ratified Not ratified Ratified but later rescinded `` Wind '' in these tables refers to wind assistance, the velocity of the wind parallel to the runner - positive values are from the starting line towards the finish line, negative are from the finish line towards the starting line, 0 is no wind in either direction, and all values are measured in metres per second. Any wind perpendicular to the runners ( from left to right, right to left, or up to down or down to up, although the conditions of the track generally preclude those wind directions ) is ignored and not listed. `` Auto '' refers to automatic timing, where available. Records 1912 -- 1976 Time Wind Auto Athlete Nationality Location of race Date Ref 10.6 Donald Lippincott United States Stockholm, Sweden July 6, 1912 Jackson Scholz September 16, 1920 10.4 Charley Paddock Redlands, USA April 23, 1921 0.0 Eddie Tolan Stockholm, Sweden August 8, 1929 Copenhagen, Denmark August 25, 1929 10.3 Percy Williams Canada Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 9, 1930 0.4 10.38 Eddie Tolan United States Los Angeles, USA August 1, 1932 Ralph Metcalfe Budapest, Hungary August 12, 1933 Eulace Peacock Oslo, Norway August 6, 1934 Chris Berger Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands August 26, 1934 Ralph Metcalfe United States Osaka, Japan September 15, 1934 2.0 Dairen, China September 23, 1934 2.5 Takayoshi Yoshioka Japan Tokyo, Japan June 15, 1935 10.2 1.2 Jesse Owens United States Chicago, USA June 20, 1936 10.3 0.5 Lennart Strandberg Sweden Malmö, Sweden September 26, 1936 10.2 - 0.9 Harold Davis United States Compton, USA June 6, 1941 0.7 Lloyd LaBeach Panama Fresno, USA May 15, 1948 10.35 Barney Ewell United States Evanston, United States July 9, 1948 0.0 McDonald Bailey Great Britain Belgrade, Yugoslavia August 25, 1951 1.1 Heinz Fütterer West Germany Yokohama, Japan October 31, 1954 0.9 Bobby Morrow United States Houston, USA May 19, 1956 - 1.0 Ira Murchison Compton, USA June 1, 1956 0.0 Bobby Morrow Bakersfield, USA June 22, 1956 - 1.3 Ira Murchison Los Angeles, USA June 29, 1956 - 0.4 Bobby Morrow 10.1 0.7 Willie Williams Berlin, Germany August 3, 1956 1.0 Ira Murchison August 4, 1956 1.5 Leamon King Ontario, USA October 20, 1956 0.9 Santa Ana, USA October 27, 1956 1.3 Ray Norton San Jose, USA April 18, 1959 10.0 0.9 10.25 Armin Hary West Germany Zürich, Switzerland June 21, 1960 1.8 Harry Jerome Canada Saskatoon, Canada July 15, 1960 0.0 Horacio Esteves Venezuela Caracas, Venezuela August 15, 1964 1.3 10.06 Bob Hayes United States Tokyo, Japan October 15, 1964 2.0 10.17 Jim Hines United States Modesto, USA May 27, 1967 1.8 Enrique Figuerola Cuba Budapest, Hungary June 17, 1967 0.0 Paul Nash South Africa Krugersdorp, South Africa April 2, 1968 1.1 Oliver Ford United States Albuquerque, USA May 31, 1968 2.0 10.20 Charles Greene Sacramento, USA June 20, 1968 2.0 10.28 Roger Bambuck France 9.9 0.8 10.03 Jim Hines United States Sacramento, USA June 20, 1968 0.9 10.14 Ronnie Ray Smith 0.9 10.10 Charles Greene 0.3 9.95 Jim Hines Mexico City, Mexico October 14, 1968 0.0 Eddie Hart Eugene, USA July 1, 1972 0.0 Rey Robinson 1.3 Steve Williams Los Angeles, USA June 21, 1974 1.7 Silvio Leonard Cuba Ostrava, Czechoslovakia June 5, 1975 0.0 Steve Williams United States Siena, Italy July 16, 1975 - 0.2 Berlin, Germany August 22, 1975 0.7 Gainesville, USA March 27, 1976 0.7 Harvey Glance Columbia, USA April 3, 1976 Baton Rouge, USA May 1, 1976 1.7 Don Quarrie Jamaica Modesto, USA May 22, 1976 The first manual time of 9.9 seconds was recorded for Bob Hayes in the final of the 100 metres at the 1964 Olympics. Hayes ' official time of 10.0 seconds was determined by rounding down the electronic time of 10.06 to the nearest tenth of a second, giving the appearance of a manual time. This method was unique to the Olympics of 1964 and 1968, and the officials at the track recorded Hayes ' time as 9.9 seconds. Records since 1977 Since 1975, the IAAF has accepted separate automatically electronically timed records for events up to 400 metres. Starting on January 1, 1977, the IAAF has required fully automatic timing to the hundredth of a second for these events. Jim Hines ' October 1968 Olympic gold medal run was the fastest recorded fully electronic 100 metre race up to that date, at 9.95 seconds. Track and Field News has compiled an unofficial list of automatically timed records starting with the 1964 Olympics and Bob Hayes ' gold medal performance there. Those marks are included in the progression. Time Wind Auto Athlete Nationality Location of race Date Notes 10.06 1.3 Bob Hayes United States Tokyo, Japan October 15, 1964 10.03 0.8 Jim Hines Sacramento, USA June 20, 1968 10.02 2.0 Charles Greene Mexico City, Mexico October 13, 1968 9.95 0.3 Jim Hines United States Mexico City, Mexico October 14, 1968 OR, A 9.93 1.4 Calvin Smith Colorado Springs, USA July 3, 1983 9.83 1.0 Ben Johnson Canada Rome, Italy August 30, 1987 9.93 1.1 Carl Lewis United States Rome, Italy August 30, 1987 1.1 Zürich, Switzerland August 17, 1988 9.79 1.1 Ben Johnson Canada Seoul, South Korea September 24, 1988 9.92 1.1 Carl Lewis United States Seoul, South Korea September 24, 1988 OR 9.90 1.9 Leroy Burrell New York, USA June 14, 1991 9.86 1.2 Carl Lewis Tokyo, Japan August 25, 1991 9.85 1.2 Leroy Burrell Lausanne, Switzerland July 6, 1994 9.84 0.7 9.835 Donovan Bailey Canada Atlanta, USA July 27, 1996 OR 9.79 0.1 Maurice Greene United States Athens, Greece June 16, 1999 9.78 2.0 Tim Montgomery Paris, France September 14, 2002 9.77 1.6 9.768 Asafa Powell Jamaica Athens, Greece June 14, 2005 1.7 9.766 Justin Gatlin United States Doha, Qatar May 12, 2006 1.5 9.763 Asafa Powell Jamaica Gateshead, England June 11, 2006 1.0 9.762 Zürich, Switzerland August 18, 2006 9.74 1.7 9.735 Rieti, Italy September 9, 2007 9.72 1.7 Usain Bolt New York, USA May 31, 2008 9.69 0.0 9.683 Beijing, China August 16, 2008 OR 9.58 0.9 9.572 Berlin, Germany August 16, 2009 CR Low altitude record progression 1968 -- 1987 The IAAF considers marks set at high altitude as acceptable for record consideration. However, high altitude can significantly assist sprint performances. One estimate suggests times in the 200m sprint can be assisted by between 0.09 s and 0.14 s with the maximum allowable tailing wind of ( 2.0 m / s ), and gain 0.3 s at altitudes over 2000 m. For this reason, unofficial low - altitude record lists have been compiled. After the IAAF started to recognise only electronic times in 1977, the then - current record and subsequent record were both set at altitude. It was not until 1987 that the world record was equalled or surpassed by a low - altitude performance. The following progression of low - altitude records therefore starts with Hines 's low - altitude `` record '' when the IAAF started to recognise only electronic timing in 1977, and continues to Lewis 's low - altitude performance that equalled the high - altitude world record in 1987. ( Ben Johnson 's 9.95 run in 1986 and 9.83 run in 1987 are omitted. ) Time Athlete Nationality Location of race Date 10.03 Jim Hines United States Sacramento, USA June 20, 1968 10.03 Silvio Leonard Cuba Havana, Cuba September 13, 1977 10.02 James Sanford United States Westwood, USA May 11, 1980 10.00 Carl Lewis Dallas, USA May 16, 1981 10.00 Modesto, USA May 15, 1982 9.97 Modesto, USA May 14, 1983 9.97 Calvin Smith Zürich, Switzerland August 24, 1983 9.96 Mel Lattany Athens, USA May 5, 1984 9.93 Carl Lewis Rome, Italy August 30, 1987 See also Women 's 100 metres world record progression Men 's 200 metres world record progression 100 - yard dash Notes Jump up ^ per IAAF profile ; 1.0 m / s per IAAF statistic handbook Jump up ^ Lennart Strandberg ran 10.3 to tie the then - extant world record on September 26, 1936, and this was ratified as a world record. On February 28, 1938, the IAAF ratified Jesse Owens ' 10.2 from June 20, 1936, meaning Strandberg 's mark, achieved after Owens ', was rescinded as a record. Jump up ^ `` A '' stands for records set more than 1,000 metres above sea level, `` OR '' stands for Olympic records, `` CR '' stands for IAAF World Championships record ^ Jump up to : Ben Johnson 's time of 9.79 on September 24, 1988 was disallowed and never ratified as a record as he tested positive for stanozolol after the race. Johnson subsequently admitted to steroid use between 1981 and 1988, and his world record of 9.83 set on August 30, 1987 was rescinded by the IAAF Council in September 1989. ( Track and Field News, November 1989, vol. 42, # 11, p. 37 ) Jump up ^ Carl Lewis 's times of 9.93 were deemed by the IAAF to have equalled the world record after Ben Johnson 's 9.83 time was rescinded, but were never ratified as world records, and his time of 9.92 to win the gold medal at the Seoul Olympics after Johnson was disqualified was recognized as the world record from January 1, 1990. Jump up ^ Tim Montgomery 's time of 9.78 on September 14, 2002 was rescinded after a 2005 ruling on his involvement with BALCO scandal ordered his results from 2001 - 2005 struck from the records and ordered him to forfeit medals and prizes from that time. By that time, however, it had been surpassed by Asafa Powell. ( 1 ) Jump up ^ Justin Gatlin was briefly credited with a new world record time of 9.76, but five days later the IAAF announced that the official timers, Tissot Timing, had discovered Gatlin 's time of 9.766 had erroneously been rounded down to the nearest hundredth instead of rounded up. This time instead made Gatlin co-world record holder with Asafa Powell, ( 2 ) but this was rescinded in 2007 after Gatlin failed a doping test. ( 3 ) References ^ Jump up to : `` IAAF World Championships : IAAF Statistics Handbook. Daegu 2011 '' ( PDF ). Monte Carlo : IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2011. pp. Pages 595, 596. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on October 1, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` 12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics : IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009 '' ( PDF ). Monte Carlo : IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 547. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2009. Jump up ^ Hymans, Richard ; Matrahazi, Imre. `` IAAF World Records Progression '' ( pdf ) ( 2015 ed. ). International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved October 20, 2015. Jump up ^ revisionist history : men 's 100 WR. Track and Field News. November 1, 2013 ^ Jump up to : `` Stat Corner : 100 WR Progression ''. Track & Field News. 61 ( 7 ) : 55. July 2008. Jump up ^ Track and Field News, November 1989, vol. 42, # 11, p. 37 Jump up ^ `` 10m Splits for Various 100m Final Events ''. Myweb.lmu.edu. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 23. Jump up ^ `` 100m World Record falls to Montgomery - 9.78 ! ''. IAAF. September 14, 2002. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008. Jump up ^ Frank Litsky ( May 18, 2006 ). `` Gatlin Must Share 100 - Meter Record ''. New York Times. Retrieved 2008 - 09 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Progression of IAAF World Records, 2015 Edition '' ( PDF ). 2015. pp. Pages 33. Retrieved February 24, 2018. Jump up ^ `` 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics - Berlin 2009 - Bolt again ! 9.58 World record in Berlin ! ''. Berlin.iaaf.org. 2009 - 08 - 16. Retrieved 2010 - 06 - 07. Jump up ^ `` World records set at Berlin World Championships have been ratified ''. iaaf.org. 2009 - 09 - 30. Retrieved 2010 - 06 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Effect of wind speed and altitude on sprint times ''. www.brianmac.co.uk. Retrieved 2011 - 04 - 28. Jump up ^ `` IngentaConnect Modeling wind and altitude effects in the 200 m sprint ''. www.ingentaconnect.com. Retrieved 2010 - 05 - 28. 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Question: who held the 100m record before usain bolt
Answer: Asafa Powell