# Men's 100 metres world record progression

The first record in the 100 metres for men (athletics) was recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as World Athletics, in 1912.
As of 21 June 2011, the IAAF had ratified 67 records in the event, not including rescinded records.

## Unofficial progression before the IAAF

| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Location of races | Date |
| 10.8 | Luther Cary | United States | Paris, France | July 4, 1891 |
| 10.8 | Cecil Lee | United Kingdom | Brussels, Belgium | September 25, 1892 |
| 10.8 | Étienne De Ré | Belgium | Brussels, Belgium | August 4, 1893 |
| 10.8 | L. Atcherley | United Kingdom | Frankfurt/Main, Germany | April 13, 1895 |
| 10.8 | Harry Beaton | United Kingdom | Rotterdam, Netherlands | August 28, 1895 |
| 10.8 | Harald Anderson-Arbin | Sweden | Helsingborg, Sweden | August 9, 1896 |
| 10.8 | Isaac Westergren | Sweden | Gävle, Sweden | September 11, 1898 |
| 10.8 | Isaac Westergren | Sweden | Gävle, Sweden | September 10, 1899 |
| 10.8 | Frank Jarvis | United States | Paris, France | July 14, 1900 |
| 10.8 | Walter Tewksbury | United States | Paris, France | July 14, 1900 |
| 10.8 | Carl Ljung | Sweden | Stockholm, Sweden | September 23, 1900 |
| 10.8 | Walter Tewksbury | United States | Philadelphia, United States | October 6, 1900 |
| 10.8 | André Passat | France | Bordeaux, France | June 14, 1903 |
| 10.8 | Louis Kuhn | Switzerland | Bordeaux, France | June 14, 1903 |
| 10.8 | Harald Grønfeldt | Denmark | Aarhus, Denmark | July 5, 1903 |
| 10.8 | 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 |
| 10.5 | Richard Rau | Germany | Braunschweig, Germany | August 13, 1911 |
| 10.5 | Richard Rau | Germany | Munich, Germany | May 12, 1912 |
| 10.5 | 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* Ratified but later rescinded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, and for the purposes of these lists, indicates auto times which were either also taken for hand-timed records, or were rounded to the tenth or hundredth of a second (depending on the rounding rules then in effect) for the official record time.

### Records 1912–1976

| Time | Wind | Auto | Athlete | Nationality | Location of race | Date | Ref |
| 10.6 | | | Donald Lippincott | United States | Stockholm, Sweden | July 6, 1912 | |
| 10.6 | | | Jackson Scholz | United States | Stockholm, Sweden | September 16, 1920 | |
| 10.4 | | | Charley Paddock | United States | Redlands, USA | April 23, 1921 | |
| 10.4 | 0.0 | | Eddie Tolan | United States | Stockholm, Sweden | August 8, 1929 | |
| 10.4 | | | Eddie Tolan | United States | Copenhagen, Denmark | August 25, 1929 | |
| 10.3 | | | Percy Williams | Canada | Toronto, Canada | August 9, 1930 | |
| 10.3 | 0.4 | 10.38 | Eddie Tolan | United States | Los Angeles, USA | August 1, 1932 | |
| 10.3 | | | Ralph Metcalfe | United States | Budapest, Hungary | August 12, 1933 | |
| 10.3 | | | Eulace Peacock | United States | Oslo, Norway | August 6, 1934 | |
| 10.3 | | | Chris Berger | Netherlands | Amsterdam, Netherlands | August 26, 1934 | |
| 10.3 | | | Ralph Metcalfe | United States | Osaka, Japan | September 15, 1934 | |
| 10.3 | 2.0 | | Ralph Metcalfe | United States | Dairen, Japan | September 23, 1934 | |
| 10.3 | 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 | $^{:26}$ |
| 10.2 | −0.9 | | Harold Davis | United States | Compton, USA | June 6, 1941 | |
| 10.2 | 0.7 | | Lloyd LaBeach | Panama | Fresno, USA | May 15, 1948 | |
| 10.2 | | 10.35 | Barney Ewell | United States | Evanston, United States | July 9, 1948 | |
| 10.2 | 0.0 | | McDonald Bailey | Great Britain | Belgrade, Yugoslavia | August 25, 1951 | |
| 10.2 | 1.1 | | Heinz Fütterer | West Germany | Yokohama, Japan | October 31, 1954 | |
| 10.2 | 0.9 | | Bobby Morrow | United States | Houston, USA | May 19, 1956 | |
| 10.2 | −1.0 | | Ira Murchison | United States | Compton, USA | June 1, 1956 | |
| 10.2 | 0.0 | | Bobby Morrow | United States | Bakersfield, USA | June 22, 1956 | |
| 10.2 | −1.3 | | Ira Murchison | United States | Los Angeles, USA | June 29, 1956 | |
| 10.2 | −0.4 | | Bobby Morrow | United States | Los Angeles, USA | June 29, 1956 | |
| 10.1 | 0.7 | | Willie Williams | United States | Berlin, Germany | August 3, 1956 | |
| 10.1 | 1.0 | | Ira Murchison | United States | Berlin, Germany | August 4, 1956 | |
| 10.1 | 1.5 | | Leamon King | United States | Ontario, USA | October 20, 1956 | |
| 10.1 | 0.9 | | Leamon King | United States | Santa Ana, USA | October 27, 1956 | |
| 10.1 | 1.3 | | Ray Norton | United States | San Jose, USA | April 18, 1959 | |
| 10.0 | 0.9 | 10.25 | Armin Hary | West Germany | Zürich, Switzerland | June 21, 1960 | |
| 10.0 | 1.8 | | Harry Jerome | Canada | Saskatoon, Canada | July 15, 1960 | |
| 10.0 | 0.0 | | Horacio Esteves | Venezuela | Caracas, Venezuela | August 15, 1964 | |
| 10.0 | 1.3 | 10.06 | Bob Hayes | United States | Tokyo, Japan | October 15, 1964 | |
| 10.0 | 2.0 | 10.17 | Jim Hines | United States | Modesto, USA | May 27, 1967 | |
| 10.0 | 1.8 | | Enrique Figuerola | Cuba | Budapest, Hungary | June 17, 1967 | |
| 10.0 | 0.0 | | Paul Nash | South Africa | Krugersdorp, South Africa | April 2, 1968 | |
| 10.0 | 1.1 | | Oliver Ford | United States | Albuquerque, USA | May 31, 1968 | |
| 10.0 | 2.0 | 10.20 | Charles Greene | United States | Sacramento, USA | June 20, 1968 | |
| 10.0 | 2.0 | 10.28 | Roger Bambuck | France | Sacramento, USA | June 20, 1968 | |
| 9.9 | 0.8 | 10.03 | Jim Hines | United States | Sacramento, USA | June 20, 1968 | |
| 9.9 | 0.8 | 10.14 | Ronnie Ray Smith | United States | Sacramento, USA | June 20, 1968 | |
| 9.9 | 0.9 | 10.10 | Charles Greene | United States | Sacramento, USA | June 20, 1968 | |
| 9.9 | 0.3 | 9.95 | Jim Hines | United States | Mexico City, Mexico | October 14, 1968 | |
| 9.9 | 0.0 | | Eddie Hart | United States | Eugene, USA | July 1, 1972 | |
| 9.9 | 0.0 | | Rey Robinson | United States | Eugene, USA | July 1, 1972 | |
| 9.9 | 1.3 | | Steve Williams | United States | Los Angeles, USA | June 21, 1974 | |
| 9.9 | 1.7 | | Silvio Leonard | Cuba | Ostrava, Czechoslovakia | June 5, 1975 | |
| 9.9 | 0.0 | | Steve Williams | United States | Siena, Italy | July 16, 1975 | |
| 9.9 | −0.2 | | Steve Williams | United States | Berlin, Germany | August 22, 1975 | |
| 9.9 | 0.7 | | Steve Williams | United States | Gainesville, USA | March 27, 1976 | |
| 9.9 | 0.7 | | Harvey Glance | United States | Columbia, USA | April 3, 1976 | |
| 9.9 | | | Harvey Glance | United States | Baton Rouge, USA | May 1, 1976 | |
| 9.9 | 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.
The event is linked on some of the dates.
| Time | Wind | Auto | Athlete | Nationality | Location of race | Date | Notes | Duration of record |
| 10.06 | 1.3 | | Bob Hayes | United States | Tokyo, Japan | October 15, 1964 | | 3 years, 8 months and 5 days |
| 10.03 | 0.8 | | Jim Hines | United States | Sacramento, USA | June 20, 1968 | | 3 months and 23 days |
| 10.02 | 2.0 | | Charles Greene | United States | Mexico City, Mexico | October 13, 1968 | A | 1 day |
| 9.95 | 0.3 | | Jim Hines | United States | Mexico City, Mexico | October 14, 1968 | OR, A | 14 years, 8 months and 19 days |
| 9.93 | 1.4 | | Calvin Smith | United States | Colorado Springs, USA | July 3, 1983 | A | 4 years, 1 month and 27 days |
| 9.83 | 1.0 | | Ben Johnson | Canada | Rome, Italy | August 30, 1987 | | 0 days |
| 9.93 | 1.0 | | Carl Lewis | United States | Rome, Italy | August 30, 1987 | | 11 months and 18 days |
| 9.93 | 1.1 | | Carl Lewis | United States | Zürich, Switzerland | August 17, 1988 | | 1 month and 7 days |
| 9.79 | 1.1 | | Ben Johnson | Canada | Seoul, South Korea | September 24, 1988 | | 0 days |
| 9.92 | 1.1 | | Carl Lewis | United States | Seoul, South Korea | September 24, 1988 | OR | 2 years, 8 months and 21 days |
| 9.90 | 1.9 | | Leroy Burrell | United States | New York, USA | June 14, 1991 | | 2 months and 11 days |
| 9.86 | 1.2 | | Carl Lewis | United States | Tokyo, Japan | August 25, 1991 | | 2 years, 10 months and 11 days |
| 9.85 | 1.2 | 9.848 | Leroy Burrell | United States | Lausanne, Switzerland | July 6, 1994 | | 2 years and 21 days |
| 9.84 | 0.7 | 9.835 | Donovan Bailey | Canada | Atlanta, USA | July 27, 1996 | OR | 2 years, 10 months and 20 days |
| 9.79 | 0.1 | | Maurice Greene | United States | Athens, Greece | June 16, 1999 | | 3 years, 2 months and 29 days |
| 9.78 | 2.0 | | Tim Montgomery | United States | Paris, France | September 14, 2002 | | 2 years and 9 months |
| 9.77 | 1.6 | 9.768 | Asafa Powell | Jamaica | Athens, Greece | June 14, 2005 | | 10 months and 28 days |
| 9.77 | 1.7 | 9.766 | Justin Gatlin | United States | Doha, Qatar | May 12, 2006 | | 30 days |
| 9.77 | 1.5 | 9.763 | Asafa Powell | Jamaica | Gateshead, United Kingdom | June 11, 2006 | | 2 months and 7 days |
| 9.77 | 1.0 | 9.762 | Asafa Powell | Jamaica | Zürich, Switzerland | August 18, 2006 | | 1 year and 22 days |
| 9.74 | 1.7 | 9.735 | Asafa Powell | Jamaica | Rieti, Italy | September 9, 2007 | | 8 months and 22 days |
| 9.72 | 1.7 | 9.715 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | New York, USA | May 31, 2008 | | 2 months and 16 days |
| 9.69 | 0.0 | 9.683 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | Beijing, China | August 16, 2008 | OR | 1 year |
| 9.58 | 0.9 | 9.572 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | Berlin, Germany | August 16, 2009 | CR | 15 years, 2 months and 18 days |

### 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 200 m sprint can be assisted by between 0.09s and 0.14s with the maximum allowable tailing wind of 2.0 m/s, and gain 0.3s at altitudes over 2000m. 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 | United States | Dallas, USA | May 16, 1981 |
| 10.00 | Carl Lewis | United States | Modesto, USA | May 15, 1982 |
| 9.97 | Carl Lewis | United States | Modesto, USA | May 14, 1983 |
| 9.97 | Calvin Smith | United States | Zürich, Switzerland | August 24, 1983 |
| 9.96 | Mel Lattany | United States | Athens, USA | May 5, 1984 |
| 9.93 | Carl Lewis | United States | Rome, Italy | August 30, 1987 |