# Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres

The women's 100 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, on 2 and 3 August 2024. This was the twenty-third time that the women's 100 metres has been contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 40 athletes qualified for the event by entry standard or ranking. Julien Alfred won Saint Lucia's first-ever Olympic medal after taking gold in the final.

## Summary

There were a lot of candidates for favorite in the Women's 100 but Double defending Champion, #2 of all time Elaine Thompson-Herah was unable to defend her Olympic titles from 2016 and 2020, as an achilles tendon injury forced her to withdraw from the Jamaican Olympic trials, thus not allowing her to qualify for these games; returning bronze medalist Shericka Jackson pulled out after suffering a cramp in a tune up race in Hungary to "protect my body" for her primary event, the 200 metres; American collegiate surprise Jacious Sears =#16 held the fastest time of the year for over two months, was injured in the SEC Championships and couldn't make the US Trials.
Reigning World champion, Sha'Carri Richardson, tied with Jackson for #6 of all time, won the US Trials. Teenager Tia Clayton won the Jamaican Trials ahead of #3 of all time, 37 year old Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Perennial contender, newly hyphenated Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith , #8 of all time, now eligible for the Masters Division is back as a 35 year old. And two months before the Olympics, former double NCAA Champion Julien Alfred moved into a tie for #23 of all time.
There was an early Preliminary round to give athletes representing countries without a qualified athlete a chance to compete. No Preliminary qualifiers advanced out of the heats. The veterans ran fast in the first round, Ta Lou-Smith had the fastest time with 10.87 with Fraser-Pryce tied with Daryll Neita for the next fastest at 10.92. In the semi-finals, Fraser-Pryce did not show up to the start line due to an undisclosed injury. Alfred had the fastest qualifying time 10.84, Richardson and Clayton shared the next best at 10.89.
In the final, Alfred got out to a quick start, her rapid acceleration taking a clear lead in the first 10 metres. Next to her, Richardson gave up .08 just in reaction time, putting her dead last at the same point. As Alfred expanded her lead, a row of chasers formed across the track; Mujinga Kambundji, Clayton, Melissa Jefferson and Neita. Ta Lou-Smith was struggling and would stop running by 40 metres. Richardson was into her running form and was starting to pick off runners from the back. Richardson passed the row, still focused on Alfred but the gap was way too much to make up. She turned off the power and coasted the last three steps. Jefferson was able to separate from the others for a clear third. Alfred ran a new personal best, 10.72; a national record and the first ever gold medal for St. Lucia. Her time moved her up to tie Ta Lou for the #8 performer in history.

## Background

The women's 100 metres has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1928. The 100 metres is considered one of the blue ribbon events of the Olympics and is among the highest profile competitions at the games. It is the most prestigious 100 metres race at an elite level and is the shortest sprinting competition at the Olympics.
Global records before the 2024 Summer Olympics :
| Record | Athlete (nation) | Time (s) | Location | Date |
| World record | Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA) | 10.49 | Indianapolis, United States | 16 July 1988 |
| Olympic record | Elaine Thompson-Herah (JAM) | 10.61 | Tokyo, Japan | 31 July 2021 |
| World leading | Sha'Carri Richardson (USA) | 10.71 | Eugene, United States | 22 June 2024 |
Area records before the 2024 Summer Olympics :
| Area record | Athlete (nation) | Time (s) |
| Africa (records) | Marie-Josée Ta Lou (CIV) | 10.72 |
| Asia (records) | Li Xuemei (CHN) | 10.79 |
| Europe (records) | Christine Arron (FRA) | 10.73 |
| North, Central America and Caribbean (records) | Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA) | 10.49 WR |
| Oceania (records) | Zoe Hobbs (NZL) | 10.96 |
| South America (records) | Rosângela Santos (BRA) | 10.91 |

## Qualification

For the women's 100 metres event, the qualification period was between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024. 48 athletes qualified for the event, with a maximum of three athletes per nation, by running the entry standard of 11.07 seconds or faster or by their World Athletics Ranking for this event. Additionally, universality places were given to NOCs that had not qualified athletes in any other event.

## Results
### Preliminary round

The preliminary round was held on 2 August, starting at 10:35 (UTC+2) in the morning. Qualification: First 3 in each heat (Q) and next 5 fastest (q) advance to round 1.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Natacha Ngoye | Republic of the Congo | 11.34 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Alessandra Gasparelli | San Marino | 11.62 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Xenia Hiebert | Paraguay | 11.77 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Valentina Meredova | Turkmenistan | 12.01 | q, SB |
| 5 | 9 | Samira Awali Boubacar | Niger | 12.06 | PB |
| 6 | 2 | Silina Pha Aphay | Laos | 12.45 | SB |
| 7 | 6 | Sydney Francisco | Palau | 13.15 | |
| 8 | 7 | Salam Bouha Ahamdy | Mauritania | 13.71 | PB |
| | 1 | Lucia Morris | South Sudan | DNF | |
| | | | | Wind: 0.0 m/s | Wind: 0.0 m/s |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Trần Thị Nhi Yến | Vietnam | 11.81 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Halle Hazzard | Grenada | 11.88 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Zhang Bo-ya | Chinese Taipei | 11.99 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Regine Tugade-Watson | Guam | 12.02 | q |
| 5 | 2 | Lika Kharchilava | Georgia | 12.37 | |
| 6 | 9 | Faiqa Riaz | Pakistan | 12.49 | PB |
| 7 | 8 | Mazoon Al-Alawi | Oman | 12.58 | SB |
| 8 | 3 | Filomenaleonisa Iakopo | American Samoa | 12.78 | NR |
| 9 | 1 | Mariam Kareem | United Arab Emirates | 13.26 | PB |
| | | | | Wind: 0.0 m/s | Wind: 0.0 m/s |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 9 | Gorete Semedo | São Tomé and Príncipe | 11.44 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Guadalupe Torrez | Bolivia | 11.60 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Leonie Beu | Papua New Guinea | 11.63 | Q, PB |
| 4 | 1 | María Carmona | Nicaragua | 11.88 | q, NR |
| 5 | 7 | Safiatou Acquaviva | Guinea | 11.97 | q, NR |
| 6 | 5 | Chloe David | Vanuatu | 12.44 | PB |
| 7 | 3 | Shahd Ashraf | Qatar | 12.53 | PB |
| 8 | 4 | Alisar Youssef | Syria | 12.93 | PB |
| 9 | 8 | Kimia Yousofi | Afghanistan | 13.42 | |
| | | | | Wind: +1.1 m/s | Wind: +1.1 m/s |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 9 | Zahria Allers-Liburd | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 11.73 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Asimenye Simwaka | Malawi | 11.78 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Mariandrée Chacón | Guatemala | 11.90 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Georgiana Sesay | Sierra Leone | 11.99 | q |
| 5 | 5 | Naomi Akakpo | Togo | 12.34 | PB |
| 6 | 7 | Marie-Charlotte Gastaud | Monaco | 12.41 | PB |
| 7 | 2 | Sefora Ada Eto | Equatorial Guinea | 13.63 | PB |
| 8 | 4 | Temalini Manatoa | Tuvalu | 14.04 | PB |
| 9 | 3 | Sharon Firisua | Solomon Islands | 14.31 | PB |
| | | | | Wind: +0.2 m/s | Wind: +0.2 m/s |

### Round 1

Round 1 was held on 2 August, starting at 11:50 (UTC+2) in the morning. Qualification: First 3 in each heat (Q) and next 3 fastest (q) advance to the semi-finals.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Sha'Carri Richardson | United States | 10.94 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Patrizia Van Der Weken | Luxembourg | 11.14 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | Bree Masters | Australia | 11.26 | Q, SB |
| 4 | 5 | Jacqueline Madogo | Canada | 11.27 | |
| 5 | 3 | Lorène Dorcas Bazolo | Portugal | 11.38 | |
| 6 | 9 | Tristan Evelyn | Barbados | 11.55 | |
| 7 | 4 | Trần Thị Nhi Yến | Vietnam | 11.79 | |
| 8 | 1 | Asimenye Simwaka | Malawi | 11.91 | |
| 9 | 2 | Thelma Davies | Liberia | 12.05 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 9 | Julien Alfred | Saint Lucia | 10.95 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Zoe Hobbs | New Zealand | 11.08 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 2 | Zaynab Dosso | Italy | 11.30 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Michelle-Lee Ahye | Trinidad and Tobago | 11.33 | |
| 5 | 8 | Yunisleidy García | Cuba | 11.37 | |
| 6 | 1 | Gorete Semedo | São Tomé and Príncipe | 11.43 | |
| 7 | 5 | Olivia Fotopoulou | Cyprus | 11.50 | |
| 8 | 7 | Destiny Smith-Barnett | Liberia | 11.99 | |
| 9 | 3 | Georgiana Sesay | Sierra Leone | 12.15 | |
| | | | | Wind: -0.8 m/s | Wind: -0.8 m/s |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Daryll Neita | Great Britain | 10.92 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 9 | Melissa Jefferson | United States | 10.96 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Boglárka Takács | Hungary | 11.10 | Q, NR |
| 4 | 5 | Karolína Maňasová | Czech Republic | 11.11 | q, PB |
| 5 | 1 | Gémima Joseph | France | 11.13 | |
| 6 | 6 | Ella Connolly | Australia | 11.29 | |
| 7 | 8 | Magdalena Stefanowicz | Poland | 11.47 | |
| 8 | 2 | Guadalupe Torrez | Bolivia | 11.68 | |
| 9 | 7 | Zhang Bo-ya | Chinese Taipei | 11.88 | SB |
| | | | | Wind: +1.5 m/s | Wind: +1.5 m/s |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Audrey Leduc | Canada | 10.95 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 8 | Tia Clayton | Jamaica | 11.00 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Imani Lansiquot | Great Britain | 11.10 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Maboundou Koné | Ivory Coast | 11.17 | =PB |
| 5 | 5 | Julia Henriksson | Sweden | 11.26 | |
| 6 | 9 | Ge Manqi | China | 11.45 | |
| 7 | 2 | Alessandra Gasparelli | San Marino | 11.54 | NR |
| 8 | 3 | Vitória Cristina Rosa | Brazil | 12.02 | |
| 9 | 7 | Safiatou Acquaviva | Guinea | 12.07 | |
| | | | | Wind: +1.2 m/s | Wind: +1.2 m/s |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Ewa Swoboda | Poland | 10.99 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 2 | Dina Asher-Smith | Great Britain | 11.01 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Rosemary Chukwuma | Nigeria | 11.26 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Ana Carolina Azevedo | Brazil | 11.32 | |
| 5 | 7 | Géraldine Frey | Switzerland | 11.34 | |
| 6 | 4 | Ángela Tenorio | Ecuador | 11.35 | |
| 7 | 8 | Farzaneh Fasihi | Iran | 11.51 | |
| 8 | 1 | Leonie Beu | Papua New Guinea | 11.73 | |
| 9 | 9 | Mariandrée Chacón | Guatemala | 12.06 | |
| | | | | Wind: +1.0 m/s | Wind: +1.0 m/s |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Twanisha Terry | United States | 11.15 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Shashalee Forbes | Jamaica | 11.19 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Leah Bertrand | Trinidad and Tobago | 11.27 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Salomé Kora | Switzerland | 11.35 | |
| 5 | 6 | Cecilia Tamayo-Garza | Mexico | 11.39 | |
| 6 | 8 | Viktória Forster | Slovakia | 11.44 | SB |
| 7 | 7 | Lotta Kemppinen | Finland | 11.56 | |
| 8 | 2 | Zahria Allers-Liburd | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 11.89 | |
| 9 | 9 | María Carmona | Nicaragua | 12.00 | |
| | | | | Wind: -0.4 m/s | Wind: -0.4 m/s |

#### Heat 7

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Gina Bass-Bittaye | The Gambia | 11.01 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Mujinga Kambundji | Switzerland | 11.05 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Delphine Nkansa | Belgium | 11.20 | Q, =PB |
| 4 | 5 | Polyniki Emmanouilidou | Greece | 11.25 | |
| 5 | 7 | Rebekka Haase | Germany | 11.28 | |
| 6 | 3 | Tima Seikeseye Godbless | Nigeria | 11.33 | |
| 7 | 8 | Veronica Shanti Pereira | Singapore | 11.63 | |
| 8 | 2 | Halle Hazzard | Grenada | 11.70 | |
| 9 | 9 | Xenia Hiebert | Paraguay | 11.82 | |
| | | | | Wind: -0.2 m/s | Wind: -0.2 m/s |

#### Heat 8

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith | Ivory Coast | 10.87 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 7 | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | Jamaica | 10.92 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Gina Lückenkemper | Germany | 11.08 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Rani Rosius | Belgium | 11.10 | q, PB |
| 5 | 8 | Gladymar Torres | Puerto Rico | 11.12 | q, NR |
| 6 | 3 | Natacha Ngoye | Republic of the Congo | 11.36 | |
| 7 | 5 | Joella Lloyd | Antigua and Barbuda | 11.37 | |
| 8 | 1 | Regine Tugade-Watson | Guam | 11.87 | |
| 9 | 9 | Valentina Meredova | Turkmenistan | 11.95 | SB |
| | | | | Wind: +0.8 m/s | Wind: +0.8 m/s |

### Semi-finals

The semi-finals were held on 3 August, starting at 19:50 (UTC+2) in the evening. Qualification: First 2 in each heat (Q) and next 2 fastest (q) advance to the final.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Melissa Jefferson | United States | 10.99 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith | Ivory Coast | 11.01 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Mujinga Kambundji | Switzerland | 11.05 | q |
| 4 | 6 | Ewa Swoboda | Poland | 11.08 | |
| 5 | 5 | Dina Asher-Smith | Great Britain | 11.10 | |
| 6 | 3 | Shashalee Forbes | Jamaica | 11.20 | |
| 7 | 9 | Boglárka Takács | Hungary | 11.26 | |
| 8 | 2 | Rani Rosius | Belgium | 11.29 | |
| 9 | 1 | Zaynab Dosso | Italy | 11.34 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Julien Alfred | Saint Lucia | 10.84 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Sha'Carri Richardson | United States | 10.89 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Gina Mariam Bass Bittaye | The Gambia | 11.10 | |
| 4 | 8 | Patrizia van der Weken | Luxembourg | 11.13 | |
| 5 | 3 | Imani-Lara Lansiquot | Great Britain | 11.21 | |
| 6 | 9 | Gladymar Torres | Puerto Rico | 11.33 | |
| 7 | 2 | Bree Masters | Australia | 11.34 | |
| 8 | 1 | Rosemary Chukwuma | Nigeria | 11.39 | |
| | 5 | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | Jamaica | DNS | |
| | | | | Wind: -0.1 m/s | Wind: -0.1 m/s |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Tia Clayton | Jamaica | 10.89 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Daryll Neita | Great Britain | 10.97 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | Twanisha Terry | United States | 11.07 | q |
| 4 | 8 | Gina Lückenkemper | Germany | 11.09 | |
| 5 | 5 | Audrey Leduc | Canada | 11.10 | |
| 6 | 3 | Zoe Hobbs | New Zealand | 11.13 | |
| 7 | 9 | Delphine Nkansa | Belgium | 11.28 | |
| 8 | 2 | Karolína Maňasová | Czech Republic | 11.35 | |
| 9 | 1 | Leah Bertrand | Trinidad and Tobago | 11.37 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.2 m/s | Wind: +0.2 m/s |

### Final

The final was held on 3 August, starting at 21:20 (UTC+2) in the evening.
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | 6 | Julien Alfred | Saint Lucia | 10.72 | NR |
| | 7 | Sha'Carri Richardson | United States | 10.87 | |
| | 5 | Melissa Jefferson | United States | 10.92 | |
| 4 | 8 | Daryll Neita | Great Britain | 10.96 | |
| 5 | 9 | Twanisha Terry | United States | 10.97 | |
| 6 | 2 | Mujinga Kambundji | Switzerland | 10.99 | |
| 7 | 4 | Tia Clayton | Jamaica | 11.04 | |
| 8 | 3 | Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith | Ivory Coast | 13.84 | |