Claim: Usain Bolt is a runner.

The 100 metres , or 100-metre dash , is a sprint race in track and field competitions . The shortest common outdoor running distance , it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics . It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1928 for women .    The reigning 100 m Olympic champion is often named `` the fastest runner in the world . '' The World Championships 100 metres has been contested since 1983 . Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are the reigning world champions , Bolt and Elaine Thompson are the Olympic champions in the men 's and women 's 100 metres , respectively .   On an outdoor 400 metres running track , the 100 m is run on the home straight , with the start usually being set on an extension to make it a straight-line race . Runners begin in the starting blocks and the race begins when an official fires the starter 's pistol . Sprinters typically reach top speed after somewhere between 50 -- 60 m . Their speed then slows towards the finish line .   The 10-second barrier has historically been a barometer of fast men 's performances , while the best female sprinters take eleven seconds or less to complete the race . The current men 's world record is 9.58 seconds , set by Jamaica 's Usain Bolt in 2009 , while the women 's world record of 10.49 seconds set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 remains unbroken .   The 100 m -LRB- 109.361 yards -RRB- emerged from the metrication of the 100 yards -LRB- 91.44 m -RRB- , a now defunct distance originally contested in English-speaking countries . The event is largely held outdoors as few indoor facilities have a 100 m straight .   US athletes have won the men 's Olympic 100 metres title more times than any other country , 16 out of the 28 times that it has been run . US women have also dominated the event winning 9 out of 21 times .