100 metres

Athletics
100 metres
Athletics; 100 metres
	Start of the men's 100 metres final at the; 2012 Olympic Games in London
World records
Men	Usain Bolt (JAM) 9.58 (2009)
Women	Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA) 10.49 (1988)
Olympic records
Men	Usain Bolt (JAM) 9.63 (2012)
Women	Elaine Thompson-Herah (JAM) 10.61 (2021)
World Championship records
Men	Usain Bolt (JAM) 9.58 (2009)
Women	Sha'Carri Richardson (USA) 10.65 (2023)
World junior (U20) records
Men	Letsile Tebogo (BOT) 9.91 (2022)
Women	Sha'Carri Richardson (USA) 10.75 (2019)

Start (green) and end (red) points of a 100 metre race, marked on a running track

The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the 100-meter (109.36 yd) dash 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 inaugural World Championships were in 1983.

On an outdoor 400-metre running track, the 100 m is held on the home straight, with the start usually being set on an extension to make it a straight-line race. There are three instructions given to the runners immediately before and at the beginning of the race: "on your marks", "set", and the firing of the starter's pistol. The runners move to the starting blocks when they hear the 'on your marks' instruction. The following instruction, to adopt the 'set' position, allows them to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles: this will help them to start faster. A race-official then fires the starter's pistol to signal the race beginning and the sprinters stride forwards from the blocks. Sprinters typically reach top speed after somewhere between 50 and 60 m. Their speed then slows towards the finish line.

Women's 100 m Final – 2015 World Championships, won by Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

The men's world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2009, while the women's world record is 10.49 seconds, set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.

The current men's Olympic and world champion is Noah Lyles, while the current women's Olympic champion is Julien Alfred, and the world champion is Sha'Carri Richardson.

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.

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