The first world record in the 100 metres for men (athletics) was recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as World Athletics, in 1912.

, the IAAF has ratified 67 records in the event, not including rescinded records.

Unofficial progression before the IAAF

+Unofficial world records and best known times up to 1912 Time Athlete Nationality Location of races Date 10.8 Luther Cary Paris, France 4 July 1891 Cecil Lee Brussels, Belgium 25 September 1892 Étienne De Ré Brussels, Belgium 4 August 1893 L. Atcherley Frankfurt/Main, Germany 13 April 1895 Harry Beaton Rotterdam, Netherlands 28 August 1895 Harald Anderson-Arbin Helsingborg, Sweden 9 August 1896 Isaac Westergren Gävle, Sweden 11 September 1898 Gävle, Sweden 10 September 1899 Frank Jarvis Paris, France 14 July 1900 Walter Tewksbury Paris, France 14 July 1900 Carl Ljung Stockholm, Sweden 23 September 1900 Walter Tewksbury Philadelphia, United States 6 October 1900 André Passat Bordeaux, France 14 June 1903 Louis Kuhn Bordeaux, France 14 June 1903 Harald Grønfeldt Aarhus, Denmark 5 July 1903 Eric Frick Jönköping, Sweden 9 August 1903 10.6 Knut Lindberg Gothenburg, Sweden 26 August 1906 10.5 Emil Ketterer Karlsruhe, Germany 9 July 1911 Richard Rau Braunschweig, Germany 13 August 1911 Richard Rau Munich, Germany 12 May 1912 Erwin Kern Munich, Germany 26 May 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Ratified Not ratified Ratified but later rescinded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 10.6 Donald Lippincott Stockholm, Sweden 6 July 1912 Jackson Scholz 16 September 1920 10.4 Charley Paddock Redlands, USA 23 April 1921 ±0.0 Eddie Tolan Stockholm, Sweden 8 August 1929 Copenhagen, Denmark 25 August 1929 10.3 Percy Williams Toronto, Canada 9 August 1930 +0.4 10.38 Eddie Tolan Los Angeles, USA 1 August 1932 Ralph Metcalfe Budapest, Hungary 12 August 1933 Eulace Peacock Oslo, Norway 6 August 1934 Chris Berger Amsterdam, Netherlands 26 August 1934 Ralph Metcalfe Osaka, Japan 15 September 1934 +2.0 Dairen, Japan 23 September 1934 +2.5 Takayoshi Yoshioka Tokyo, Japan 15 June 1935 10.2 +1.2 Jesse Owens Chicago, USA 20 June 1936 10.3 +0.5 Lennart Strandberg Malmö, Sweden 26 September 1936Lennart 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. 10.2 −0.9 Harold Davis Compton, USA 6 June 1941 +0.7 Lloyd LaBeach Fresno, USA 15 May 1948 10.35 Barney Ewell Evanston, United States 9 July 1948 ±0.0 McDonald Bailey Belgrade, Yugoslavia 25 August 1951 +1.1 Heinz Fütterer Yokohama, Japan 31 October 1954 +0.9 Bobby Morrow Houston, USA 19 May 1956 −1.0 Ira Murchison Compton, USA 1 June 1956 ±0.0 Bobby Morrow Bakersfield, USA 22 June 1956 −1.3 Ira Murchison Los Angeles, USA 29 June 1956 −0.4 Bobby Morrow 10.1 +0.7 Willie Williams Berlin, Germany 3 August 1956 +1.0 Ira Murchison 4 August 1956 +1.5 Leamon King Ontario, USA 20 October 1956 +0.9 Santa Ana, USA 27 October 1956 +1.3 Ray Norton San Jose, USA 18 April 1959 10.0 +0.9 10.25 Armin Hary Zürich, Switzerland 21 June 1960 +1.8 Harry Jerome Saskatoon, Canada 15 July 1960 ±0.0 Horacio Esteves Caracas, Venezuela 15 August 1964 +1.3 10.06 Bob Hayes Tokyo, Japan 15 October 1964 +2.0 10.17 Jim Hines Modesto, USA 27 May 1967 +1.8 Enrique Figuerola Budapest, Hungary 17 June 1967 ±0.0 Paul Nash Krugersdorp, South Africa 2 April 1968 +1.1 Oliver Ford Albuquerque, USA 31 May 1968 +2.0 10.20 Charles Greene Sacramento, USA 20 June 1968 +2.0 10.28 Roger Bambuck 9.9 +0.8 10.03 Jim Hines +0.8 10.14 Ronnie Ray Smith +0.9 10.10 Charles Greene +0.3 9.95 Jim Hines Mexico City, Mexico 14 October 1968 ±0.0 Eddie Hart Eugene, USA 1 July 1972 ±0.0 Rey Robinson +1.3 Steve Williams Los Angeles, USA 21 June 1974 +1.7 Silvio Leonard Ostrava, Czechoslovakia 5 June 1975 ±0.0 Steve Williams Siena, Italy 16 July 1975 −0.2 Berlin, Germany 22 August 1975 +0.7 Gainesville, USA 27 March 1976 +0.7 Harvey Glance Columbia, USA 3 April 1976 Baton Rouge, USA 1 May 1976 +1.7 Don Quarrie Modesto, USA 22 May 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.revisionist history: men's 100 WR. Track and Field News. November 1, 2013 Similarly, the Amateur Athletic Union's introduction of FAT at its 1975 championships meant that Steve Williams' manual 9.8 seconds in the 100 metres semifinal was discounted in favour of the FAT of 10.19 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"A" stands for records set more than 1,000 metres above sea level, "OR" stands for Olympic record, "CR" stands for World Championships recordDuration of record 10.06 +1.3 Bob Hayes Tokyo, Japan 15 October 1964 10.03 +0.8 Jim Hines Sacramento, USA 20 June 1968 10.02 +2.0 Charles Greene Mexico City, Mexico 13 October 1968 9.95 +0.3 Jim Hines Mexico City, Mexico 14 October 1968 , 9.93 +1.4 Calvin Smith Colorado Springs, USA 3 July 1983 9.83 +1.0 Ben Johnson Rome, Italy 30 August 1987Ben 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) 9.93 +1.0 Carl Lewis Rome, Italy 30 August 1987Track and Field News, November 1989, vol. 42, #11, p. 37Carl 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. +1.1 Zürich, Switzerland 17 August 1988 9.79 +1.1 Ben Johnson Seoul, South Korea 24 September 1988 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) 9.92 +1.1 Carl Lewis Seoul, South Korea 24 September 1988 9.90 +1.9 Leroy Burrell New York, USA 14 June 1991 9.86 +1.2 Carl Lewis Tokyo, Japan 25 August 1991 9.85 +1.2 9.848 Leroy Burrell Lausanne, Switzerland 6 July 1994 9.84 +0.7 9.835 Donovan Bailey Atlanta, USA 27 July 1996 9.79 +0.1 Maurice Greene Athens, Greece 16 June 1999 9.78 +2.0 Tim Montgomery Paris, France 14 September 2002Tim 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. 9.77 +1.6 9.768 Asafa Powell Athens, Greece 14 June 2005 +1.7 9.766 Justin Gatlin Doha, Qatar 12 May 2006Justin 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, but this was rescinded in 2007 after Gatlin failed a doping test. +1.5 9.763 Asafa Powell Gateshead, United Kingdom 11 June 2006 +1.0 9.762 Zürich, Switzerland 18 August 2006 9.74 +1.7 9.735 Rieti, Italy 9 September 2007 9.72 +1.7 9.715 Usain Bolt New York, USA 31 May 2008 9.69 ±0.0 9.683 Beijing, China 16 August 2008 9.58 +0.9 9.572 Berlin, Germany 16 August 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 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 Sacramento, USA 20 June 1968 10.03 Silvio Leonard Havana, Cuba 13 September 1977 10.02 James Sanford Westwood, USA 11 May 1980 10.00 Carl Lewis Dallas, USA 16 May 1981 10.00 Modesto, USA 15 May 1982 9.97 Modesto, USA 14 May 1983 9.97 Calvin Smith Zürich, Switzerland 24 August 1983 9.96 Mel Lattany Athens, USA 5 May 1984 9.93 Carl Lewis Rome, Italy 30 August 1987

See also Women's 100 metres world record progression Men's 200 metres world record progression 100-yard dash

Notes

References

de:100-Meter-Lauf#Weltrekordentwicklung