The fastest men and women at the Olympics: The evolution of sprint

Not many expected Usain Bolt — the greatest sprinter ever — to bring the world record to the amazing 9.58s, that he did at the 2009 Worlds in Berlin. Many felt that it came at least 20 years too early.

From left to right: Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner. | Photo Credit: AFP

When Coroebus, a cook, won the first recorded event at the Ancient Olympic Games in 776 B.C., one could imagine the crowd that rushed to embrace him. In those days, the athletes ran naked at Olympia in Greece, and Coroebus ran something like 200 yards on a sanded course to come up with the most glorious moment of his life.

There is something fascinating about the sprint, for the 630-foot race, which roughly comes to 192 metres, or about a length of the stadium those days, was the lone event at the Olympiad, held every four years for some 13 editions. The race was called the ‘stade’ and the word stadium came from that.

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE PARIS 2024 UPDATES

Centuries later, when the modern Olympics came into being in 1896 in Athens, Greece, the first race in the Games was the 100m and American Francis Lane won the first heat, becoming the first man to win a race at the Olympics. Another American, Thomas Burke — basically a quartermiler — became the fastest man at the first Olympics, winning in 12.0s after clocking 11.8s in the semifinal. He was one of the few men using the crouching start then.

Frank Jarvis, a descendant of the first U.S.A President George Washington, beat Burke’s time, clocking 11.0s for the gold at the next Olympics in 1900 after timing a world record-equalling 10.8s in his heat.

Digging a ‘launch pad’

Starting blocks, which helped sprinters accelerate quickly by giving them an extra push off the ground at the start of the race, were introduced in the Olympics only in 1948, but even before that, athletes used to dig their own ‘launch pad’ into the ground at the starting line.

Jesse Owens, the legend

The legendary American sprinter Jesse Owens, who entered Berlin as the world record holder in the 100m, 200m and long jump, won a historic four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in front of an unimpressed Adolf Hitler. Later, he was forced to run against horses and trains after being banned from amateur competitions by Avery Brudage, the president of the US Olympic Committee and the Amateur Athletics Union then, for refusing to fulfill commercial obligations.

US athlete Jesse Owens crossing the finish line to win the 100 meter and setting a new world record at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. | Photo Credit: AFP

For those looking for landmarks, American Jim Hines broke the 10-second barrier in the 100m at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, where he took gold. It came 72 years after the first Olympics, and it took another 42 years for a white man to do a sub-10s run when Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre clocked 9.98s in 2010.

A phenomenon

Still, not many expected Usain Bolt — the greatest sprinter ever — to achieve the world record of 9.58s in 100m at the 2009 Worlds in Berlin. Many felt that it came at least 20 years too early.

Gold medalist Usain Bolt (JAM) of Jamaica bites his medal. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

But Bolt is one of a kind, a phenomenon, and probably the greatest track and field athlete of all time. Despite his 6’5” frame, which many felt was not ideal for the short sprint, Bolt made it look so easy, and he completed a hat-trick of Olympic titles in the 100m and 200m (in 2008, 2012 and 2016).

Dirtiest race in history

The greatest 100m rivalry could be the one between the legendary American Carl Lewis, who finished with nine Olympic golds, and Canadian Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Games. But it turned out to be the dirtiest race in history after Johnson, who won the 100m with a world record, failed a dope test and was stripped of his gold.

Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson (second from left) wins the final of the 100 Metres event at Seoul Olympic Stadium during the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, 24th September 1988. Johnson won the event in a world record time of 9.79 seconds, but was disqualified for doping, with Carl Lewis (far right) of the USA, taking the title. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

That makes many look at some of the event’s biggest stars with suspicion. And if one runs through the all-time list in the men’s 100m, six of the top 10 sprinters — Tyson Gay (US, 9.69m), Yohan Blake (Jamaica, 9.69), Asafa Powell (Jamaica, 9.72), Justin Gatlin (US, 9.74), Christian Coleman (US, 9.76) and Ferdinand Omanyala (Kenya, 9.77) — have either failed dope tests or been banned for whereabouts failure at some point in their career.

West African high

Coloured athletes enjoy a huge advantage when it comes to track events, and runners of West African descent are among the fastest on the planet. It’s probably in their genes. And the records and the all-time ranking lists vouch for that.

USA’s Ronnie Baker (L) and China’s Su Bingtian react after competing in the men’s 100m final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 1, 2021. | Photo Credit: AFP

Incidentally, China’s Su Bingtian became the first Asian-born sprinter to go below the 10s barrier in 2015. Even Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon went sub-10 (9.96s) in 2022, but India is still waiting for somebody to achieve the same.

Long wait for women

Women came late to track and field at the Olympics, in 1928 in Amsterdam, and even Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, was not keen on them competing in the Games. American Elizabeth Robinson, then only 16, won the gold in a world record-equalling 12.2s. She almost died in a plane crash three years later, and when they found her, her legs were twisted and broken in three places, and her left arm was injured badly too. But still, she came back and helped the American 4x100m relay team win gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Amazing Blankers-Koen

There were some very colourful characters too, like Francina Blankers-Koen. The Dutchwoman made her Olympic debut in 1936, finishing sixth in the high jump, but made a stunning comeback 12 years later at the 1948 Games in London, where she won the 100m, the newly introduced 200m, and the 80m hurdles and became the first triple gold winner in history.

This despite the fact that she was not competing in the long jump and high jump, where she was the world record-holder, as athletes could only take part in three individual events.

A fight against all odds

And in 1960, at the Rome Olympics, the amazing Wilma Rudolph had the stage all to herself. The 20th of her father’s 22 children, Rudolph, was born prematurely and suffered from pneumonia and polio, which left her crippled, and she was fitted with metal braces at six.

But with her brother and sisters massaging her crippled left leg, Rudolph was out of her braces three years later and began excelling in basketball.

The three winners of the Ladies 200 metre final at the Rome Olympics, 6th September 1960. From left to right, Britain’s Dorothy Hyman (bronze), the USA’s Wilma Rudolph (gold) and Germany’s Jutta Heine (silver). | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Her school coach felt that she was too fast, and a little later, she found she loved running too. At the Rome Olympics, Rudolph emerged as the fastest woman and also became the first American woman to win three golds in a single Olympics in the 100, 200 and 4x100m events.

Wilma inspires Griffith Joyner

Wilma Rudolph’s remarkable story inspired many young African-American athletes, including Florence Griffith-Joyner, who became the first American woman to win four golds in one Olympics in 1988 in Seoul. Joyner, who still holds the women’s 100m world record, looked like a pop star with her shiny leggings, brightly coloured hair, and long painted nails.

However, Joyner’s death at 38 from an epileptic seizure in her sleep, 10 years after her Seoul show, triggered allegations of doping, though she had never failed a dope test.

Confessions of a champ

Twelve years later, Marion Jones emerged as the star and walked away with a golden treble, winning the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay at the Sydney Olympics.

But seven years later, she confessed to doping before Sydney, was stripped of her medals, and was also jailed for lying to federal prosecutors.

Current leaders

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (2008 and 2012) and Elaine Thompson-Herah (2016 and 2021) have ensured Jamaica’s dominance at the last four Olympics in the women’s 100m. Thompson-Herah (10.54s) and Fraser-Pryce (10.60s) also have the second and third fastest times, respectively, in history.

Elaine Thompson-Herah of Team Jamaica celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Women’s 100m Final on day eight of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on July 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

With Thompson-Herah set to miss the Paris Olympics and Fraser-Pryce in the final stages of her career, can someone like the USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson become the new sprint queen and break new ground? Only time will time!

(With inputs from Stan Rayan and Nihit Sachdeva)