Men's 100 metres world record progression


The first record in the 100 metres for men was recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912.
, the IAAF had ratified 67 records in the event, not including rescinded records.

Unofficial progression before the IAAF

TimeAthleteNationalityLocation of racesDate
10.8Luther CaryParis, FranceJuly 4, 1891
10.8Cecil LeeBrussels, BelgiumSeptember 25, 1892
10.8Étienne De RéBrussels, BelgiumAugust 4, 1893
10.8L. AtcherleyFrankfurt/Main, GermanyApril 13, 1895
10.8Harry BeatonRotterdam, NetherlandsAugust 28, 1895
10.8Harald Anderson-ArbinHelsingborg, SwedenAugust 9, 1896
10.8Isaac WestergrenGävle, SwedenSeptember 11, 1898
10.8Isaac WestergrenGävle, SwedenSeptember 10, 1899
10.8Frank JarvisParis, FranceJuly 14, 1900
10.8Walter TewksburyParis, FranceJuly 14, 1900
10.8Carl LjungStockholm, SwedenSeptember 23, 1900
10.8Walter TewksburyPhiladelphia, United StatesOctober 6, 1900
10.8André PassatBordeaux, FranceJune 14, 1903
10.8Louis KuhnBordeaux, FranceJune 14, 1903
10.8Harald GrønfeldtAarhus, DenmarkJuly 5, 1903
10.8Eric FrickJönköping, SwedenAugust 9, 1903
10.6Knut LindbergGothenburg, SwedenAugust 26, 1906
10.5Emil KettererKarlsruhe, GermanyJuly 9, 1911
10.5Richard RauBraunschweig, GermanyAugust 13, 1911
10.5Richard RauMunich, GermanyMay 12, 1912
10.5Erwin KernMunich, GermanyMay 26, 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Ratified but later rescinded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 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 for the official record time.

Records 1912–1976

TimeWindAutoAthleteNationalityLocation of raceDateRef
10.6Donald LippincottStockholm, SwedenJuly 6, 1912
10.6Jackson ScholzStockholm, SwedenSeptember 16, 1920
10.4Charley PaddockRedlands, USAApril 23, 1921
10.40.0Eddie TolanStockholm, SwedenAugust 8, 1929
10.4Eddie TolanCopenhagen, DenmarkAugust 25, 1929
10.3Percy WilliamsToronto, Ontario, CanadaAugust 9, 1930
10.30.410.38Eddie TolanLos Angeles, USAAugust 1, 1932
10.3Ralph MetcalfeBudapest, HungaryAugust 12, 1933
10.3Eulace PeacockOslo, NorwayAugust 6, 1934
10.3Chris BergerAmsterdam, NetherlandsAugust 26, 1934
10.3Ralph MetcalfeOsaka, JapanSeptember 15, 1934
10.32.0Ralph MetcalfeDairen, ChinaSeptember 23, 1934
10.32.5Takayoshi YoshiokaTokyo, JapanJune 15, 1935
10.21.2Jesse OwensChicago, USAJune 20, 1936
10.30.5Lennart StrandbergMalmö, SwedenSeptember 26, 1936
10.2−0.9Harold DavisCompton, USAJune 6, 1941
10.20.7Lloyd LaBeachFresno, USAMay 15, 1948
10.210.35Barney EwellEvanston, United StatesJuly 9, 1948
10.20.0McDonald BaileyBelgrade, YugoslaviaAugust 25, 1951
10.21.1Heinz FüttererYokohama, JapanOctober 31, 1954
10.20.9Bobby MorrowHouston, USAMay 19, 1956
10.2−1.0Ira MurchisonCompton, USAJune 1, 1956
10.20.0Bobby MorrowBakersfield, USAJune 22, 1956
10.2−1.3Ira MurchisonLos Angeles, USAJune 29, 1956
10.2−0.4Bobby MorrowLos Angeles, USAJune 29, 1956
10.10.7Willie WilliamsBerlin, GermanyAugust 3, 1956
10.11.0Ira MurchisonBerlin, GermanyAugust 4, 1956
10.11.5Leamon KingOntario, USAOctober 20, 1956
10.10.9Leamon KingSanta Ana, USAOctober 27, 1956
10.11.3Ray NortonSan Jose, USAApril 18, 1959
10.00.910.25Armin HaryZürich, SwitzerlandJune 21, 1960
10.01.8Harry JeromeSaskatoon, CanadaJuly 15, 1960
10.00.0Horacio EstevesCaracas, VenezuelaAugust 15, 1964
10.01.310.06Bob HayesTokyo, JapanOctober 15, 1964
10.02.010.17Jim HinesModesto, USAMay 27, 1967
10.01.8Enrique FiguerolaBudapest, HungaryJune 17, 1967
10.00.0Paul NashKrugersdorp, South AfricaApril 2, 1968
10.01.1Oliver FordAlbuquerque, USAMay 31, 1968
10.02.010.20Charles GreeneSacramento, USAJune 20, 1968
10.02.010.28Roger BambuckSacramento, USAJune 20, 1968
9.90.810.03Jim HinesSacramento, USAJune 20, 1968
9.90.910.14Ronnie Ray SmithSacramento, USAJune 20, 1968
9.90.910.10Charles GreeneSacramento, USAJune 20, 1968
9.90.39.95Jim HinesMexico City, MexicoOctober 14, 1968
9.90.0Eddie HartEugene, USAJuly 1, 1972
9.90.0Rey RobinsonEugene, USAJuly 1, 1972
9.91.3Steve WilliamsLos Angeles, USAJune 21, 1974
9.91.7Silvio LeonardOstrava, CzechoslovakiaJune 5, 1975
9.90.0Steve WilliamsSiena, ItalyJuly 16, 1975
9.9−0.2Steve WilliamsBerlin, GermanyAugust 22, 1975
9.90.7Steve WilliamsGainesville, USAMarch 27, 1976
9.90.7Harvey GlanceColumbia, USAApril 3, 1976
9.9Harvey GlanceBaton Rouge, USAMay 1, 1976
9.91.7Don QuarrieModesto, USAMay 22, 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.

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.
TimeWindAutoAthleteNationalityLocation of raceDateNotes
10.061.3Bob HayesTokyo, JapanOctober 15, 1964
10.030.8Jim HinesSacramento, USAJune 20, 1968
10.022.0Charles GreeneMexico City, MexicoOctober 13, 1968
9.950.3Jim HinesMexico City, MexicoOctober 14, 1968,
9.931.4Calvin SmithColorado Springs, USAJuly 3, 1983
9.831.0Ben JohnsonRome, ItalyAugust 30, 1987
9.931.1Carl LewisRome, ItalyAugust 30, 1987
9.931.1Carl LewisZürich, SwitzerlandAugust 17, 1988
9.791.1Ben JohnsonSeoul, South KoreaSeptember 24, 1988
9.921.1Carl LewisSeoul, South KoreaSeptember 24, 1988
9.901.9Leroy BurrellNew York, USAJune 14, 1991
9.861.2 Carl LewisTokyo, JapanAugust 25, 1991
9.851.2Leroy BurrellLausanne, SwitzerlandJuly 6, 1994
9.840.79.835Donovan BaileyAtlanta, USAJuly 27, 1996
9.790.1Maurice GreeneAthens, GreeceJune 16, 1999
9.782.0Tim MontgomeryParis, FranceSeptember 14, 2002
9.771.69.768Asafa PowellAthens, GreeceJune 14, 2005
9.771.79.766Justin GatlinDoha, QatarMay 12, 2006
9.771.59.763Asafa PowellGateshead, EnglandJune 11, 2006
9.771.09.762Asafa PowellZürich, SwitzerlandAugust 18, 2006
9.741.79.735Asafa PowellRieti, ItalySeptember 9, 2007
9.721.7Usain BoltNew York, USAMay 31, 2008
9.690.09.683Usain BoltBeijing, ChinaAugust 16, 2008
9.580.99.572Usain BoltBerlin, GermanyAugust 16, 2009CR

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 0.09 s and 0.14 s with the maximum allowable tailing wind of, and gain 0.3 s at altitudes over 2000 m. 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.
TimeAthleteNationalityLocation of raceDate
10.03Jim HinesSacramento, USAJune 20, 1968
10.03Silvio LeonardHavana, CubaSeptember 13, 1977
10.02James SanfordWestwood, USAMay 11, 1980
10.00Carl LewisDallas, USAMay 16, 1981
10.00Carl LewisModesto, USAMay 15, 1982
9.97Carl LewisModesto, USAMay 14, 1983
9.97Calvin SmithZürich, SwitzerlandAugust 24, 1983
9.96Mel LattanyAthens, USAMay 5, 1984
9.93Carl LewisRome, ItalyAugust 30, 1987