The 100m dash is perhaps the most exciting event at any Olympic Games.
While the race only lasts a matter of seconds, it is just so thrilling watching the fastest people on the planet compete for a gold medal on arguably the biggest sporting stage of them all.
The stakes are incredibly high, because a slow start or a minor lapse in concentration could allow a rival runner to sneak in and take a prize.
Ahead of this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, where American superstar Noah Lyles is one of the big favourites to win gold after success at last year’s World Championship, NetBet takes a look at the five fastest 100m runs in the competition’s illustrious history.
5 – Lamont Marcell Jacobs, 2020 (9.80 seconds)
At the delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, a delay caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Italian sensation Jacobs stunned the world to claim the gold medal.
Amazingly, Jacobs was not among the favourites to win the event but delivered something truly spectacular in the Japanese capital.
His effort broke the European 100m record and it also saw him become the first European to win the event since Linford Christie at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Not bad, eh?
4 – Justin Gaitlin, 2012 (9.79 seconds)
Okay, this is certainly not going to be the last mention of the men’s 100m final at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
It is one of the most famous races in the history of track and field – and for good reason.
Gaitlin’s incredible effort would have seen him claim gold in pretty much any other era but sadly for the American, it was only enough for a bronze medal.
3 – Yohan Blake, 2012 (9.75 seconds)
Blake was even faster than rival Gaitlin in the 2012 final, but still had to settle for silver.
The Jamaican sprinter flew round the London track and set his own personal best time.
A few months later, Blake set a new PB in Lausanne and ironically, the time was 9.69 seconds…
2 – Usain Bolt, 2008 (9.69 seconds)
This is why the above time was rather ironic, as it equalled Bolt’s stunning run at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
It earned Jamaica their first-ever title in the event and first medal in the event since 1976, which seems unthinkable now given the nation’s recent success.
Richard Thompson of Trinidad & Tobago was the closest person to Bolt in 2008 but even he was 0.2 seconds behind, quite some margin in the world of 100m running.
1 – Usain Bolt, 2012 (9.63 seconds)
The winner of 2012’s epic finale, Bolt’s Olympic record has remained in place for 12 years and it is likely no one will get close to it for many more years to come.
Bolt was the leader of a race which saw seven of the eight men involved record times under 10 seconds, with the top five all finishing in under 9.90 seconds for the first time in history.
And lest we forget, Asafa Powell’s time of 11.99 seconds was only down to the fact he picked up an unfortunate injury midway through the race.
If the 2024 final is half as good as the 2012 one, we are in for an absolute treat.
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