60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the middle of the 'field', as is the hurdles event over the same distance, thus avoiding some of the effects of the banked track encircling the venue, upon which other track events in indoor events are run. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes. The format of the event is similar to other sprint distances. The sprinters follow three initial instructions: 'on your marks', instructing them to take up position in the starting blocks; 'set', instructing them to adopt a more efficient starting posture, which also isometrically preloads their muscles. This will enable them to start faster. The final instruction is the firing of the starter's pistol. Upon hearing this the sprinters stride forwards from the blocks.
The 60 metres was an Olympic event in the 1900 and 1904 Summer Games but was removed from the schedule thereafter. American Christian Coleman currently holds the men's world record in the 60 metres with a time of 6.34 seconds,[1] while Russian Irina Privalova holds the women's world record at 6.92.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Semi-Finals, Su Bingtian ran the fastest 60 m split of all-time and the fastest 60 m ever recorded under any conditions with a time of 6.29 seconds.[2]
In the past, it was common for athletes to compete in the 60 yards (54.86 m) race. This is not part of the lineage of the 60 metres, but is the predecessor of the 55 metres race. 60 metres is 65.6168 yards.
60 metres split vs. 60 metres indoor
Traditionally, the 60 m indoor event serves as the equivalent of preseason for the outdoor 100 m event, and sprinters do not peak until outdoor season. This is why elite sprinters almost always run a faster 60 m split en route to their 100 m time during outdoor season than their best 60 m indoor time, even after adjusting for wind assistance (wind assistance has lesser impact on shorter distance such as 60 m than on longer distance race). Given that 60 m splits were achieved en route to 100 m performances and the athletes weren't able to lean for the finish at the 60 m mark, elite sprinters could be expected to run even faster 60 m times than their best en route splits if they specifically raced a 60 m race during outdoor season.[citation needed]
Usain Bolt ran a 6.31 seconds 60 m split, the second fastest split all-time, en route to his 100 m world record, despite never having participated in the 60 m indoor event. Asafa Powell ran a 6.32 seconds split, while clocking only 6.44 seconds in the 60 m indoor event. 2012 Indoor 60 m World ChampionJustin Gatlin, who has the personal best of 6.34 for the 60 m split, ran 6.45 seconds indoors. Former indoor world record holder and 1999 Indoor 60 m World ChampionMaurice Greene ran a 6.33 split outdoors compared to his 6.39 indoor personal best. The current indoor world record holder Christian Coleman clocked in at 6.32 seconds en route to his 9.76 seconds 100 m personal best, significantly faster than his 6.34 indoor world record which he set at 5,312 feet altitude (equivalent to 6.37 indoor after adjusting for the effect of altitude).[3]
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, en route to his 100 m personal best of 9.83 seconds, Su Bingtian, who has the indoor personal best of 6.42, ran the fastest 60 m split of all-time with a time of 6.29 seconds.[4]
a The event was known as the World Indoor Games in 1985. bBen Johnson of Canada originally won the gold medal, but he was disqualified in 1989 after admitting to steroid use between 1981 and 1988.
a The event was known as the World Indoor Games in 1985. bAngella Issajenko of Canada originally won the silver medal, but she was disqualified in 1989 after admitting to steroid use between 1982 and 1988. cZhanna Block originally won the gold medal, but she was disqualified after her results from November 2002 onwards were deleted in 2011 for long-term drug use.
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.
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes predominantly rely on anaerobic energy system during the 200 m sprint. Similarly to other sprint distances, the 200 m begins from the starting blocks. When the sprinters adopt the 'set' position in the blocks they are able to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles. This enables them to stride forwards more powerfully when the race begins and start faster.
60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.65 seconds and 7.27 seconds, respectively.
Daniel Bakka Everton Bailey is a sprinter from Antigua and Barbuda who specializes in the 100m.
The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track.
Lerone Ephraime Clarke is a Jamaican track and field sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres and the 60 metres. He is the former Commonwealth Games champion in the 100 m. His personal best for that distance is 9.99 seconds, set in 2009. He has represented Jamaica three times at the IAAF World Indoor Championships and holds the Jamaican record for the indoor 150m.
50 metres, or 50-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is used in the Special Olympics and a rare distance, at least for senior athletes. It is an alternative to the 60 metres running event. The imperial distance for 50 metres is 54.68 yards.
Su Bingtian is a professional Chinese track and field athlete specializing in the 100 metres event. As of 2022, he is the only sprinter of non-African descent to run the 100 m with sub-9.90 and sub-9.85, and the first ever Asian-born sprinter to break the 10-second barrier. Su's personal best of 9.83 seconds makes him the 5th fastest man all-time in the history of 100 metres at the Olympics, the 15th fastest man all-time in the history of the 100m event, and the current holder of the 100 m Asian record. Su's personal best in the 60 metres of 6.42 seconds placed him within the top six all-time in the event.
Murielle Ahouré-Demps is an Ivorian sprinter who competes in the 60 meters, 100 m and 200 m. She was a double silver medalist at the 2013 world championships in Moscow. She came second in both the 100 and 200 meters at this event. Ahouré was the gold medallist in the 60 m at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
Ewa Nikola Swoboda is a Polish track and field sprinter who specialises in the short sprints. She is a three-time European Indoor Championships medallist in the 60 metres, having won the gold medal in 2019 and silvers in 2017 and 2023.
Christian Coleman is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters. The 2019 world champion in the 100 meters, he also won gold as part of men's 4 × 100-meter relay. He holds personal bests of 9.76 seconds for the 100 m, which made him the 6th fastest all-time in the history of 100 metres event, and 19.85 for the 200 m. Coleman is the world indoor record holder for the 60 meters with 6.34 seconds. He was the Diamond League champion in 2018 & 2023 and the world number one ranked runner in the men's 100 m for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Noah Lyles is an American professional track and field sprinter competing in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 200 m bronze medalist and a six-time World champion, having won the 200 m and 4 × 100 m at the 2019 World Championships, the 200 m at the 2022 World Championships, and the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m events at the 2023 World Championships, becoming the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to complete the sprint treble at a World Championships. At the 2022 Championships, Lyles also earned a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. He holds personal bests of 9.83 seconds for the 100 m and 19.31 seconds for the 200 m, the latter being an American record making him the third fastest on the respective world all-time list.
Ronnie Baker is an American professional track and field athlete specializing in the sprints. Over 60 meters his personal best time of 6.40 seconds makes him the third-fastest man in the event in history. He was champion over 60 m at the USA Indoor Championships in 2017, a medalist over 60 m at the World Indoor Championships in 2018, and a gold medallist in the 4 × 100 m relay at the World Relays in 2017. Baker was a dominant competitor over 100 m in the Diamond League circuit in 2018, winning four races and placing no worse than second, including in the final where he also placed second. He was the fastest man in the world in 2017 over 60 m, and the second fastest in 2018 over both 60 m and 100 m. In college he competed for the TCU Horned Frogs, where he was champion over 60 m at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in both 2015 and 2016. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Ronnie Baker ran the personal best of 9.83 in the men's 100m semi-finals, which made him the 6th fastest man in the history of Olympics 100m event.
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Christian Coleman 6.34 A (2018)
Irina Privalova 6.92 (1993, 1995)
