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 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race. Each runner carries a relay baton. Before 2018, the baton had to be passed within a 20 m changeover box, preceded by a 10-metre acceleration zone. With a rule change effective November 1, 2017, that zone was modified to include the acceleration zone as part of the passing zone, making the entire zone 30 metres in length. The outgoing runner cannot touch the baton until it has entered the zone, and the incoming runner cannot touch it after it has left the zone. The zone is usually marked in yellow, frequently using lines, triangles or chevrons. While the rule book specifies the exact positioning of the marks, the colours and style are only "recommended". While most legacy tracks will still have the older markings, the rule change still uses existing marks. Not all governing body jurisdictions have adopted the rule change.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a Jamaican track and field sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time.
The women's 100 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–4 August. The winning margin was 0.03 seconds.
The men's 100 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 4–5 August 2012. Seventy-four athletes from 61 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The competition comprised four rounds: a preliminary round for entrants without the minimum qualifying standard, a heats round, followed by three semi-finals of eight athletes each, which then reduced to eight athletes for the final.
The Women's 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 27, 28 and 29.
The women's 100 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 12 and 13 August at the Olympic Stadium. The winning margin was 0.12 seconds. The winner, Elaine Thompson from Jamaica, had the second slowest reaction time in the final.
Elaine Thompson-Herah is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. Regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, she is a five-time Olympic champion, the fastest woman alive in the 100 m, and the third fastest ever in the 200 m.
The women's 100 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 23 and 24 August. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce entered the competition as the defending champion and the world leading athlete that season with a time of 10.74 seconds.
The women's 100 metres at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 5−6 August.
Imani-Lara Lansiquot is an English sprinter who competes mainly in the 100 metres. She finished fourth in the 100 metres finals at both the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships and the 2017 European U23 Championships. In the 4 × 100 metres relay, she won a gold medal at the 2018 European Championships, silver at the 2019 World Championships, and bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her 100 metres best of 10.99 secs, ranks her third on the UK all-time list.
The women's 100 metres at the 2018 European Athletics Championships took place at the Olympiastadion on 6 and 7 August.
The women's 100 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 30 and 31 July 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 71 athletes from 55 nations competed at the event.
The women's 200 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 2 and 3 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 41 athletes from 31 nations competed. In successfully defending her title, Elaine Thompson-Herah became the first woman in history to win both the 100 and 200 metres titles at successive games. Her winning time of 21.53 secs, moved her to second on the world all-time list behind Florence Griffith Joyner, and broke Merlene Ottey's 30-year-old Jamaican record. The winning margin was 0.28 seconds. Surprisingly, Thompson-Herah had the slowest reaction time in the final.
The women's 100 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, was held at Alexander Stadium on 2 and 3 August 2022.
The women's 100 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, U.S. on 16 and 17 July 2022.
Julien Alfred is a Saint Lucian sprinter. She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 100 metres event, setting a new national record of 10.72s in the final. Her medal was the first-ever Olympic medal for Saint Lucia. She then won a silver in the 200 metres. Alfred also won the gold medal in the 60 metres at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.
The women's 100 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 20 and 21 August 2023.
The men's 100 metres event at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on 3 August and 4 August at the Stade de France in Paris. Noah Lyles won the gold medal, setting a new personal best in the 100m and giving the United States its first victory in the event since 2004. Jamaican Kishane Thompson finished in second, taking the silver medal. The winning time of 9.79 was achieved by both Lyles and Thompson, but Lyles crossed the line five one thousandths of a second faster to take gold. Lyles' teammate Fred Kerley finished third in 9.81, winning bronze.
The women's 200 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, between 4 and 6 August 2024. This was the twentieth time that the women's 200 metres was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 48 athletes were able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
