10-second barrier

The 10-second barrier is a term used in track and field athletics, which refers to the physical and psychological barrier of completing the men's 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement was traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class sprinter. Its significance has become less important since the late 1990s, as an increasing number of runners have surpassed the ten seconds mark.

History

See also: Men's 100 metres world record progression

For sprints, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rules for world records and other recognised performances require: a wind assistance of not more than two metres per second in the direction of travel; fully automatic timing (FAT) to one hundredth of a second; and no use of performance-enhancing substances. Wind gauge malfunctions or infractions may also cause a sprinter's time to be invalid.

Hand timing

Prior to 1977, FAT was not required for IAAF official timings. These were recorded manually to one tenth of a second; three official timers with stopwatches noted when the starting gun flashed and when the runner crossed the finish line, and their median recorded time was the official mark. Some races also had an unofficial FAT, or semi-automatic time, often in conjunction with photo finish equipment. The first person timed at under ten seconds was Bob Hayes, who ran 9.9 s in April 1963 at the Mt. SAC Relays with an illegal following wind of 11 mph (4.9 m/s). Hayes clocked another illegal 9.9 s (wind 5.3 m/s (12 mph)) in the semi-final of the 1964 Olympic 100 m, with the first sub-10 FAT of 9.91 s. In the final, Hayes' official tenths time of 10.0 s was calculated by rounding down the FAT of 10.06 s; the backup hand-timers recorded 9.8, 9.9, and 9.9, which would have given 9.9 s as the official time if the FAT had malfunctioned.

At the 1968 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, three men ran legal hand-timed 9.9 seconds: Jim Hines first and Ronnie Ray Smith second in the first semi-final, and Charlie Greene first in the second semi-final. This was dubbed the "Night of Speed", and all three were recognised as world records by the IAAF. The IAAF lists their FATs as: Hines 10.03, Smith 10.14 and Greene 10.10; although Time magazine reported at the time that "an automatic Bulova Accutron Phototimer confirmed that all three had indeed broken [10.0s]". Hines also had a wind-assisted 9.8 s in the heats. Hines went on to win the 1968 Olympic 100m in 9.9 s, rounded down from his FAT of 9.95, making it the first non-wind-assisted electronic sub-10-second performance. By 1976, six other men had equalled the 9.9 s hand-timed record, though none of their performances had an FAT mark.

Automatic timing

Carl Lewis was the first man to run under ten seconds at low altitude.

After the 1977 rule change, Jim Hines' nine-year-old 9.95 was the only recognised sub-10-second race. That year the barrier was broken again, when Silvio Leonard ran 9.98 seconds on 11 August 1977. Both of these marks were recorded at a high altitude, which aids performance due to lower air resistance. Carl Lewis was the first sprinter to break ten seconds at low altitude under electronic timing, with 9.97 seconds on 14 May 1983 at the Modesto Relays.

Calvin Smith recorded a world record 9.93 seconds on 3 July 1983, again at altitude in Colorado Springs, Colorado and also became the first sprinter to run under ten seconds twice, repeating the feat in August that year.

Six sprinters legally broke the barrier during the 1980s. Another, Ben Johnson, had eclipsed both the 9.90 mark and 9.80 mark in 1987 and 1988, however both of these records were disqualified after he tested positive for, and later admitted to using steroids.

The 100 m final at the 1991 World Championships represented a new zenith in the event: six athletes ran under ten seconds in the same race, and winner Carl Lewis lowered the world record to 9.86 seconds.

Maurice Greene was the first athlete to run under 9.80 seconds in 1999. Usain Bolt surpassed 9.70 seconds in 2008 and 9.60 in 2009. The 10-second barrier has been broken by athletes from five of the six continental athletic associations, the exception being of South America where Brazilian Robson da Silva holds the area record with ten seconds flat.

The 2008 season saw a new high for sub-10 second performances: 14 runners achieved the feat a total of 53 times between them, the highest ever for either figure. Furthermore, ten men had achieved the result for the first time in that year – another record. The men's 100 metres final at the 2008 Summer Olympics saw a world record and six men clear ten seconds (equalling the number from the 1991 World Championships). Only two months into the start of the outdoor track season, 2011 became a record-breaking year as fifteen men ran under ten seconds between April and June. As of 10 June 2013, 86 sprinters have broken the 10-second barrier with an official, legal time. The men's 100 metres final at the 2012 Summer Olympics saw a new Olympic record and seven men dip below ten seconds, with only one competitor failing to do so.

On May 29, 2016, former World Champion Kim Collins improved his personal record by running 9.93 +1.9 in Bottrop as a 40 year old. He improved his own standing as the oldest man to break the 10-second barrier, the first over the age of 40. Omar McLeod, a sprint hurdles specialist, became the first hurdling athlete to break ten seconds in April 2016.

No woman has recorded an official sub-10 second time. The female 100 metre world record is 10.49 seconds, set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.

Electronically timed marks

Sprinters who have broken the 10-second barrier

#	Date	Athlete	Time 000(seconds)	Age	Nationality	Continent	Best (year)	Doping case	Ref
1	14 October 1968	Jim Hines	9.95 A		United States	North America	9.95 (1968)
2	11 August 1977	Silvio Leonard	9.98 A		Cuba	North America	9.98 (1977)
3	14 May 1983	Carl Lewis	9.97		United States	North America	9.86 (1991)	Yes
4	3 July 1983	Calvin Smith	9.93 A		United States	North America	9.93 (1983)
5	5 May 1984	Mel Lattany	9.96		United States	North America	9.96 (1984)
6	24 September 1988	Linford Christie	9.97		United Kingdom	Europe	9.87 (1993)	Yes
7	20 May 1989	Raymond Stewart	9.97		Jamaica	North America	9.96 (1991)
8	16 June 1989	Leroy Burrell	9.94		United States	North America	9.85 (1994)
9	25 August 1991	Dennis Mitchell	9.99		United States	North America	9.91 (1991)	Yes
10	25 August 1991	Frankie Fredericks	9.95		Namibia	Africa	9.86 (1996)
11	11 September 1991	Andre Cason	9.99		United States	North America	9.92 (1993)
12	4 April 1992	Olapade Adeniken	9.97		Nigeria	Africa	9.95 (1994)
13	18 April 1992	Michael Marsh	9.93		United States	North America	9.93 (1992)
14	18 April 1992	Davidson Ezinwa	9.96		Nigeria	Africa	9.94 (1994)	Yes
15	21 May 1993	Daniel Effiong	9.99		Nigeria	Africa	9.98 (1993)	Yes
16	22 July 1994	Jon Drummond	9.99		United States	North America	9.92 (1997)
17	22 April 1995	Donovan Bailey	9.99		Canada	North America	9.84 (1996)
18	15 June 1995	Bruny Surin	9.97		Canada	North America	9.84 (1999)
19	21 April 1996	Ato Boldon	9.93		Trinidad and Tobago	North America	9.86 (1998)
20	12 June 1997	Maurice Greene	9.96		United States	North America	9.79 (1999)
21	12 June 1997	Kareem Streete-Thompson	9.96		United States	North America	9.96 (1997)
22	12 June 1997	Tim Montgomery	9.96		United States	North America	9.92 (1997)	Yes
23	20 June 1997	Percival Spencer	9.98		Jamaica	North America	9.98 (1997)
24	13 July 1997	Seun Ogunkoya	9.97		Nigeria	Africa	9.92 (1998)
25	9 August 1998	Vincent Henderson	9.95		United States	North America	9.95 (1998)
26	11 September 1998	Obadele Thompson	9.87 A		Barbados	North America	9.87 (1998)
27	5 June 1999	Leonard Myles-Mills	9.98		Ghana	Africa	9.98 (1999)
28	13 June 1999	Dwain Chambers	9.99		United Kingdom	Europe	9.97 (1999)	Yes
29	2 July 1999	Jason Gardener	9.98		United Kingdom	Europe	9.98 (1999)
30	5 July 1999	Tim Harden	9.92		United States	North America	9.92 (1999)
31	2 June 2000	Coby Miller	9.98		United States	North America	9.98 (2000)
32	2 June 2000	Bernard Williams	9.99		United States	North America	9.94 (2001)	Yes
33	21 June 2000	Francis Obikwelu	9.97		Nigeria/Portugal	Africa	9.86 (2004)
34	12 April 2002	Shawn Crawford	9.99		United States	North America	9.88 (2004)	Yes
35	21 April 2002	Joshua J. Johnson	9.95		United States	North America	9.95 (2002)
36	4 May 2002	Brian Lewis	9.99		United States	North America	9.99 (2002)
37	27 July 2002	Kim Collins	9.98		Saint Kitts and Nevis	North America	9.93 (2016)
38	5 May 2003	Patrick Johnson	9.93		Australia	Oceania	9.93 (2003)
39	19 July 2003	Deji Aliu	9.98		Nigeria	Africa	9.95 (2003)
40	15 August 2003	John Capel	9.97		United States	North America	9.95 (2004)	Yes
41	15 August 2003	Justin Gatlin	9.97		United States	North America	9.74 (2015)	Yes
42	15 August 2003	Mickey Grimes	9.99		United States	North America	9.99 (2003)	Yes
43	12 October 2003	Uchenna Emedolu	9.97		Nigeria	Africa	9.97 (2003)
44	12 June 2004	Asafa Powell	9.99		Jamaica	North America	9.72 (2010)	Yes
45	14 June 2005	Aziz Zakari	9.99		Ghana	Africa	9.99 (2005)	Yes
46	25 June 2005	Marc Burns	9.96		Trinidad and Tobago	North America	9.96 (2005)
47	25 June 2005	Darrel Brown	9.99		Trinidad and Tobago	North America	9.99 (2005)
48	5 July 2005	Ronald Pognon	9.99		France	Europe	9.99 (2005)
49	22 July 2005	Leonard Scott	9.94		United States	North America	9.91 (2006)
50	25 May 2006	Olusoji Fasuba	9.93		Nigeria	Africa	9.85 (2006)
51	21 July 2006	Tyson Gay	9.97		United States	North America	9.69 (2009)	Yes
52	18 August 2006	Marcus Brunson	9.99		United States	North America	9.99 (2006)
53	24 April 2007	Derrick Atkins	9.98		Bahamas	North America	9.91 (2007)
54	8 June 2007	Walter Dix	9.93		United States	North America	9.88 (2010)
55	26 July 2007	Samuel Francis	9.99		Qatar	Asia	9.99 (2007)
56	28 September 2007	Wallace Spearmon	9.96		United States	North America	9.96 (2007)
57	10 May 2008	Travis Padgett	9.96		United States	North America	9.89 (2008)
58	17 May 2008	Usain Bolt	9.76		Jamaica	North America	9.58 (2009)
59	18 May 2008	Richard Thompson	9.93		Trinidad and Tobago	North America	9.82 (2014)
60	28 June 2008	Rodney Martin	9.95		United States	North America	9.95 (2008)
61	28 June 2008	Mark Jelks	9.99		United States	North America	9.99 (2008)	Yes
62	28 June 2008	Darvis Patton	9.89		United States	North America	9.89 (2008)
63	28 June 2008	Ivory Williams	9.94		United States	North America	9.94 (2008)	Yes
64	22 July 2008	Nesta Carter	9.98		Jamaica	North America	9.78 (2010)
65	15 August 2008	Churandy Martina	9.99		Netherlands Antilles/Netherlands	North America/Europe	9.91 (2012)
66	16 August 2008	Michael Frater	9.97		Jamaica	North America	9.88 (2011)
67	24 May 2009	Daniel Bailey	9.99		Antigua and Barbuda	North America	9.91 (2009)
68	7 June 2009	Mike Rodgers	9.94		United States	North America	9.85 (2011)	Yes
69	10 July 2009	Yohan Blake	9.96		Jamaica	North America	9.69 (2012)	Yes
70	28 August 2009	Lerone Clarke	9.99		Jamaica	North America	9.99 (2009)
71	9 July 2010	Christophe Lemaitre	9.98		France	Europe	9.92 (2011)
72	19 August 2010	Trell Kimmons	9.95		United States	North America	9.95 (2010)
73	29 August 2010	Ryan Bailey	9.95		United States	North America	9.88 (2010)
74	29 August 2010	Mario Forsythe	9.99		Jamaica	North America	9.95 (2010)
75	16 April 2011	Steve Mullings	9.90		Jamaica	North America	9.80 (2011)	Yes
76	23 April 2011	Ngonidzashe Makusha	9.97		Zimbabwe	Africa	9.89 (2011)
77	4 June 2011	Nickel Ashmeade	9.96		Jamaica	North America	9.90 (2013)
78	4 June 2011	Keston Bledman	9.93		Trinidad and Tobago	North America	9.86 (2012)
79	10 June 2011	Mookie Salaam	9.97		United States	North America	9.97 (2011)
80	30 June 2011	Jaysuma Saidy Ndure	9.99		Norway	Europe	9.95 (2014)
81	6 June 2012	Harry Adams	9.96		United States	North America	9.96 (2012)
82	7 July 2012	Kemar Hyman	9.95		Cayman Islands	North America	9.95 (2012)
83	7 September 2012	Kemar Bailey-Cole	9.97		Jamaica	North America	9.92 (2015)
84	23 May 2013	Isiah Young	9.99		United States	North America	9.99 (2013)
85	5 June 2013	Dentarius Locke	9.97		United States	North America	9.96 (2013)
86	8 June 2013	Gabriel Mvumvure	9.98		Zimbabwe	Africa	9.98 (2013)
87	21 June 2013	Charles Silmon	9.98		United States	North America	9.98 (2013)
88	13 July 2013	James Dasaolu	9.91		United Kingdom	Europe	9.91 (2013)
89	13 July 2013	Jimmy Vicaut	9.95		France	Europe	9.86 (2015)
90	12 April 2014	Simon Magakwe	9.98 A		South Africa	Africa	9.98 (2014)	Yes
91	17 May 2014	Kemarley Brown	9.93		Jamaica	North America	9.93 (2014)
92	8 June 2014	Chijindu Ujah	9.96		United Kingdom	Europe	9.96 (2014)
93	13 June 2014	Trayvon Bromell	9.97		United States	North America	9.84 (2015)
94	28 September 2014	Femi Ogunode	9.93		Qatar	Asia	9.91 (2015)	Yes
95	10 May 2015	Clayton Vaughn	9.93		United States	North America	9.93 (2015)
96	17 May 2015	Andre De Grasse	9.97		Canada	North America	9.92 (2015)
97	17 May 2015	Bryce Robinson	9.99		United States	North America	9.99 (2015)
98	20 May 2015	Marvin Bracy	9.95		United States	North America	9.93 (2015)
99	30 May 2015	Su Bingtian	9.99		China	Asia	9.99 (2015)
100	7 June 2015	Adam Gemili	9.97		United Kingdom	Europe	9.97 (2015)
101	25 June 2015	Deondre Batson	9.94		United States	North America	9.94 (2015)
102	25 June 2015	Beejay Lee	9.99		United States	North America	9.99 (2015)
103	25 June 2015	Quentin Butler	9.96		United States	North America	9.96 (2015)
104	1 July 2015	Akani Simbine	9.99		South Africa	Africa	9.96 (2016)
105	5 July 2015	Henricho Bruintjies	9.97		South Africa	Africa	9.97 (2015)
106	11 July 2015	Andrew Fisher	9.94		Jamaica	North America	9.94 (2015)
107	12 March 2016	Wayde Van Niekerk	9.98 A		South Africa	Africa	9.98 (2016)
108	23 April 2016	Omar McLeod	9.99		Jamaica	North America	9.99 (2016)

Notes

• ¹ The continental athletic association that governs the country that the athlete competes for internationally.
• ² The personal career best time achieved by the sprinter.
• ³ Denotes a run achieved at a high altitude.
• ⁴ Francis Obikwelu now competes for Portugal but he first broke the 10-second barrier while competing for Nigeria.
• ⁵ Canadian Ben Johnson was the sixth runner to achieve the feat (having recorded multiple finishes under ten seconds), but these runs were rescinded after Johnson admitted to using steroids between 1981 and 1988.
• ⁶ British sprinter Mark Lewis-Francis recorded a time of 9.97 seconds during the 2001 World Championships quarter-finals on 4 August 2001 (aged ) but the wind gauge malfunctioned, invalidating the run.
• ⁷ At the Jamaican national trials in June 2011, Steve Mullings had tested positive for the drug Furosemide, a masking agent. On 22 November the Jamaican Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel handed him a lifetime ban from athletics.
• ⁸ Trayvon Bromell had broken the 10-second barrier a total of three times (9.99w, 9.77w, 9.92w) prior to recording 9.97, but all were wind-aided.
• ⁹ Prior to recording his first legal sub-10 run, Andre De Grasse ran a wind-aided 9.87 on April 18th 2015.

Totals

By year

Year	No. of new athletes
1968	1
1977	1
1983	2
1984	1
1988	1
1989	2
1991	3
1992	3
1993	1
1994	1
1995	2
1996	1
1997	5
1998	2
1999	4
2000	3
2002	4
2003	6
2004	1
2005	5
2006	3
2007	4
2008	10
2009	4
2010	4
2011	6
2012	3
2013	6
2014	5
2015	12
2016	2

By country

Nation	No. of athletes
United States	47
Jamaica	15
Nigeria	8
United Kingdom	6
Trinidad and Tobago	5
South Africa	4
France	3
Canada	3
Ghana	2
Zimbabwe	2
Qatar	2
Cuba	1
Namibia	1
Barbados	1
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1
Australia	1
Bahamas	1
Netherlands Antilles	1
Antigua and Barbuda	1
Norway	1
Cayman Islands	1
China	1

By continent

Continent	No. of athletes
Africa	17
Asia	3
Europe	10
Oceania	1
North and Central America	77
South America	0

Hand timed marks

The following sprinters all received a hand-timed mark of 9.9 seconds. All the runners held the world record simultaneously. However, the timing may not have been precise.

Sprinters who have broken the 10-second barrier with manual timing

Date first broken	Athlete	Nationality	No. of times broken
20 June 1968	Jim Hines	United States	2
20 June 1968	Ronnie Ray Smith	United States	1
20 June 1968	Charles Greene	United States	1
21 June 1972	Steve Williams	United States	4
1 July 1972	Eddie Hart	United States	1
1 July 1972	Rey Robinson	United States	1
5 June 1975	Silvio Leonard	Cuba	1
3 April 1976	Harvey Glance	United States	2
22 May 1976	Don Quarrie	Jamaica	1

References

General

• 100 Metres All Time. IAAF (2009-06-02). Retrieved on 2009-06-03.

Specific

External links

• "How much faster can humans run?" article from The Independent