The 100m has long been seen as a severe test for world sprinters, and the holder of the men's world record is often referred to as "the fastest runner in the world".
The first 100-meter world record approved by the IAAF was 110 years ago in 1912, when American Donald Lippincourt ran 10.6 seconds in the 1912 Olympic qualification for the Stockholm Olympics.
For the next half century, records were timed by hand, until 1977, when automatic timing became a prerequisite for world records. This is also when the recording starts to be timed in hundredths of a second instead of a tenth of a second.
Since 1987, the men's 100 meters world record has never been held for more than 3 years and 3 months. It wasn't until Jamaican legend Yousain Bolt set his current world record in August 2009 – about 13 years ago.
Bolt sprinted at full speed in the 100m final at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics Berlin, reaching a staggering 44.72 km/h in a time of 9.58 seconds.
No other sprinter broke the record of 9.60 seconds, with Bolt running 9.63 seconds at the 2012 London Olympics and Tyson Gay and Yohan Black running 9.69 seconds in 2009 and 2012, respectively.
In 1912, Lippincote set the first official world record.
In 1921, Charley Paddock of the United States broke the world record with a time of 10.4 seconds, which took 9 years.
In 1930, nine years after the last record, Percy Williams of Canada set a new record.
In 1936, the great Jesse Owens lowered that record to 10.2 seconds. He won 4 gold medals in Boleyn, Germany.
Jesse Owens
In 1956, American Willie Williams won the title of the world's fastest running man with a time of 10.01 seconds.
In 1960, after West Germany's Amin Hari ran for 10 seconds, people's eyes turned to the first person to break through 10 seconds.
Hines breaks 10 to break records
In June 1968, America's Jim Haynes set a world record of 9.9 seconds.
In 1968, at the Mexican Olympics, he set another world record of 9.95 seconds. This record was held for 14 years, 8 months and 19 days.
In 1991, Carl Lewis, the nine-time Olympic gold medalist in the United States, officially broke 9.9 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics with a time of 9.86 seconds. Eight years later, America's Maurice Green broke through 9.8 seconds at the Athens Olympics in Greece with a time of 9.78 seconds.
Jamaican athletes have dominated the 100m world record rankings since 2005, and before Olympic star Bolt appeared, Asafa Powell broke four world records with a minimum of 9.735 points.
In May 2008, Bolt broke the world record for the first time with a time of 9.72 seconds. Two months later, he broke his own record by winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 9.69 seconds.
At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Bolt crossed the finish line with a time of 9 minutes and 58 seconds, setting a fabulous world record.
With the world's sprinters competing fiercely for "the fastest man in the world", who can compare with him?