Information About100 Metres |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT 100 METRES | |
| events in athletics | |
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100 m is the classic Sprints race distance. The reigning 100 m world record holder is often named "the fastest man/woman in the world", and the 100 m Olympic title is usually considered among the most prestigious. A distance of 100 Yard s (91 m) was often run in the past, but this is now obsolete. Indoors, events are normally held over 60 m (sometimes 50 m or 55 m) as few facilities have a 100 m indoor straight. On an outdoor 400 m running track, the 100 m is run on the home straight. Many 60 m prodigies lose to seasoned 100 m runners, as training needs to be done in order to maintain form and power through this race. Beginners can actually become winded after running this distance. Top sprinters do significant amounts of training with weights, and boxers punch-ball, as upper body strength is needed to maintain balance. Illegal drug use has been seen by some as a means to gain a competitive edge; in particular, the scandal at the 1988 Summer Olympics when the winner Ben Johnson was stripped of his medal has tarnished the event. RECORD PERFORMANCES Major 100 m races, such as at the Olympic Games , attract much attention, particularly when the world record is thought to be within reach. The record has only been broken a handful of times since the introduction of electronic timing in 1968, and never by more than 0.05 seconds at a time. The current world record holder is Asafa Powell of Jamaica , who ran a time of 9.77 seconds in Athens on June 14 , 2005 . The reigning Olympic champion is Justin Gatlin of the United States . In the womens' competition the world record belongs to Florence Griffith Joyner who ran a time of 10.49 seconds in Indianapolis on 16 July , 1988 . START At the start, athletes play psychological games such as trying to be last to the starting blocks, although direct intimidation would be considered unsporting. The starter will keep the sprinters in the set position for an unpredictable time of around 2 seconds and then fire the starting gun. The time between the gun and first kick against the starting block is measured electronically, via sensors built in the gun and the blocks. Anything less than a 0.1 second reaction time is considered a false start. The 0.1 second interval accounts for the sum of the time it takes for the sound of the starter's pistol to propagate through the air and reach the runners' ears, and the time it takes for a human to process the auditory stimulus and react to it. For many years a sprinter was only disqualified if they were responsible for two false starts. However, this rule was causing some major races being restarted so many times that the sprinters started to lose focus. The new rule is that after one false start, anyone responsible for a false start is disqualified immediately, though this rule has lead to some sprinters deliberately false starting to gain a psychological advantage especially if they're one of the slower starters in the field. FAMOUS 100 METRE RUNNERS
Top ten all-time athletes — men Updated by July 27 , 2005
Top ten all-time athletes — women Updated by July 27 , 2005 SEE ALSO |
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