The short answer
The men's 100m world record is Usain Bolt's 9.58, set in Berlin in 2009 and unbeaten since. The women's record is Florence Griffith-Joyner's 10.49 from 1988, the oldest sprint world record in the book. The electronic-timing era began in 1968, when Jim Hines ran the first accepted sub-10 at 9.95.
Key takeaways
- Usain Bolt's 9.58 (2009, Berlin) is the men's record and has stood since 2009
- Florence Griffith-Joyner's 10.49 (1988) is the women's record, the oldest in the sprints
- Fully automatic timing became the standard in 1968; Jim Hines ran 9.95 that year
- Bolt took the record from 9.74 to 9.58 in just over a year, an unheard-of leap
- Altitude marks like Hines's 9.95 carry an (A) flag in the record lists
Where the record stands
The men's 100m world record is Usain Bolt's 9.58, run at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. It has stood unbeaten since, the longest the men's record has gone untouched in the modern era. The women's record is Florence Griffith-Joyner's 10.49, set at the 1988 US Olympic Trials in Indianapolis and still standing after more than 35 years, the oldest world record in the sprints.
Both marks sit at the far edge of what the event has produced. On the World Athletics scoring tables, Bolt's 9.58 is worth roughly 1356 points, deep into world-record territory. To understand why each tenth at this level is so hard-won, see our World Athletics points explained breakdown.
The longest-standing sprint record
Florence Griffith-Joyner's 10.49 from July 1988 has stood for over 35 years, making it the oldest world record in the sprint events.
Source: Wikipedia, Women's 100 metres world record progression (CC BY-SA)
When the clock changed: the electronic era
Modern record-keeping starts in 1968. Before that, sprint records were hand-timed, which flattered marks by roughly two-tenths because a human timer reacts to the gun rather than starting on it. The first men's record, Donald Lippincott's 10.6, dates to 1912, and the hand-timed era eventually reached 9.9. Once fully automatic timing became the standard, the lists effectively reset, and Jim Hines's 9.95 at Mexico City became the first accepted sub-10. For how hand and electronic marks compare, see our hand time vs FAT conversion guide.
Men's 100m progression, electronic era
Here is the men's record progression under fully automatic timing. The (A) flag marks performances set at altitude above 1000m, where thinner air aids sprinters.
Men's 100m world record progression (FAT era)
Ratified marks from the start of fully automatic timing to today.
| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.06 | Bob Hayes | USA | 1964 | Tokyo |
| 10.03 | Jim Hines | USA | 1968 | Sacramento |
| 9.95 (A) | Jim Hines | USA | 1968 | Mexico City |
| 9.93 (A) | Calvin Smith | USA | 1983 | Colorado Springs |
| 9.92 | Carl Lewis | USA | 1988 | Seoul |
| 9.90 | Leroy Burrell | USA | 1991 | New York |
| 9.86 | Carl Lewis | USA | 1991 | Tokyo |
| 9.84 | Donovan Bailey | Canada | 1996 | Atlanta |
| 9.79 | Maurice Greene | USA | 1999 | Athens |
| 9.77 | Asafa Powell | Jamaica | 2005 | Athens |
| 9.69 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 2008 | Beijing |
| 9.58 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 2009 | Berlin |
Read the bottom of that table and you see the Bolt anomaly. The record had crept from 9.95 to 9.77 over 37 years, an average of half a hundredth per year. Then Bolt ran 9.69 to win the 2008 Olympics, looking around and slowing before the line, and lowered it again to 9.58 in 2009. He took 0.11 off the world record in just over a year, a leap the event had never seen and has not approached since.
Why no one has touched 9.58
Bolt paired a sprinter's turnover with a high jumper's stride length at 6 foot 5. The record stands not because the event stopped improving, but because his particular combination of size and speed was a true outlier.
Women's 100m progression, electronic era
The women's progression under electronic timing runs from Wyomia Tyus in 1968 to Griffith-Joyner in 1988. It has not moved in over three decades.
Women's 100m world record progression (electronic era)
Key ratified marks from 1968 to the current record.
| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.07 | Wyomia Tyus | USA | 1968 | Mexico City |
| 11.01 | Annegret Richter | West Germany | 1976 | Montreal |
| 10.88 | Marlies Gohr | East Germany | 1977 | Dresden |
| 10.81 | Marlies Gohr | East Germany | 1983 | Berlin |
| 10.79 | Evelyn Ashford | USA | 1983 | Colorado Springs |
| 10.76 | Evelyn Ashford | USA | 1984 | Zurich |
| 10.49 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | USA | 1988 | Indianapolis |
Griffith-Joyner's 10.49 is the most debated mark in the book. The official wind reading was 0.0 m/s, but adjacent events that day recorded strong tailwinds, and many statisticians believe the gauge malfunctioned. Track and Field News has long argued the true legal-wind best belongs elsewhere. The record stands as ratified, but the asterisk in the conversation never quite goes away.
The modern chase
No woman has broken 10.49 in legal conditions since 1988. The closest sustained pressure came from Elaine Thompson-Herah, whose 10.54 in 2021 is the second-fastest legal mark in history. In 2025, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ran 10.65 to lead the world, the fifth-fastest time ever recorded. The record is no longer untouchable in the way it once looked, but it remains the standard, and the wind controversy means any new mark will be scrutinized to the decimal.
The men's side is quieter at the top, with no one threatening 9.58, though the depth has never been greater. What both progressions show is that the 100m improves in jumps, not a smooth slide: a generational talent arrives, resets the mark, and the field spends a decade or two catching up. If you want the benchmarks below world-record level, our average 100m time by age page maps where ordinary fast looks like at every stage.