Ranking the 9 Fastest Male 100m Athletes of All Time Featuring Bolt and Omanyala

Ranking the 9 Fastest Male 100m Athletes of All Time Featuring Bolt and Omanyala

  • Noah Lyles became the new men's 100m Olympic champion after winning a close race on Sunday evening
  • The American runner beat Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by the tightest of margins, which took time to decide the winner
  • Briefly News has compiled a list of the fastest 100m male athletes ever to grace the sport, which includes Jamaican icon Usain Bolt

Noah Lyles has earned the title of 'World's Fastest Man' after a thrilling photo finish in the men’s 100m race on Sunday. The American sprinter set a new personal best with a time of 9.79 seconds.

Initially, it appeared that Jamaica's Kishane Thompson had narrowly edged out Lyles, but a review revealed that the margin between them was just five-thousandths of a second.

Ranking the 10 fastest male 100m athletes of all time featuring Bolt and Omanyala
Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin and Ferdinand Omanyala are two of the fastest male athletes of all time when it comes to 100m.
Source: UGC

According to World Athletics, there have been 199 instances of male sprinters completing the 100m in under 10 seconds.

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The Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius"—Faster, Higher, Stronger—captures the essence of the 100m event, which has evolved from cinder tracks to modern synthetic surfaces.

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The men's 100m race epitomises this motto, showcasing the evolution of sprinting excellence.

Reactions to the video:

Here are some of the responses to the race.

@UtdMinja:

"All under 9.94."

@sirHongiz:

"Noah Lyles kept his promise. What a race!"

@BA_Mongana:

"What a close call!"

@onyedikacb49:

"Jamaican won."

@ZazArcade:

"Photo Finish!"

The Jamaican legend Usain Bolt stands out as one of the greatest sprinters in the event's history, amassing numerous accolades.

However, he faced fierce competition from other elite sprinters.

Briefly News has compiled a list of the fastest 100m male athletes ever to grace the sport.

9. Ferdinand Omanyala

Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala, known for his remarkable speed in a region traditionally strong in middle and long-distance running, almost broke the 10-second barrier.

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According to the BBC, he set an African record of 9.77 seconds at a meet in Nairobi and aims to excel further at Paris 2024.

8. Fred Kerley

Fred Kerley came close to historic glory at the Tokyo Olympics with a 9.84-second run, earning a silver medal.

He later won gold at the 2022 World Championships.

7. Trayvon Bromell

Trayvon Bromell is among the few to surpass the 9.8-second mark, recording 9.76 seconds at a 2021 Nairobi meet.

Unfortunately, he missed the Tokyo Olympics finals.

6. Christian Coleman

Christian Coleman was a strong Olympic contender who clocked 9.76 seconds and won the World Championship gold.

However, a missed drug test led to an 18-month ban, causing him to miss the Tokyo Games.

5. Justin Gatlin

Justin Gatlin faced a major setback with a doping accusation, resulting in a lifetime ban.

After serving a four-year suspension, he returned to win bronze at the London Olympics and silver at Rio.

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Noah Lyles: Real Madrid star sends message of support to new Olympic champion

His personal best of 9.74 seconds came in Doha in 2015.

Gatlin's crowning achievement was defeating Bolt by 0.03 seconds to win the 2017 World Championship.

4. Asafa Powell

Imagine being one of the fastest sprinters ever yet never coming close to winning an individual Olympic medal.

That’s the story of Asafa Powell. Despite breaking the world record twice, Powell never secured an individual Olympic medal.

3. Yohan Blake

In 2011, Yohan Blake won the World Championships 100m gold after Bolt's disqualification.

Blake shares the second-fastest time with Tyson Gay, clocking 9.69 seconds in Lausanne in 2012.

2. Tyson Gay

Tyson Gay was a major sprinting talent who won gold in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay at the 2007 World Championships.

Despite a personal best of 9.69 seconds in 2009, he never secured an Olympic medal.

1. Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt, who surprised the world with his performance at the 2004 Athens Olympics, is considered one of the greatest sprinters ever.

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Over his illustrious career, Bolt won eight Olympic gold medals and set the 100m world record at 9.58 seconds, per Diario AS.

Fans claim 100m final was rigged in favour of Lyles

Earlier, Briefly News reported that the tight finish and the subsequent wait for the result sparked controversy among fans, with some alleging the race was rigged in favour of the American.

The American sprinter won with a time of 9.79 seconds in a photo finish to clinch track and field’s marquee sprint event

However, some fans on social media reckon that the 100-meter dash was 'rigged' in favour of the 27-year-old.

Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Justin Williams avatar

Justin Williams (Editor) Justin Williams is a multimedia journalist who recently completed his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Film & Multimedia Production and English Literary Studies from the University of Cape Town. He is a former writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa: South African chapter. You can contact Justin at justin.williams@briefly.co.za