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The list of the top 100m runners includes some of the most decorated sprinters including Usain Bolt, Ferdinand Omanyala and Fred Kerley but Noah Lyles does not make the list.
The men’s 100m is one of the races that has greatly improved over the years, seeing athletes clock fast times, but Usain Bolt remains the greatest ever with his world record time.
Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala, and Kishane Thompson are some of the top sprinters who have emerged and shaped the sprinting scene following the retirement of Bolt. With this new crop of sprinters, the Jamaican’s world record is under threat.
However, the 100m remains one of the most tactical races that will require athletes to dig deep and execute the race smartly before even getting closer to the world record.
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1) Usain Bolt
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The Jamaican sprint king is undoubtedly the greatest 100m sprinter ever, thanks to the top times he has run, and owning the world record for 15 years now.
Bolt hung his spikes in 2017 but his name is still mentioned in huge stadiums, with questions still lingering on whether his 100m world record will be shattered. Bolt broke his 100m world record at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
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Competing at the Olympic stadium, Bolt stormed to victory in 9.58 seconds to completely obliterate his previous mark of 9.69secs that he set in Beijing the previous year. His time remains the fastest in the world and the only other athletes to get closer to it are Yohan Blake and Tyson Gay.
2) Tyson Gay
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The year 2009 was a good season for the retired American sprinter who won a World Championships silver medal in the men’s 100m behind record-breaking Usain Bolt.
In his first 200m outing of that season at the Reebok Grand Prix, he set a personal best and a meeting record time of 19.58 seconds. This was the third fastest 200m run ever, after Bolt and Johnson's world record-setting times.
Gay continued his winning streak to the Golden Gala in July as he beat Asafa Powell's 9.88 season best with a 9.77-second run.
At the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, on September 20, 2009, Gay ran the second-fastest men's 100 m on record, winning in 9.69 seconds, matching Usain Bolt's winning time at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
3) Yohan Blake
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Blake enjoyed an illustrious 2012 season where he bagged two silver medals in the 100m and 200m at the 2012 London Olympic Games before claiming a gold in the men’s 4x100m relay race.
He registered striking sub-10 performances from the start of the season. Blake clocked 9.90 seconds at the UTech Classic before clocking 9.84 seconds at the Cayman Invitational. At the Jamaican Olympic trials, he beat Usain Bolt over 100m with a time of 9.75 seconds. He also won the 200m with a time of 19.80 ahead of Bolt.
On August 23, 2012, competing at the Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne, Blake ran the 100m in 9.69 seconds, tying him with Tyson Gay as the second-fastest man in history, behind Bolt.
4) Asafa Powell
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Popularly known as the king of sub-10 performances, Powell could not miss the list of the fastest men in the world. His star-studded career ended in 2022, as he left behind a legacy, having run the 100m under 10 seconds in a record 97 times.
The Jamaican became the fourth-fastest 100m runner following his 9.72 seconds clocked at the 2008 Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne. His season had been derailed by injuries and he wanted to make a great bounce back after the slow season.
5) Justin Gatlin
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Justin Gatlin is one of the track stars who threatened the dominance of Usain Bolt on the global stage and recorded some of the fastest times in his athletics career.
The American sprint king started his 2015 season on a high, propelling the men’s 4x100m relay team to victory at the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas. It was the first defeat for Usain Bolt and Jamaica team in the 4 × 100 meters relay since 2007.
He was not done as he cemented his place as one of the greatest sprinters in the world as he improved his personal best to 9.74 seconds at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix.
6) Christian Coleman
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Christian Coleman might not be the best championship runner but when it comes to running fast times, he certainly knows how to show up. The American struggled to make an impact competing at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships and the Paris Olympic Games.
However, he reigns among the 10 fastest men in the world. His personal best time of 9.76 is the sixth-fastest time in the world. He ran the time on September 28, 2019, when he won the men's 100m at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
That time makes Coleman the sixth fastest man in history, as well as the third fastest American in history. He subsequently withdrew from the 200m at the same event, preventing him from attempting a sprint double.
7) Trayvon Bromell
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The American sprinter has been plagued by injuries but remains at the top list of 100m runners. The American ran the seventh-fastest time of all time at the Bromell 2021 Kip Keino Classic where he pipped home talent Ferdinand Omanyala to take the win in 10.76 seconds.
His 2021 season was impeccable as he was able to win the U.S. Olympic trials but flopped at the global event and could not make the final after finishing third in the semifinal.
8) Fred Kerley
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The former world champion always knows when to show up when it matters and his effort has paid off well, making him join the list of the top 10 fastest men in the world. The Olympic bronze medallist ranks as the eighth-fastest man in the world with his time of 9.76 seconds.
The American, competing at the 2022 USATF Championships, Kerley won the 100m in 9.77 seconds and placed third in the 200m in 19.83 seconds. In the semifinal, Kerley was in a class of his own as he clocked 9.76 seconds, a personal best.
9) Ferdinand Omanyala
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Africa’s fastest man makes the cut to the top 10 fastest men in the world, thanks to his African record time of 9.77 seconds that he ran at the 2021 Kip Keino Classic.
The Commonwealth Games champion has made an impact on Kenyan sprinting and he keeps on motivating youngsters in the country and the whole of Africa to take up the challenge.
Omanyala set the African record weeks after his debut at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games where he exited the stage in the semifinal. He continues to place the Kenyan flag on the world map with his sprinting prowess.
10) Kishane Thompson
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The latest kid on the block has come with a storm and might just be the one to shatter Bolt’s world record. Thompson donned the Jamaican jersey for the first time at the Paris Olympic Games and did not fail to disappoint with his dominant exploits that saw him earn a silver medal, finishing a close second behind Noah Lyles.
Thompson ran the 10th fastest time in the world at the Jamaican Olympic trials where he won the 100m race in an impressive 9.77 seconds. Thompson has suffered a series of injuries but from his record-breaking performances this season, he seems to be back in the game.
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