How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (2024)

By Joe WardLazaro GamioLarry BuchananJeremy WhiteBedel SagetWeiyi CaiJon HuangEmily RhyneTessa BartonAlexandre DevauxOr FleisherNiko KoppelMark McKeague and Peter Whidden

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (1)

Doug Mills/The New York Times

TOKYO — There is now a successor to Usain Bolt. Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy ran a 9.80-second 100 meters to win the gold medal on Sunday night at Tokyo Olympic Stadium. It marked the first time since 2004 that anyone other than Bolt, who retired in 2017, has been the Olympic champion in the men’s event.

Who was fastest at each meter

Fastest

Slowest

25

50

75

100

4th

Simbine

9.93

1st

Jacobs

9.80

Hughes

DQ

2nd

Kerley

9.84

6th

Su

9.98

5th

Baker

9.95

Adegoke

DNF

3rd

de Grasse

9.89

Note: Zharnel Hughes was disqualified, and Enoch Adegoke did not finish.·The New York Times

Without Bolt, it was a wide-open race: Nearly everyone in the starting blocks had a shot at victory. A false start caused Zharnel Hughes of Britain to be disqualified, and Enoch Adegoke of Nigeria did not finish; the remaining six competitors all clocked times under 10 seconds.

Fred Kerley of the United States won silver, four-hundredths of a second behind Jacobs, and Andre de Grasse of Canada (9:89) won bronze, as he did in Rio. All three of the top finishers achieved personal best times.

Speed during the entire race

Jacobs

26.76m.p.h.
at 72 meters

22.93m.p.h.

Kerley

26.29m.p.h.
at 66 meters

22.84m.p.h.

de Grasse

26.59m.p.h.
at 68 meters

22.73m.p.h.

Simbine

26.53m.p.h.
at 74 meters

22.56m.p.h.

Baker

26.14m.p.h.
at 66 meters

22.53m.p.h.

Su

26.10m.p.h.
at 66 meters

22.54m.p.h.

Jacobs’s time was 0.17 seconds off Bolt’s Olympic record of 9.63 that he set in London in 2012, and 0.22 seconds off Bolt’s world record of 9.58 that he set in 2009. The last European to win gold in the 100 was Britain’s Linford Christie in Barcelona in 1992. (Jacobs, who was born in Texas to an Italian mother, ran for Italy.)

Speed throughout the race

Each line is the smoothed average of a runner’s readings.

091827m.p.h.0meters255075100

Jacobs

The New York Times

Explosive start for Kerley

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (2)

Runners' positions at four moments in first few seconds of the race

Jacobs

Kerley

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (3)

Runners' positions at

four moments in first

few seconds of the race

Jacobs

Jacobs

Kerley

Kerley

de Grasse

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (4)

Runners’ positions at

four moments in first few

seconds of the race

Jacobs

Jacobs

Kerley

Kerley

de Grasse

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (5)

Runners' positions at three moments

in first few seconds of the race

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

Composite image by Jeremy White

Kerley blasted out of the blocks faster than any of the runners, reacting with a time of 0.128 seconds. Jacobs’s reaction time was 0.161, the second slowest of the seven starters. During the acceleration phase, the first 30 meters or so, Kerley was holding off the pack.

Speed during first 25 meters

091827m.p.h.0meters510152025

Jacobs

Kerley

Section detail

Jacobs gains ground

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (6)

Jacobs

Jacobs

Kerley

Kerley

de Grasse

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (7)

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (8)

Jacobs

Jacobs

Kerley

Kerley

de Grasse

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (9)

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

Composite image by Jeremy White

Jacobs erased his early deficit in a hurry, then stayed just behind Kerley through the second 25 meters. Jacobs was running faster than anyone at this point in the race. But Kerley had been a 400-meter runner until switching over to the 100 this year. Specialists in the 400 often make great finishers in the 100, so Kerley appeared to be in good shape.

Speed from meters 25 to 50

2324252627m.p.h.25meters3035404550

Jacobs

Kerley

Section detail

Jacobs reaches 26.76 m.p.h.

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (10)

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (11)

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (12)

Jacobs

Jacobs

Kerley

Kerley

de Grasse

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (13)

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

Composite image by Jeremy White

But Jacobs increased his speed and drew even with Kerley midway through the race — and looked strong. His peak speed was 26.76 m.p.h. Jacobs, a former Italian long jump champion, had set an Italian 100-meter record in May, at 9.95, and then ran 9.94 in the heats here. He would need to run faster than he ever had over the last 50 meters if he wanted to win. In Lane 8, Adegoke pulled up with an apparent leg injury.

Speed from meters 50 to 75

2324252627m.p.h.50meters5560657075

Jacobs

Kerley

Section detail

A gold, and a personal best, for Jacobs

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (14)

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (15)

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (16)

Jacobs

Jacobs

Kerley

Kerley

de Grasse

de Grasse

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (17)

Jacobs

Kerley

de Grasse

Composite image by Jeremy White

In the final meters, Kerley could not hold off Jacobs, who was running the race of his life. With about five meters to go, it looked as if either runner could claim the gold. Kerley was running faster than Jacobs at this point. Both runners leaned hard into the finish line.

When the results were posted, Jacobs had raced more than a tenth of a second faster than he ever had before, setting a personal best and claiming both a gold medal and the unofficial title of the fastest man in the world.

Speed from meters 75 to 100

2324252627m.p.h.75meters80859095100

Jacobs

Kerley

Section detail

Methodology

The Times recorded the position of every runner in a sequence of more than 100 photographs taken every five-hundredths of a second to determine the speed of each athlete throughout the race. Speeds were calculated by combining the positions of the athletes with timestamp information from the images.

Correction:

Aug. 1, 2021

A chart in this article showing the runners ranked by speed throughout the race depicted incorrect standings for some runners at several points. It has been updated.

How the World’s Fastest Men Battled for Gold in 10 Seconds (Published 2021) (2024)

FAQs

How fast does Noah Lyles run? ›

The 27-year-old Virginia native hit a top speed of 43.5 kilometers per hour (27 MPH) at his peak speed past the halfway point. Noah Lyles tied for having the slowest reaction time of anyone in the field, but he still won the men's 100m final...

Who is the fastest man in the world in 2024? ›

Updated on August 4, 2024 at 4:51 pm. NBC Universal, Inc. Watch U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles win the men's 100m at the Paris Olympics. Noah Lyles can claim the title of the 'World's Fastest Man' after winning gold in the men's 100m race in a true photo finish on Sunday.

Did Marcell Jacobs win? ›

After holding onto the lead the rest of the way, Jacobs became the first Italian man to ever win gold in the event, running a 2021 world lead and personal best. Jacobs didn't just win gold on his own, but alongside his Italian teammates who held off both Canada and China in the 4x100m final.

Who is the fastest man in the world of all time? ›

Usain St. Leo Bolt OJ CD OLY (/ˈjuːseɪn/; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter, the world's fastest man, and is widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.

Who is faster, Usain Bolt or Noah Lyles? ›

Science and training give him a chance, experts say. Noah Lyles became the “world's fastest man” when he won the 100 meters at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. But the American sprinter's time of 9.79 seconds fell short of the world record of 9.58 set by Usain Bolt of Jamaica 15 years ago.

Can anyone run 27 mph? ›

So far, the fastest any human has run is about 27 1/2 mph, a speed reached (briefly) by sprinter Usain Bolt just after the midpoint of his world-record 100-meter dash in 2009.

Who is the fastest man on earth right now? ›

'Fastest person on Earth': Team USA sprinter Noah Lyles arrives in Paris with grand Olympic ambitions. PARIS -- He's become the face of Team USA's Men's track and field, and he's close to becoming the fastest man on Earth -- just don't call him the "next Usain Bolt."

Who is the fastest man on earth history? ›

Usain Bolt: World's fastest man in history reveals the 2 things he misses about being an athlete.

Who replaced Usain Bolt? ›

Marcell Jacobs succeeded Usain Bolt as Olympic 100-meter champion.

Who is the wife of the Italian 100m sprinter? ›

Nicole Daza Jacobs is the wife of Italian sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who won the gold medal in the men's 100 meters at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She was born in Manta, Ecuador and often appears in media due to her association with her husband.

How fast is Marcell Jacobs in 100m? ›

Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs clocks 9.92 to mark his fastest 100m time since 2021, winning in Finland.

Who is the fastest man alive in mph? ›

In 2011 Belgian scientists used lasers to measure Bolt's performance in the different stages of a 100-meter race held in September that year. They found that, 67.13 meters into the race, Bolt reached a top speed of 43.99 kilometers per hour (27.33 miles per hour).

Who is the fastest person in all of history? ›

Currently the answer is Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, he's also the fastest man in history with a world record time of 9.58 seconds. The fastest woman is history is Florence Griffith-Joyner with a world record time of 10.49. Take a look at the other fastest people ever, what countries are they from?

Who is the fastest man alive? ›

Noah Lyles might be the Fastest Man Alive, but he wasn't even fastest in his Olympic 200 semifinal. SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — What was supposed to be the easy half of Noah Lyles' historic Olympic sprint double isn't looking quite so easy anymore.

Who is the fastest running man ever recorded? ›

However, while Lyles is currently the fastest runner in the world, he doesn't hold the record for the fastest 100 meter. That belongs to Usain Bolt, and Lyles has his eyes — and fleet feet — on breaking Bolt's longstanding records in the 100 meter and 200 meter events.

How many mph does Usain Bolt run? ›

In 2011, Belgian scientists conducted a detailed analysis of Bolt's performance during a 100-meter race held in September of that year. Their findings were nothing short of incredible. At the 67.13-meter mark, Bolt reached a breathtaking top speed of 43.99 kilometers per hour (27.33 miles per hour).

Who holds the fastest running record? ›

The men's world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2009, while the women's world record is 10.49 seconds, set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.

How fast does Jordan Lyles throw? ›

Blessed with a clean and easy delivery, Lyles offers a fastball in the upper 80s and can break 90 mph on occasion.

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