List of all Olympics Men's 100 Meter winners including gold, silver and bronze medalists.

Men's 100 Meter

A race of great prestige among the athletes, 100 meter sprint for men is a much-awaited event in the Summer Olympics. Winner of the race is given the title of the fastest man on the earth.

Debut in Olympics
The event has been in the Olympics since the inception of the modern games in 1896, the Athens Olympics. Since its debut, the sprint gold has been the target of the athletes from all parts of the world.

Venue of the Race
100 meter sprint for men is held in an oval shaped ground. The race begins from an extended portion of the track so that the athletes might run in a straight line at the end of their race.

Rules
The International Association of Athletics Federations or IAAF has set the following rules for 100 meter sprint for men.
  • If the competitors exceed 10 in number, preliminary heat races have to be held. The top sprinters will meet in the next round.
  • Length and width of the track and lanes should not violate the instruction of IAAF.
  • Any sprinter who obstructs his fellow sprinter will be disqualified. In this case, if the referee deems it proper, he can order the entire competition to be held again.
  • Any runner with a false start will be first warned. If he repeats the mistake, he will be disqualified.
  • The competitors are allowed to run with spiked shoes.
  • The heats, quarter-finals and semi-finals must be arranged by the appointed technical delegates.
  • The time shall be recorded to 1/100th of a second.
  • An athlete is not awarded any credit if he is unable to finish the race.
  • A permitted automatic timing device must be used for measurement of the time.
  • Athletes are not allowed to run inside the inner curve of the track.
Domination of Sprint
The USA has always been the dominating force in the 100 meter Sprint for Men in the Olympics.

Great Athletes
Great athletes of the 100 meter sprint for men have been Carl Lewis, Jesse Owens, Linford Christie, Tom Burke, Ato Boldon, Donovan Bailey, Maurice Greene, and Asafa Powell.

Controversy
It were 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. Ben Johnson of Canada won 100 meter sprint event setting a world record timing of 9.79 seconds and defeating eminent athlete Carl Lewis in the process. However, in the dope test after the event, Ben tested positive and was held guilty of consuming performance supporting drugs. As a result, he lost his title and the Olympic Medal, which were awarded to runner up, Carl Lewis.

Men's 100 Meter Winners at Olympics

Year
Gold Silver Bronze
1896 Thomas Burke
United States
Fritz Hofmann
Germany
Francis Lane, Alajos Szokolyi
United States, Hungary
1900 Frank Jarvis
United States
Walter Tewksbury
United States
Stan Rowley
Australia
1904 Archie Hahn
United States
Nathaniel Cartmell
United States
William Hogenson
United States
1908 Reggie Walker
South Africa
James Rector
United States
Robert Kerr
Canada
1912 Ralph Craig
United States
Alvah Meyer
United States
Donald Lippincott
United States
1920 Charles Paddock
United States
Morris Kirksey
United States
Harry EDWARD
Great Britain
1924 Harold Abrahams
Great Britain
Jackson Scholz
United States
Arthur Porritt
New Zealand
1928 Percy Williams
Canada
Jack London
Great Britain
Georg Lammers
Germany
1932 Eddie Tolan
United States
Ralph Metcalfe
United States
Arthur Jonath
Germany
1936 Jesse OWENS
United States
Ralph METCALFE
United States
Tinus Osendarp
Netherlands
1948 Harrison Dillard
United States
Barney Ewell
United States
Lloyd LaBeach
Panama
1952 Lindy Remigino
United States
Herb McKenley
Jamaica
McDonald Bailey
Great Britain
1956 Bobby Morrow
United States
Thane Baker
United States
Hector Hogan
Australia
1960 Armin HARY
United Team Of Germany
Dave SIME
United States
Peter Radford
Great Britain
1964 Bob HAYES
United States
Enrique Figuerola
Cuba
Harry Jerome
Canada
1968 Jim Hines
United States
Lennox Miller
Jamaica
Charles Greene
United States
1972 Valeriy Borzov
Soviet Union
Robert Taylor
United States
Lennox Miller
Jamaica
1976 Hasely Crawford
Trinidad and Tobago
Don Quarrie
Jamaica
Valeriy Borzov
Soviet Union
1980 Allan Wells
Great Britain
Silvio Leonard
Cuba
Petar Petrov
Bulgaria
1984 Carl Lewis
United States
Sam Graddy
United States
Ben Johnson
Canada
1988 Carl Lewis
United States
Linford Christie
Great Britain
Calvin Smith
United States
1992 Linford Christie
Great Britain
Frankie Fredericks
Namibia
Dennis Mitchell
United States
1996 Donovan Bailey
Canada
Frankie Fredericks
Namibia
Ato Boldon
Trinidad and Tobago
2000 Maurice Greene
United States
Ato Boldon
Trinidad and Tobago
Obadele Thompson
Barbados
2004 Justin Gatlin
United States
Francis Obikwelu
Portugal
Maurice Greene
United States
2008 Usain Bolt
Jamaica
Richard Thompson
Trinidad and Tobago

2012 Usain Bolt
Jamaica
Yohan Blake
Jamaica

2016 Usain Bolt
Jamaica
Justin Gatlin
United States
Andre De Grasse
Canada