|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
The Evolution of the Olympic 100 Meter Race:
That Was Then....The first modern Olympic 100 meter dash was held in Athens in 1896. There were no fast tracks, ultra light shoes and gear, or wind gauges and digital timing. The lanes were separated by ropes, and each runner has his own unique style, as shown below.. American sprinter Thomas Burke won the first Olympic 100m in 12.0 seconds. He also won the 400m in Athens that year.
Things got a little better by 1920 when the Olympics arrived in Antwerp. The athletes were better and a little more sophisticated. California native and later world record holder Charles Paddock took the 100m gold in 10.8 seconds. He added a silver in the 200m as well. In the photo below, he wins the 100m dash in front bronze medalist Harry Edward of Great Britain. Notice the condition of the track surface.
The Helsinki Olympic Games in 1952 brought about of the most dramatic finishes in track and field history. Three sprinters were credited with a time 10.4 seconds. After reviewing the photos, American Lindy Remigino (below, 3rd from left) was awarded the gold medal. Herb McKenley of Jamaica (2nd from left) received the silver and Britain's Emmanual McDonald Bailey (far right) took the bronze.
Fast forward now to the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. We now have real starting blocks and accurate wind gauges in place. Before embarking on a career in pro football (American), Bob Hayes captures the gold medal by an astonishing 7 feet margin. Running on the inside of a worn cinder track, Hayes sets a world record in what was later electronically timed as 10.05 seconds.
At the Seoul games in 1988, the 100 meter dash was rocked by scandal. Ben Johnson's world record setting victory was disqualified days later after he tested positive for drugs. American Carl Lewis was awarded the gold medal. The photo below shows, left to right, Johnson, Calvin Smith, Linford Christie, and Lewis.
One hundred years later, the fastest men on earth met again in 1996 on the Mondo track in Atlanta. The athletes now have hi-tech uniforms and train year round and are well compensated. Billions around the globe watch as Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey captures the gold medal in a record breaking 9.84 seconds.
So how far have come? Well, in 1932, 5'5" Eddie Tolan clocked a 10.3 in Los Angeles. His time has been electronically recorded as 10.38 on replays of the race. Let's accept this for now. We don't know the wind reading or Tolan's reaction time on that day. We do know he didn't have the starting blocks, Mondo track, shoes, uniform, coaching, or financial incentive available to modern sprinters. Maurice Greene had all this when he set the current 100m world record of 9.79 appropriately, in Athens. Well, if you do the math, in 67 years, from Tolan to Greene, we have improved 5.68% !