Back in 1968, Jim Hines made international news as the first man to ever finish the 100-meter dash in under 10 seconds officially.
Nowadays, that feat might not even get you into the finals.
A group of eight men competing in the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday collectively sped past the 10-second mark in a historic first for the track world. Canada’s Andre de Grasse took the win, while Americans Fred Kerley and Ronnie Baker finished in second and third respectively.
Both de Grasse’s and Kerley’s time were both faster than the 9.80 seconds Marcell Jacobs posted to win the 100-meter race at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this month. Kerley won silver in Tokyo with a time of 9.84 seconds, while de Grasse got bronze with 9.89 seconds. De Grasse was also the gold medalist in the 200-meter race.
The win on Saturday represents the 26-year-old De Grasse’s personal best in the 100 meters without the assistance of wind. American Isiah Young, meanwhile, can at least say he posted the most impressive last-place finish in track history.
Previously, the closest a field of runners had come to replicating the feat might have been the 2012 Olympic final, in which every finalist finished under 10 seconds except for Asafa Powell, who had injured his groin. The 2020 Olympic field was similarly close with every finisher coming in under 10 seconds, but Zharnel Hughes’ false-start disqualification and Enoch Adegoke’s DNF due to hamstring injury prevented a clean sweep.
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