The 100m dash  is one of the most exciting events as the winner is known as the fastest human in the world. Although it roughly takes 10 seconds to get over, watching it alone gives an adrenaline rush. It has been present since the beginning of Olympics from hand timed watches to the present fully automatic ones. We also have seen the progression of the timings of world records across races. Jesse Owens, one of the initial superstars in athletic history stole the limelight by winning four medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he secured victory in the 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump and relay showing his versatility as an athlete. It was a historic victory not only for his superhuman abilities but also for turning the attention away from Hitler.  Carl Lewis also repeated the feat in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in the same events just like Owens, Olympic arena has seen battles between legends and making of legends. Winning four medals, especially in athletics is far too good to be matched, it shows the level of fitness and technique needed in each event and that too being on top of every event. Team USA will look to sweep through the medals with a young but promising field.

This is the first Olympics without Usain Bolt since he first competed in Athens 2004 in the 200 metres event. Trayvon Bromell looks to be the favourite as he recently ran a 9.80 in the US Olympic trials, Trayvon Bromell also has the fastest time of the year with 9.77 seconds which makes him the seventh fastest of all time. The last time in the relay race at the Rio Olympics, he tore his achilles after diving into the finish line. Usain Bolt himself is favouring Trayvon Bromell to win the race but says his Olympic records will be safe. Andre De Grasse is also one among the contenders as he won a bronze medal last time and his iconic photo in the finish line with Usain Bolt was the highlight of the event. After the photo went viral, he was considered as a successor of Usain Bolt. Yohan Blake will be the underdog and can finally win the Gold medal as the athletes who he competed with in the past won't be running alongside him this time. He has the joint second fastest time in the history of 100 metres. Ronnie Baker who clocked 9.85 in the USA Olympic trials will be competing in his first Olympics and it will be interesting to see how he performs in the games. Olympics 2020 is the first one to be postponed and rescheduled, it might have done good for some athletes and for others it made it worse.

Justin Gatlin and Noah Lyles also couldn't qualify for the 100 metres sprint this time. Justin Gatlin would have been competing in his fourth Olympic Games if he had qualified. It will be totally different not seeing Usain Bolt, the charisma will be missed. Asafa Powell will also not be competing in the games as the Olympic crown continues to go beyond his reach. Christian Coleman was supposed to be the favourite this time but is currently serving a ban for missing a drug test dating back to 2019 and is banned until 2022. Despite having appealed the decision, it’s unlikely that Coleman will feature in the Tokyo Olympics.

Interesting Fact: Jesse Owens set three world records and tied a fourth all under 45 minutes on May 25 1935.