Who is the fastest runner in the world?

zbeckabee

Donovan Bailey -- In 1997, Bailey lost his world sprint crown when he was beaten by Maurice Greene, who clocked 9.86 s at a track meet in Athens. Greene's wind-corrected time was roughly 9.88 s. However, The 1998 edition of The Guinness Book of World Records features an article about Donovan Bailey, billed as the fastest man alive. http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc98/6_6_98/mathland.htm Jun 09 07, 9:51 PM

Lympathy

Asafa Powell (Jamaica) and Justin Gatlin (USA) both hold the fastest 100m time of 9.77 seconds. Gatlin has been disqualified for testing positive to a banned substance, which may see his time stripped from the record books. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_metres#Fastest_100_metres_runners Jun 09 07, 10:38 PM

sequoianoir

MICHAEL JOHNSON is (or at least holds the record for being) the fastest man ever and is currently known as "The World's Fastest Human". His 19.32s for 200m gives the highest average speed for any of the sprint distances and in this particular world record setting race (1st August 1996) he exceeded 25 mph (40kmh) peak speed. He covered the second 100m in only 9.2 seconds. A 100m runner would need to break the time of 9.66s to be quicker. Jun 10 07, 7:21 PM

intergalactic9

Asafa Powell from Jamaica is the fastest runner in the world. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_is_the_fastest_runner_in_the_world_in_2007 Jamaica's Asafa Powell poses next to the timer marking his world record run over 100 metres in Athens, Greece, yesterday (June 15, 2005). Powell clocked a time of 9.77 (9.74) seconds at the Olympic Stadium. Usain Bolt beat the above record May 31, 2008 -- Time: 9.72 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_meters#Top_thirteen_all-time_athletes_.E2.80.94_men http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20050615/lead/lead1.html [2 Links and text added -- Zb] Jun 14 08, 2:48 PM

Cruisin1

Since Usain Bolt became the 100m WR holder with a 9.72, I don't know if this figure still stands but in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Donovan Bailey in a WR time of 9.84 secs, covered a 10m portion at 12.1 meters per second. That would translate to about 27 MPH or about 43 Km/h. Both he and Maurice Greene hit a 10m section of the 100m final of the 1997 World Championships at 11.91 m/s... Greene ran a 9.86 and Bailey ran a 9.91. That would mean both reached a speed of roughly 26.5 MPH. Considering that, even the reductions the WR has taken in the last 12 years, it would be okay to assume 27-28 MPH is the fastest speed ever attained by a person running. Tyson Gay did run a wind aided 9.68 100m and is not considered a WR. What his highest speed was during that race could very well be the actual fastest a human has ever run, though not a legal time for purposes of the IIAF. Or maybe it was Bob Hayes. In 1964 he ran his leg of the 4x100m relay in 8.50 seconds. Many people incorrectly answer this question with Michael Johnson's 200m run of 19.32 in 1996 by using some mathematical gymnastics, but the fact is, Michael Johnson's highest speed attained was about 23 MPH. I'll also add that Asafa Powell ran the fastest digitally timed leg of a 4x100m race at 8.84 seconds. Bob Hayes 8.50 sec leg was hand timed. And as far as saying Michael Johnson ran 9.66 sec 100m, that would be the same as taking the 4x100m WR of 37.40 and saying Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell and Carl Lewis all ran 9.35 sec 100m times. Jul 24 08, 10:21 AM