10 greatest male sprinters of all time

Usain Bolt might have gone down in history as the greatest track and field athlete of all time, making one and all question what is actually termed as being “fast” with his super-human dashes on the track. But, sprint running as a sport has witnessed some great men, rather fastest men to ever walk the planet.

These athletes in the likes of Carl Lewis, Asafa Powell and others not only cruised past the finish line in the blink of an eye but at the same ran into the history books to etch their names as the legends of the sport.

Sportskeeda looks at the 10 greatest sprinters of all time in terms of medals, best times recorded along with sustained excellence and their versatility across distances.

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#10 Justin Gatlin

The American runner’s greatest achievement came at the 2004 Olympic Games where he clocked 9.85-second run to win the 100m gold medal along with a silver in the relay and a bronze in the 200m. Immediately after that, he also earned himself the gold medal at the World Championships in the 100 and 200m at Helsinki.

However, his career went off-track when he incurred a four-year ban in 2006 when he tested positive for a banned substance. But, Gatlin staged a strong comeback, especially at the Olympics when he claimed the bronze in the 100m at the 2012 London Games and followed it up with a silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics to become the oldest man to achieve Olympic glory in a non-relay sprint event.

“I ran like a champion. It is a great consolation to show how dominant I am. I am the Olympic champion and the world champion, but I want Justin Gatlin to be the champion of everything.”

#9 Donovan Bailey

He can probably be regarded as the greatest Canadian sprinter of all-time. His claim to fame moment came at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when he recorded a time of 9.84 seconds to win the gold medal. This record stood strong at the Olympics for a good 12-years before it was broken by Usain Bolt at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Another landmark moment in his career was when he overcame Michael Johnson in a 150m race in 1997 to be recognised as the ‘world’s fastest man’ alive. For his notable achievements, Bailey has been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame on two separate occasions, once in 2004 as an individual sprinter and the second time in 2008 as a member of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4 × 100 relay team.

“A team sport is not very good for me, because I can't take losing.”

#8 Asafa Powell

Well, he can rightly be regarded as the person who laid the foundation of Jamaican domination when it comes to sprinting! Asafa Powell’s greatest statistic of all time is the fact that he has the most number of sub-10 finishes than anybody else in the sport, 98 to be precise.

Recently when he was questioned about where he would like to get the 100th one, the athlete was quoted as saying, "It depends where my next competition is. I would love to do it in Jamaica, not much sure if it's going to take that long."

But keeping that aside, Asafa held the 100-metre world record between June 2005 and May 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds. In a career that was disrupted by injuries and doping allegations, the gifted runners’ only Olympic gold glory came forth at 2016 Rio Olympics in the 4×100 m relay after his first medal from the same event he won back in the Beijing Games had to be surrendered since fellow runner Nesta Carter failed his drug test.

“I want to be the king of sprints because I think I am.”

#7 Maurice Greene

The American runner broke the 100m world record in 1999, becoming the first man to cover the distance in less than 9.8 seconds. One achievement over another, Maurice Greene won double gold medals at the Sydney Olympics in the 100m and the relay event, following it up with a silver in the 100m dash and a bronze in the relay at the next Olympic Games at Athens in 2004.

Apart from that, he was also crowned as the world champion three time in 1997, 1999 and 2001 over the 100m distance, making him a legend of the sport! In 2005 however, he suffered an injury post which he reduced his participation in events and officially took retirement in 2008.

“To be number one, you must train like you are number two.”

#6 Tyson Gay

The American sprinter can be adjudged as the second fastest athlete ever behind Usain Bolt when considering his timing of 9.69 seconds in the 100m dash, which is just behind Bolt’s world record. Prior to that, he has been ranked Numero Uno in the world for the 100-metre dash twice in his career.

His best performance on the global stage came forth at the 2007 World Championships where he clinched three gold medals, in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay. Another unique record that this man holds is the fact that he is the only man in history to complete the 100 metres in under 10 seconds, the 200 metres in under 20 seconds and the 400 metres in under 45 seconds.

“I save the race for the race and I don't let it all out in practice.”

#5 Yohan Blake

Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake shares the title of the world's second-fastest man with American sprinter Tyson Gay. And well, to ensure that he live upto the tag of being the heir to his compatriot Usain Bolt’s legacy, he also trains alongside the world’s fastest man only to be rendered second best over the 100m and 200m distance.

The 2011 World Champions’ run at the Olympics has also been quite impressive with the 2012 London Games being the landmark event where he won the silver in the 100 and 200m dash and finished with the gold in the 4x100m relay. Four years later at Rio, he was only able to retain the gold from the relay event, just narrowly missing out on the bronze in the 100m where he came in fourth at the finish line.

“I don't need to scare the other athletes. When I'm running, I will scare them.”

#4 Michael Johnson

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The laurels that he earned off the field have given him the tag of being one of the most consistent track and field athletes of all time. Till date, his world record in 300m sprint still stands while his record in 200m remained unbeaten for a good 12 years.

He is the only male runner to have won both the 200m and 400m at the same Olympic Games, in Atlanta, and subsequently also the only athlete to defend his 400m crown at the next games in Sydney. Besides the glory at the Olympics, he also won eight gold medals in total at the World Championships, the second highest only behind Usain Bolt.

“Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.”

#3 Carl Lewis

An American track and field athlete, Carl Lewis held world records not only when it came to sprinting in 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 metres relay but also in the long jump. When it comes to the Olympics, he won a total of 10 medals out of which nine were gold.

With respect to the World Championships, he won eight gold medals in addition to a silver and a bronze, becoming one of the most decorated athletes in his field. Such was his domination in a career spanning from 1979-1996, that he was named ‘World Athlete of the Century’, ‘Sportsman of the Century’, and ‘Olympian of the Century’ by various sports federations.

“At the end of the day, if you're a professional athlete in track and field you are the CEO of your company.”

#2 Jesse Owens

Arguably one of the greatest athletes of all time, Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Games which were opened in Nazi Germany by Hitler. Despite having to run odd dirt tracks in stadiums that were old-fashioned for the time, Owens ran the 100m in 10.3 seconds and the 200m in 20.7 seconds.

He has thus being hailed for “single-handedly crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy” due to his incredible performance at the Games. Another record that he has to his name is for staging the "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport" at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Michigan where he set three world records and tied another one in a time span of less than half an hour.

”A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.”

#1 Usain Bolt

"What else can I do to prove to the world I am the greatest?" The Jamaican showman, Usain Bolt had said post his 200-meter final win in Brazil. "I am trying to be one of the greatest. Be among Muhammad Ali and Pele. I hope after these Games I will be in that bracket."

Following the relay, he repeated to the TV cameras: "I'm No. 1." Well, with three different Olympics, three gold medals in three events in each; Bolt can rightly be hailed as the greatest ever to have featured in the sport. Recently though, he had to return his 4x100m relay gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Games after teammate Nesta Carter tested positive for drugs thus denying him the “triple-triple gold” glory.

The fastest human ever on the planet also has 11 gold medals to his name from the World Championships thus rendering him a cut above the rest in his field. Bolt’s world record in 100m stands at 9.58s and in the 200m at 19.19s.

“I am now a legend. I am also the greatest athlete to live.”