The men's 100 metres event was one of the events in the 1980 Summer Olympics in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. The competition was held on July 24, 1980, and on July 25, 1980. Sixty-five athletes from 40 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by

Allan Wells Allan Wipper Wells (born 3 May 1952) is a Scottish former track and field sprinter who became the 100 metres Olympic champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Within a fortnight of that, he also took on and beat America's best sprinter ...

of Great Britain, that nation's first title in the men's 100 metres since 1924. Cuba took its first medal in the event since 1964, with Silvio Leonard's silver matching the nation's best result. Petar Petrov's bronze was Bulgaria's first Olympic medal in the men's 100 metres.

Background

This was the nineteenth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. Four finalists from 1980 returned: defending gold medal winner

Hasely Crawford Hasely Joachim Crawford TC (born 16 August 1950) is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1976, he became his country's first Olympic champion. A stadium was renamed in his honour in 2001. Early years Crawford was bor ...

of Trinidad and Tobago, silver medalist

Don Quarrie Donald O'Riley Quarrie CD (born 25 February 1951) is a Jamaican former track and field athlete, one of the world's top sprinters during the 1970s. At the 1976 Summer Olympics he was the gold medallist in the Olympic 200 meters and silver med ...

of Jamaica, seventh-place finisher

Klaus-Dieter Kurrat Klaus-Dieter Kurrat (born 16 January 1955 in Nauen, Brandenburg) is a former East German athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres. He was a European Junior 100/200 metre champion in 1973. He was twice East German 100 Metres Champion, a ...

of East Germany, and eighth-place finisher Petar Petrov of Bulgaria, while the American team, including

1977 IAAF World Cup The 1st IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held from 2 to 4 September 1977, at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Overa ...

winner Steve Williams, were absent as they boycotted the Games. Other notable entrants included Silvio Leonard of Cuba (1975 and 1979 Pan-American Games champion, 1976 Olympic quarterfinalist, 1977 World Cup bronze medal),

Eugen Ray Eugen Ray (26 July 1957, in Gerbstedt, Bezirk Halle, East Germany – 18 January 1986, in Leipzig, East Germany) was an East German sprinter who ran in the 100 metres and 200 metres. Biography Ray established himself in the elite of world spri ...

of East Germany (1977 World Cup silver medalist), and

of Great Britain (second to Quarrie at the 1978 Commonwealth Games). Eleven nations appeared in the event for the first time: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Guinea, Laos, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nepal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and Syria, while the United States missed this event for the first (and so far only) time in Olympic history. France and Great Britain made their 16th appearances in the event, tied with Canada (also absent due to the boycott) for second-most, after the United States, with 18.

Competition format

The event retained the same basic four round format introduced in 1920: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1968, was used again to ensure that the quarterfinals and subsequent rounds had exactly 8 runners per heat; this time, that system applied only in the preliminary heats. With only 2 more runners than in 1976, the format was held very static—including the number of heats. The first round consisted of 9 heats, each with 6–8 athletes. The top three runners in each heat advanced, along with the next five fastest runners overall. This made 32 quarterfinalists, who were divided into 4 heats of 8 runners. The top four runners in each quarterfinal advanced, with no "fastest loser" places. The 16 semifinalists competed in two heats of 8, with the top four in each semifinal advancing to the eight-man final.Official Report, vol. 3, p. 25.

Records

These are the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Results

Heats

*Held on July 24, 1980

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Heat 5

Heat 6

Heat 7

Heat 8

Heat 9

Quarterfinals

*Held on July 24, 1980

Quarterfinal 1

Quarterfinal 2

Quarterfinal 3

Quarterfinal 4

Semifinals

*Held on July 25, 1980

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final