The men's 100 metres at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

were held at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

on August 15 and August 16. The two main contenders for the event were the reigning World Champion

Tyson Gay Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100 m ...

and

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight-ti ...

, the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder. Gay entered the competition with a season's best of 9.77 seconds (an American record) while Bolt's season's best was 9.79 seconds. Four other competitors had broken the 10-second barrier during the last months before the World Championship: former world record holder Asafa Powell, Olympic finalist

Churandy Martina Churandy Thomas Martina (born 3 July 1984) is a Dutch sprinter from Curaçao, currently representing the Netherlands. Previously, he represented the Netherlands Antilles until its dissolution in 2010. His personal best time over 100 metre ...

and emerging sprinters

Daniel Bailey Daniel Bakka Everton Bailey (born 9 September 1986) is a sprinter from Antigua and Barbuda who specializes in the 100m. Career Bailey represented Antigua and Barbuda at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the 2008 Summer Ol ...

and

Mike Rodgers Michael Rodgers (born April 24, 1985) is an American professional track and field sprinter who specializes in the 100 m and the 60 m. He won the gold medal in the 100m relay in Doha 2019. He is also the Pan-Am Games Champion. Career ...

. The first day saw a number of high-profile athletes eliminated; Derrick Atkins, the 2007 silver medallist, did not pass the first round. Churandy Martina, area record holders Samuel Francis and

Olusoji Fasuba Olusoji Adetokunbo Fasuba (born 9 July 1984) is a Nigerian sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres.

, Simeon Williamson, and 2003 gold medallist Kim Collins were all knocked out in the quarter finals. Also, a double false start meant disqualification for the new European junior record holder Christophe Lemaitre. Gay, Powell and Rodgers ended with the fastest times of the day, although Bolt and Bailey comfortably won heat five, exchanging smiles and glances in the process. The semi-finals saw Bolt—typically slow out of the blocks—false start for the first time over 100 m, but he eventually finished in 9.89 seconds (the fastest ever semi-final). Six of the eight qualifying athletes broke 10 seconds, and US champion Rodgers was the biggest name not to qualify. The final, which was advertised in Berlin as "''Das Duell''" between Gay and Bolt, proved to be historic. By the 20-metre mark, Bolt had already taken a slight lead of 0.01 seconds, and he continued to pull away from the rest of the pack until the finish. He finished in a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

-breaking time of 9.58 seconds, beating Gay by some distance, even though the American had run 9.71 seconds, which was the third fastest time ever.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-16)
Event Report - Men's 100m - Final
. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-20. Bolt beat his own previous mark by over a tenth of a second, an achievement statisticians claimed was 20 years ahead of schedule in the long term scheme of the 100 metres world record progression. So emphatic was Bolt's winning time, that both bronze medal winner Powell and sixth placed Dwain Chambers said they were happy just taking part in the fastest race in history.Broadbent, Rick (2009-08-17)
Chambers just happy to appear in the fastest final in history
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

''. Retrieved on 2009-08-20.

Medalists

Records

Prior to the competition, the records were as follows: The following new world, championship and North American records were set during the competition.

Qualification standards

Schedule

Results

Heats

Qualification: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 4 fastest (q) advance to the

quarterfinals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

Quarterfinals

Qualification: First 3 in each heat(Q) and the next 1 fastest(q) advance to the

semifinals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

Semifinals

First 4 of each Semifinal will be directly qualified(Q) for the Finals.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

References

;General
100 metres results from IAAF
2009-09-08). IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-15. ;Specific

External links

Biomechanical analysis of the sprinters splits in the semi-final and final
from the IAAF
Statistical analysis of Bolt and Powell's speed in the final
from the IAAF * from

Universal Sports Universal Sports was an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network. It was owned as a joint venture between InterMedia Partners (which owned a controlling 92% interest) and NBCUniversal (which owned the remaining 8%). ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009 World Championships In Athletics - Men's 100 Metres

100 100 or one hundred ( Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

100 metres at the World Athletics Championships