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 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

were held at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

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

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

, 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 and emerging sprinters Daniel Bailey and Mike Rodgers. 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, 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 organizatio ...

-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 World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2009-08-20. Bolt beat his own previous mark that he set when winning gold at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing 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 Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. Retrieved on 2009-08-20.

Records

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