60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes. The format of the event is similar to other sprint distances. The sprinters follow three initial instructions: 'ready', instructing them to take up position in the

starting blocks Starting blocks are a device used in the sport of track and field by sprint athletes to brace their feet against at the start of a race so they do not slip as they stride forward at the sound of the starter's pistol. The blocks also enable the s ...

; 'set', instructing them to adopt a more efficient starting posture, which also isometrically preloads their muscles. This will enable them to start faster. The final instruction is the firing of the

starter's pistol A starting pistol or starter pistol is a blank handgun that is fired to start track and field races, as well as competitive swimming races at some meets. Starter guns cannot fire real ammunition without first being extensively modified: Blank ...

. Upon hearing this the sprinters stride forwards from the blocks. The 60 metres was an Olympic event in the

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

and

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

Summer Games but was removed from the schedule thereafter. American

Christian Coleman Christian Coleman (born March 6, 1996) is an American professional track and field Sprint (running), sprinter who competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is the former world champion in the 100 meters. He was a double gold medallist at th ...

currently holds the men's world record in the 60 metres with a time of 6.34 seconds, while Russian

Irina Privalova Irina Anatolyevna Privalova (russian: Ирина Анатольевна Привалова; on 22 November 1968) is a Russian Olympic gold medallist athlete. Her Summer Olympics debut was in 1992 in the sprint events, where she won two medals� ...

holds the women's world record at 6.92. In the past, it was common for athletes to compete in the 60 yards (54.86 m) race. This is not part of the lineage of the 60 metres, but is the predecessor of the

55 metres 55 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field. The history of the event lies in the 60-yard dash, which is about 5 inches shorter than 55 metres. Since the 1960s almos ...

race. 60 metres is 65.6168 yards.

Area records

''Updated 19 March 2022.''

All-time top 25

''Indoor results only''

Men

Updated June 2022. Note: The following athletes have had their performances annulled due to doping offences:

Outdoor best performances

+ =

en route ''En route'' may refer to: * ''En Route'' (novel), an 1895 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans * ''En Route'' (film), a 2004 German movie directed by Jan Krüger * En-route chart, in aeronautics * enRoute (credit card), Air Canada's credit card divisi ...

to 100m mark Note: The following athletes have had their associated 100 m performances annulled due to doping offences:

Women

Updated June 2022.

Outdoor best performances

+ =

to 100m mark

Olympic medalists

World Indoor Championships medalists

Men

^a The event was known as the ''World Indoor Games'' in 1985.
^b

Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football *Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...

of Canada originally won the gold medal, but he was disqualified in 1989 after admitting to steroid use between 1981 and 1988.

Medal table

Women

^a The event was known as the ''World Indoor Games'' in 1985.
^b

Angella Issajenko Angella Taylor-Issajenko, CM ( née Taylor; born September 28, 1958) is a Canadian coach and former sprinter. She won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984. At the Commonwealth Games she won seven medals, incl ...

of Canada originally won the silver medal, but she was disqualified in 1989 after admitting to steroid use between 1982 and 1988.
^c

Zhanna Block Zhanna Pintusevich-Block ( uk, Жанна Пінтусевич-Блок; Tarnopolskaya; born 6 July 1972) is a Ukrainian former world champion sprinter who competed in the Olympic Games. Early life Zhanna Pintusevich-Block comes from a Jewish ...

originally won the gold medal, but she was disqualified after her results from November 2002 onwards were deleted in 2011 for long-term drug use.

Medal table (at the )

Season's bests

Men

Women

Notes and references

External links

All-time men's best 60 metres
from alltime-athletics.com

from alltime-athletics.com {{Portal bar, Athletics Events in track and field Sprint (running) Indoor track and field Discontinued Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics

Area records

All-time top 25

Men

Outdoor best performances

Women

Outdoor best performances

Olympic medalists

World Indoor Championships medalists

Men

Medal table

Women

Medal table (at the )

Season's bests

Men

Women

See also

Notes and references

External links