As Bingtian nears retirement, 100m a sprint too fast for Asia

Chinese (12 times) and Japanese (9 times) runners have broken the sub-10 barrier but remain way outside the top sprint timings

- N Ananthanarayanan

NEW DELHI: When it comes to global sprinting, discussion on the men's 100m does not even start until it enters sub-10-second territory. While Usain Bolt's world record of 9.58 seconds has stood since 2009, only two others have even managed to match the Jamaican legend's third best of 9.69 seconds which he clocked to win the first of his three Olympic titles, at the 2008 Beijing Games. Fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake and Tyson Gay (US) are those to run that fast.

While sprinters from the US and the Caribbean islands, and now the rising Africa, rule the speed charts, Asia has had to be satisfied with just a few breaking the 10-second barrier. Chinese and Japanese dominate Asia's sub-10-second club. Chinese runners (12 times) and Japanese (9 times) have run under 10 seconds.

Su Bingtian, the first Asian to break the 10-second barrier, has had a great career. He holds the Asian record for the 100m, having clocked 9.83 seconds in the semifinals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to become only the second from the continent to reach the final of the Olympics, and the first non-African since the 1980 Moscow Games.

Japan's Takayoshi Yoshioka was the first Asian in an Olympic 100m final, having lined up at the 1932 Los Angeles Games.