What’s the top speed of a 100m sprinter?

Track and field events entered the Olympic schedule on Day 7 of the Games and very quickly the various heats began to separate those out from who would continue to sleep on the cardboard beds in the village with those who were set to pack their bags.

The 100m sprint is, within the huge range of track events, perhaps the most popular, with one man in particular making himself the face of the event in modern times.

Usain Bolt is the current world record holder of the 100m sprint in the men’s category, at 9.58 seconds with Florence Griffith Joyner’s 10.49 seconds - which she ran back in 1988 - still the record in the women’s category.

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How fast did Usain Bolt run his world record sprint?

According to the official Olympic Games website, “Usain Bolt’s average ground speed was 37.58km/h, whilst reaching a top speed of 44.72km/h in the 60-80m stretch”.

For context, the Marathon Handbook estimates than an average sprint speed for a regular male would be around 24 km/h.

If we widen the parameters a little more, cheetahs can sprint up to 109.4–120.7 km/h and they accelerate to 96km/k in under 3 seconds. The ostrich is next with a top speed of 90 km/h.

However, that’s nothing compared to our feathery friend, the peregrine falcon, which reaches a top speed of 320 km/h - that’s like a human Travelling at 170 metres per second!

Who is the favourite to win the 100m sprint at the Paris 2024 Olympics?

Italy’s Marcell Jacobs is the man looking to defend his Olympic title, but the USA’s Noah Lyles will - literally - be hot on his tail. Kishane Thompson and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala are the other two contenders to keep your eye on for under 10 seconds.