The Fastest Man in the World

The fastest man in the world is Usain Bolt, whose 9.58-second 100m at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin stands as the world record. No sprinter has come within a tenth of a second of it since, and Bolt is universally regarded as the fastest human ever timed.

The 100m is athletics’ purest test of speed, and its record holder earns the unofficial title of fastest man alive. Bolt did not just win the sprint; he redefined it, running times that a generation of elite sprinters has been unable to match. Here is the full leaderboard of the fastest 100m runners in history, the science behind Bolt’s dominance, and who might chase him next. All figures are as of the 2025 season.

The record holder: Usain Bolt at 9.58 seconds

Usain Bolt’s 9.58 in Berlin was the product of a near-perfect race from a 6’5” sprinter whose long stride and late-race speed set him apart. During the run he reached a top speed of nearly 28 mph, the fastest a human has ever been officially clocked, roughly 60 to 80 meters into the race. He also owns the 200m world record of 19.19 seconds, set at the same championships, and won eight Olympic gold medals. His combination of records is unmatched in sprinting history.

The full leaderboard of the fastest 100m runners

The table below ranks the fastest legal 100m times in history. Active sprinters are noted.

Rank	Time	Sprinter	Country	Year
1	9.58	Usain Bolt	Jamaica	2009
2	9.69	Tyson Gay	USA	2009
2	9.69	Yohan Blake	Jamaica	2012
4	9.72	Asafa Powell	Jamaica	2008
5	9.74	Justin Gatlin	USA	2015
6	9.75	Kishane Thompson*	Jamaica	2025
7	9.76	Christian Coleman*	USA	2019
7	9.76	Trayvon Bromell*	USA	2021
7	9.76	Fred Kerley*	USA	2022
10	9.77	Ferdinand Omanyala*	Kenya	2021

Every time listed is wind-legal. The gap between Bolt’s 9.58 and the 9.69s of Tyson Gay and Yohan Blake underlines how far ahead he was, and how much the record has resisted challengers in the years since.

Why Bolt was so far ahead

Bolt’s advantage came from an unusual body for a sprinter. At 6’5” he covered the 100m in around 41 strides, fewer than his shorter rivals, and reached a higher top-end speed that he maintained longer into the race. That blend of stride length and late acceleration produced times that remain outliers. Records built on rare physical gifts recur across sport, from sprinting to the giants on our tallest NBA players of all time list.

The modern chase

A new wave of sprinters has crept closer to the low 9.7s. Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson ran 9.75 in 2025, and Americans Christian Coleman, Trayvon Bromell and Fred Kerley have all clocked 9.76, keeping the event competitive. None has yet threatened 9.58, but the depth suggests the record could eventually fall. Pure speed is celebrated across sports, whether on the track, in our fastest 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine leaderboard, or in the serving power behind the fastest serves in tennis history.

Why the record matters

Being the fastest man in the world is one of sport’s most coveted titles, decided in under ten seconds on the biggest stages. Usain Bolt holds it with a 9.58 that has survived more than 15 years of assault, and his top speed of nearly 28 mph marks the outer edge of human sprinting. Those races unfold in the world’s grandest arenas, some of which appear on our largest stadiums in the world leaderboard.

The short version: Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world, with a 9.58-second 100m world record set in 2009. Tyson Gay and Yohan Blake share second at 9.69, and as of the 2025 season no one has come close to breaking Bolt’s mark.