Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres

The women's 100 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 30 and 31 July 2021 at the Japan National Stadium.[1] 71 athletes from 55 nations competed at the event.[2]

Women's 100 metres
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Olympic Athletics
VenueJapan National Stadium
Dates30 July 2021
(preliminary & heats)
31 July 2021
(semifinals & final)[1]
Competitors71 from 55 nations
Winning time10.61 s OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Elaine Thompson-Herah  Jamaica
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce  Jamaica
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Shericka Jackson  Jamaica
← 2016
2024 →

The defending champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, won the event in 10.61 secs, to break Florence Griffith-Joyner's 33-year-old Olympic record. This was her third Olympic gold medal. The silver medal went to 2016 bronze medalist and the 2008 and 2012 champion in this event, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, while Shericka Jackson won the bronze medal, completing the podium sweep for Jamaica. The winning margin was 0.13 seconds. The winner had the sixth fastest reaction time in the final.

Summary

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Early in May, two time Olympic Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made a categorical statement that her career is not over. Thirteen years after her first gold medal, she ran not only her personal best, but the number 2 mark of all time 10.63. She took the Jamaican Olympic Trials, while the defending Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson-Herah didn't show the same kind of form, finishing as the last qualifier in third place. At the U.S. Trials, Sha'Carri Richardson ran 10.86 potentially setting up a close race in Tokyo until Richardson was taken out of the competition after a drug test came up positive for cannabis.

The heats revealed Marie-Josée Ta Lou was ready to be in the mix, setting the African record at 10.78 to lead the round. Fraser-Pryce led the semi-final round at 10.73 over Thompson-Herah. Ta-Lou and Jamaican Trials runner-up Shericka Jackson were all under 10.80. Daryll Neita was the final qualifier at 10.992, while Michelle-Lee Ahye missed the final with 10.993.[3]

Fraser-Pryce is known for her fast starts. In the final she was out well, but Thompson-Herah was out quickly with her. By 30 metres, Thompson-Herah took the lead, with Jackson and Ta Lou battling for bronze. From there Thompson-Herah separated from Fraser-Pryce. Jackson separated from Ta Lou and gained on Fraser-Pryce. Three metres out from the finish, Thompson-Herah held up her left arm celebrating a clear victory. Fraser-Pryce had too much of a lead for Jackson to reach her but she completed the sweep for Jamaica, the trio .15 ahead of the next competitor Ta Lou. Thompson-Herah's 10.61 was not just a clear victory, it was a .09 improvement on her personal best. It beat Florence Griffith Joyner's 1988 Olympic Record and tied Griffith Joyner's second fastest race ever while displacing Fraser-Pryce from the number 2 position on the all-time list.[4]

Thompson-Herah joined Wyomia Tyus, Gail Devers and Fraser-Pryce as the only women to defend their 100 metres title. By winning the silver medal, Fraser-Pryce became the first person, man or woman, to win 4 Olympic medals in the blue-ribbon event of the 100m.

Background

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This was the 22nd time the event was held, since women's athletics were introduced in 1928.

Qualification

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A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 3 qualified athletes in the women's 100 metres event if all athletes meet the entry standard or qualify by ranking during the qualifying period. (The limit of 3 has been in place since the 1930 Olympic Congress.) The qualifying standard is 11.15 seconds. This standard was "set for the sole purpose of qualifying athletes with exceptional performances unable to qualify through the IAAF World Rankings pathway." The world rankings, based on the average of the best five results for the athlete over the qualifying period and weighted by the importance of the meet, will then be used to qualify athletes until the cap of 56 is reached.[2][5]

The qualifying period was originally from 1 May 2019 to 29 June 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the period was suspended from 6 April 2020 to 30 November 2020, with the end date extended to 29 June 2021. The world rankings period start date was also changed from 1 May 2019 to 30 June 2020; athletes who had met the qualifying standard during that time were still qualified, but those using world rankings would not be able to count performances during that time. The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the given period that have the approval of the IAAF. Only outdoor meets were eligible for the sprints and short hurdles, including the 100 metres. The most recent Area Championships may be counted in the ranking, even if not during the qualifying period.[2][6]

NOCs can also use their universality place—each NOC can enter one female athlete regardless of time if they had no female athletes meeting the entry standard for an athletics event—in the 100 metres.[2]

Competition format

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The event continued to use the preliminaries plus three main rounds format introduced in 2012. Athletes not meeting the qualification standard (that is, were entered through universality places) will compete in the preliminaries; those who met the standard started in the first round.[7]

Records

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Prior to this competition, the existing global and area records were as follows:

World record   Florence Griffith Joyner (USA) 10.49 s Indianapolis, United States 16 July 1988
Olympic record   Florence Griffith Joyner (USA) 10.62 s Seoul, South Korea 24 September 1988
World Leading   Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) 10.63 s Kingston, Jamaica 5 June 2021
Area Time (s) Wind Athlete Nation
Africa (records) 10.78 +1.6 Murielle Ahouré   Ivory Coast
Asia (records) 10.79 +0.0 Li Xuemei   China
Europe (records) 10.73 +2.0 Christine Arron   France
North, Central America
and Caribbean
(records)
10.49 WR +0.0 Florence Griffith Joyner   United States
Oceania (records) 11.11 +1.9 Melissa Breen   Australia
11.11 +0.0 Denise Robertson   Australia
South America (records) 10.91 -0.2 Rosângela Santos   Brazil

The following records were established during the competition:

Date Event Athlete Nation Time Record
31 July Final Elaine Thompson-Herah   Jamaica 10.61 OR

In the final, Elaine Thompson-Herah set the new Olympic record, improving Griffith Joyner's 1988 time by 0.01 seconds. This was the fourth oldest Olympic record in athletics.

The following national records were established during the competition:

Nation Athlete Round Time Notes
Afghanistan Kamia Yousufi Preliminaries 13.29
Malawi Asimenye Simwaka Preliminaries 11.76
Round 1 11.68
Palestine Hanna Barakat Preliminaries 12.16
Switzerland Mujinga Kambundji Round 1 10.95
Ajla del Ponte Round 1 10.91
Ivory Coast Marie-Josée Ta Lou Round 1 10.78 AR
The Gambia Gina Bass Round 1 11.12
Jamaica Elaine Thompson-Herah Final 10.61 OR

Schedule

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All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

The women's 100 metres took place over two consecutive days.[1]

Date Time Round
Friday, 30 July 2021 9:00
19:00
Preliminaries
Round 1
Saturday, 31 July 2021 19:00
21:50
Semifinals
Final

Results

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Preliminaries

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The preliminary round of the competition featured athletes who had not achieved the required qualifying time for the event. Athletes who had achieved that time received a bye into the first round proper.

Qualification rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the fastest time (q) qualified.

Preliminary Heat 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 6 Natacha Ngoye Akamabi   Republic of the Congo 0.124 11.47 Q, SB
2 8 Margaret Vanessa Barrie   Sierra Leone 0.142 11.53 Q, SB
3 5 Amya Clarke   Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.155 11.67 Q
4 9 Djénébou Danté   Mali 0.169 12.12 SB
5 1 Hadel Aboud   Libya 0.126 12.70 PB
6 2 Bashair Obaid Al-Manwari   Qatar 0.142 13.12 PB
7 7 Kamia Yousufi   Afghanistan 0.157 13.29 NR
8 3 Alba Mbo Nchama   Equatorial Guinea 0.148 13.36 PB
9 4 Amed Elna   Comoros 0.161 14.30 PB
Wind: +0.3 m/s

Preliminary Heat 2

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Heat 2
 
Farzaneh Fasihi after winning heat 2
Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 3 Farzaneh Fasihi   Iran 0.142 11.76 Q
2 8 Azreen Nabila Alias   Malaysia 0.168 11.77 Q, PB
3 4 Mudhawi Al-Shammari   Kuwait 0.167 11.82 Q
4 5 Regine Tugade-Watson   Guam 0.135 12.17 SB
5 7 Charlotte Afriat   Monaco 0.131 12.35
6 9 Silina Pha Aphay   Laos 0.170 12.41 SB
7 6 Hsieh Hsi-en   Chinese Taipei 0.171 12.49 PB
8 2 Sarswati Chaudhary   Nepal 0.158 12.91 SB
9 1 Yasmeen Al-Dabbagh   Saudi Arabia 0.153 13.34
Wind: +0.5 m/s

Preliminary Heat 3

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 9 Joella Lloyd   Antigua and Barbuda 0.179 11.55 Q
2 5 Asimenye Simwaka   Malawi 0.164 11.76 Q, NR
3 7 Alvin Tehupeiory   Indonesia 0.194 11.89 Q, SB
4 1 Carla Scicluna   Malta 0.152 12.11 q
5 4 Hanna Barakat   Palestine 0.164 12.16 NR
6 8 Mazoon Al-Alawi   Oman 0.191 12.35
7 3 Aissata Deen Conte   Guinea 0.157 12.43 PB
8 6 Matie Stanley   Tuvalu 0.159 14.52 PB
9 2 Houlèye Ba   Mauritania 0.147 15.26 PB
Wind: +0.8 m/s

Heats

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Qualification Rules: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 3 fastest (q) advance to the Semifinals.

Wind readings- Heat 1: -0.1 m/s; Heat 2: +0.1 m/s; Heat 3: -0.4 m/s; Heat 4: -0.3 m/s; Heat 5: +1.3 m/s; Heat 6: -0.1 m/s; Heat 7: -0.2 m/s

Heat 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 5 Teahna Daniels   United States 0.136 11.04 Q
2 4 Dina Asher-Smith   Great Britain 0.103 11.07 Q
3 8 Murielle Ahouré   Ivory Coast 0.132 11.16 Q, SB
4 7 Ge Manqi   China 0.149 11.20 q
5 6 Salomé Kora   Switzerland 0.146 11.25
6 9 Marije van Hunenstijn   Netherlands 0.158 11.27 SB
7 2 Joella Lloyd   Antigua and Barbuda 0.173 11.54
8 3 Asimenye Simwaka   Malawi 0.161 11.68 NR

Heat 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 7 Elaine Thompson-Herah   Jamaica 0.158 10.82 Q
2 5 Mujinga Kambundji   Switzerland 0.111 10.95 Q, =NR
3 6 Tatjana Pinto   Germany 0.164 11.16 Q
4 4 Khamica Bingham   Canada 0.156 11.21 q
5 3 Rosângela Santos   Brazil 0.180 11.33 SB
6 9 Kelly-Ann Baptiste   Trinidad and Tobago 0.150 11.48
7 8 Vittoria Fontana   Italy 0.149 11.53
8 2 Alvin Tehupeiory   Indonesia 0.189 11.92

Heat 3

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Javianne Oliver (left) and Farzaneh Fasihi after finishing heat 3
Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 4 Alexandra Burghardt   Germany 0.133 11.08 Q
2 6 Javianne Oliver   United States 0.150 11.15 Q
3 9 Anna Bongiorni   Italy 0.147 11.35 Q
4 7 Rhoda Njobvu   Zambia 0.130 11.40 (.394)
5 8 Liang Xiaojing   China 0.159 11.40 (.396)
6 5 Tristan Evelyn   Barbados 0.125 11.42
7 3 Margaret Barrie   Sierra Leone 0.148 11.45 SB
8 2 Farzaneh Fasihi   Iran 0.143 11.79

Heat 4

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 4 Marie-Josée Ta Lou   Ivory Coast 0.161 10.78 Q, =AR
2 7 Daryll Neita   Great Britain 0.107 10.96 Q, PB
3 5 Crystal Emmanuel   Canada 0.148 11.18 Q
4 6 Lorène Bazolo   Portugal 0.134 11.31
5 3 Maja Mihalinec Zidar   Slovenia 0.130 11.54 SB
6 9 Ángela Tenorio   Ecuador 0.137 11.59
7 2 Amya Clarke   Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.153 11.71
- 8 Vitória Cristina Rosa   Brazil - DNS -

Heat 5

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 4 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce   Jamaica 0.128 10.84 Q
2 5 Ajla Del Ponte   Switzerland 0.131 10.91 Q, NR
3 6 Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha   Nigeria 0.161 11.00 Q, PB
4 7 Gina Bass   The Gambia 0.134 11.12 q, NR
5 2 Rafaéla Spanoudaki-Hatziriga   Greece 0.133 11.45
6 8 Inna Eftimova   Bulgaria 0.145 11.46
7 9 Dutee Chand   India 0.148 11.54
8 3 Carla Scicluna   Malta 0.178 12.16

Heat 6

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 7 Blessing Okagbare   Nigeria 0.147 11.05 Q
2 5 Asha Philip   Great Britain 0.110 11.31 Q
3 6 Tynia Gaither   Bahamas 0.141 11.34 Q
4 9 Krystsina Tsimanouskaya   Belarus 0.149 11.47
5 8 María Isabel Pérez   Spain 0.151 11.51
6 3 Natacha Ngoye Akamabi   Republic of the Congo 0.137 11.52
7 2 Azreen Nabila Alias   Malaysia 0.173 11.91

Heat 7

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 6 Michelle-Lee Ahye   Trinidad and Tobago 0.123 11.06 Q
2 5 Shericka Jackson   Jamaica 0.170 11.07 Q
3 7 Jenna Prandini   United States 0.148 11.11 =SB, Q
4 8 Diana Vaisman   Israel 0.132 11.27 SB
5 4 Hana Basic   Australia 0.147 11.32
6 2 Wei Yongli   China 0.174 11.48 SB
7 9 Jasmine Abrams   Guyana 0.148 11.49
8 3 Mudhawi Al-Shammari   Kuwait 0.167 11.81

Semi-finals

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Qualification Rules: First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advance to the final.

Wind readings- Heat 1: +0.0 m/s; Heat 2: -0.2 m/s; Heat 3: +0.3 m/s

Semifinal 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 4 Elaine Thompson-Herah   Jamaica 0.157 10.76 Q
2 6 Ajla Del Ponte   Switzerland 0.109 11.01 Q
3 7 Dina Asher-Smith   Great Britain 0.148 11.05
4 8 Jenna Prandini   United States 0.149 11.11 =SB
5 2 Khamica Bingham   Canada 0.150 11.22
6 3 Tynia Gaither   Bahamas 0.130 11.31
7 9 Tatjana Pinto   Germany 0.163 11.35
5 Blessing Okagbare   Nigeria DNS[8]

Notes: Blessing Okagbare was prevented from competing due to an out of competition doping violation.[8]

Semifinal 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 5 Marie-Josée Ta Lou   Ivory Coast 0.147 10.79 (.784), Q
2 6 Shericka Jackson   Jamaica 0.147 10.79 (.787), Q
3 4 Michelle-Lee Ahye   Trinidad and Tobago 0.132 11.00 SB
4 7 Alexandra Burghardt   Germany 0.151 11.07
5 9 Javianne Oliver   United States 0.166 11.08
6 2 Crystal Emmanuel   Canada 0.149 11.21
7 3 Ge Manqi   China 0.145 11.22
8 8 Asha Philip   Great Britain 0.134 11.30

Semifinal 3

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 5 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce   Jamaica 0.136 10.73 Q
2 7 Mujinga Kambundji   Switzerland 0.128 10.96 Q
3 6 Teahna Daniels   United States 0.144 10.98 q, PB
4 4 Daryll Neita   Great Britain 0.135 11.00 q
5 9 Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha   Nigeria 0.142 11.07
6 2 Gina Bass   The Gambia 0.140 11.16
7 8 Murielle Ahouré   Ivory Coast 0.124 11.28
8 3 Anna Bongiorni   Italy 0.159 11.38

Final

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Wind reading: -0.6 m/s

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
  4 Elaine Thompson-Herah   Jamaica 0.150 10.61 OR, NR
  5 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce   Jamaica 0.139 10.74
  7 Shericka Jackson   Jamaica 0.152 10.76 PB
4 6 Marie-Josée Ta Lou   Ivory Coast 0.158 10.91
5 8 Ajla Del Ponte   Switzerland 0.129 10.97
6 9 Mujinga Kambundji   Switzerland 0.138 10.99
7 3 Teahna Daniels   United States 0.144 11.02
8 2 Daryll Neita   Great Britain 0.108 11.12

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Athletics Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Qualification System – Games of the XXXI Olympiad – Athletics" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Results Summary" (PDF). olympics.com. 31 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Elaine Thompson Hera is now the fastest woman in the world". Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  5. ^ "IAAF to follow other sports with world ranking system for athletes". BBC Sport. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Olympic qualification period suspended until 1 December 2020". World Athletics. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Athletics Explanatory Guide". Tokyo 2020. August 2019.
  8. ^ a b Media, P. A. (31 July 2021). "Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare out of women's 100m semis after doping ban". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2021.