50 metres

Summary

50 metres, or 50-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is used in the Special Olympics and a rare distance, at least for senior athletes. It is an alternative to the 60 metres running event. The imperial distance for 50 metres is 54.68 yards.

Athletics
50 metres
World records
Men Canada Donovan Bailey 5.56 A (1996)
WomenRussia Irina Privalova 5.96 (1995)

Records and personal bests in the 50 metres are frequently achieved in February and March as these dates coincide with the indoor athletics season.

All-time top 25 edit

Indoor results only
+ = en route to a longer distance
A = affected by altitude

Men edit

  • Updated 30 November 2018.[1]
Rank Time Athlete Nation Date Place Ref
1 5.56 A [B] Donovan Bailey   Canada 9 February 1996 Reno
5.56 Maurice Greene   United States 13 February 1999 Los Angeles
3 5.58+ Leonard Scott   United States 26 February 2005 Liévin [citation needed]
4 5.60+ Michael Green   Jamaica 16 February 1997 Liévin
5 5.61 Manfred Kokot   East Germany 4 February 1973 Berlin
James Sanford   United States 20 February 1981 San Diego
5.61+ Deji Aliu   Nigeria 21 February 1999 Liévin
Freddy Mayola   Cuba 16 February 2000 Madrid
Jason Gardener   United Kingdom 16 February 2000 Madrid
10 5.62 Emmit King   United States 5 March 1986 Kobe
Andre Cason   United States 15 February 1992 Los Angeles
5.62+ Eric Nkansah   Ghana 21 February 1999 Liévin
Morné Nagel   South Africa 24 February 2002 Liévin
14 5.63 Stanley Floyd   United States 20 February 1981 San Diego
5.63 A Henry Neal   United States 10 February 1995 Reno
5.63 Jon Drummond   United States 13 February 1999 Los Angeles
5.63+ Lerone Clarke   Jamaica 14 February 2012 Liévin [2]
18 5.64 Davidson Ezinwa   Nigeria 15 February 1992 Los Angeles
Aleksandr Porkhomovskiy   Russia 4 February 1994 Moscow
Bruny Surin   Canada 27 January 1995 Moscow
5.64+ Donovan Powell   Jamaica 21 February 1999 Liévin [citation needed]
Leonard Myles-Mills   Ghana 13 February 2000 Liévin [citation needed]
Ato Boldon   Trinidad and Tobago 16 February 2000 Madrid
Tim Harden   United States 16 February 2000 Madrid [citation needed]
5.64 Gerald Williams   United States 19 February 2000 Los Angeles
Jeff Laynes   United States 20 January 2001 Los Angeles
Asafa Powell   Jamaica 28 January 2012 New York City
  • B Ben Johnson of Canada ran 5.55 at Ottawa, Canada on 31 January 1987, but this time was rescinded after Johnson admitted to using steroids between 1981 and 1988.

Notes edit

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 5.63:

Outdoor best performances edit

+ = en route to 100m mark. N.B. The Seville marks listed are excluding the athlete's reaction times. Bolt's & Su's times are inclusive.

Rank Time Wind (m/s) Athlete Nation Date Place Ref
1 5.40+ (calculated; add 0.127, or 0.13) +0.2 Bruny Surin   Canada 22 August 1999 Seville [3]
2 5.42+ (calculated; add 0.132, or 0.14) Maurice Greene   United States
3 5.43+ (calculated; add 0.140) Dwain Chambers   Great Britain
4 5.45+ +0.9 Su Bingtian   China 1 August 2021 Tokyo [4]
5 5.46+ (calculated; add 0.136, or 0.14) +0.2 Tim Harden   United States 22 August 1999 Seville [5]
6 5.47+ (calculated) +0.9 Usain Bolt   Jamaica 16 August 2009 Berlin [6]

Women edit

  • Correct as of January 2017.[7]
Rank Time Athlete Nation Date Place
1 5.96+ Irina Privalova   Russia 9 February 1995 Madrid
2 6.00 Merlene Ottey   Jamaica 4 February 1994 Moscow
3 6.02+ Gail Devers   United States 21 February 1999 Liévin
4 6.04+ Chioma Ajunwa   Nigeria 22 February 1998 Liévin
5 6.05+ Savatheda Fynes   Bahamas 13 February 2000 Liévin
Philomena Mensah   Canada 13 February 2000 Liévin
7 6.07 A Gwen Torrence   United States 9 February 1996 Reno
8 6.08+ Christy Opara-Thompson   Nigeria 16 February 1997 Liévin
6.08 Veronica Campbell-Brown   Jamaica 28 January 2012 New York City
10 6.09 Zhanna Block   Ukraine 2 February 1993 Moscow
11 6.11 Marita Koch   East Germany 2 February 1980 Grenoble
6.11+ Liliana Allen   Mexico 13 February 2000 Liévin
Christine Arron   France 26 February 2006 Aubière
14 6.12 Marlies Göhr   East Germany 2 February 1980 Grenoble
Silke Möller   East Germany 19 February 1988 Berlin
Anelia Nuneva   Bulgaria 27 January 1995 Moscow
17 6.13 Jeanette Bolden   United States 21 February 1981 Edmonton
Michelle Finn-Burrell   United States 15 February 1992 Los Angeles
Natalya Merzlyakova   Russia 4 February 1994 Moscow
Ekaterina Grigorieva   Russia 4 February 1994 Moscow
6.13+ Mercy Nku   Nigeria 25 February 2001 Liévin
22 6.14+ Frédérique Bangué   France 16 February 1997 Liévin
Petya Pendareva   Bulgaria 21 February 1999 Liévin
Muriel Hurtis   France 23 February 2003 Liévin
LaVerne Jones-Ferrette   United States Virgin Islands 24 February 2012 Liévin

Note: Angella Issajenko of Canada ran a world record 6.06 in Ottawa on 13 January 1987, this performance was rescinded after Issajenko's admittance of long term drug use at the Dubin Inquiry in 1989.

Notes edit

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 6.11:

Outdoor best performances edit

+ = en route to 100m mark

Time Wind (m/s) Athlete Nation Date Place Ref
5.93+ (calculated) −0.1 Marion Jones   United States 22 August 1999 Seville

Season's bests edit

References edit

  1. ^ "All Time Top Lists - Senior Indoor 50 Metres Men". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  2. ^ "60 Metres Results" (PDF). www.meeting-pasdecalais.com. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Biomechanical Analysis of the World Championships in Athletics Seville 1999". IAAF. IAAF. 2001. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Pierre-Jean Vazel (8 October 2021). "Analyzing the Olympic 100-meter sprints". hmmrmedia.com. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Biomechanical Analysis of the World Championships in Athletics Seville 1999". IAAF. IAAF. 2001. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Biomechanical Analysis 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics" (PDF). IAAF. 17 August 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  7. ^ "All-time women's best 50m". IAAF. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.