Every four years, the field of sprinters competing in the women’s 100 meters generate lots of excitement and electrifying moments at the Summer Games. Judging by the first round of races on Friday, the Paris Olympics won’t be any different.
U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson made her Olympic debut, clocking 10.94 seconds in her first heat. Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who captured silver in the event at the Tokyo Games, finished second (10.92) in her heat on Friday behind Ivorian Marie Josée Dominique Ta Lou-Smith (10.87). Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, who captured gold in both the 100 and 200 meters at the Tokyo Olympics, will not compete in this year’s Summer Games due to an Achilles injury the 32-year-old suffered. Her fellow Jamaican teammate, Shericka Jackson, is her replacement for Team Jamaica.
As the world-class sprinters compete for this year’s gold medals and the chance to write another chapter into a storied book of track and field greatness, one record still has yet to be touched in the Olympics.
Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 1988 record time (10.49) in the Olympic trials still remains intact 36 years later. However, could this be the year that one of this year’s elite sprinters eclipse the mark? Let's revisit Flo-Jo's historic mark.
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Fastest female 100-meter time ever
| Name | Time | Venue |
| 1. Florence Griffith-Joyner | 10:49 seconds | IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
| 2. Elaine Thompson-Herah | 10:54 seconds | Hayward Field (Eugene, Oregon) |
| 3. Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce | 10.60 seconds | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise (Lausanne, Switzerland) |
| 4. Carmelita Jeter | 10.64 seconds | Shanghai Stadium (Shanghai, China) |
| 5. Marion Jones | 10.65 seconds | Johannesburg Stadium (Johannesburg, South Africa) |
| 5. Shericka Jackson | 10.65 seconds | National Stadium (Kingston, Jamaica) |
| 5. Sha'Carri Richardson | 10.65 seconds | Nemzeti Atlétikai Központ (Budapest, Hungary) |
| 8. Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith | 10.72 seconds | Stade Louis II (Fontvieille, Monaco) |
| 9. Christine Arron | 10. 73 seconds | Népstadion (Budapest, Hungary) |
| 10. Merlene Ottey | 10.74 seconds | Arena Civica Gianni Brera (Milano, Italy) |
| 10. English Gardner | 10.74 seconds | Hayward Field (Eugene, Oregon) |
How fast was Florence Griffith-Joyner?
Before Sha’Carri Richardson, Marion Jones, Carmelita Jeter, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce or Elaine Thompson-Herrah, there was Griffith-Joyner. When Flo-Jo ran the women’s 100 meters in a blistering 10.49 seconds in the first race of the 1988 U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials at IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium, it was an incredible time. Thirty-six years later, Griffith-Joyner’s mark in the 1988 Olympic trials still sits as the fastest time ever in the women’s 100 meters.
Flo-Jo’s record setting performance at the trials ousted then U.S. record holder Evelyn Ashford’s 100 meters mark (10.76 seconds), one that stood for three years, 10 months and 24 days.
Did Florence Griffith-Joyner win Olympic gold in 1988?
After putting her competition and the world on notice in the 1988 Olympic trials, Griffith-Joyner carried that momentum over to the Seoul Olympics, where she captured three gold medals– women’s 200 meters, 100 meters and the 4x100 relay in an all-around spectacular performance on the track.
She also broke the world record for the 200 meters at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Florence Griffith-Joyner medals and record
World Championships
- 1987 World Championships (Gold) – 4x100
- 1987 World Championships (Silver) – 200 meters
Summer Games
- 1988 Seoul Games (Gold) – 100 meters
- 1988 Seoul Games (Gold) – 200 meters
- 1988 Seoul Games (Gold) – 4x100 relays
- 1984 Los Angeles Games (Silver) – 200 meters
- 1988 Seoul Games (Silver) – 4x400 relays
