A Modern History of the Sprints

Speed City

Bid Winter

Tommie Smith

Lee Evans

John Carlos

Mexico City

World Records

Jim Hines 9.95

Tommie Smith 19.83

Lee Evans 43.86

Smith / Carlos protest and ban

Valery Borzov

Steve Williams

Don Quarrie

Houston McTear

High Schooler runs 9.0

Pietro Mennea 19.72!! Takes down WR

Munich

Eddie Hart

Rey Robinson

Co World Record holders miss quarterfinal races

Borzov double sprint champion

Montreal

Alberto Juantorena

400/800 double gold

Harvey Glance

Hasely Crawford

Teens / high schoolers

Houston McTear

Johnny "Lam" Jones

Dwayne Evans

Germans

East

Renate Stecher

Beginning of East German
female dominance

Less the Eastern Bloc in the
development of systematic doping

West

Inge Helten

Annegret Richter

Irena Szewinska

Great multiple sprinter

First sub 50 female
quarter miler

Raylene Boyle

Moscow

Boycott

Los Angeles

Boycott

Rise of Carl Lewis

Repeat Jesse Owens quadruple

Seoul

Drug Bust

Ben v Carl II

Ben 9.79wr (busted)

FloJo

The Santa Monica Track Club

Tom Tellez

Carl Lewis

Legendary battles w Ben Johnson
Runner up in'87/'88, retroactive WR
@ 9.93/9.92 after Ben bust in Seoul

Runs WR 9.86 to win in Tokyo

Kirk Baptiste

Joe Deloach

Leroy Burrell

Set WR @ 9.90 & 9.85
Also 9.88 behind Lewis
in Tokyo

First true professional club

World Championships

Helsinki

Rome

Ben v Carl I

Ben 9.83!!wr

Evelyn Ashford

Takes down East Germans

10.79wr / 10.76wr / 21.81

Florence Griffith Joyner

10.49 wr/ 21.32wr, 21.56wr

Hot season of 1988

Dennis Mitchell

Calvin Smith

9.93!! wr

Charlie Francis

Ben Johnson

Angela Issajenko

Perfected doping protocols

John Smith

Quincy Watts

Steve Lewis

Danny Everett

Former quarter miler brought
the 400 back to '68 levels through
his protege's

Butch Reynolds

East Germans

Marita Koch

10.93 / 21.71wr / 47.60wr

Marlies Gohr

10.88wr

Barbel Wockel

Jarmila Kratochvilova

11.09 / 21.97 / 47.99wr / 1:53.23wr

World Championships

Edmonton

Paris

Helsinki

Osaka

Berlin

Olympics

Sydney

Athens

Beijing

John Smith

Trevor Graham

Nigeria

Daniel Effiong

Olapade Adeniken

Francis Obikwelu

Frankie Fredericks

Namibian, elite through the decade..
African record holder 100/200
9.89/19.63

Canada

Donovan Bailey

World & Olympic champion
Goteborg / Atlanta

WR setter @Atlanta Games
9.84

Bruny Surin

United States

Michael Johnson

Great Britain

Linford Christie

World & Olympic champion
Stuttgart / Barcelona

John Regis

Jason Gardener

Christian Malcolm

France

Became 4 x 1 wr holders
without a major sprinter

Olympics

Barcelona

Atlanta

MJ 200/400 double

MJ 19.32wr

Donovan Bailey 9.84wr

World Championships

Tokyo

Carl 9.86

Stuttgart

Goteborg

Athens

Emergence of Mo Greene

Seville

Mo Greene 1st World's 100/200 double

John Smith

Drive Phase

Major change in sprinting

Brought consistency to the 100

Ato Boldon

Jon Drummond

Maurice Greene

9.79 wr, to return to Ben Johnson level

HSI

Preeminent club of the decade

Women

Marlene Ottey

Gwen Torrence

Gail Devers

Two time 100 champion
in spite of actually being a hurdler

Irina Privalova

The top women of the 90's
were versatile sprinters
with range