The Story of Jim Hines - 1968 Olympic 100m Gold Medalist

The 10 second barrier has been a milestone for decades in the Men’s 100m Dash. A time of 9.9 seconds was seen as a right of passage into becoming an elite sprinter, and among one of the best in the world.

Though running sub 10 is commonplace today amongst the top sprinters in the world, about 50 years ago in 1968, no man had ever broken the barrier. Not until Jim Hines.

Jim Hines became the first person to break the 10 second barrier when he ran a hand-timed 9.9 second 100m dash at the 1968 AAU Championships. 

Because that performance was hand-timed, and the Automatic time was actually 10.03, Hines wanted to do it again and this time at a place where it mattered.

At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico, Hines won the Gold medal in the 100m Dash and broke the 10 second barrier again, this time running an Automatic time of 9.95 seconds, a time that would stand as the World Record for almost 15 years.

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