Based on the athletes’ average speeds, if every Olympic medalist raced each other, Usain Bolt (the London version) would win, with a wide distribution of Olympians behind him. Below, where each sprinter would be when Bolt finishes his race.
This chart includes medals for the United States and Australia in the "Intermediary" Games of 1906, which the I.O.C. does not formally recognize.
The “Milwaukee Meteor” also won the 50-meter dash and the 200-meter dash in 1904.
1904, Athens | 11.0 | |
1906, Athens | 11.2 |
Also set the world record in the 4x100 relay and Olympic records in the long jump and 200-meter dash.
1936, Berlin | 10.3 |
The first person to break 10 seconds in the Olympics; his 9.95 set an Olympic record that would last 20 years.
1968, Mexico City | 9.95 | WR |
Lewis actually finished second in 1988 behind Canada's Ben Johnson, whose gold medal was stripped after he failed a drug test.
1984, Los Angeles | 9.99 | |
1988, Seoul | 9.92 | OR |
The Times examines modern Olympic results in the context of 116 years of the Games.