QuizQuick distinction worth knowing for trivia night: the men's 100m world record is Usain Bolt's 9.58 seconds, but he ran that at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin — not the Olympics. This list ranks only Olympic gold-medal-winning times, which is a different (and Olympics-specific) record.
- Usain Bolt — 9.63s — London 2012 (Olympic record)
- Usain Bolt — 9.69s — Beijing 2008
- Noah Lyles — 9.79s — Paris 2024
- Marcell Jacobs — 9.80s — Tokyo 2020 (held 2021)
- Usain Bolt — 9.81s — Rio 2016
- Donovan Bailey — 9.84s — Atlanta 1996
- Justin Gatlin — 9.85s — Athens 2004
- Maurice Greene — 9.87s — Sydney 2000
- Carl Lewis — 9.92s — Seoul 1988 (awarded gold after Ben Johnson's disqualification)
- Linford Christie — 9.96s — Barcelona 1992
Paris 2024 deserves a special mention: Noah Lyles won by five thousandths of a second over Jamaica's Kishane Thompson — one of the closest 100m finals in Olympic history, decided by a photo finish.
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