American Jim Hines, the first athlete to officially run the 100m under ten seconds (9.95s), died on Saturday at the age of 76, announced the International Athletics Federation (World Athletics), in expressing his “deep sadness”.
“In addition to having been Olympic champion in the 100m in 1968, Hines is known for having been the first man to officially break the 10-second threshold”, recalled the institution in a press release published on its website in the night from Sunday to Monday.
It was during this 100m final at the Mexico Olympics on October 14, 1968 that the American achieved this unprecedented performance, beating Jamaican Lennox Miller and his compatriot Charles Greene. The Olympic Stadium sign first showed 9.9s, then his time was announced at 9.89s on the electric stopwatch before it was finally set at 9.95s.
“Nobody could believe that a man runs so fast”
“If they corrected my time, it’s because no one could believe that a man could run so fast,” said Jim Hines, bravado, in an interview with the French daily L’Equipe in 2016.
This record stood for fifteen years, until the time of 9.93 seconds achieved by his compatriot Calvin Smith in Colorado Springs (United States) in 1983. The current holder is Jamaican Usain Bolt, with a time of 9.58 seconds achieved during 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
In Mexico, Jim Hines had also won gold with the American 4 × 100 m relay, but his two Olympic titles will remain without a future since he quickly put an end to his athletic career, at 22, to start without great success in American football. Younger, Hines, born in Arkansas, had also almost become a baseball player before a coach, impressed by his burst of speed, convinced him to drop the bat for the athletic tracks.
