Breaking the Record: 100 Years of Olympic History

200-Meter Sprint

1912: Ralph Craig, USA, 21.7 seconds

2008: Usain Bolt, Jamaica, 19.3 seconds

Sprinting demands perfect form at your full-on strength threshold. Not easy. And in 1912, the idea of running a 200-meter sprint in less than twenty seconds seemed totally out of reach. Think about it. That’s two back-to-back 100-meter segments in less than 10 seconds each. With his sub-20 second 200-meter time, Usain Bolt showed how far humans have progressed. At this rate, we won't be surprised if by 2112 an athlete runs a sub 18-second 200...and loses.