What is Sprint?
Sprinting is the athletics discipline of the shortest track races: 60 m (indoor only), 100 m, 200 m and 400 m. The 100 m final is the marquee event of every Olympics, and Usain Bolt's world records — 9.58 s over 100 m and 19.19 s over 200 m from Berlin 2009 — stand a full generation later.
Quick facts
Category
Athletics
Type
Individual
Players
1 per team
Where played
both
Country of origin
🇬🇷 Greece
Estimated origin
Ancient Olympics 776 BCE (stadion race); modern 100 m at 1896 Athens Olympics
Olympic
Yes
Popularity
global
Sources & provenance
Last verified 2026-08-24.verified