10 greatest male sprinters of all time

Usain Bolt might have gone down in history as the greatest track and field athlete of all time, making one and all question what is actually termed as being “fast” with his super-human dashes on the track. But, sprint running as a sport has witnessed some great men, rather fastest men to ever walk the planet.

These athletes in the likes of Carl Lewis, Asafa Powell and others not only cruised past the finish line in the blink of an eye but at the same ran into the history books to etch their names as the legends of the sport.

Sportskeeda looks at the 10 greatest sprinters of all time in terms of medals, best times recorded along with sustained excellence and their versatility across distances.

#10 Justin Gatlin

The American runner’s greatest achievement came at the 2004 Olympic Games where he clocked 9.85-second run to win the 100m gold medal along with a silver in the relay and a bronze in the 200m. Immediately after that, he also earned himself the gold medal at the World Championships in the 100 and 200m at Helsinki.

However, his career went off-track when he incurred a four-year ban in 2006 when he tested positive for a banned substance. But, Gatlin staged a strong comeback, especially at the Olympics when he claimed the bronze in the 100m at the 2012 London Games and followed it up with a silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics to become the oldest man to achieve Olympic glory in a non-relay sprint event.

“I ran like a champion. It is a great consolation to show how dominant I am. I am the Olympic champion and the world champion, but I want Justin Gatlin to be the champion of everything.”