Jim Hines, first man in history to run sub-10 dies aged 76

Stevian Francis

10 months ago

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Former US sprinter Jim Hines, the first man to dip below 10-seconds in the 100m, has died at the age of 76.

Hines broke the once-fabled sub-10 barrier in 1968 after he logged a hand-timed 9.9 seconds at the US Championships.

The sprinter went on to break his own world record shortly after at the Mexico City Olympics that year where an electronic timer clocked him crossing the finish line at 9.95 seconds for Gold.

Hines powering through in the men’s 100m finals at the 1968 Mexico Olympics (Picture by Tony Duffy/Allsport)

A time unfathomable by many during that era of athletics.

That record stood for nearly 15 years until Calvin Smith eventually lowered that mark to 9.93 in 1983.

That gap is the longest period that a record in the men’s 100m has stood since the International Amateur Athletic Foundation began to track times and other historical sporting performances – 110 years ago.

In addition to winning his individual event, Hines was also part of the US men’s 4x100m relay team which captured Gold at the 1968 Olympics setting a then Olympic and world record of 38.24 seconds.

He ended his athletics career shortly after the Olympics to pursue a different sporting endeavor as he tried his speed in American football.

Hines spent three years in the league, playing for the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs, before closing that chapter in his sports journey.