How fast is India’s fastest man?

Last Saturday, Animesh Kujur became India’s fastest man by breaking the national record in the men’s 100 metres. He clocked 10.18 seconds in Greece, becoming the first Indian to run the 100 m event under 10.2 seconds.

The chart shows the best 100 m runs of all Indians equal to or below 10.55 seconds. Notably, two of India’s fastest 100 m runs have come in quick succession in 2025.

In March, Gurindervir Singh set a record of 10.2 seconds; he is now the second fastest. On a parallel lane, Manikanta Hoblidhar ran the 100 m race in 10.22 seconds; he is now the third fastest Indian.

Since 1968, 1,027 athletes from around 90 countries have run the 100m faster than Kujur. The chart shows the best 100 metre runs, equal to or below 10.18 seconds. Each dot represents one athlete and his best run equal to or better than Kujur’s national record

Kujur’s effort is still a significant 0.6 seconds slower than Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, set in 2009, which remains unbeaten. Bolt also holds the record for the second-fastest 100 m (9.63 seconds). All the 100 metre runs, equal to or below 10.18 seconds. This chart includes an athlete’s multiple runs if it was equal to or better than Kujur’s record

Chart 4 shows the progression of the 100 m world and Indian records over time.

Kujur’s national record is 0.02 seconds faster than the legendary sprinter Jesse Owens’ best of 10.2 seconds, set in 1936. The current Indian national record is comparable to world records set in the 1930s to 1950s.

On Saturday, Kujur broke Singh’s record of 10.20 seconds, set earlier this year. Singh had surpassed Hoblidhar’s 2023 mark of 10.23 seconds, who in turn had broken Amiya Mallick’s 10.26 seconds from 2016. Mallick had bettered Abdul Najeeb Qureshi’s 10.30 seconds, set in 2010, which had equalled Anil Kumar’s record from 2005. In essence, over the past 20 years, Indian sprinters have improved their 100 m time by 0.12 seconds.

Source: The data for the charts are sourced from Worldathletics.org. In the charts, records which are yet to be ratified by the Athletics Federation of India were not considered

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