With the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro just around the corner, all eyes will, inevitably be focused on the athletics events and specifically, the one traditional show-stopper. This is, of course, the Men’s 100 meters. Here is a count down of the five fastest African men in the distance by their personal best times
Nigerian sprinter Davidson Ezinwa kicks off our list at number five. The 1992 Olympics silver-medallist crossed the finish line in a time of 9.94 seconds on July 4th, 1994 in Linz, Austria. Ezinwa also once ran a time of 9.91 seconds, which was not recorded due to doubtful wind conditions.
At fourth on our list is another Nigerian. Seun Ogunkoya posted a time of 9.92 seconds in Johannesburg on September 11, 1998 at the IAAF World Cup in Athletics. Finishing in second on that occasion, it marked a personal best time for the two-time African Championships gold champion and makes him the fourth-fastest African sprinter in the distance.
Zimbabwe’s sprinter and long-jumper Ngonidzashe Makusha holds the national record for the 100 meters in the southern African country for a time of 9.89 seconds. He did so on June 10, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa at the NCAA Division I Championships, where he also posted a national record in the long-jump with a leap of 8.40 meters. That puts him at number three on our list.
Namibian great Frank Fredricks posted three all-time best times that could have seen him earn second, third and fourth spots on this list, but going by his best time – that would be the 9.86 seconds he ran in Lausanne on July 3, 1996. The four-time Olympic silver medallist put Namibian athletics on the world map and in all, ran a sub-10 second time 27 times in his storied career to place him at number two.
And at number one, it’s Nigerian Olusoji Fasuba. The 31-year old holds the African record in the distance after running a time of 9.85 seconds on May 12, 2006 at the Doha Grand Prix. Not only does that make him the fastest man on the continent in the 100 meters, but ranks him as joint 13th-fastest in the world. That puts him firmly at number one on this list of the fastest African sprinters in the 100 meters to date.
