US sprinter Jim Hines has passed away. He was the first person ever to run the 100 meters in under ten seconds – after his sprint career he switched to the NFL.
The athletics world mourns the loss of sprinter Jim Hines: the American, who was the first athlete to officially run the 100 meters in under ten seconds, died last Saturday at the age of 76. This was announced by the world association World Athletics (WA).
Hines broke the sound barrier for the first time on June 20, 1968 at the US Trials in Sacramento. Since two other athletes, Ronnie Ray Smith and Charles Greene, managed the same feat within a few minutes, the evening in California went down in athletics history as the “Night of Speed”.
First sprinter, then football pro
Four months later, the then 22-year-old Hines also became Olympic champion over 100 meters in Mexico City – this time in 9.95 seconds, electronically timed. It was a record that would last for 15 years. It wasn’t until 1983 that fellow countryman Calvin Smith was two hundredths of a second faster. The current world record is held by Usain Bolt (9.58 seconds), set at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.
Hines also won gold with the US relay team in Mexico. Shortly thereafter, however, the American ended his sprinting career to try his hand at the professional football league NFL. There Hines played for the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs.