Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres

Did You Know?

• The preliminary round featured athletes who had not achieved the required qualifying time; those who had received a bye into the first round.
• Qualification rule: first 2 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

Summary

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the defending Olympic champion from 2012, had won five of the last six global championships but entered the competition ranked eighth in the year's rankings due to a toe injury. Elaine Thompson had beaten her at the Jamaican Championships with a world-leading and national record-equalling 10.70 seconds. American champion English Gardner was the next fastest, while Tianna Bartoletta and Tori Bowie shared third on the world rankings with African record breaker Murielle Ahouré at 10.78 seconds. Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands was also a strong entrant. In the preliminaries, Charlotte Wingfield of Malta was the fastest qualifier at 11.86 seconds, with Cecilia Bouele of Congo the only other athlete under 12 seconds. In the first round, Fraser-Pryce topped qualifying with 10.96 seconds, and Michelle-Lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago was the next fastest heat winner in 11.00 seconds. The semi-finals eliminated Murielle Ahouré and Tianna Bartoletta, both of whom had run 10.78 earlier in the season and are tied for the fourteenth-fastest in history. Fraser-Pryce and Thompson were the fastest in the semis at 10.88 seconds, with only eight hundredths separating the finalists. In the final, Tori Bowie reacted fastest but Elaine Thompson got the best start. Fraser-Pryce, known for her exceptional start, was at best even with Thompson, who expanded her lead for the win. Bowie, a step behind early, made a late rush to catch Fraser-Pryce just before the line for silver. Fraser-Pryce's season best of 10.86 earned bronze after her injured toe. Thompson's time of 10.71 would have been the fifth-fastest in history had she not already run 10.70 at the Jamaican Olympic Trials to tie Fraser-Pryce for fourth. The medals were presented by Nawal El Moutawakel, IOC member from Morocco, and Frankie Fredericks, Council Member of the IAAF.