100 meter Sprint for Women at Olympics

100 meter Sprint for Women at Olympics: Athletics has been held since the historical days as a part of the religious festivals. The 100 meter sprint is one of the oldest sports contested in the world. Traditionally, the 100 meter sprint is run on a straight running track. Often the race is started from an extended portion of the oval tracks to allow the athletes a straight line. The 100 meter sprint is the most prestigious event contested by the athletes all over the world. The leading athlete in the event is considered to be the fastest woman of the world. The 100 meter sprint for women in the international stages is administered by the International Association of Athletics Federations or IAAF.

100 meter Sprint for Women in Summer Olympics: The 100 meter sprint event was introduced to the women's athletics program at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games. Since then, the event has become a regular part of the Summer Games. The Olympic 100 meter sprint event has been dominated by the athletes from United States of America.

Rules for 100 meter Sprint for Women at Olympics: The International Association of Athletics Federations or IAAF is authorized to set rules for the track and field athletic events. The rules also applicable for the 100 meter sprint event for women at the international level are-

The length of the track and the width of each lane of the track are predetermined by the IAAF.

The radius of the outmost lane of the track cannot be more than 50 meter.

The records may be made only on the track made of such a substance, which allows runners to run with spiked shoes.

The time of the event has to be measured with a permitted automatic timing device.

The athlete is not given any credit if she does not finish the race.

Preliminary heat races are arranged, when the number of competitor is more than ten in the 100 meter sprint event. The winners or the top sprinters advance to the next round.

An athlete with two consecutive false starts is disqualified from the competition.

No athlete is permitted to run inside the inner curve of the track. Even stepping on the inner line of the track is not allowed.

Medal Winners in the 100 meter Sprint for Women at Olympics: Florence Griffith-Joyner, Yulia Nesterenko, Marion Jones, Gail Devers, Evelyn Ashford, Lyudmila Kondratyeva, Annegret Richter, Renate Stecher, Wyomia Tyus, Wilma Rudolph, Betty Cuthbert, Marjorie Jackson, Fanny Blankers-Koen, Helen Stephens, Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Betty Robinson, Lauryn Williams, Ekaterini Thanou, Merlene Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert, Alice Brown, Inger Miller, Li Xuemei, Dawn Sowell, Ivet Lalova, Irina Privalova, Christine Arron and Veronica Campbell are some of the leading athletes in the domain of the 100 meter sprint event.

Trivia: American athlete Florence Griffith-Joyner, also known as "Flo Jo", is the world record holder in the 100 meter sprint event. With her long hair, stunning look and long painted nails, she added a new color to the women's track events. In her words, "Looking good is almost as important as running well." During the 1960 Rome Summer Games, the winner of the 100 meter Olympic title, was given the nickname, "the black gazelle". In her childhood she was handicapped temporarily, affected by pneumonia and scarlet fever. At the age of thirty, Fanny Blankers-Koen won gold medal in the 100 meter event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, one of her four titles in the Games. She was also called the "Flying Dutchwoman".