50 m, men, indoor

What to remember

The 50 metres is mostly an indoor event, an alternative to the 60 metres, and it tends to be won by the best 100 metres runners. Records usually fall in February and March, during the indoor season, and this one is no exception: on February 9, 1996 in Reno, Donovan Bailey ran 5.56 s, an average of 32.37 km/h.

The previous reference time dated from 1973, at 5.61 s, and Maurice Greene equalled Bailey's mark in 1999.

Born in Jamaica and racing for Canada, Bailey was the reigning 100 m world champion from 1995. Later in 1996, in Atlanta, he became Olympic champion in 9.84 s, then a world record, reaching 12.10 m/s (43.6 km/h) in that race, the fastest speed ever recorded by a human at the time. He was also the first Canadian to legally break the 10-second barrier in the 100 m.