Legendary sprinter Jim Hines, famed as the first man to complete a 100-metre race in less than 10 seconds, has passed away aged 76.
His demise was confirmed by World Athletics on Monday after several reports claimed he died over the weekend.
John Carlos, a 1968 US Olympic teammate also announced his death during the weekend on a Facebook post in which he said, “I understand that God called him home today and we send the prayers up for him.”
At the 1968 US Championships in Sacramento, Hines became the first man to officially go below 10 seconds for 100m, running a hand-timed 9.9sec, a phenomenal record which stood for 15 years and was finally broken by another American, Calvin Smith, in 1983 with 9.93sec, also at altitude.
Hines was a two-time Olympic champion in Mexico 1968 in the hectometre and the 4×100 relay, both of which were world records.
Born in Arkansas and raised in Oakland, his early passion was for baseball but athletics coach Jim Coleman spotted his talent for sprinting and at 17, he was already ranked among the top 20 in the world over 100 yards.
After the Olympics, Hines joined the Miami Dolphins, who chose him in the sixth round of that year’s NFL Draft to be a wide receiver and he was given the number 99. Hines played in 10 games between 1969 and 1970 for the Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
He is the only person to have played in an NFL regular season game, out of the 170 people who have broken the 10 seconds in the 100m over the last 55 years.
