Gatlin Breaks 100m Record

Olympic and world champion sprinter Justin Gatlin today became the fastest man on earth, breaking the world 100m record today by one-hundredth of a second.

The 9.76-second sprint came at the International Association of Athletics Federations Super Tour event in Doha, Qatar, beating Jamaican Asafa Powell's 9.77-second previous record at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

The two sprinters are due to meet at the Norwich Union British grand prix event in Gateshead on June 11.

The 24-year-old American said that he had been aiming at the world record since making his first run of the season at a grand prix event in Osaka, Japan.

"I am the best of the best because I am the Olympic champion, the world champion and the world record holder now," he told reporters.

"I thought I would do it and I kept my word. I am a man who likes challenges and my acceleration today was phenomenal."

More than half a dozen men have clocked 100m times of less than 10 seconds since the barrier was first broken by Jim Hines in 1968.