Photo:Rich Clarkson /Sports Illustrated via Getty
Rich Clarkson /Sports Illustrated via Getty
Jim Hines, the U.S. Olympian known for being the first man to run the 100m race in 10 seconds has died at the age of 76.
World Athletics— the international governing body for several athletics events like track and field and cross country running — announced Hines’s death, saying the athlete died on Saturday. His cause of death was not disclosed.
Hines was born in Dumas, Arkansas in 1946 and raised in Oakland, California. He initially took an interest in basketball, according to the organization, until athletics coach Jim Coleman eyed him out for track and field due to his running ability.
He went on to win state titles in the 100m and 200m races as a senior, per theUSA Track & Field(USATF), and had been ranked among the top 20 runners in the world in the 100m race.
He set some of the fastest records at the time, clocking in at 9.1 seconds for 100m yards and 10.0 for 100m, per World Athletics. However, it wasn’t until 1968 that he would officially break the world record for running the 100m.
Hines broke the 10-second barrier for the 100m race, clocking in at 9.9 seconds (which had been electronically recorded at 10.3 seconds) at the 1968 US Championships in Sacramento, earning him a spot on the U.S. Olympics team.
The track and field star would go on to repeat the feat, running the 100m at the Olympics in Mexico City at around an electronically timed 9.95 seconds — earning him a gold medal.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After his several achievements in track and field, he went on to play for the Miami Dolphins in 1969 and Kansas City Chiefs in 1970. He took on a mentorship role, working with inner-city youth in the city of Houston, per the USATF. Hines was eventually inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1979.
source: people.com
