55 metres

55 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field. The history of the event lies in the 60-yard dash, which is about 5 inches shorter than 55 metres. Since the 1960s almost all countries have used metric measurements for track and field, hence the standard sprint distances for indoor competition have been 50 metres and 60 metres.

The single exception to this was the United States, which continued to use imperial measurements. In the 1980s efforts were made to switch track and field in the United States to used metric measurements and the 55 metres was adopted as a close equivalent to 60 yards. The NCAA Indoor Championships featured the event from 1984 to 1998 and the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships featured the event from 1987–1990.[1][2][3] Subsequently the 55 metres were dropped from American championships in favour of the international standard of 60 metres. Since the late 1990s there have been very few significant competitions over 55 metres and the event remains something of a historic anomaly.

All-time top 25

Indoor results only. Hand-timed results are excluded

The websites of World Athletics[4] and tilastopaja.net[5] are often used to generate lists of top performers. However, the data in these sites is not complete before about 1998 and, as noted above, much of the championship activity in this event (and hence best performances) were before this time. Hence a better source of data is the Track and Field News website.[6]

  • A = affected by altitude

Men
  • Updated March 2020
Rank Time Athlete Nationality Date Place Ref
1 5.99 A Obadele Thompson  Barbados 22 February 1997 Colorado Springs
2 6.00 Lee McRae  United States 14 March 1986 Oklahoma City
3 6.02 A Leo Myles-Mills  Ghana 22 February 1997 Colorado Springs
4 6.03 Sam Graddy  United States 14 March 1986 Oklahoma City
6.03 [lower-alpha 1] Carl Lewis  United States 5 February 1983 Dallas
6 6.04 André Cason  United States 9 March 1990 Indianapolis
6.04 A Ato Boldon  Trinidad and Tobago 1 February 1997 Flagstaff
8 6.05 Brian Cooper  United States 13 February 1988 East Rutherford
6.05 [lower-alpha 1] Stanley Floyd  United States 31 January 1981 Dallas
10 6.06 Tim Harden  United States 9 March 1996 Indianapolis
Emmit King  United States 26 February 1988 New York City
Fred Johnson  United States 16 March 1985 Fargo
6.06 [lower-alpha 1] Houston McTear  United States 24 February 1978 New York City
6.06 A Marcus Brunson  United States 20 February 1999 Reno
Felix Andam  Ghana 28 February 1998 Colorado Springs
Syan Williams  Jamaica 14 February 1998 Colorado Springs
Keith Williams  United States 15 February 1997 Colorado Springs
18 6.07 Leonard Scott  United States 20 February 1999 Gainesville
Ousmane Diarra  Mali 10 February 1996 Ames
Raghib Ismail  United States 8 February 1991 West Lafayette
Ray Stewart  Jamaica 11 March 1989 Indianapolis
Ron Brown  United States 4 February 1984 Dallas
6.07 A Obadiah Cooper  United States 21 February 1998 Flagstaff
24 6.08 Marvin Bracy  United States 29 January 2012 Gainesville
Michael Green  Jamaica 14 March 1992 Indianapolis
Phil Epps  United States 5 March 1983 Dallas
Rod Richardson  United States 13 March 1982 Pontiac
James Sanford  United States 20 February 1981 San Diego
6.08 A Bernard Williams  United States 21 February 1998 Colorado Springs

Women
  • Updated April 2020
Rank Time Athlete Nationality Date Place Ref
1 6.55 [lower-alpha 1] Evelyn Ashford  United States 26 February 1982 New York City
Jeanette Bolden  United States 21 February 1986 Los Angeles
3 6.56 Gwen Torrence  United States 14 March 1987 Oklahoma City
4 6.57 [lower-alpha 1] Alice Brown  United States 22 February 1985 New York City
5 6.58 Dawn Sowell  United States 26 February 1989 Baton Rouge
Beatrice Utondu-Okoye  Nigeria 11 February 1990 Monroe, North Carolina
7 6.60 [lower-alpha 1] Chandra Cheeseborough  United States 5 February 1983 Dallas
8 6.61 Michelle Finn  United States 23 February 1990 New York City
9 6.62 [lower-alpha 1] Merlene Ottey  Jamaica 13 March 1982 Cedar Falls, Iowa
Marlies Göhr  East Germany 28 February 1986 New York City
11 6.64 [lower-alpha 1] Lyudmila Storozhkova  Soviet Union 3 March 1979 New York City
6.64 Anelia Nuneva  Bulgaria 27 February 1987 New York City
13 6.65 [lower-alpha 1] Florence Griffith  United States 8 February 1985 Inglewood
Nelli Cooman  Netherlands 30 January 1987 New York City
6.65 Savatheda Fynes  Bahamas 8 March 1997 Indianapolis
16 6.66 Carlette Guidry  United States 10 March 1990 Indianapolis
Michelle Freeman  Jamaica 30 January 1993 Johnson City
18 6.67 [lower-alpha 1] Angela Bailey  Canada 28 February 1986 New York City
19 6.68 Chryste Gaines  United States 14 March 1992 Indianapolis
6.68 A Aleisha Latimer  United States 19 January 1996 Boulder, Colorado
Peta-Gaye Dowdie  Jamaica 6 February 1988 Colorado Springs
6.68 Angela Williams  United States 15 March 1998 Roxberry Crossing
23 6.69 [lower-alpha 1] Jackie Joyner-Kersee  United States 20 January 1989 Los Angeles
6.69 Esther Jones  United States 26 February 1989 Baton Rouge
D'Andre Hill  United States 9 March 1996 Indianapolis
Julia O'Neal  United States 18 February 2000 Knoxville
Tianna Bartoletta  United States 24 January 2009 Gainesville
  • Angella Issajenko of Canada ran 6.69 in New Jersey in 1987 but her time is discounted following her subsequent admissions of long-term drug use.

Season's bests

Notes
  1. Converted from a time for the slightly shorter 60 yards by adding 0.01

References
  1. "History of NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships" (PDF). NCAA. 2013.
  2. "History of NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships" (PDF). NCAA. 2013.
  3. "USATF Indoor Champions". USATF. 2018.
  4. "55 Metres Men". World Athletics. 4 April 2020.
  5. "All-time men's best 55m". tilastopaja.net. 4 April 2020.
  6. "T&FN YEARLY & ALL-TIME LISTS". Track and Field News. 4 April 2020.


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