A newly released 3D simulation has brought to life a fascinating, and completely one-sided, sprint showdown between history’s fastest women and an average man over 100 meters. As expected, it wasn’t even close.
The virtual race, created by YouTube channel MotionAthlete, lined up American sprint legend Florence Griffith Joyner, Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce against a man running a respectable average amateur time of 14.85 seconds.
Griffith Joyner, famously nicknamed ‘Flo-Jo’, remains the fastest woman in history, having clocked an astonishing 10.49 seconds in 1988, a time that still stirs controversy. Questions surrounding the race’s wind reading, which oddly registered 0.0 m/s despite evidence of gusty conditions, led to a later IAAF-commissioned study that concluded the wind was indeed over the legal limit.
Nevertheless, Flo-Jo ran 10.61 in the same competition under acceptable wind conditions, a mark that would have remained untouched until Elaine Thompson-Herah’s 10.54 run in 2021.
The simulation race began with Fraser-Pryce, a multiple-time Olympic and World champion, reacting quickest out of the blocks, leading through the initial phase. However, as the meters ticked by, it became a gripping battle between Griffith Joyner and Thompson-Herah, with the American legend pulling ahead in the final 15 meters to take the win.
The average man, meanwhile, had a solid start but rapidly fell behind, the women’s elite sprinting power far too overwhelming. By five meters into the race, the contest was essentially over for him, trailing by more than four seconds by the finish line.
This simulation arrived in the aftermath of a bittersweet Paris 2024 Olympics for sprint fans. Thompson-Herah and Fraser-Pryce entered as 100m gold favorites but missed the final. An Achilles injury kept Thompson-Herah from the 2023 Games, and Fraser-Pryce, 37, withdrew after hurting herself in warmups.
Florence Griffith Joyner’s career, meanwhile, remains one of track and field’s most remarkable stories. After winning three gold medals and setting a new 200m world record at the Seoul 1988 Olympics, she retired abruptly the following year at just 29. Tragically, Flo-Jo passed away in her sleep at the age of 38 due to an epileptic seizure linked to a congenital neurological condition.
The 3D simulation serves as a vivid reminder of the extraordinary speed of these women, athletes who redefined the limits of sprinting and whose records continue to inspire generations.
