Jim Hines, who in 1968 became the first man to sprint 100 meters in under 10 seconds, and later that year won a gold medal in that distance at the Olympic Games in Mexico City with a blistering time of 9.95 seconds, a mark that stood as a world record for 15 years, died on Saturday. He was 76.
His death was confirmed in an obituary on the official Olympics website, which provided no further details.
Hines first officially broke the 10-second barrier in the 100-meter event at the United States Outdoor National Track and Field Championships in 1968 in Sacramento, which he won with a hand-timed speed of 9.