Kishane Thompson — 9.784 seconds

Kishane Thompson clocked 9.77 seconds in June 2024 — the fastest time of the year before the Paris Olympics — and then matched Noah Lyles stride-for-stride in the Olympic final, losing gold by the thickness of a fingernail (0.005 seconds). At just 23, his consistency across the 2024 season positioned him as one of the sprinters most likely to challenge for the world's fastest-man title through the rest of the decade.