Florence Griffith-Joyner

Florence Griffith-Joyner's 100m world record of 10.49s, set at the 1988 US Olympic Trials, remains unbroken 36 years later—a longevity that outperforms #1 Usain Bolt's 100m record by 21 years. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she won three gold medals (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay) and set the 200m world record of 21.34s, which stood until 2023. Her 10.49s is 0.30s faster than the average women's Olympic gold medal time from 1992 to 2020, highlighting its exceptional dominance. She revolutionized the sport with her flamboyant style, but it's her concrete numbers—like a 10.49s that remains a 0.11s gap ahead of the second-fastest legal time—that cement her as the fastest woman ever.