Faster, Higher, Stronger

Episode 1

Stories of the Olympic Games: 100 Metres

60 mins

Taking its title from the Olympic motto, this series explores the history of the modern Games through the stories of extraordinary athletes who have pushed performance to the limit and beyond in pursuit of gold. Faster, Higher, Stronger examines how the most anticipated and hyped event in any Olympics, the 100 metres final, has been run faster and faster by men like Jim Hines, the first to run the race in under 10 seconds, Carl Lewis, the best finisher of them all and Usain Bolt, whose massive stride allows him to eat up the track. Sprinters run the 100m in distinct phases and the programme reveals what they are and how the athletes, who are running at up to 28 miles an hour, have to master each of them to win. British athlete Allan Wells recalls the dip at the line that won him gold in Moscow in 1980. Combining expert eyewitness testimony, rare historic archive, period reconstruction and special filming techniques to slow down and analyse performance, this is a unique insight into the most electrifying event in all of sport.