Fastest women in history in their respective continents

Over the years, the fastest women in history have been produced from different continents. Here's a current list of the fastest women in history, their times and videos showing their races.

The women's 100m event is one of the most competitive and lucrative in track and field, as several sprinters race for the bragging rights of being called the fastest women in the world, their continents, and likewise countries.

These sprinters work day and night for years of racing a 100m race in 10 seconds, and to top it all, winning medals at major championships.

Over the years, several sprinters have emerged from different continents, who are their area record holders and remain in the history books.

Here's a list of the fastest women in history in their respective continents.

Africa - Marie-Josée Ta Lou (10.72s)

The women's African Record (AR) has traded countries between Nigeria and Cote D'Ivoire, but now in the name of the most consistent since 2015 and the current face of Africa's female sprints at the international level.

Ta Lou ran the African Record (AR) of 10.72s at the Monaco Diamond League in August 2022, smashing her previous best of 10.78s set at the Tokyo Olympic Games. The Ivorian's record is the seventh fastest all-time in the women's 100m.

Europe - Christine Arron (10.73s)

Arron competed internationally for France in the 60m, 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relays. She is the ninth fastest woman all-time with 10.73s - still the European Record.

The retired speedster set the record when winning the 1998 European Championships, where she also won a gold medal in the 4x100m relay. Apart from the European title, her major individual medals were winning bronze in the 100m and 200m at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki; others were relay successes at all major championships.

Asia - Xuemei Li (10.79s)

Li is a retired Chinese sprinter and is the fastest Asian woman in history with a time of 10.79s in the 100m and 22.01s in the 200m during the 1997 National Games of China.

She is the first Asian woman to go under the sub-11s mark, racing to 10.90s in her qualifying heat at the Games before shattering it to the current record.

South America - Rosângela Santos (10.91s)

At the 2017 World Championships in London, Santos became the first Brazilian female sprinter in history to race the 100m in less than 11 seconds, clocking 10.91s in the semifinal to bag a new National and South American record in the event.

Santos is a 4x100m bronze medallist from Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Oceania - Zoe Hobbs (10.97s)

The most recent of all records, Hobbs lowered Oceania and New Zealand's all-comers' 100m record with a time of 11.07s (+1.8) in the heats of the 2023 New Zealand National Championships in Wellington.

In the final, she ran 10.89s but was illegal due to the excessive wind reading of (3.4m/s) which exceeded the (2.0m/s) limit allowable for records.

On March 2023, at the Sydney Track Classic, Hobbs officially broke the sub-11s barrier with 10.97 s (+0.5) to lower the Oceania Record, which also stands as a new Australian all-comers' record.

North America - Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.49s/ World Record)

The longest-reigning sprinting records in track and field history to date, the late Griffith-Joyner was an American sprints legend that set World Record (WR) in 1988 for the 100m and 200m.

She clocked the North American record of 10.49s, a new WR by a margin of 0.27s over the previous record held by rival Evelyn Ashford. Over the two-day trials, late Griffith-Joyner recorded the three fastest times for a woman at 100 meters: 10.49s in the quarter-final, 10.70s in the semifinal, and 10.61 in the final.

Her 100m World Record was the best improvement in the WR time since the advent of electronic timing.