On this day in 1968 at the United States AUU Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, California, Jim Hines became the first-ever to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m.

On a night that was later dubbed the ‘Night of Speed’, in the span of two and a half hours, the world record of 10 seconds was broken by three men and tied by seven others.

What happened in the preliminary rounds was historic. In the first heat, Hines ran a 9.8 but the wind was measured at an illegal 3m/s.

Greene and Roger Bambuck tied the world record of 10s in the last heat. Hines won the first semi-final in 9.9s. The wind was legal. Jim Hines had just become the first man to break the 10s barrier.

Other memorable events in history today:

1987: New Zealand win the inaugural Rugby World Cup, beating France 29-9 in the final.

1995: Arsenal sign Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp, who went on to make 423 appearances for the club.

2000: England are eliminated from Euro 2000 with a 3-2 loss to Romania in their final group stage match.

2013: Miami Heat beat San Antonio Spurs 95-88 to complete a 4-3 series win and take the NBA championship title.