Who are the world's fastest in athletics in 2021?

Form plays a very important role for any athlete heading into a big event, and especially if it's the Olympic Games. A competitive form can inspire more confidence in the athletes which helps them deal with the immense pressure that inevitably arrives at the Olympics.

Heading to the Tokyo Olympics this year, we decided to take a look at the world's fastest athletes. Many of them would like to convert their terrific form into gold medals and podium finishes.

The fastest athletes of 2021 are enlisted below:

Track Events

Men

With a time of 9.77 seconds recorded at the Ansin Sports Complex, USA's Trayvon Bromell has been the fastest in the 100m sprint in 2021. He's followed by American athletes Marvin Bracey and Ronnie Baker who both have recorded times of 9.85 seconds.

America's Terrance Laird leads the 200m category in 2021 with a time of 19.81 seconds. Nigeria's Divine Oduduru is joint-second with a timing of 19.88 seconds while the United States' Kenneth Bednarek has also recorded a timing of 19.88 seconds. Canada's Andre De Grasse is fourth and was a 0.01 seconds slower than the two athletes mentioned above.

Randolph Ross of the United States leads the Men's 400m category with a timing of 43.85 seconds. He's followed by fellow Americans Michael Norman and Noah Williams whose times were 44.07 seconds and 44.30 seconds respectively.

America's Clayton Murphy recorded a time of 1:43.17 minutes in the 800m sprint on June 21 this year which is the fastest for any athlete. Poland's Patryk Dobek and Great Britain's Oliver Dustin follow him in the list with timings of 1:43.73 and 1:43.82 minutes respectively.

With a timing of 3:30.48 minutes, Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot has been the fastest in Men's 1500m category this year. He's followed by Britain's Josh Kerr who completed his sprint in 3:31.55 minutes. Australian athlete Stewart McSweyn completes the list and was a 0.02 seconds slower than Kerr.

In the 3000m event, Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei has been the fastest this year with a timing of 7:33.24 minutes. Great Britian's Mark Scott recorded a time of 7:36.09 minutes and he's second on the list. Scott is followed by USA's Grant Fisher with an official timing of 7:37.21 minutes.

Norway's Jakob Ingebrigsten has been the fastest in Men's 5000m event this year. He took 12:48.45 minutes to complete the 5000m on June 10 in Firenze, Italy. The second and third positions are occupied by Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet and Canada's Mohammed Ahmed respectively who also accomplished this on the same day and same event as Ingebrigsten.

Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo is number one on the list of the fastest male athletes in Men's 10,000m, having completed the event in 26:33.93 minutes. Two Ethiopian athletes Selemon Barega and Yomif Kejelcha are second and third respectively with timings of 26:49.51 minutes and 26:49.73 minutes.

With 13.01 seconds, Jamaica's Omar McLeod has been the fastest in Men's 110m Hurdles this year. He's followed by America's Grant Holloway who completed the event in 13.07 seconds. Jamaica's Rasheed Broadbell rounds up the list with a timing of 13.10 seconds.

Rai Benjamin leads the fastest timings in Men's 400m Hurdles with an official time of 47.13 seconds. The American athlete is followed by British Virgin Islands' Kyron McMaster who recorded a time of 47.50 seconds. Brazil's Alison Dos Santos is third in the list having completed the 400m Hurdles event in 47.57 seconds.

Women

America's Gabrielle Thomas has been the fastest in Women's 200m category in 2021. She took 21.94 seconds to complete her sprint on June 25. Gabrielle Thomas is followed by fellow country mate Jenna Prandini and Bahrain's Shaunae Miller-Uibo in second and third respectively.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo has been the fastest woman in the 400m category. Namibian athletes Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi are second and third respectively.

Topping the charts in the 800m sprint category is Cuba's Rose Mary Alymanza who had clocked a timing of 1:56.42 minutes on June 19. She is followed by two athletes from Ethiopia in second and third – Werkwuha Getachew and Freweyni Hailu.

Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan leads the world's fastest rankings in Women's 1500m event with an official timing of 3:53.63 minutes. Kenya's Faith Kipyegon falling short by just 0.28 seconds. Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia is third on the list with a timing of 3:54.01 minutes.

Three Kenyan athletes have been the fastest in Women's 3000m event in 2021. Beatrice Chebet tops the list with a time of 8:27.49 minutes and is followed by Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi and Lillian Kasait Rengeruk respectively.

Gudaf Tsegay has been the fastest woman in the world in Women's 5000m this year. She completed her event in 14:13.32 minutes on June 8. Tsegay is followed by two Ethiopian athletes Ejgayehu Taye and Senbere Teferi in second and third respectively.

In the Women's 10,000m category, Letesenbet Gidey has been the fastest in the world. She recorded an official timing of 29:01.03 minutes and was almost five seconds ahead of The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan in second place. They are followed by Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay in third place.

Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho Quinn has been the world's fastest in Women's 100m Hurdles race. She took 12.32 seconds to complete the event at the Percy Beard Track in Florida on April 17. American athletes Tonea Marshall and Kendra Harrison follow her in the list. Marshall took 12.44 seconds while Harrison was 0.03 seconds slower.

Completing the 400m Hurdles in just 52.83 seconds, America's Sydney McLaughlin recorded the fastest time in the event in 2021. She is followed by fellow US athlete Shamier Little and Femke Bol of the Netherlands.

Road Events

Men

The men's 50km event is led by three Japanese athletes in 2021. Satoshi Maruo, with a time of 3:38.42 has been the fastest this year. Hayato Katsuki and Kai Kobayashi are second and third respectively.

On the top of the list in the world's fastest Marathoners list are three Kenyan athletes – Titus Ekiru, Reuben Kiprop Kipyego, and Barnabus Kiptum. They have official timings of 2:02:57 hours, 2:03:55 hours and 2:04:17 hours respectively.

Women

In the Women's 20km Race Walk category, China's Jiayu Yang holds the fastest time recorded this year. She took 1:23.49 hours to complete her event on March 20. Fellow Chinese athletes Hong Liu and Shijie Qieyang also recorded second and third-fastest timings on the same day and in the same event.

Ethiopia's Hiwot Gebrekidan has been the world's fastest Marathoner in 2021 with a time of 2:19.35 hours. Two Kenyan athletes – Angela Tanui and Purity Cherotich Rionoripo are second and third respectively.