About the 100 Metre Sprint
The hundred metres is the simplest race in athletics, and this version is the simplest event on the site. Two pads, two thumbs, and about fifteen seconds of effort.
How it works
Every time you tap the opposite pad from the last one, your runner takes a stride and gains speed. The pad you need next is lit in yellow. Speed drains away constantly, so the moment your tapping slows, so do you.
Hitting the same pad twice in a row counts for nothing. That is what stops this being a one-finger game: you must alternate.
The clock starts when you start and stops when you cross the hundred-metre line.
Running a faster time
Use two hands. On a phone, hold it in both hands and use your thumbs. On a keyboard, use one finger of each hand on the left and right arrow keys. One finger moving between two targets will always be slower.
Find a rhythm you can hold. A steady eight taps a second beats a burst of ten followed by a stumble. If your thumbs get out of step and you double-tap one side, you lose a stride.
Start cleanly. Top speed takes a couple of seconds to build, so a slow first second costs more than a slow last one.
Do not ease off before the line. Because speed fades quickly, the last ten metres are where tired hands give time away.
Keep your thumbs low. The less they lift off the screen, the faster they come back down.
Medal times
Gold needs a little over eight taps a second, held for the whole race. Bronze is within reach of anyone who alternates cleanly.
As sports-themed HTML5 games go, this one is pure effort, and a good warm-up for the rest of the meet.