World records in athletics

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World records in athletics (track and field) are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The criteria which must be satisfied for ratification also apply to national or other restricted records and also to performances submitted as qualifying marks for eligibility to compete in major events such as the Olympic Games.

The criteria include:

  • The dimensions of the track and equipment used must conform to standards.
  • Performance must be set in a single-sex race. This is especially noteworthy in marathon races.
  • All team members in a relay race must be of the same nationality.
  • Pacemakers are allowed, provided they have not been lapped; lapped athletes must give way.
  • Drug testing immediately after the performance is now required for ratification of a record. Existing records which predate this requirement are still extant. Athletes who pass the immediate test but are later found to have been on drugs have their performances invalidated.
  • In sprint events up to 200m and in jump events, wind assistance is permitted only up to 2.0 m/s. In decathlon or heptathlon, average wind assistance of less than 2.0 m/s is required across all applicable disciplines; and maximum of 4.0 m/s in any one event.
  • In sprint events up to 400m, photo finish electronic timing is required.
  • There is no restriction on altitude; since the thinner atmosphere of higher altitude provides less air resistance, locations such as Mexico City and Sestriere are popular in the sprint and jump events.
  • In road events (e.g. walks and marathon) the course is not required to be a circuit, but must not have too great a downhill gradient.

Contents

[edit] Bonus payments

Witnessing a world record being a great pleasure for athletics fans, athletes' personal sponsors and the promoters of major meetings such as the IAAF Golden League have offered bonuses to athletes breaking a record.

Some middle-distance runners have specialized in acting as pacemakers in longer races, receiving a fee without even finishing the race, and possibly a bonus if a record results. This is a useful occupation for athletes who are capable of running accurately to a specified pace, but not capable of the very fastest times to become champions in their own right.

In the pole vault (and potentially the high jump) record bonuses create an incentive for an athlete capable of smashing a record to instead break it by the minimum amount (one centimetre), multiple times, at multiple meetings, in order to accumulate multiple bonuses. This has been done by Sergei Bubka in the men's pole vault, and Yelena Isinbayeva in the women's pole vault. Some commentators have complained that neither athlete ever posted as high a mark as they were capable of. In other disciplines this perverse incentive does not arise, since it is practically impossible to deliberately break a record by a small margin.

[edit] Outdoor world records

[edit] Men

Event Record Athlete Date Place
100 m 9.77 s Asafa Powell (Jamaica) June 14, 2005 Athens, Greece
June 11, 2006 Gateshead, United Kingdom
August 18, 2006 Zurich, Switzerland
200 m 19.32 s Michael Johnson (USA) August 1, 1996 Atlanta, GA, USA
400 m 43.18 s Michael Johnson (USA) August 26, 1999 Seville, Spain
800 m 1:41.11 Wilson Kipketer (Denmark) August 24, 1997 Cologne, Germany
1000 m 2:11.96 Noah Ngeny (Kenya) September 5, 1999 Rieti, Italy
1500 m 3:26.00 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) July 14, 1998 Rome, Italy
Mile 3:43.13 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) July 7, 1999 Rome, Italy
2000 m 4:44.79 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) September 7, 1999 Berlin, Germany
3000 m 7:20.67 Daniel Komen (Kenya) September 1, 1996 Rieti, Italy
Two miles 7:58.61 Daniel Komen (Kenya) July 19, 1997 Hechtel, Belgium
5000 m 12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) May 31, 2004 Hengelo, Netherlands
10,000 m 26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) August 26, 2005 Brussels, Belgium
20,000 m 56:55.6 Arturo Barrios (Mexico) March 30, 1991 La Flèche, France
Half marathon 58:55 Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) January 15, 2006 Phoenix, Arizona, USA
One hour 21.101 km Arturo Barrios (Mexico) March 30, 1991 La Flèche, France
25,000 m 1:11:37 Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) March 12, 2006 Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands
30,000 m 1:29:18.8 Toshihiko Seko (Japan) March 22, 1981 Christchurch, NZ
Marathon 2:04:55 Paul Tergat (Kenya) September 28, 2003 Berlin, Germany
3000 m
steeplechase
7:53.63 Saif Saaeed Shaheen (Qatar)
(born Stephen Cherono, Kenya)
September 3, 2004 Brussels, Belgium
110 m hurdles 12.88 s Liu Xiang (China) July 11, 2006 Lausanne, Switzerland
400 m hurdles 46.78 s Kevin Young (USA) August 6, 1992 Barcelona, Spain
High jump 2.45 m Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) July 27, 1993 Salamanca, Spain
Pole vault 6.14 m Sergei Bubka (Ukraine) July 31, 1994 Sestriere, Italy
Long jump 8.95 m Mike Powell (USA) August 30, 1991 Tokyo, Japan
Triple jump 18.29 m Jonathan Edwards (UK) August 7, 1995 Göteborg, Sweden
Shot put 23.12 m Randy Barnes (USA) May 20, 1990 Westwood, CA, USA
Discus 74.08 m Jürgen Schult (E. Germany) June 6, 1986 Neubrandenburg, E. Germany
Hammer 86.74 m Yuriy Sedykh (USSR) August 30, 1986 Stuttgart, W. Germany
Javelin 98.48 m
(Current design)
Jan Železný (Czech Rep.) May 25, 1996 Jena, Germany
104.80 m
(old design)
Uwe Hohn (GDR) 20 July 1984 Berlin, Germany
Decathlon 9026 pts Roman Šebrle (Czech Rep.) May 27, 2001 Götzis, Austria
10.64 s (100 m), 8.11 m (long jump), 15.33 m (shot put), 2.12 m (high jump), 47.79 s (400 m), 13.92 s (110 m hurdles), 47.92 m (discus), 4.80 m (pole vault), 70.16 m (javelin), 4:21.98 min (1500 m)
20 km walk (road) 1:17:21 Jefferson Pérez (Ecuador) August 23, 2003 Paris, France
30000 m walk (track) 2:01:44.1 Maurizio Damilano (Italy) October 3, 1992 Cuneo, Italy
50000 m walk (track) 3:40:57.9 Thierry Toutain (France) September 29, 1996 Héricourt, France
50 km walk (road) 3:36:03 Robert Korzeniowski (Poland) August 27, 2003 Paris, France
4x100 m
relay
37.40 s Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis (USA)

Jon Drummond, Andre Cason, Dennis Mitchell, Leroy Burrell (USA)

August 8, 1992

August 21, 1993
Barcelona, Spain

Stuttgart, Germany
4x200 m
relay
1:18.68 Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Floyd Heard, Carl Lewis (USA) April 17, 1994 Walnut, CA, USA
4x400 m
relay
2:54.20 Jerome Young, Antonio Pettigrew, Tyree Washington, Michael Johnson (USA) July 22, 1998 New York City
4x800 m
relay
7:02.43 Joseph Mutua, William Yiampoy, Ismael Kombich, Wilfred Bungei (Kenya) August 25, 2006 Brussels, Belgium
4x1500 m
relay
14:38.8 Thomas Wessinghage, Harald Hudak, Michael Lederer, Karl Fleschen (W. Germany) August 17, 1977 Cologne,
W. Germany

[edit] Women

Event Record Athlete Date Place
100 m 10.49 s Florence Griffith Joyner (USA) July 16, 1988 Indianapolis, IN, USA
200 m 21.34s Florence Griffith Joyner (USA) September 29, 1988 Seoul, S. Korea
400 m 47.60 Marita Koch (E. Germany) October 6, 1985 Canberra, Australia
800 m 1:53.28 Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czechoslovakia) July 26, 1983 Munich, W. Germany
1000 m 2:28.98 Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) August 23, 1996 Brussels, Belgium
1500 m 3:50.46 Qu Yunxia (China) September 11, 1993 Beijing, China
Mile 4:12.56 Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) August 14, 1996 Zürich, Switzerland
2000 m 5:25.36 Sonia O'Sullivan (Rep. Ireland) July 8, 1994 Edinburgh, Scotland
3000 m 8:06.11 Wang Junxia (China) September 13, 1993 Beijing, China
5000 m 14:24.53 Meseret Defar (Ethiopia) 3 June 2006 New York City, NY, USA
10,000 m 29:31.78 Wang Junxia (China) September 8, 1993 Beijing, China
One hour 18.340 km Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) August 7, 1998 Borgholzhausen, Germany
20,000 m 1:05:26.6 Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) September 3, 2000 Borgholzhausen, Germany
Half Marathon 1:06:44 Elana Meyer (RSA) January 15, 1999 Tokyo, Japan
25,000 m 1:27:05.8 Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) September 21, 2002 Mengerskirchen, Germany
30,000 m 1:45:50.0 Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) June 7, 2003 Warstein, Germany
Marathon 2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe (UK) April 13, 2003 London, England, UK
3000 m
steeplechase
9:01.59 Gulnara Samitova, (Russia) July 4, 2004 Heraklion, Greece
100 m hurdles 12.21 s Yordanka Donkova (Bulgaria) August 20, 1988 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
400 m hurdles 52.34s Yuliya Pechonkina (Russia) August 8, 2003 Tula, Russia
High jump 2.09 m Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) August 30, 1987 Rome, Italy
Pole vault 5.01 m Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) August 12, 2005 Helsinki, Finland
Long jump 7.52 m Galina Chistyakova (USSR) June 11, 1988 Leningrad, USSR
Triple jump 15.50 Inessa Kravets (Ukraine) August 10, 1995 Göteborg, Sweden
Shot put 22.63 Natalya Lisovskaya (USSR) June 7, 1987 Moscow, USSR
Discus 76.80 Gabriele Reinsch (E. Germany) July 9, 1988 Neubrandenburg, E. Germany
Hammer throw 77.80 m Tatyana Lysenko (Russia) August 15, 2006 Tallinn, Estonia
Javelin[1] 71.70 m
(Current design)
Osleidys Menéndez (Cuba) August 14, 2005 Helsinki, Finland
80.00 m
(old design)
Petra Felke (GDR) September 9, 1988 Potsdam, East Germany
Heptathlon 7291 pts Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) September 24, 1988 Seoul, S. Korea
12.69s (100 m hurdles), 1.86 m (high jump), 15.80 m (shot put), 22.56s (200 m), 7.27 m (long jump), 45.66 m (javelin), 2:08.51 (800 m)
Decathlon 8358 pts Austra Skujytė (Lithuania) 14 April 2005
15 April 2005
Columbia, MO, USA
12.49 s (100 m), 46.19 m (discus), 3.10 m (pole vault), 48.78 m (javelin), 57.19 s (400 m), 14.22 s (100 m hurdles), 6.12 m (long jump), 16.42 m (shot put), 1.78 m (high jump), 5:15.86 (1500 m)
5000 m walk (track) 20:02.60 Gillian O'Sullivan (Rep. of Ireland) July 13, 2002 Dublin, Ireland
10000 m walk (track) 41:56.23 Nadezhda Ryashkina (USSR) July 24, 1990 Seattle, WA, USA
20000 m walk (track) 1:26:52.3 Olimpiada Ivanova (Russia) September 6, 2001 Brisbane, Australia
20 km walk (road) 1:25:41 Olimpiada Ivanova (Russia) August 7, 2005 Helsinki, Finland
4x100 m relay 41.37 Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr (E. Germany) October 6, 1985 Canberra, Australia
4x200 m relay 1:27.46 LaTasha Jenkins, LaTasha Colander-Richardson,
Nanceen Perry, Marion Jones (USA)
April 29, 2000 Philadelphia, PA, USA
4x400 m relay 3:15.17 Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, Olga Bryzgina (USSR) October 1, 1988 Seoul, S. Korea
4x800 m relay 7:50.17 Nadezhda Olizarenko, Lyubov Gurina, Lyudmila Borisova, Irina Podyalovskaya (USSR) August 5, 1984 Moscow, USSR

[edit] Indoor world records

[edit] Men

Event Record Athlete Date Place
50 m 5.56 s Donovan Bailey (Canada) February 9, 1996 Reno, NV, USA
60 m 6.39 s Maurice Greene (USA) February 3, 1998
March 3, 2001
Madrid, Spain
Atlanta, GA, USA
200 m 19.92 s Frankie Fredericks (Namibia) 18 February 1996 Liévin, France
400 m 44.57 s Kerron Clement (USA) 12 March 2005 Fayetteville, AR, USA
800 m 1:42.67 Wilson Kipketer (Denmark) 9 March 1997 Paris-Bercy, France
1000 m 2:14.96 Wilson Kipketer (Denmark) 20 February 2000 Birmingham, England
1500 m 3:31.18 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) 2 February 1997 Stuttgart, Germany
One mile 3:48.45 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) 12 February 1997 Gent, Belgium
3000 m 7:26.14 Daniel Komen (Kenya) 6 February 1998 Budapest, Hungary
5000 m 12:49.60 Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) 20 February 2004 Birmingham, England
50 m hurdles 6.25 s Mark McKoy (Canada) 5 March 1986 Kobe, Japan
60 m hurdles 7.30 s Colin Jackson (UK) 6 March 1994 Sindelfingen, Germany
High jump 2.43 m Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) 4 March 1989 Budapest, Hungary
Pole vault 6.15 m Sergei Bubka (Ukraine) 21 February 1993 Donetsk, Ukraine
Long jump 8.79 m Carl Lewis (USA) 27 January 1984 New York City, NY, USA
Triple jump 17.83 m Aliecer Urrutia (Cuba)
Christian Olsson (Sweden)
1 March 1997
7 March 2004
Sindelfingen, Germany
Budapest, Hungary
Shot put 22.66 m Randy Barnes (USA) 20 January 1989 Los Angeles, CA, USA
Heptathlon 6476 pts Dan O'Brien (USA) 13 March 1993 Toronto, Canada
6.67 s (60 m), 7.84 m (long jump), 16.02 m (shot put), 2.13 m (high jump), 5.20 m (pole vault), 2:57.96 min (1000 m)
5000 m walk (track) 18:07.08 Mikhail Shchennikov (Russia) 14 February 1995 Moscow, Russia
4x200 m
relay
1:22.11 Linford Christie, Darren Braithwaite, Ade Mafe, John Regis (UK) 3 March 1991 Glasgow, Scotland
4x400 m
relay
3:02.83 Andre Morris, Dameon Johnson, Deon Minor, Milton Campbell (USA) 7 March 1999 Maebashi, Japan
4x800 m
relay
7:13.94 Joey Woody, Karl Paranya, Rich Kenah, David Krummenacker (Global Athletics & Marketing) 6 February 2000 Boston, MA, USA

[edit] Women

Event Record Athlete Date Place
50 m 5.96 s Irina Privalova (Russia) February 9, 1995 Madrid, Spain
60 m 6.92 s Irina Privalova (Russia) February 11, 1993
February 9, 1995
Madrid, Spain
Madrid, Spain
200 m 21.87 s Merlene Ottey (Jamaica) 13 February 1993 Liévin, France
400 m 49.59 s Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czechoslovakia) 7 March 1982 Milan, Italy
800 m 1:55.82 Jolanda Čeplak (Slovenia) 3 March 2002 Vienna, Austria
1000 m 2:30.94 Maria Mutola (Mozambique) 25 February 1999 Stockholm, Sweden
1500 m 3:58.28 Yelena Soboleva (Russia) 18 February 2006 Moscow, Russia
One mile 4:17.14 Doina Melinte (Romania) 9 February 1990 East Rutherford, NJ, USA
3000 m 8:27.86 Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) 17 February 2006 Moscow, Russia
5000 m 14:32.93 Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) 29 January 2005 Boston, MA, USA
50 m hurdles 6.58 s Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR) 20 February 1988 Berlin, Germany
60 m hurdles 7.69 s Ludmila Narozhilenko (USSR) 4 February 1990 Chelyabinsk, USSR
High jump 2.08 m Kajsa Bergqvist (Sweden) 4 February 2006 Arnstadt, Germany
Pole vault 4.91 m Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) 12 February 2006 Donetsk, Ukraine
Long jump 7.37 m Heike Drechsler (GDR) 13 February 1988 Vienna, Austria
Triple jump 15.36 m Tatyana Lebedeva (Russia) 6 March 2004 Budapest, Hungary
Shot put 22.50 m Helena Fibingerová (Czechoslovakia) 19 February 1977 Jablonec, Czechoslovakia
Pentathlon 4991 pts Irina Belova (EUN) 15 February 1992 Berlin, Germany
8.22 s (60 m hurdles), 1.93 m (high jump), 13.25 m (shot put), 6.67 m (long jump), 2:10.26 min (800 m)
3000 m walk (track) 11:40.33 Claudia Stef (Romania) 30 January 1999 Bucharest, Romania
4x200 m
relay
1:32.41 Yekaterina Kondratyeva, Irina Khabarova, Yuliya Pechonkina, Yuliya Gushchina (Russia) 29 January 2005 Glasgow, Scotland
4x400 m
relay
3:23.37 Yuliya Gushchina, Olga Kotlyarova, Olga Zaytseva, Olesya Krasnomovets (Russia) 28 January 2006 Glasgow, Scotland
4x800 m
relay
8:18.71 Irina Zaitseva, Olga Kuznetsova, Yelena Afanasyeva, Yekaterina Podkopayeva (Russia) 4 February 1994 Moscow, Russia

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ As with the men's event, the specification of the women's javelin has been changed. On April 1, 1999 the IAAF moved the centre of gravity forward by 3 cm in order to ensure a greater number of legal throws and to allow for more accurate distance measurement.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Rules

[edit] Criticism


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