World records in athletics

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Asafa Powell of Jamaica, former world record holder in the 100 metres
Asafa Powell of Jamaica, former world record holder in the 100 metres

World records in athletics (track and field) are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Records are kept for all events contested at the Olympic Games and some others. Unofficial records for some other events are kept by track and field statisticians. The only non-metric distance for which official records are kept is the mile run.

Contents

[edit] Ratification

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 200 m 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 400 m, photo finish fully automatic 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.

[edit] Bonus payments

Witnessing a world record brings 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 Nationality Date Place
100 m Progression 9.72 s Usain Bolt Flag of Jamaica Jamaica May 31, 2008 New York, USA
200 m 19.32 s Michael Johnson Flag of the United States United States August 1, 1996 Atlanta, GA, USA
400 m 43.18 s Michael Johnson Flag of the United States United States August 26, 1999 Seville, Spain
800 m Progression 1:41.11 Wilson Kipketer Flag of Denmark Denmark August 24, 1997 Cologne, Germany
1000 m 2:11.96 Noah Ngeny Flag of Kenya Kenya September 5, 1999 Rieti, Italy
1500 m Progression 3:26.00 Hicham El Guerrouj Flag of Morocco Morocco July 14, 1998 Rome, Italy
Mile Progression 3:43.13 Hicham El Guerrouj Flag of Morocco Morocco July 7, 1999 Rome, Italy
2000 m 4:44.79 Hicham El Guerrouj Flag of Morocco Morocco September 7, 1999 Berlin, Germany
3000 m Progression 7:20.67 Daniel Komen Flag of Kenya Kenya September 1, 1996 Rieti, Italy
Two miles 7:58.61 Daniel Komen Flag of Kenya Kenya July 19, 1997 Hechtel, Belgium
5000 m 12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia May 31, 2004 Hengelo, Netherlands
10,000 m Progression 26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia August 26, 2005 Brussels, Belgium
10 kilometres (road) 27:02 Haile Gebrselassie Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia December 11, 2002 Doha, Qatar
15 kilometres (road) 41:22 Haile Gebrselassie Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia September 4, 2005 Tilburg, Netherlands
20,000 m 56:26.0 Haile Gebrselassie Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia June 27, 2007 Ostrava, Czech Republic
20 kilometres (road) 55:31 Samuel Kamau Wanjiru Flag of Kenya Kenya March 17, 2007 The Hague, Netherlands
Half marathon (road) 58:33 Samuel Kamau Wanjiru Flag of Kenya Kenya March 17, 2007 The Hague, Netherlands
One hour (track) 21.285 km Haile Gebrselassie Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia June 27, 2007 Ostrava, Czech Republic
25,000 m 1:13:55.8 Toshihiko Seko Flag of Japan Japan March 22, 1981 Christchurch, New Zealand
25 kilometres (road) 1:12:45 Paul Malakwen Kosgei Flag of Kenya Kenya May 9, 2006 Berlin, Germany
30,000 m 1:29:18.8 Toshihiko Seko Flag of Japan Japan March 22, 1981 Christchurch, New Zealand
30 kilometres (road) 1:28:00 Takayuki Matsumiya Flag of Japan Japan February 27, 2005 Kumamoto, Japan
Marathon Progression 2:04:26 Haile Gebrselassie Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia September 30, 2007 Berlin, Germany
100 kilometres (road) 6:13:33 Takahiro Sunada Flag of Japan Japan June 21, 1998 Tokoro, Japan
3000 m
steeplechase
7:53.63 Saif Saaeed Shaheen
(born Stephen Cherono, Kenya)
Flag of Qatar Qatar September 3, 2004 Brussels, Belgium
110 m hurdles 12.87 s Dayron Robles Flag of Cuba Cuba June 12, 2008 Ostrava, Czech Republic
400 m hurdles 46.78 s Kevin Young Flag of the United States United States August 6, 1992 Barcelona, Spain
High jump Progression 2.45 m Javier Sotomayor Flag of Cuba Cuba July 27, 1993 Salamanca, Spain
Pole vault Progression 6.14 m A Sergei Bubka Flag of Ukraine Ukraine July 31, 1994 Sestriere, Italy
Long jump Progression 8.95 m Mike Powell Flag of the United States United States August 30, 1991 Tokyo, Japan
Triple jump Progression 18.29 m Jonathan Edwards Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom August 7, 1995 Göteborg, Sweden
Shot put Progression 23.12 m Randy Barnes Flag of the United States United States May 20, 1990 Westwood, USA
Discus 74.08 m Jürgen Schult Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany June 6, 1986 Neubrandenburg, Germany
Hammer 86.74 m Yuriy Sedykh Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union August 30, 1986 Stuttgart, Germany
Javelin 98.48 m
(Current design)
Jan Železný Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic May 25, 1996 Jena, Germany
104.80 m
(old design)
Uwe Hohn Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany 20 July 1984 Berlin, Germany
Decathlon 9026 pts Roman Šebrle Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic 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)
20,000 m walk (track) 1:17:25.6 Bernardo Segura Flag of Mexico Mexico May 7, 1994 Bergen, Norway
20 km walk (road) Progression 1:16:43 Sergey Morozov Flag of Russia Russia June 8, 2008 Saransk, Russia
30000 m walk (track) 2:01:44.1 Maurizio Damilano Flag of Italy Italy October 3, 1992 Cuneo, Italy
50000 m walk (track) 3:40:57.9 Thierry Toutain Flag of France France September 29, 1996 Héricourt, France
50 km walk (road) Progression 3:34:14 Denis Nizhegorodov Flag of Russia Russia May 11, 2008 Cheboksary, Russia
4x100 m relay 37.40 s Mike Marsh,
Leroy Burrell,
Dennis Mitchell,
Carl Lewis
Flag of the United States United States August 8, 1992 Barcelona, Spain
Jon Drummond,
Andre Cason,
Dennis Mitchell,
Leroy Burrell
Flag of the United States United States August 21, 1993 Stuttgart, Germany
4x200 relay 1:18.68 Mike Marsh,
Leroy Burrell,
Floyd Heard,
Carl Lewis
Flag of the United States United States April 17, 1994 Walnut, USA
4x400 m relay 2:54.20 Jerome Young,
Antonio Pettigrew,
Tyree Washington,
Michael Johnson
Flag of the United States United States July 22, 1998 New York City, USA
4x800 m relay 7:02.43 Joseph Mutua,
William Yiampoy,
Ismael Kombich,
Wilfred Bungei
Flag of Kenya Kenya August 25, 2006 Brussels, Belgium
4x1500 relay 14:38.8 Thomas Wessinghage,
Harald Hudak,
Michael Lederer,
Karl Fleschen
Flag of West Germany West Germany August 17, 1977 Cologne, Germany

[edit] Women

Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Place
100 m Progression 10.49 s Florence Griffith Joyner Flag of the United States United States July 16, 1988 Indianapolis, USA
200 m 21.34 s Florence Griffith Joyner Flag of the United States United States September 29, 1988 Seoul, S. Korea
400 m 47.60 Marita Koch Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany October 6, 1985 Canberra, Australia
800 m Progression 1:53.28 Jarmila Kratochvílová Flag of the Czech Republic Czechoslovakia July 26, 1983 Munich, Germany
1000 m 2:28.98 Svetlana Masterkova Flag of Russia Russia August 23, 1996 Brussels, Belgium
1500 m Progression 3:50.46 Qu Yunxia Flag of the People's Republic of China China September 11, 1993 Beijing, China
Mile Progression 4:12.56 Svetlana Masterkova Flag of Russia Russia August 14, 1996 Zürich, Switzerland
2000 m 5:25.36 Sonia O'Sullivan Flag of Ireland Ireland July 8, 1994 Edinburgh, Scotland
3000 m Progression 8:06.11 Wang Junxia Flag of the People's Republic of China China September 13, 1993 Beijing, China
Two miles 8:58.58 Meseret Defar Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia September 14, 2007 Brussels, Belgium
5000 m 14:11.15 Tirunesh Dibaba Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia June 6, 2008 Oslo, Norway
10,000 m 29:31.78 Wang Junxia Flag of the People's Republic of China China September 8, 1993 Beijing, China
10 kilometres (road) 30:21 Paula Radcliffe Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom February 23, 2003 San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
15 kilometres (road) 46:55 Kayoko Fukushi Flag of Japan Japan February 5, 2006 Marugame, Japan
One hour 18.517 km Dire Tune Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia June 12, 2008 Ostrava, Czech Republic
20,000 m 1:05:26.6 Tegla Loroupe Flag of Kenya Kenya September 3, 2000 Borgholzhausen, Germany
20 kilometres (road) 1:02:57 Lornah Kiplagat Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands October 14, 2007 Udine, Italy
Half Marathon (road) 1:06:25 Lornah Kiplagat Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands October 14, 2007 Udine, Italy
25,000 m 1:27:05.9 Tegla Loroupe Flag of Kenya Kenya September 21, 2002 Mengerskirchen, Germany
25 kilometres (road) 1:22:13 Mizuki Noguchi Flag of Japan Japan September 25, 2005 Berlin, Germany
30,000 m 1:45:50.0 Tegla Loroupe Flag of Kenya Kenya June 7, 2003 Warstein, Germany
30 kilometres (road) 1:38:49 Mizuki Noguchi Flag of Japan Japan September 25, 2005 Berlin, Germany
Marathon Progression 2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom April 13, 2003 London, England, UK
100 kilometres (road) 6:33:11 Tomoe Abe Flag of Japan Japan June 25, 2000 Tokoro, Japan
3000 m
steeplechase
9:01.59 Gulnara Samitova, Flag of Russia Russia July 4, 2004 Heraklion, Greece
100 m hurdles 12.21 s Yordanka Donkova Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria August 20, 1988 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
400 m hurdles 52.34 s Yuliya Pechonkina Flag of Russia Russia August 8, 2003 Tula, Russia
High jump Progression 2.09 m Stefka Kostadinova Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria August 30, 1987 Rome, Italy
Pole vault Progression 5.01 m Yelena Isinbayeva Flag of Russia Russia August 12, 2005 Helsinki, Finland
Long jump 7.52 m Galina Chistyakova Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union June 11, 1988 Leningrad, USSR
Triple jump Progression 15.50 Inessa Kravets Flag of Ukraine Ukraine August 10, 1995 Göteborg, Sweden
Shot put Progression 22.63 Natalya Lisovskaya Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union June 7, 1987 Moscow, USSR
Discus 76.80 Gabriele Reinsch Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany July 9, 1988 Neubrandenburg, Germany
Hammer throw 77.80 m[1] Tatyana Lysenko Flag of Russia Russia August 15, 2006 Tallinn, Estonia
Javelin[2] 71.70 m
(Current design)
Osleidys Menéndez Flag of Cuba Cuba August 14, 2005 Helsinki, Finland
80.00 m
(old design)
Petra Felke Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany September 9, 1988 Potsdam, Germany
Heptathlon 7291 pts Jackie Joyner-Kersee Flag of the United States United States September 24, 1988 Seoul, S. Korea
12.69 s (100 m hurdles), 1.86 m (high jump), 15.80 m (shot put), 22.56 s (200 m), 7.27 m (long jump), 45.66 m (javelin), 2:08.51 (800 m)
Decathlon 8358 pts Austra Skujytė Flag of Lithuania Lithuania 14 April 2005
15 April 2005
Columbia, 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 Flag of Ireland Ireland July 13, 2002 Dublin, Ireland
10000 m walk (track) 41:56.23 Nadezhda Ryashkina Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union July 24, 1990 Seattle, USA
10000 m walk (road) Progression 41:04 Yelena Nikolayeva Flag of Russia Russia April 20, 1996 Sochi, Russia
20000 m walk (track) 1:26:52.3 Olimpiada Ivanova Flag of Russia Russia September 6, 2001 Brisbane, Australia
20 km walk (road) Progression 1:25:11 Olga Kaniskina Flag of Russia Russia February 23, 2008 Adler, Russia
4x100 m relay 41.37 Silke Gladisch,
Sabine Rieger,
Ingrid Auerswald,
Marlies Göhr
Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany October 6, 1985 Canberra, Australia
4x200 m relay 1:27.46 LaTasha Jenkins,
LaTasha Colander-Richardson,
Nanceen Perry,
Marion Jones
Flag of the United States United States April 29, 2000 Philadelphia, USA
4x400 m relay 3:15.17 Tatyana Ledovskaya,
Olga Nazarova,
Mariya Pinigina,
Olga Bryzgina
Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union October 1, 1988 Seoul, S. Korea
4x800 m relay 7:50.17 Nadezhda Olizarenko,
Lyubov Gurina,
Lyudmila Borisova,
Irina Podyalovskaya
Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union August 5, 1984 Moscow, USSR

[edit] Indoor world records

[edit] Men

Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Place
50 m 5.56 s Donovan Bailey Flag of Canada Canada February 9, 1996 Reno, USA
60 m 6.39 s Maurice Greene Flag of the United States United States February 3, 1998
March 3, 2001
Madrid, Spain
Atlanta, USA
200 m 19.92 s Frankie Fredericks Flag of Namibia Namibia 18 February 1996 Liévin, France
400 m 44.57 s Kerron Clement Flag of the United States United States 12 March 2005 Fayetteville, USA
800 m 1:42.67 Wilson Kipketer Flag of Denmark Denmark 9 March 1997 Paris-Bercy, France
1000 m 2:14.96 Wilson Kipketer Flag of Denmark Denmark 20 February 2000 Birmingham, England
1500 m 3:31.18 Hicham El Guerrouj Flag of Morocco Morocco 2 February 1997 Stuttgart, Germany
Mile 3:48.45 Hicham El Guerrouj Flag of Morocco Morocco 12 February 1997 Ghent, Belgium
2000 m 4:49.99 Kenenisa Bekele Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia 17 February 2007 Birmingham, England
3000 m 7:24.90 Daniel Komen Flag of Kenya Kenya 6 February 1998 Budapest, Hungary
Two miles 8:04.35 Kenenisa Bekele Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia 16 February 2008 Birmingham, England
5000 m 12:49.60 Kenenisa Bekele Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia 20 February 2004 Birmingham, England
50 m hurdles 6.25 s Mark McKoy Flag of Canada Canada 5 March 1986 Kobe, Japan
60 m hurdles 7.30 s Colin Jackson Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 6 March 1994 Sindelfingen, Germany
High jump 2.43 m Javier Sotomayor Flag of Cuba Cuba 4 March 1989 Budapest, Hungary
Pole vault 6.15 m Sergei Bubka Flag of Ukraine Ukraine 21 February 1993 Donetsk, Ukraine
Long jump 8.79 m Carl Lewis Flag of the United States United States 27 January 1984 New York City, USA
Triple jump 17.83 m Aliecer Urrutia
Christian Olsson
Flag of Cuba Cuba
Flag of Sweden Sweden
1 March 1997
7 March 2004
Sindelfingen, Germany
Budapest, Hungary
Shot put 22.66 m Randy Barnes Flag of the United States United States 20 January 1989 Los Angeles, USA
Heptathlon 6476 pts Dan O'Brien Flag of the United States United States 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), 7.85 (60 m hurdle)
5000 m walk (track) 18:07.08 Mikhail Shchennikov Flag of Russia Russia 14 February 1995 Moscow, Russia
4x200 m relay 1:22.11 Linford Christie,
Darren Braithwaite,
Ade Mafe,
John Regis
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 3 March 1991 Glasgow, Scotland
4x400 m relay 3:02.83 Andre Morris,
Dameon Johnson,
Deon Minor,
Milton Campbell
Flag of the United States United States 7 March 1999 Maebashi, Japan
4x800 m relay 7:13.94 (Global Athletics & Marketing)
Joey Woody,
Karl Paranya,
Rich Kenah,
David Krummenacker
- 6 February 2000 Boston, USA

[edit] Women

Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Place
50 m 5.96 s Irina Privalova Flag of Russia Russia February 9, 1995 Madrid, Spain
60 m 6.92 s Irina Privalova Flag of Russia Russia February 11, 1993
February 9, 1995
Madrid, Spain
Madrid, Spain
200 m 21.87 s Merlene Ottey Flag of Jamaica Jamaica 13 February 1993 Liévin, France
400 m 49.59 s Jarmila Kratochvílová Flag of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia 7 March 1982 Milan, Italy
800 m 1:55.82 Jolanda Čeplak Flag of Slovenia Slovenia 3 March 2002 Vienna, Austria
1000 m 2:30.94 Maria Mutola Flag of Mozambique Mozambique 25 February 1999 Stockholm, Sweden
1500 m 3:57.71 Yelena Soboleva Flag of Russia Russia 9 March 2008 Valencia, Spain
Mile 4:17.14 Doina Melinte Flag of Romania Romania 9 February 1990 East Rutherford, USA
3000 m 8:23.72 Meseret Defar Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia 3 February 2007 Stuttgart, Germany
5000 m 14:27.42 Tirunesh Dibaba Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia 27 January 2007 Boston, USA
50 m hurdles 6.58 s Cornelia Oschkenat Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany 20 February 1988 Berlin, Germany
60 m hurdles 7.68 s Susanna Kallur Flag of Sweden Sweden 10 February 2008 Karlsruhe, Germany
High jump 2.08 m Kajsa Bergqvist Flag of Sweden Sweden 4 February 2006 Arnstadt, Germany
Pole vault 4.95 m Yelena Isinbayeva Flag of Russia Russia 16 February 2008 Donetsk, Ukraine
Long jump 7.37 m Heike Drechsler Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany 13 February 1988 Vienna, Austria
Triple jump 15.36 m Tatyana Lebedeva Flag of Russia Russia 6 March 2004 Budapest, Hungary
Shot put 22.50 m Helena Fibingerová Flag of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia 19 February 1977 Jablonec, Czechoslovakia
Pentathlon 4991 pts Irina Belova  Unified Team 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 Flag of Romania Romania 30 January 1999 Bucharest, Romania
4x200 m relay 1:32.41 Yekaterina Kondratyeva,
Irina Khabarova,
Yuliya Pechonkina,
Yuliya Gushchina
Flag of Russia Russia 29 January 2005 Glasgow, Scotland
4x400 m relay 3:23.37 Yuliya Gushchina,
Olga Kotlyarova,
Olga Zaytseva,
Olesya Krasnomovets
Flag of Russia Russia 28 January 2006 Glasgow, Scotland
4x800 m relay 8:14.53 Yevgeniya Zinurova,
Olga Kotlyarova ,
Marina Savinova,
Natalya Ignatova
Flag of Russia Russia 10 February 2008 Moscow, Russia

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Received a 2 year suspension (15.7.2007 - 14.7.2009) and disqualification of all results from 9.5.2007 including her World Record set on May 26, 2007 (78.61)
  2. ^ 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