Usain Bolt doing his signature post at the 2016 Golden Spike Ostrava- Photo by: Prof. Airnel T. Abarra
World Records - Mens
World Records are those officially ratified by the IAAF. We have also listed the statistically best-acceptable marks in other non-ratified events that are “frequently” contested (+).
If the ratified WR is altitude-aided—i.e., made at an altitude over 1000 meters in an event where the thinner air has a positive effect—we sub-list the unofficial best.
(A) = altitude over 1000 meters
i = indoors
m = meters
M = miles
p = mark pending ratification
(r) = road
y = yards
| Track Events | ||||
| 100 | 9.58 | Usain Bolt (Jamaica) | Berlin, Germany | 8/16/09 |
| 150+ | 14.35 | Usain Bolt (Jamaica) | Manchester, England | 5/17/09 |
| 200 | 19.19 | Usain Bolt (Jamaica) | Berlin, Germany | 8/20/09 |
| 300+ | 30.85(A) | Michael Johnson (US) | Pretoria, South Africa | 3/24/00 |
| [low-alt WR+ 30.81p Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) Ostrava, Czech Republic 6/28/17] | ||||
| 400 | 43.03 | Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 8/14/16 |
| 600+ | 1:12.81 | Johnny Gray (US) | Santa Monica, California | 5/24/86 |
| 800 | 1:40.91 | David Rudisha (Kenya) | London, England | 8/09/12 |
| 1000 | 2:11.96 | Noah Ngeny (Kenya) | Rieti, Italy | 9/05/99 |
| 1500 | 3:26.00 | Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) | Rome, Italy | 7/14/98 |
| Mile | 3:43.13 | Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) | Rome, Italy | 7/07/99 |
| 2000 | 4:44.79 | Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) | Berlin, Germany | 9/07/99 |
| Steeple | 7:53.63 | Saïf Shaheen (Qatar) | Brussels, Belgium | 9/03/04 |
| 2000St+ | 5:10.86 | Mahiedine Mekhissi (France) | Reims, France | 6/30/10 |
| 3000 | 7:20.67 | Daniel Komen (Kenya) | Rieti, Italy | 9/01/96 |
| 2 Miles+ | 7:58.61 | Daniel Komen (Kenya) | Hechtel, Belgium | 7/19/97 |
| 5000 | 12:37.35 | Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) | Hengelo, Holland | 5/31/04 |
| 10,000 | 26:17.53 | Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) | Brussels, Belgium | 8/26/05 |
| 20,000 | 56:26.0 | Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 6/27/07 |
| Hour | 21,285m (13M,383y) | Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 6/27/07 |
| 25,000 | 1:12:25.4 | Moses Mosop (Kenya) | Eugene, Oregon | 6/03/11 |
| 30,000 | 1:26:47.4 | Moses Mosop (Kenya) | Eugene, Oregon | 6/03/11 |
| 110 Hurdles | 12.80 | Aries Merritt (US) | Brussels, Belgium | 9/07/12 |
| 400 Hurdles | 46.78 | Kevin Young (US) | Barcelona, Spain | 8/06/92 |
| Relay Events | ||||
| 4 x 100 | 36.84 | Jamaica | London, England | 8/11/12 |
| (Nesta Carter 10.1, Michael Frater 8.9, Yohan Blake 9.0, Usain Bolt 8.8) | ||||
| 4 x 200 | 1:18.63 | Jamaica | Nassau, Bahamas | 5/24/14 |
| (Nickel Ashmeade, Warren Weir, Jermaine Brown 19.6, Yohan Blake 19.4) | ||||
| 4 x 400 | 2:54.29 | United States | Stuttgart, Germany | 8/22/93 |
| (Andrew Valmon 44.5, Quincy Watts 43.6, Butch Reynolds 43.23, Michael Johnson 42.94) | ||||
| 4 x 800 | 7:02.43 | Kenya | Brussels, Belgium | 8/25/06 |
| (Joseph Mutua 1:46.73, William Yiampoy 1:44.38, Ismael Kombich 1:45.92, Wilfred Bungei 1:45.40) | ||||
| 4 x 1500 | 14:22.22 | Kenya | Nassau, Bahamas | 5/25/14 |
| (Collins Cheboi 3:38.6 Silas Kiplagat 3:32.5, James Magut 3:38.8, Asbel Kiprop 3:32.3) | ||||
| 4 x Mile+ | 15:49.08 | Ireland | Dublin, Ireland | 8/17/85 |
| (Eamonn Coghlan 4:00.2, Marcus O’Sullivan 3:55.3, Frank O’Mara 3:56.6, Ray Flynn 3:56.98) | ||||
| Sprint Medley+ | 3:10.76 | Santa Monica TC (US) | Tempe, Arizona | 4/06/85 |
| (Carl Lewis 20.3, Ferran Tyler 20.1, Benny Hollis 47.1, Johnny Gray 1:43.3) | ||||
| Distance Medley | 9:15.50 | United States | Nassau, Bahamas | 5/03/15 |
| (Kyle Merber 2:53.56, Brycen Spratling 45.95, Brandon Johnson 1:44.75, Ben Blankenship 3:51.24) | ||||
| 4 x 110H+ | 52.94 | Team USA Blue Drake | Des Moines, Iowa | 4/25/15 |
| (Jason Richardson, Aleec Harris, Aries Merritt, David Oliver) | ||||
| Field Events | ||||
| High Jump | 2.45 | 8-½ | Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) | Salamanca, Spain | 7/27/93 |
| Pole Vault | 6.16 | 20-2½i | Renaud Lavillenie (France) | Donets’k, Ukraine | 2/15/14 |
| Long Jump | 8.95 | 29-4½ | Mike Powell (US) | Tokyo, Japan | 8/30/91 |
| Triple Jump | 18.29 | 60-¼ | Jonathan Edwards (Great Britain) | Göteborg, Sweden | 8/07/95 |
| Shot | 23.12 | 75-10¼ | Randy Barnes (US) | Westwood, California | 5/20/90 |
| [note: Barnes tested positive for steroids later in the year; in keeping with its standard policy, T&FN does not carry any of his ’90 marks on its all-time lists] | ||||
| [best non-Barnes mark: 23.06 | 75-8 Ulf Timmermann (East Germany) Chanía, Crete 5/22/88] | ||||
| Discus | 74.08 | 243-0 | Jürgen Schult (East Germany) | Neubrandenburg, Germany | 6/06/86 |
| Hammer | 86.74 | 284-7 | Yuriy Syedikh (Soviet Union) | Stuttgart, Germany | 8/30/86 |
| Javelin | 98.48 | 323-1 | Jan Železný (Czech Republic) | Jena, Germany | 5/25/96 |
| Multi Event | ||||
| Decathlon | 9045 | Ashton Eaton (US) | Beijing, China | 8/28-29/15 |
| (10.23, 25-10¼/7.88, 47-7¾/14.52, 6-7/2.01, 45.00 [4703], 13.69, 142-2/43.34, 17-¾/5.20, 208-9/63.63, 4:17.52 [4342]) | ||||
| Road Events | ||||
| 10K | 26:44 | Leonard Komon (Kenya) | Utrecht, Holland | 9/26/10 |
| 15K | 41:13 | Leonard Komon (Kenya) | Ra’s al Khaymah, United Arab Emirates | 11/21/10 |
| 20K | 55:21 | Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) | Lisbon, Portugal | 3/21/10 |
| ½-Mar | 58:23 | Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) | Lisbon, Portugal | 03/21/10 |
| 25K | 1:11:18 | Dennis Kimetto (Kenya) | Berlin, Germany | 5/06/12 |
| 30K | 1:27:13 | Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) | London, England | 4/24/16 |
| 1:27:13 | Stanley Biwott (Kenya) | London, England | 4/24/16 | |
| Marathon | 2:02.57 | Dennis Kimetto (Kenya) | Berlin, Germany | 9/28/14 |
| 100K | 6:13:33 | Takahiro Sunada (Japan) | Lake Saroma, Japan | 6/21/98 |
| Ekiden Relay | 1:57:06 | Kenya | Chiba, Japan | 11/17/05 |
| (Josphat Muchiri 13:24, Martin Mathathi 27:12, Daniel Mwangi 13:59, | ||||
| Mekubo Mogusu 27:56, Onesmus Nyerre 14:36, John Kariuki 19:59) | ||||
| Walk Events | ||||
| 20,000 | 1:17:25.6 | Bernardo Segura (Mexico) | Bergen, Norway | 5/07/94 |
| 20K(r) | 1:16:36 | Yusuke Suzuki (Japan) | Nomi, Japan | 3/15/15 |
| 30,000 | 2:01:44.1 | Maurizio Damilano (Italy) | Cuneo, Italy | 10/03/92 |
| 50,000 | 3:35:27.2 | Yohann Diniz (France) | Reims, France | 3/12/11 |
| 50K(r) | 3:32:33 | Yohann Diniz (France) | Zürich, Switzerland | 8/15/14 |
World Records—Women
World Records are those officially ratified by the IAAF. We have also listed the statistically best-acceptable marks in other non-ratified events that are “frequently” contested (+).
If the ratified WR is altitude-aided—i.e., made at an altitude over 1000 meters in an event where the thinner air has a positive effect—we sub-list the unofficial best.
(A) = altitude over 1000 meters
m = meters
M = miles
p = mark pending ratification
(r) = road
y = yards
| Track Events | ||||
| 100 | 10.49 | Florence Griffith Joyner (US) | Indianapolis, Indiana | 7/16/88 |
| [T&FN believes the 10.49 is illegally wind-aided and should never have been accepted as the WR] | ||||
| [We believe the “real” fastest is 10.61 Florence Griffith Joyner (US) Indianapolis, Indiana, 7/17/88] | ||||
| 200 | 21.34 | Florence Griffith Joyner (US) | Seoul, South Korea | 9/29/88 |
| 400 | 47.60 | Marita Koch (East Germany) | Canberra, Australia | 10/06/85 |
| 600+ | 1:22.63 | Ana Guevara (Mexico) | Guadalajara, Spain | 7/25/97 |
| 1:21.77p | Caster Semenya (South Africa) | Berlin, Germany | 8/27/17 | |
| 800 | 1:53.28 | Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czechoslovakia) | Munich, Germany | 7/26/83 |
| 1000 | 2:28.98 | Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) | Brussels, Belgium | 8/23/96 |
| 1500 | 3:50.07 | Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) | Fontvieille, Monaco | 7/17/15 |
| Mile | 4:12.56 | Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) | Zürich, Switzerland | 8/14/96 |
| 2000 | 5:25.36 | Sonia O’Sullivan (Ireland) | Edinburgh, Scotland | 7/08/94 |
| 5:23.75ip | Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) | Sabadell, Spain | 2/07/17 | |
| Steeple | 8:52.78 | Ruth Jebet (Bahrain) | St.-Denis, France | 8/27/16 |
| 3000 | 8:06.11 | Junxia Wang (China) | Beijing, China | 9/13/93 |
| [T&FN thinks the marks made in this meet are flawed and believes the “real” fastest should be listed as 8:16.60i Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) Stockholm, Sweden 2/06/14] | ||||
| 2 Miles+ | 8:58.58 | Meseret Defar (Ethiopia) | Brussels, Belgium | 9/14/07 |
| 5000 | 14:11.15 | Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) | Oslo, Norway | 6/06/08 |
| 10,000 | 29:17.45 | Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia) | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 8/12/16 |
| 20,000 | 1:05:26.6 | Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) | Borgholzhausen, Germany | 9/03/00 |
| Hour | 18,517m (11M,878y) | Dire Tune (Ethiopia) | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 6/12/08 |
| 25,000 | 1:27:05.9 | Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) | Mengerskirchen, Germany | 9/02/02 |
| 30,000 | 1:45:50.0 | Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) | Warstein, Germany | 6/06/03 |
| 100 Hurdles | 12.20 | Keni Harrison (US) | London, England | 7/22/16 |
| 400 Hurdles | 52.34 | Yuliya Pechonkina (Russia) | Tula, Russia | 8/08/03 |
| Relay Events | ||||
| 4 x 100 | 40.82 | United States | London, England | 8/11/12 |
| (Tianna Bartoletta 11.0, Allyson Felix 9.9, Bianca Knight 10.9, Carmelita Jeter 9.9) | ||||
| 4 x 200 | 1:27.46 | United States | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 4/29/00 |
| (LaTasha Jenkins, LaTasha Colander-Richardson, Nanceen Perry, Marion Jones) | ||||
| 4 x 400 | 3:15.17 | Soviet Union | Seoul, South Korea | 10/01/88 |
| (Tatyana Ledovskaya 50.12, Olga Nazarova 47.82, Maria Pinigina 49.43, Olga Bryzgina 47.80) | ||||
| 4 x 800 | 7:50.17 | Soviet Union | Moscow, Russia | 8/05/84 |
| (Nadezhda Olizarenko, Lyubov Gurina, Lyudmila Borisova, Irina Podyalovskaya) | ||||
| 4 x 1500 | 16:33.58 | Kenya | Nassau, Bahamas | 5/24/14 |
| (Mercy Cherono 4:07.5, Faith Kipyegon 4:08.5, Irene Jelagat 4:10.5, Hellen Obiri 4:07.1) | ||||
| 800Med | 1:35.59p | Team USA Red Penn | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 4/29/17 |
| (Morolake Akinosun, English Gardner, Dezerea Bryant, Miki Barber 50.90) | ||||
| Sprint Medley+ | 3:34.56 | Jamaica | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 4/25/09 |
| (Sherri-Ann Brooks, Rosemarie Whyte, Moya Thompson 51.7, Kenia Sinclair 1:57.43) | ||||
| Distance Medley | 10:36.50 | United States | Nassau, Bahamas | 5/02/15 |
| (Treniere Moser 3:18.38, Sanya Richards-Ross 50.12, Ajee’ Wilson 2:00.08, Shannon Rowbury 4:27.92) | ||||
| 4 x 100H+ | 50.50 | Team USA Blue Drake | Des Moines, Iowa | 4/24/15 |
| (Brianna Rollins, Dawn Harper Nelson, Queen Harrison, Kristi Castlin) | ||||
| Field Events | ||||
| High Jump | 2.09 | 6-10¼ | Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) | Rome, Italy | 8/30/87 |
| Pole Vault | 5.06 | 16-7¼ | Yelena Isinbaeva (Russia) | Zürich, Switzerland | 8/28/09 |
| Long Jump | 7.52 | 24-8¼ | Galina Chistyakova (Soviet Union) | St. Petersburg, Russia | 6/11/88 |
| Triple Jump | 15.50 | 50-10¼ | Inessa Kravets (Ukraine) | Göteborg, Sweden | 8/10/95 |
| Shot | 22.63 | 74-3 | Natalya Lisovskaya (Soviet Union) | Moscow, Russia | 6/07/87 |
| Discus | 76.80 | 252-0 | Gabriele Reinsch (East Germany) | Neubrandenburg, Germany | 7/09/88 |
| Hammer | 82.98 | 272-3 | Anita Włodarczyk (Poland) | Warsaw, Poland | 8/28/16 |
| Javelin | 72.28 | 237-2 | Barbora Špotáková (Czech Republic) | Stuttgart, Germany | 9/13/08 |
| Multi Event | ||||
| Heptathlon | 7291 | Jackie Joyner-Kersee (US) | Seoul, South Korea | 9/23–24/88 |
| (12.69, 1.86/6-1¼, 15.80/51-10, 22.56 [4264], | ||||
| 7.27/23-10¼, 45.66/149-10, 2:08.51 [3027]) | ||||
| Decathlon | 8358 | Austra Skujytė (Lithuania) | Columbia, Missouri | 4/14-15/05 |
| (12.49, 46.19/151-6, 3.10/10-2, 48.78/160-0, 57.19 [3890], | ||||
| 4.22w, 6.12/20-1w, 16.42/53-10½, 1.78/5-10, 5:15.86 [4468]) | ||||
| Road Events | ||||
| 10K | 30:21 | Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain) | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 2/23/03 |
| 30:04p | Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) | Prague, Czech Republic | 4/01/17 | |
| 15K | 46:14 | Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) | Barcelona, Spain | 2/15/15 |
| 45:37p | Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) | Prague, Czech Republic | 4/01/17 | |
| 20K | 61:54 | Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) | Barcelona, Spain | 2/15/15 |
| 61:25p | Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) | Prague, Czech Republic | 4/01/17 | |
| ½-Marathon | 65:09 | Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) | Barcelona, Spain | 2/15/15 |
| 65:06p | Peres Jepchirchir (Kenya) | Ra’s al Khaymah, United Arab Emirates | 2/10/17 | |
| 64:52p | Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) | Prague, Czech Republic | 4/01/17 | |
| 25K | 1:19:53 | Mary Keitany (Kenya) | Berlin, Germany | 5/09/10 |
| 30K | 1:38:49 | Mizuki Noguchi (Japan) | Berlin, Germany | 9/25/05 |
| Marathon | 2:15:25 | Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain) | London, England | 4/13/03 |
| 100K | 6:33:11 | Tomoe Abe (Japan) | Lake Saroma, Japan | 5/25/00 |
| Ekiden Relay | 2:11:41 | China | Beijing, China | 2/28/98 |
| (Bo Jiang 15:42, Yanmei Dong 31:36, Fenting Zhao 15:16, | ||||
| Zaijie Ma 31:01, Lixin Lan 15:50, Xa Lin 22:16) | ||||
| Walk Events | ||||
| 10,000 | 41:56.23 | Nadezhda Ryashkina (SU) | Seattle, Washington | 7/24/90 |
| 10K(r) | 41:04 | Yelena Nikolayeva (Russia) | Sochi, Russia | 4/20/96 |
| 20,000 | 1:26:52.3 | Olimpiada Ivanova (Russia) | Brisbane, Australia | 9/06/01 |
| 20K(r) | 1:24:38 | Hong Liu (China) | La Coruña, Spain | 6/06/15 |
| 50K(r) | 4:08:26p | Inês Henriques (Portugal) | Porto de Mós, Portugal | 1/15/17 |
| 4:05:56p | Inês Henriques (Portugal) | London, England | 8/13/17 | |
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