List of world records in athletics

Usain Bolt (right) en-route to a world record in the 200 metres

Jürgen Schult beside the indication of his new discus world record, 1986

East German women controversially set many world records in the 1970s and 1980s. World record holder Marita Koch maintains her innocence, although released government files detail her drug usage.^[1]

World records in the sport of athletics are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking.

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.

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. In road events, the course must be accurately measured, by a certified measurer.
• Except in road events (road running and race walking), the performance must be set in a single-sex race.^[2]
• 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 running events up to 200m in distance and in horizontal 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 running events up to 800m in distance, 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 have previously been the sites of records in the sprint and jump events. See 1968 in athletics to see how altitude once affected world records. Because of the affect of altitude, records set at high altitude venues are marked with an "A" though that does not disqualify it as a record. Under those circumstances, a "sea level" best is also tracked by statisticians. Long distance races run at altitude, with less oxygen available to the athlete, have shown to be to the athlete's disadvantage. Remarkable distance races run at altitude are also noted with the A. Currently the only standing record set at altitude is Sergey Bubka's Pole Vault. Based on the circumstances of his records (discussed below), the altitude was not a major factor.
• In road events, the course is not required to be a circuit, but must not have too great a downhill gradient.

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 Sergey 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 problem does not arise, since it is practically impossible to deliberately break a record by a small margin.

Outdoor world records

Prior to 2000, separate records were recorded for outdoor and indoor events. In 2000, IAAF rule 260.18a (formerly 260.6a) was amended, so now it states that "world records" (as opposed to "indoor world records") can be set in a facility "with or without roof". This rule was not applied retroactively^[3], so for example, Sergey Bubka's pole vault World Indoor record of 6.15 m is not considered to be a World record, because it was set before 2000, although it would be considered a World record had it been set after 2000. It is the only Indoor record which is greater than the World record (6.15 Indoor world record by Sergey Bubka, versus 6.14 World record by Sergey Bubka). All current World records were set outdoors.

Men

Key:       Awaiting ratification

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref	Video
100 m Progression	9.58 (+0.9 m/s)	Usain Bolt	Jamaica	16 August 2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	[4]	[2]
200 m Progression	19.19 (-0.3 m/s)	Usain Bolt	Jamaica	20 August 2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	[4]	[3]
400 m Progression	43.18	Michael Johnson	United States	26 August 1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain		[4]
800 m Progression	1:41.01	David Rudisha	Kenya	29 August 2010	Rieti Meeting	Rieti, Italy	[5][6]	[5]
1000 m	2:11.96	Noah Ngeny	Kenya	5 September 1999	Rieti Meeting	Rieti, Italy		[6]
1500 m Progression	3:26.00	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	14 July 1998	Golden Gala	Rome, Italy		[7]
Mile Progression	3:43.13	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	7 July 1999	Golden Gala	Rome, Italy		[8]
2000 m	4:44.79	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	7 September 1999	ISTAF	Berlin, Germany		[9]
3000 m Progression	7:20.67	Daniel Komen	Kenya	1 September 1996	Rieti Meeting	Rieti, Italy		[10]
5000 m Progression	12:37.35	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	31 May 2004	Fanny Blankers-Koen Games	Hengelo, Netherlands
10000 m Progression	26:17.53	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	26 August 2005	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium		[11]
10 km (road)	27:01	Micah Kogo	Kenya	29 March 2009	Parelloop	Brunssum, Netherlands		[12]
15 km (road)	41:29	Felix Limo	Kenya	11 November 2001	Zevenheuvelenloop	Nijmegen, Netherlands
	41:29+	Deriba Merga	Ethiopia	20 February 2009	Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon	Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
20000 m (track)	56:26.0+	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	27 June 2007	Golden Spike Ostrava	Ostrava, Czech Republic	[7]	[13]
20 km (road)	55:21+	Zersenay Tadese	Eritrea	21 March 2010	Lisbon Half Marathon	Lisbon, Portugal	[8]	[14]
Half marathon	58:23	Zersenay Tadese	Eritrea	21 March 2010	Lisbon Half Marathon	Lisbon, Portugal	[9]	[15]
One hour	21285 m	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	27 June 2007	Golden Spike Ostrava	Ostrava, Czech Republic	[10]	[16]
25000 m (track)	1:13:55.8+	Toshihiko Seko	Japan	22 March 1981		Christchurch, New Zealand
25 km (road)	1:11:50	Samuel Kosgei	Kenya	9 May 2010	BIG 25	Berlin, Germany	[11]
30000 m (track)	1:29:18.8	Toshihiko Seko	Japan	22 March 1981		Christchurch, New Zealand
30 km (road)	1:27:49+	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	20 September 2009	Berlin Marathon	Berlin, Germany	[12]
Marathon Progression	2:03:59	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	28 September 2008	Berlin Marathon	Berlin, Germany		[17]
100 km (road)	6:13:33	Takahiro Sunada	Japan	21 June 1998		Yūbetsu, Japan
3000 m steeplechase	7:53.63	Saif Saaeed Shaheen	Qatar	3 September 2004	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium
110 m hurdles Progression	12.87 (+0.9 m/s)	Dayron Robles	Cuba	12 June 2008	Golden Spike Ostrava	Ostrava, Czech Republic	[13]	[18]
400 m hurdles Progression	46.78	Kevin Young	United States	6 August 1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain		[19]
High jump Progression	2.45 m	Javier Sotomayor	Cuba	27 July 1993		Salamanca, Spain		[20]
Pole vault Progression	6.14 m A	Sergey Bubka	Ukraine	31 July 1994		Sestriere, Italy		[21]
Long jump Progression	8.95 m (+0.3 m/s)	Mike Powell	United States	30 August 1991	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan		[22]
Triple jump Progression	18.29 m (+1.3 m/s)	Jonathan Edwards	United Kingdom	7 August 1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden		[23]
Shot put Progression	23.12 m	Randy Barnes	United States	20 May 1990		Westwood, United States		[24]
Discus throw	74.08 m	Jürgen Schult	East Germany	6 June 1986		Neubrandenburg, East Germany		[25]
Hammer throw Progression	86.74 m	Yuriy Sedykh	Soviet Union	30 August 1986	European Championships	Stuttgart, Germany		[26]
Javelin Progression	98.48 m (Current design)	Jan Železný	Czech Republic	25 May 1996		Jena, Germany		[27]
	104.80 m (old design)	Uwe Hohn	East Germany	20 July 1984		East Berlin, East Germany		[28]
Decathlon Progression	9026 pts	Roman Šebrle	Czech Republic	26-27 May 2001	Hypo-Meeting	Götzis, Austria
	10.64 (0.0 m/s) (100 m), 8.11 m (long jump), 15.33 m (shot put), 2.12 m (high jump), 47.79 (400 m), 13.92 (110 m hurdles), 47.92 m (discus), 4.80 m (pole vault), 70.16 m (javelin), 4:21.98 min (1500 m)							[29]
10000 m walk (track)	37:53:09	Francisco Javier Fernández	Spain	27 July 2008		Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
20000 m walk (track)	1:17:25.6	Bernardo Segura	Mexico	7 May 1994		Bergen, Norway
20 km walk (road) Progression	1:17:16	Vladimir Kanaykin	Russia	29 September 2007		Saransk, Russia
2 hours walk (track)	29572 m +	Maurizio Damilano	Italy	3 October 1992		Cuneo, Italy
30000 m walk (track)	2:01:44.1	Maurizio Damilano	Italy	3 October 1992		Cuneo, Italy
50000 m walk (track)	3:40:57.9	Thierry Toutain	France	29 September 1996		Héricourt, France
50 km walk (road) Progression	3:34:14	Denis Nizhegorodov	Russia	11 May 2008	World Race Walking Cup	Cheboksary, Russia		[30][31]
4x100 m relay Progression	37.10	Nesta Carter Michael Frater Usain Bolt Asafa Powell	Jamaica	22 August 2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, PR China	[14]	[32]
4x200 m relay	1:18.68	Santa Monica Track Club Michael Marsh Leroy Burrell Floyd Heard Carl Lewis	United States	17 April 1994	Mt. SAC Relays	Walnut, United States
4x400 m relay Progression	2:54.29	Andrew Valmon Quincy Watts Butch Reynolds Michael Johnson	United States	22 August 1993	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany		[33]
4x800 m relay	7:02.43	Joseph Mutua William Yiampoy Ismael Kombich Wilfred Bungei	Kenya	25 August 2006	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium
4x1500 m relay	14:36.23	William Biwott Tanui Gideon Gathimba Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono Augustine Kiprono Choge	Kenya	4 September 2009	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium		[34]
Marathon road relay (Ekiden)	1:57:06	Josephat Ndambiri Martin Mathathi Daniel Mwangi Mekubo Mogusu Onesmus Nyerere John Kariuki	Kenya	23 November 2005	Chiba Ekiden	Chiba, Japan

Women

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref	Video
100 m Progression	10.49 (0.0 m/s)	Florence Griffith Joyner	United States	16 July 1988	US Olympic Trials	Indianapolis, United States		[35]
200 m Progression	21.34 (+1.3 m/s)	Florence Griffith Joyner	United States	29 September 1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea		[36]
400 m Progression	47.60	Marita Koch	East Germany	6 October 1985	World Cup	Canberra, Australia		[37]
800 m Progression	1:53.28	Jarmila Kratochvílová	Czechoslovakia	26 July 1983		Munich, Germany
1000 m	2:28.98	Svetlana Masterkova	Russia	23 August 1996	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium
1500 m Progression	3:50.46	Qu Yunxia	China	11 September 1993	Chinese National Games	Beijing, PR China		[38]
Mile Progression	4:12.56	Svetlana Masterkova	Russia	14 August 1996	Weltklasse Zürich	Zürich, Switzerland
2000 m	5:25.36	Sonia O'Sullivan	Ireland	8 July 1994		Edinburgh, United Kingdom
3000 m Progression	8:06.11	Wang Junxia	China	13 September 1993	Chinese National Games	Beijing, PR China
5000 m Progression	14:11.15	Tirunesh Dibaba	Ethiopia	6 June 2008	Bislett Games	Oslo, Norway		[39]
10000 m Progression	29:31.78	Wang Junxia	China	8 September 1993	Chinese National Games	Beijing, PR China		[40]
10 km (road)	30:21	Paula Radcliffe	United Kingdom	23 February 2003		San Juan, Puerto Rico
15 km (road)	46:28	Tirunesh Dibaba	Ethiopia	15 November 2009	Zevenheuvelenloop	Nijmegen, Netherlands	[16]
One hour	18517 m	Dire Tune	Ethiopia	12 June 2008	Golden Spike Ostrava	Ostrava, Czech Republic		[41]
20000 m (track)	1:05:26.6	Tegla Loroupe	Kenya	3 September 2000		Borgholzhausen, Germany
20 km (road)	1:02:57	Lornah Kiplagat	Netherlands	14 October 2007		Udine, Italy		[42]
Half marathon	1:06:25	Lornah Kiplagat	Netherlands	14 October 2007		Udine, Italy		[43]
25000 m (track)	1:27:05.9	Tegla Loroupe	Kenya	21 September 2002		Mengerskirchen, Germany
25 km (road)	1:19:53	Mary Keitany	Kenya	9 May 2010	BIG 25	Berlin, Germany	[17]
30000 m	1:45:50.0	Tegla Loroupe	Kenya	7 June 2003		Warstein, Germany
30 km (road)	1:38:49	Mizuki Noguchi	Japan	25 November 2005		Berlin, Germany
Marathon Progression	2:15:25	Paula Radcliffe	United Kingdom	13 April 2003	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom
100 km (road)	6:33:11	Tomoe Abe	Japan	25 June 2000		Tokoro, Japan
3000 m steeplechase	8:58.81	Gulnara Samitova	Russia	17 August 2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, PR China	[18]	[44] [45]
100 m hurdles Progression	12.21 (+0.7 m/s)	Yordanka Donkova	Bulgaria	20 August 1988		Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
400 m hurdles Progression	52.34	Yuliya Pechonkina	Russia	8 August 2003		Tula, Russia
High jump Progression	2.09 m	Stefka Kostadinova	Bulgaria	30 August 1987	World Championships	Rome, Italy		[46]
Pole vault Progression	5.06 m	Yelena Isinbayeva	Russia	28 August 2009	Weltklasse Zürich	Zürich, Switzerland		[47]
Long jump	7.52 m (+1.4 m/s)	Galina Chistyakova	Soviet Union	11 June 1988		Leningrad, USSR		[48]
Triple jump Progression	15.50 m (+0.9 m/s)	Inessa Kravets	Ukraine	10 August 1995	World Championships	Göteborg, Sweden		[49]
Shot put Progression	22.63 m	Natalya Lisovskaya	Soviet Union	7 June 1987		Moscow, Soviet Union
Discus throw	76.80 m	Gabriele Reinsch	East Germany	9 July 1988		Neubrandenburg, East Germany
Hammer throw	78.30 m	Anita Włodarczyk	Poland	6 June 2010	Enea Cup	Bydgoszcz, Poland	[19]
Javelin[20]	72.28 m (Current design)	Barbora Špotáková	Czech Republic	13 September 2008	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	[21]	[50]
	80.00 m (old design)	Petra Felke	East Germany	9 September 1988		Potsdam, East Germany
Heptathlon	7291 pts	Jackie Joyner-Kersee	United States	24 September 1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea
	12.69 (100 m hurdles), 1.86 m (high jump), 15.80 m (shot put), 22.56 (200 m), 7.27 m (long jump), 45.66 m (javelin), 2:08.51 (800 m)
Decathlon	8358 pts	Austra Skujytė	Lithuania	14-15 April 2005		Columbia, United States
	12.49 (100 m), 46.19 m (discus), 3.10 m (pole vault), 48.78 m (javelin), 57.19 (400 m), 14.22 (100 m hurdles), 6.12 m (long jump), 16.42 m (shot put), 1.78 m (high jump), 5:15.86 (1500 m)
10000 m walk (track)	41:56.23	Nadezhda Ryashkina	Soviet Union	24 July 1990		Seattle, United States
20000 m walk (track)	1:26:52.3	Olimpiada Ivanova	Russia	6 September 2001		Brisbane, Australia
20 km walk (road) Progression	1:25:41	Olimpiada Ivanova	Russia	7 August 2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland
4x100 m relay	41.37	Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr	East Germany	6 October 1985	World Cup	Canberra, Australia
4x200 m relay	1:27.46	LaTasha Jenkins, LaTasha Colander-Richardson, Nanceen Perry, Marion Jones	United States	29 April 2000	Penn Relays	Philadelphia, United States
4x400 m relay	3:15.17	Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, Olga Bryzgina	Soviet Union	1 October 1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea
4x800 m relay	7:50.17	Nadezhda Olizarenko, Lyubov Gurina, Lyudmila Borisova, Irina Podyalovskaya	Soviet Union	5 August 1984		Moscow, Soviet Union
Marathon road relay (Ekiden)	2:11:41	Jiang Bo Dong Yanmei Zhao Fengting Ma Zaijie Lan Lixin Lin Na	China	28 February 1998		Beijing, China

Indoor world records

Men

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref	Video
50 m	5.56 A	Donovan Bailey	Canada	9 February 1996		Reno, United States
60 m	6.39	Maurice Greene	United States	3 February 1998		Madrid, Spain
				3 March 2001		Atlanta, United States
200 m	19.92	Frankie Fredericks	Namibia	18 February 1996	Meeting Pas de Calais	Liévin, France
400 m	44.57	Kerron Clement	United States	12 March 2005	NCAA Indoor Championships	Fayetteville, United States
800 m	1:42.67	Wilson Kipketer	Denmark	9 March 1997	World Championships	Paris-Bercy, France
1000 m	2:14.96	Wilson Kipketer	Denmark	20 February 2000	AVIVA Indoor Grand Prix	Birmingham, United Kingdom
1500 m	3:31.18	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	2 February 1997	Sparkassen Cup	Stuttgart, Germany
Mile	3:48.45	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	12 February 1997	Indoor Flanders Meeting	Ghent, Belgium
3000 m	7:24.90	Daniel Komen	Kenya	6 February 1998		Budapest, Hungary
5000 m	12:49.60	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	20 February 2004	AVIVA Indoor Grand Prix	Birmingham, United Kingdom
50 m hurdles	6.25	Mark McKoy	Canada	5 March 1986		Kobe, Japan
60 m hurdles	7.30	Colin Jackson	United Kingdom	6 March 1994		Sindelfingen, Germany
High jump	2.43 m	Javier Sotomayor	Cuba	4 March 1989	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary
Pole vault	6.15 m	Sergey Bubka	Ukraine	21 February 1993		Donetsk, Ukraine
Long jump	8.79 m	Carl Lewis	United States	27 January 1984	Millrose Games	New York City, United States
Triple jump	17.90 m	Teddy Tamgho	France	14 March 2010	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	[22]
Shot put	22.66 m	Randy Barnes	United States	20 January 1989		Los Angeles, United States
Heptathlon	6499 pts	Ashton Eaton	United States	13 March 2010	NCAA Indoor Championships	Fayetteville, United States	[23]
	6.71 (60 m), 7.73 m (long jump), 13.12 m (shot put), 2.11 m (high jump), 7.77 (60 m hurdles), 5.10 m (pole vault), 2:32.67 (1000 m)
5000 m walk	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	United Kingdom	3 March 1991		Glasgow, United Kingdom
4x400 m relay	3:02.83	Andre Morris Dameon Johnson Deon Minor Milton Campbell	United States	7 March 1999	World Championships	Maebashi, Japan	[24]
4x800 m relay	7:13.94	Global Athletics & Marketing Joey Woody Karl Paranya Rich Kenah David Krummenacker	United States	6 February 2000	Boston Indoor Games	Roxbury, United States

Women

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref	Video
50 m	5.96+	Irina Privalova	Russia	9 February 1995		Madrid, Spain
60 m	6.92	Irina Privalova	Russia	11 February 1993 February 9, 1995		Madrid, Spain Madrid, Spain
200 m	21.87	Merlene Ottey	Jamaica	13 February 1993	Meeting Pas de Calais	Liévin, France
400 m	49.59	Jarmila Kratochvílová	Czechoslovakia	7 March 1982		Milan, Italy
800 m	1:55.82	Jolanda Čeplak	Slovenia	3 March 2002	European Championships	Vienna, Austria
1000 m	2:30.94	Maria Mutola	Mozambique	25 February 1999	GE Galan	Stockholm, Sweden
1500 m	3:58.28	Yelena Soboleva	Russia	18 February 2006		Moscow, Russia
Mile	4:17.14	Doina Melinte	Romania	9 February 1990		East Rutherford, United States
3000 m	8:23.72	Meseret Defar	Ethiopia	3 February 2007	Sparkassen Cup	Stuttgart, Germany
5000 m	14:24.37	Meseret Defar	Ethiopia	18 February 2009	GE Galan	Stockholm, Sweden
50 m hurdles	6.58	Cornelia Oschkenat	East Germany	20 February 1988		East Berlin, East Germany
60 m hurdles	7.68	Susanna Kallur	Sweden	10 February 2008	BW-Bank Meeting	Karlsruhe, Germany
High jump	2.08 m	Kajsa Bergqvist	Sweden	4 February 2006	Hochsprung mit Musik	Arnstadt, Germany
Pole vault	5.00 m	Yelena Isinbayeva	Russia	15 February 2009	Pole Vault Stars Meeting	Donetsk, Ukraine
Long jump	7.37 m	Heike Drechsler	East Germany	13 February 1988		Vienna, Austria
Triple jump	15.36 m	Tatyana Lebedeva	Russia	6 March 2004	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	[25]
Shot put	22.50 m	Helena Fibingerová	Czechoslovakia	19 February 1977		Jablonec, Czechoslovakia
Pentathlon	4991 pts	Irina Belova	Unified Team	15 February 1992		Berlin, Germany
	8.22 (60 m hurdles), 1.93 m (high jump), 13.25 m (shot put), 6.67 m (long jump), 2:10.26 (800 m)
3000 m walk	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	Aviva International Match	Glasgow, United Kingdom
4x400 m relay	3:23.37	Yuliya Gushchina Olga Kotlyarova Olga Zaytseva Olesya Krasnomovets	Russia	28 January 2006	Aviva International Match	Glasgow, United Kingdom
4x800 m relay	8:12.41	Tatyana Andrianova Oksana Spasovhodskaja Yelena Kofanova Yvgeniya Zinurova	Russia	28 February 2010	Russian Indoor Championships	Moscow, Russia	[26]

+ = in route to longer distance

Best performances in non-IAAF World Record events

Events which do not qualify for IAAF-ratified world records are typically referred to as world bests. While very common in the first half of 20th century, a large number of races over distances by imperial measurements became rare occurrences and the IAAF removed all imperial measured events from its world record lists in 1976 – with the sole exception being the mile run (which remains common due to its historical prominence in track and field).

Some road racing distances and indoor variations of outdoor events fall outside of IAAF's lists. Records set in uncommon events usually do not adhere to the strict criteria found in IAAF-ratifiable events. One example is the 150 metres record, which was set by Usain Bolt on a specially-made straight track, while previous performances (such as the Bailey–Johnson 150-metre race) were completed on a traditional circuit which included a partial bend in the track.

The 40 yard dash – a standard acceleration evaluation for American Football players – does not fall within the usual criteria of athletics racing events. In most 40 yard dashes, reaction times are not recorded as timing starts only once the player is in motion. Furthermore the standards for timing a "football 40" are so lax and inconsistent that a real world record cannot be claimed. Performances are hand-timed and calculated to 1/100th of a second, although studies show human beings simply cannot react consistently or accurately enough for this to be a valid method. Even those using light beams are timed by the motion of the athlete, still removing the normal factor of reaction time. All these factors make track and "football 40" performances incomparable. The world best time for a "football 40" is 4.17 by Deion Sanders. The extrapolated best for an Olympic level athlete, including reacting to a starting gun currently is by Maurice Greene at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics with a time of 4.24^[27][28].

Outdoor events

Men

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref	Video
50 m	5.53+ (+0.2 m/s)	Bruny Surin	Canada	22 August 1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain
60 m	6.38+ (+0.2 m/s)	Bruny Surin	Canada	22 August 1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain
100 y	9.0 ht	Ivory Crockett	United States	11 May 1974		Knoxville, United States	[29]
		Houston McTear	United States	9 May 1975		Winter Park, United States	[30]
	9.07+ (-0.5 m/s)	Asafa Powell	Jamaica	27 May 2010	Golden Spike Ostrava	Ostrava, Czech Republic	[31]
150 m straight	14.35 (+1.1 m/s)	Usain Bolt	Jamaica	17 May 2009	Manchester City Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	[32]	[51]
150 m bend	14.75+ (+0.8 m/s)	Tyson Gay	United States	30 August 2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan		[52]
200 m straight	19.41 (-0.4 m/s)	Tyson Gay	United States	16 May 2010	Manchester City Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	[33]	[53]
220 y straight	19.5 ht (+1,9 m/s)	Tommie Smith	United States	7 May 1966		San Jose, United States	[34]
	19.54 (-0.4 m/s)	Tyson Gay	United States	16 May 2010	Manchester City Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	[35]	[54]
300 m	30.85 A	Michael Johnson	United States	10 April 2000	Engen Grand Prix	Pretoria, South Africa	[36]
440 y	44.5	John Smith	United States	26 June 1971	USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships	Eugene, United States	[37][38][39]
500 m	1:00.08	Donato Sabia	Italy	26 May 1984		Busto Arsizio, Italy
600 m	1:12.81	Johnny Gray	United States	24 May 1986		Santa Monica, United States
Two miles	7:58.61	Daniel Komen	Kenya	17 July 1997		Hechtel-Eksel, Belgium
200 m Low Hurdles"Straight"	21.9 ht	Don Styron	United States	2 April 1960		Baton Rouge, United States	[40]
	22.30 (-0.7 m/s)	Andy Turner	United Kingdom	16 May 2010	Manchester City Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	[41]	[55]
220 y Low Hurdles"Straight"	21.9 ht	Don Styron	United States	2 April 1960		Baton Rouge, United States	[42][43]
300 m Hurdles	34.48	Chris Rawlinson	United Kingdom	30 June 2002		Sheffield, United Kingdom
2000 m steeplechase	5:10.68	Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad	France	30 June 2010	Alma Athlé Tour	Reims, France	[44]
35 lb Weight	25.41 m	Lance Deal	United States	20 February 1993		Azusa, United States

Women

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref	Video
100 y	10.10	Chi Cheng	Chinese Taipei	13 June 1970		United States Portland, United States	[45][46]
150 m	16.46 (-1.5 m/s)	Merlene Ottey	Jamaica	27 September 1989		Trapani, Italy	[47][48]
150 m straight	16.54 (+0.1 m/s)	Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie	Bahamas	17 May 2009	Manchester City Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	[49]	[56]
200 m straight	22.55 (0.2 m/s)	Allyson Felix	United States	16 May 2010	Manchester City Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	[50]	[57]
20 lb Weight	24.57 m	Brittany Riley	United States	27 January 2007

Indoor events

Men

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref	Video
50 y	5.15	Ben Johnson later disqualified	Canada	29 January 1988		Toronto, Canada	[51]
100 m	10.05	Frankie Fredericks	Namibia	12 February 1996		Tampere, Finland
150 m	15.53	Rytis Sakalauskas	Lithuania	11 February 2010	Botnia Games	Korsholm, Finland	[52][53]
300 m	31.88	Wallace Spearmon	United States	10 February 2006	Tyson Invitational	Fayetteville, United States	[54]
500 m	1:00.17	Ken Lowery	United States	16 January 1987		Indianapolis, United States
600 m	1:15.12	Nico Motchebon	Germany	28 February 1999		Sindelfingen, Germany
2000 m	4:49.99	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	17 February 2007	AVIVA Indoor Grand Prix	Birmingham, United Kingdom
Two miles	8:04.35	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	16 February 2008	AVIVA Indoor Grand Prix	Birmingham, United Kingdom
10000 m	27:50.29	Mark Bett	Kenya	10 February 2002	Indoor Flanders Meeting	Ghent, Belgium
2000 m steeplechase	5:17.04	Paul Kipsiele Koech	Kenya	14 February 2010	Indoor Flanders Meeting	Ghent, Belgium	[55]
3000 m steeplechase	8:17.46	Aleksandr Zagoruyko	Soviet Union	21 February 1982		Moscow, Soviet Union
110 m hurdles	13.34	Allen Johnson	United States	14 February 1995		Moscow, Russia
400 m hurdles	49.73	Felix Sanchez	Dominican Republic	6 February 2010	Meeting National Val-de-Reuil	Val-de-Reuil, France	[56][57]	[58]
Discus throw	69.51 m	Gerd Kanter	Estonia	22 March 2009	World Record Indoor Challenge	Växjö, Sweden	[58]	[59]
35 lb Weight	25.86 m	Lance Deal	United States	4 March 1995		Atlanta, United States
3000 m walk	10:31.42	Andreas Erm	Germany	4 February 2001		Halle, Germany

Women

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref	Video
100 m	11.15	Marita Koch	East Germany	12 January 1980		East Berlin, East Germany
300 m	35.45	Irina Privalova	Russia	17 January 1993		Moscow, Russia
500 m	1:06.31	Olesya Krasnomovets	Russia	7 January 2006		Yekaterinburg, Russia
600 m	1:23.44	Olga Kotlyarova	Russia	1 February 2004		Moscow, Russia
2000 m	5:30.53	Gabriela Szabo	Romania	8 March 1998		Sindelfingen, Germany
Two miles	9:06.26	Meseret Defar	Ethiopia	26 February 2009	Prague Indoor Meeting	Prague, Czech Republic	[59]
10000 m	32:44.97	Olga Michurina	Russia	23 December 1995		Saint Petersburg, Russia
3000 m steeplechase	9:07.0	Tatyana Petrova	Russia	17 February 2006		Moscow, Russia
	9:54.2[60]	Marcela Lustigova	Czech Republic	11 February 2010	Botnia Games	Korsholm, Finland	[61][62]
100 m hurdles	12.64	Ludmila Engquist	Sweden	10 February 1997		Tampere, Finland
400 m hurdles	58.68	Emma Millard	Finland	21 February 2009	Botnia Games	Korsholm, Finland
20 lb Weight	25.56 m	Brittany Riley	United States	10 March 2007	NCAA Indoor Championships	Fayetteville, United States
5000 m walk	20:37.77	Ryta Turava	Belarus	13 February 2005		Minsk, Belarus
10000 m walk	43:54.63	Yelena Ginko	Belarus	22 February 2008		Mogilev, Belarus
4x100 m relay	44.39	Anne-Kathrin Elbe Anne Möllinger Cathleen Tschirch Marion Wagner	Germany	31 January 2010	BW-Bank Meeting	Karlsruhe, Germany	[63]

ht = hand timing
+ = en route to a longer distance
A = affected by altitude

See also

• World junior records in athletics
• List of Olympic records in athletics
• List of World Championships in Athletics records
• Association of Track and Field Statisticians

Notes

External links

Statistics

• Records overview - IAAF
• Official world outdoor records - men - IAAF
• Official world outdoor records - women - IAAF
• Official world indoor records - men - IAAF
• Official world indoor records - women - IAAF
• World Record progression in athletics - athletix.org
• Track and Field all-time performances

• Masters Track & Field World Records

Rules

• Competition Rules 2009 - IAAF.org (PDF file, 1.4 MB)

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