Athletics: All track and field world records at a glance ahead of 2022 World Championships
Below is a selection of official world records in athletics that could be broken at theWorld Athletics Championships 2022 in Oregon.
Athletics
Did you know that the oldest track athletics world record is the women’s 800m held by Jarmila Kratochvilova from 1983?
How about one of the longest-standing marks in the field, that belongs to German discuss thrower Jurgen Schult from 1986?
The most recent world record breaker is Sydney Mclaughlin from her 400m hurdles run at the U.S. Athletics Trials.
Ahead of the 2022 World Athletics Championships, we take a look at world records for the track and field events that will be on offer in Oregon, USA.
Who ran the fastest 100m in history?
The fastest man in history is Usain Bolt. The Jamaican became the first man to run the men's 100m in less than 9.6 seconds with his 9.58 second effort at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. The track legend, who dominated the sprints for about 15 years, also owns the 200m world record of 19.19 from the same event.
Another double world record holder is Florence Griffith-Joyner. The American's times of 10.49s in the women’s 100m and 21.34s in 200m have stood since 1988.
READ MORE: Usain Bolt’s records: best strikes from the Lightning Bolt
Who are the fastest 400m runners?
Running from lane eight, Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa won the Olympic 400m gold medal at the Rio 2016 Games in 43.03s, lowering a 17-year-old world record.
Germany's Marita Koch held 16 outdoor world records during her career. The only one that still stands is her 400m mark of 47.60s set in October 1985.
Who holds the 800m world records?
The longest-standing track world record is the women’s 800m set by Jarmila Kratochvilova, competing then for Czechoslovakia in 1983.
Today, only one athlete in Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo has come within a second of that 1:53.28 world record from Munich.
Kenyan David Rudisha led from break to lower his 800m world record to 1:40.91 at the 2012 London Olympics.
Who is the fastest 1500m runner ever?
The current world record-holder for the men’s 1500m is Hicham El Guerrouj. The Moroccan, who broke six world records in his career, ran a breath-taking race Rome in 1999 to set the new mark of 3:26.00.
Genzebe Dibaba’s extraordinary 3:50.07 in the women's 1500m in Monaco in 2015, earned her the title of world record holder.
The Ethiopian lowered Qu Yunxia’s time of 3:50.46 from 1993, which was considered one of the most difficult track world records to break at that time.
Who holds the 5000m and 10,000m world records?
These are among the newest world records in distance running. Joshua Cheptegei became the first man to complete the 5000m in less than 12 minutes 37 seconds in August 2020.
The Ugandan lowered Kenenisa Bekele's 5000m mark to 12:35.36 in Monaco.
Three months later, he smashed another of Bekele’s world record by six seconds with his 10,000m time of 26:11.00.
On the same day in October 2020 in Valencia, his NN Running teammate Letesenbet Gidey added a second world record to her name with her 14:06.62 in the women’s 5000m.
She also shattered the women’s 10,000m world record just two days after Sifan Hassan had a lowered it to 29:06.32. Gidey, the world record holder over the half marathon too, set the new mark of 29:01.03 at the Ethiopian Olympics Trials in Hengelo in June 2021.
What is the current 3000m steeplechase world record?
The fastest 3000m steeplechaser in history is Saif Saaeed Shaheen. The Kenyan-born Qatari lowered the world record by 1.65 seconds to 7:53.63 in Brussels, September 2004.
Beatrice Chepkoech holds the women’s world record of 8:44.32 from Monaco, July 2018, an event Kenyan athletes have dominated at the Olympics and the World Championships.
Who holds the world record for 110m hurdles?
American Aries Merritt holds the world record of 12.80 seconds, from his incredible run at the Diamond League final in Brussels in 2012.
Who’s the fastest in the women’s 100m hurdles?
The world record set by Kendra Harrison stands at 12.20 seconds. The American broke the 28-year-old world record in the 100m hurdles in London in 2016.
Who has the 400m hurdles world record?
The world records in the men and women’s 400m hurdles have all been broken twice within the last year.
USA’s Sydney Mclaughlin improved her own world record to 51.41 seconds (pending ratification) at the 2022 U.S. Trials in June in Eugene.
Karsten Warholm of Norway dashed to the world record of 45.94 at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, bettering his own mark that only lasted a couple of days.
What is the highest pole vault?
The current pole vault world record achieved by Armand Duplantis is 6.20m, set at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March 2022.
Yelena Isinbaeva’s mark of 5.06m from August 2009 still stands as the women’s pole vault world record.
Who are the world record holders in the long jump?
Former Soviet Union athlete Galina Chistyakova’s leap of 7.52m is still the best ever in the women’s long jump, while American Mike Powell’s 8.95m mark from August 1991 is the men’s long jump world record.
What is the current triple jump world record?
Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela improved her own world record for the triple jump to 15.74m at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in March.
The current world record holder in the men’s triple jump is Great Britain’s Jonathan Edwards with his leap of 18.29m from August 1995 standing the test of time.
What is the record high jump in history?
Cuban Javier Sotomayor’s exceptional jump of 2.45m from July 1993 still stands as the men’s high jump world record, while the women’s world record held by Bulgaria’s Stefka Kostadinova of 2.09m from August 1987 remains unbroken.
What is the farthest javelin throw ever?
On 25 May 1996, Czech Republic's Jan Zelezny threw the javelin 94.48m to set the current world record.
His compatriot Barbora Spotakova is the women’s javelin world record holder with her 72.28m heave from September 2008.
Who holds the record in discuss throw?
Germany’s Jurgen Schult and Gabriel Reinsch hold the world records in discuss.
Schult has held the world record of 74.08m in the men discuss throw since June 1986, while Reinsch’s mark of 76.80 from July 1988 still stands.
What’s the world record for the hammer throw?
The current men’s world record in hammer throw is held by Yuri Sedykh of the former Soviet Union at 86.74m from his August 1986 throw, while Polish star Anita Wlodarczyk holds the women’s record of 82.98 from August 2016.
Who are the shot put world record holders?
The most dominant male shot putter in recent times Ryan Crouser broke a world record that was older than him. Crouser’s throw of 23.37m eclipsed the over 30-year-old of 23.12 at the 2021 U.S Trials in Eugene.
Natalya Lisovskaya from the former Soviet Union holds the oldest world record in the women’s field events. She set three world records during her career and her 22.63 m from June 1987 still stands.
What are the current world records in the combined events?
Kevin Mayer of France set the world record for the decathlon of 9126 points in September 2018.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee holds the 33-year-old world record for the heptathlon of 7291 points from Seoul 1988 Olympics.
What is the fastest time for 4x100m relay?
The Jamaican team holds the world record of 36.84 from London 2012 Olympics, while the current women’s world record stands at 40.82 set by Team USA at the same Games.
What is the fastest 4x400m relay time in history?
The United States also hold the men’s 4x400m relay record of 2:54.29 from their August 1993 run, while the former Soviet Union team set the women’s mark of 3:15.17 at Seoul 1988.
What is the fastest marathon time?
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge set the official world record for men of 2:01.39 in September 2018, while compatriot Mary Keitany, who ran 2:17.01 at the 2017 London marathon, is the fastest women only marathon.
READ MORE: Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge to race the 2022 Berlin Marathon in September