List of Olympic records in athletics

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Athletics records in the Summer Olympic Games have been recorded since 1896.

The modern Summer Olympic Games have been held every four years since the first Games in 1896 (except 1916 due to the First World War, 1940 and 1944 due to the Second World War, and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and Olympic records are recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in each event. The athletics events, which take place at each Games, are divided into four groups: track events (including sprints, middle- and long-distance running, hurdling and relays), field events (including javelin, discus, hammer, pole vault, long and triple jumps), road events (such as walks and the marathon) and combined events (the heptathlon and the decathlon).[1] Women compete in 23 athletics events during the Games,[2] and men compete in 24; while 21 of the events are the same for both men and women, men exclusively compete in the 50 km walk, the women's combined event is the heptathlon while the men compete in the decathlon, and the short distance hurdles for women is contested over 100 m, ten metres shorter than the men's event.[1]

Some Olympic records have been broken but later rescinded by the IOC. In 1988, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson broke the Olympic and World record in the 100 metres sprint, but was subsequently disqualified after it was discovered that he had used anabolic steroids to enhance his performance. His record was expunged and the gold medal was instead awarded to original silver medalist American Carl Lewis.[3] Hungarian athlete Róbert Fazekas broke the Olympic record in the men's discus in 2004 but was later stripped of both his gold medal and the record after it was deemed that he had "committed an anti-doping rule violation".[4][5]

The longest standing modern Olympic athletics record is Bob Beamon's achievement in the men's long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics.[6] The jump, at 8.90 m (29 ft 2 in), also broke the existing world record by 55 cm (22 in), and stood as the world record for 23 years until Beamon's compatriot, Mike Powell, jumped farther in the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo.[7]

Note, only those events currently competed for and recognised by the IOC as Summer Olympic events are listed.[8]

Men's records[]

Usain Bolt in a yellow running vest and green shorts just completing a race
Usain Bolt currently holds three Olympics records, two individually and one with the Jamaican 4 × 100m relay team.
Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele holds the Olympic record in both the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m.

♦ denotes a performance that is also a current world record. Statistics are correct as of August 3, 2021.

List of men's Olympic records in athletics
Event Record Athlete(s) Nation Games Date Ref(s)
100 metres 9.63  Usain Bolt  Jamaica (JAM) 2012 London August 5, 2012 [9]
200 metres 19.30  Usain Bolt  Jamaica (JAM) 2008 Beijing August 20, 2008 [10]
400 metres ♦43.03  Wayde van Niekerk  South Africa (RSA) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 14, 2016 [11]
800 metres ♦1:40.91  David Rudisha  Kenya (KEN) 2012 London August 9, 2012 [12]
1,500 metres 3:28.32  Jakob Ingebrigtsen  Norway (NOR) 2020 Tokyo August 7, 2021 [13]
5,000 metres 12:57.82  Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia (ETH) 2008 Beijing August 23, 2008 [14]
10,000 metres 27:01.17  Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia (ETH) 2008 Beijing August 17, 2008 [15]
Marathon 2:06:32  Samuel Wanjiru  Kenya (KEN) 2008 Beijing August 24, 2008 [16]
110 metres hurdles 12.91  Liu Xiang  China (CHN) 2004 Athens August 27, 2004 [17]
400 metres hurdles ♦45.94  Karsten Warholm  Norway (NOR) 2020 Tokyo August 3, 2021 [18]
3,000 m steeplechase 8:03.28  Conseslus Kipruto  Kenya (KEN) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 17, 2016 [19]
4×100 m relay ♦36.84  Nesta Carter
Michael Frater
Yohan Blake
Usain Bolt 		 Jamaica (JAM) 2012 London August 11, 2012 [20]
4×400 m relay 2:55.39  LaShawn Merritt
Angelo Taylor
David Neville
Jeremy Wariner 		 United States (USA) 2008 Beijing August 23, 2008 [21]
20 km walk 1:18:46  Chen Ding  China (CHN) 2012 London August 4, 2012 [22]
50 km walk 3:36:53  Jared Tallent  Australia (AUS) 2012 London August 11, 2012 [23]
High jump 2.39 m  Charles Austin  United States (USA) 1996 Atlanta July 28, 1996 [24]
Long jump 8.90 m  Bob Beamon  United States (USA) 1968 Mexico City October 18, 1968 [6]
Pole vault 6.03 m  Thiago Braz  Brazil (BRA) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 15, 2016 [25]
Triple jump 18.09 m  Kenny Harrison  United States (USA) 1996 Atlanta July 27, 1996 [26]
Shot put 23.30 m  Ryan Crouser  United States (USA) 2020 Tokyo August 5, 2021 [27]
Discus throw 69.89 m  Virgilijus Alekna  Lithuania (LTU) 2004 Athens August 23, 2004 [28]
Hammer throw 84.80 m  Sergey Litvinov  Soviet Union (URS) 1988 Seoul September 26, 1988 [29]
Javelin throw 90.57 m  Andreas Thorkildsen  Norway (NOR) 2008 Beijing August 23, 2008 [30]
Decathlon 9018 pts  Damian Warner  Canada (CAN) 2020 Tokyo August 5, 2021 [31]

Women's records[]

Marie-José Pérec of France holds the record for the 400 metres, set at the Atlanta games in 1996.
Russian athlete Yelena Isinbayeva set the Olympic record in the pole vault in Beijing in 2008.

♦ denotes a performance that is also a current world record. Statistics are correct as of July 31, 2021.

List of women's Olympic records in athletics
Event Record Athlete(s) Nation Games Date Ref(s)
100 metres 10.61  Elaine Thompson Herah  Jamaica (JAM) 2020 Tokyo July 31, 2021 [32]
200 metres ♦21.34  Florence Griffith Joyner  United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 29, 1988 [33][34]
400 metres 48.25  Marie-José Pérec  France (FRA) 1996 Atlanta July 29, 1996 [35]
800 metres 1:53.43  Nadezhda Olizarenko  Soviet Union (URS) 1980 Moscow July 27, 1980 [35]
1,500 metres 3:53.11  Faith Kipyegon  Kenya (KEN) 2020 Tokyo August 6, 2021 [36]
5,000 metres 14:26.17  Vivian Cheruiyot  Kenya (KEN) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 19, 2016 [37]
10,000 metres 29:17.45  Almaz Ayana  Ethiopia (ETH) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 12, 2016 [38]
Marathon 2:23:07  Tiki Gelana  Ethiopia (ETH) 2012 London August 5, 2012 [35]
100 metres hurdles 12.26 Jasmine Camacho-Quinn  Puerto Rico (PUR) 2020 Tokyo August 1, 2021 [39]
400 metres hurdles ♦51.46 Sydney McLaughlin  United States (USA) 2020 Tokyo August 4, 2021 [40]
3,000 m steeplechase 8:58.81  Gulnara Galkina-Samitova  Russia (RUS) 2008 Beijing August 17, 2008 [41]
4×100 m relay ♦40.82  Tianna Madison
Allyson Felix
Bianca Knight
Carmelita Jeter 		 United States (USA) 2012 London August 10, 2012 [42]
4×400 m relay ♦3:15.17  Tatyana Ledovskaya
Olga Nazarova
Mariya Pinigina
Olga Bryzgina 		 Soviet Union (URS) 1988 Seoul October 1, 1988 [43]
20 km walk 1:25:02  Elena Lashmanova  Russia (RUS) 2012 London August 11, 2012 [44]
High jump 2.06 m  Yelena Slesarenko  Russia (RUS) 2004 Athens August 28, 2004 [24]
Long jump 7.40 m  Jackie Joyner-Kersee  United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 29, 1988 [45]
Pole vault 5.05 m  Yelena Isinbayeva  Russia (RUS) 2008 Beijing August 18, 2008 [41][46]
Triple jump ♦15.67 m  Yulimar Rojas  Venezuela (VEN) 2020 Tokyo August 1, 2021 [47]
Shot put 22.41 m  Ilona Slupianek  East Germany (GDR) 1980 Moscow July 24, 1980 [48]
Discus throw 72.30 m  Martina Hellmann  East Germany (GDR) 1988 Seoul September 29, 1988 [28]
Hammer throw 82.29 m  Anita Włodarczyk  Poland (POL) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 15, 2016 [49]
Javelin throw 71.53 m  Osleidys Menéndez  Cuba (CUB) 2004 Athens August 27, 2004 [35]
Heptathlon ♦7291 pts  Jackie Joyner-Kersee  United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 24, 1988 [35]

Mixed records[]

List of mixed Olympic records in athletics
Event Record Athlete(s) Nation Games Date Ref(s)
4×400 m relay 3:09.87  Karol Zalewski
Natalia Kaczmarek
Justyna Święty-Ersetic
Kajetan Duszyński 		 Poland (POL) 2020 Tokyo July 31, 2021 [50]

See also[]

  • List of world records in athletics

References[]

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