List of Olympic records in athletics

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]

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

Some Olympic records have been broken but later rescinded by the IOC.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]

  No longer contested at the Summer Olympics

Men's records

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Usain Bolt currently holds three Olympic records; two individually in the 100m & 200m, and one with the Jamaican 4 × 100 m relay team.
 
Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele holds the Olympic record in the 5,000 m.

♦ denotes a performance that is also a current world record. Statistics are correct as of August 5, 2024.

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 3:27.65  Cole Hocker   United States (USA) 2024 Paris August 6, 2024 [13]
5,000 metres 12:57.82  Kenenisa Bekele   Ethiopia (ETH) 2008 Beijing August 23, 2008 [14]
10,000 metres 26:43.14 Joshua Cheptegei   Uganda (UGA) 2024 Paris August 2, 2024 [15][16]
Marathon 2:06:26  Tamirat Tola   Ethiopia (ETH) 2024 Paris August 10, 2024 [17]
110 metres hurdles 12.91  Liu Xiang   China (CHN) 2004 Athens August 27, 2004 [18]
400 metres hurdles ♦45.94  Karsten Warholm   Norway (NOR) 2020 Tokyo August 3, 2021 [19]
3,000 m steeplechase 8:03.28  Conseslus Kipruto   Kenya (KEN) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 17, 2016 [20]
4×100 m relay ♦36.84  Nesta Carter
Michael Frater
Yohan Blake
Usain Bolt
  Jamaica (JAM) 2012 London August 11, 2012 [21]
4×400 m relay 2:54.43  Christopher Bailey
Vernon Norwood
Bryce Deadmon
Rai Benjamin
  United States (USA) 2024 Paris August 10, 2024 [22]
20 km walk 1:18:46  Chen Ding   China (CHN) 2012 London August 4, 2012 [23]
50 km walk 3:36:53  Jared Tallent   Australia (AUS) 2012 London August 11, 2012 [24]
High jump 2.39 m  Charles Austin   United States (USA) 1996 Atlanta July 28, 1996 [25]
Long jump 8.90 m  Bob Beamon   United States (USA) 1968 Mexico City October 18, 1968 [6]
Pole vault 6.25 m  Armand Duplantis   Sweden (SWE) 2024 Paris August 5, 2024 [26]
Triple jump 18.09 m  Kenny Harrison   United States (USA) 1996 Atlanta July 27, 1996 [27]
Shot put 23.30 m  Ryan Crouser   United States (USA) 2020 Tokyo August 5, 2021 [28]
Discus throw 70.00 m  Rojé Stona   Jamaica (JAM) 2024 Paris August 7, 2024 [29]
Hammer throw 84.80 m  Sergey Litvinov   Soviet Union (URS) 1988 Seoul September 26, 1988 [30]
Javelin throw 92.97 m  Arshad Nadeem   Pakistan (PAK) 2024 Paris August 8, 2024 [31]
Decathlon 9018 pts  Damian Warner   Canada (CAN) 2020 Tokyo August 5, 2021 [32]

Women's records

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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 August 9, 2024.

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 [33]
200 metres ♦21.34  Florence Griffith Joyner   United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 29, 1988 [34][35]
400 metres 48.17  Marileidy Paulino   Dominican Republic (DOM) 2024 Paris August 9, 2024 [36]
800 metres 1:53.43  Nadezhda Olizarenko   Soviet Union (URS) 1980 Moscow July 27, 1980 [37]
1,500 metres 3:51.29  Faith Kipyegon   Kenya (KEN) 2024 Paris August 10, 2024 [38]
5,000 metres 14:26.17  Vivian Cheruiyot   Kenya (KEN) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 19, 2016 [39]
10,000 metres 29:17.45  Almaz Ayana   Ethiopia (ETH) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 12, 2016 [40]
Marathon 2:22:55  Sifan Hassan   Netherlands (NED) 2024 Paris August 11, 2024 [41]
100 metres hurdles 12.26 Jasmine Camacho-Quinn   Puerto Rico (PUR) 2020 Tokyo August 1, 2021 [42]
400 metres hurdles ♦50.37 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone   United States (USA) 2024 Paris August 8, 2024 [43]
3,000 m steeplechase 8:52.76  Winfred Yavi   Bahrain (BRN) 2024 Paris August 6, 2024 [44]
4 × 100 m relay ♦40.82  Tianna Madison
Allyson Felix
Bianca Knight
Carmelita Jeter
  United States (USA) 2012 London August 10, 2012 [45]
4 × 400 m relay ♦3:15.17  Tatyana Ledovskaya
Olga Nazarova
Mariya Pinigina
Olga Bryzgina
  Soviet Union (URS) 1988 Seoul October 1, 1988 [46]
20 km walk 1:25:16  Qieyang Shijie   China (CHN) 2012 London August 11, 2012 [47]
High jump 2.06 m  Yelena Slesarenko   Russia (RUS) 2004 Athens August 28, 2004 [25]
Long jump 7.40 m  Jackie Joyner-Kersee   United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 29, 1988 [48]
Pole vault 5.05 m  Yelena Isinbayeva   Russia (RUS) 2008 Beijing August 18, 2008 [49][50]
Triple jump 15.67 m  Yulimar Rojas   Venezuela (VEN) 2020 Tokyo August 1, 2021 [51]
Shot put 22.41 m  Ilona Slupianek   East Germany (GDR) 1980 Moscow July 24, 1980 [52]
Discus throw 72.30 m  Martina Hellmann   East Germany (GDR) 1988 Seoul September 29, 1988 [29]
Hammer throw 82.29 m  Anita Włodarczyk   Poland (POL) 2016 Rio de Janeiro August 15, 2016 [53]
Javelin throw 71.53 m  Osleidys Menéndez   Cuba (CUB) 2004 Athens August 27, 2004 [37]
Heptathlon ♦7291 pts  Jackie Joyner-Kersee   United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 24, 1988 [37]

Mixed records

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♦ denotes a performance that is also a current world record. Statistics are correct as of August 7, 2024.

List of mixed Olympic records in athletics
Event Record Athlete(s) Nation Games Date Ref(s)
4 × 400 m relay ♦3:07.41  Vernon Norwood
Shamier Little
Bryce Deadmon
Kaylyn Brown
  United States (USA) 2024 Paris August 2, 2024 [54]

Combined event bests

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The International Olympic Committee maintains a list of the best Olympic results in each decathlon and heptathlon discipline.[55]

List of men's Olympic decathlon bests
Event Record Athlete(s) Nation Games Date Ref(s)
100 metres 10.12  Damian Warner   Canada (CAN) 2020 Tokyo August 3, 2021 [55]
Long jump 8.24 m  Damian Warner   Canada (CAN) 2020 Tokyo August 3, 2021 [55]
Shot put 16.97 m  Michael Smith   Canada (CAN) 1996 Atlanta July 30, 1996 [55]
High jump 2.27 m  Christian Schenk   East Germany (GDR) 1988 Seoul September 27, 1988 [55]
400 metres 45.68  Bill Toomey   United States (USA) 1968 Mexico City October 17, 1968 [55]
110 metre hurdles 13.46  Damian Warner   Canada (CAN) 2020 Tokyo August 4, 2021 [55]
Discus throw 53.91 m  Lindon Victor   Grenada (GRN) 2024 Paris August 3, 2024 [56]
Pole vault 5.70 m  Tim Bright   United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 28, 1988 [55]
Javelin throw 77.78 m  Niklas Kaul   Germany (GER) 2024 Paris August 3, 2024 [57]
1500 metres 4:05.90  Leonid Lytvynenko   Soviet Union (URS) 1972 Munich September 8, 1972 [58]
List of women's Olympic heptathlon bests
Event Record Athlete(s) Nation Games Date Ref(s)
100 metre hurdles 12.54  Jessica Ennis-Hill   Great Britain (GBR) 2012 London August 2, 2012 [55]
High jump 1.98 m  Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Nafissatou Thiam
  Great Britain (GBR)
  Belgium (BEL)
2016 Rio de Janeiro August 11, 2016 [55]
Shot put 17.31 m  Austra Skujyte   Lithuania (LTU) 2012 London August 2, 2012 [55]
200 metres 22.56  Jackie Joyner-Kersee   United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 22, 1988 [55]
Long jump 7.27 m  Jackie Joyner-Kersee   United States (USA) 1988 Seoul September 23, 1988 [55]
Javelin throw 56.96 m  Sofia Ifantidou   Greece (GRE) 2012 London August 3, 2012 [55]
800 metres 2:03.60  Olga Nemogayeva   Soviet Union (URS) 1980 Moscow[a] July 23, 1980 [55]
  1. ^ Before 1984, women competed in the pentathlon instead of the heptathlon.

See also

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References

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