WCH Oregon22: What are the world and championship records of each discipline?
As the World Athletics Championships approach, we plunge into the world and championship records of each discipline, in women, men and mixed events.
Athletes from all around the globe make their way to the World Athletics Championships every two years to race their place in their respective events.
For centuries, and till this day, the United States continues to be the consistent leader at the World Championships in both medals and records, but records have also been broken by competitors from all six continents. Only four athletes have set multiple records in athletics, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who holds records in the 100 and 200 meters as well as the 4 x 100 relay, and American Michael Johnson who holds individual and relay records in the 400 meters. Fellow American Jackie Joyner-Kersee broke both the heptathlon and long jump records and Czeck Jarmila Kratochvílová set the records in the 400 and 800 meters at the inaugural Championships back in 1983, which are the two oldest records of the Championships, and are still unbeaten.
In each one of the previous 17 World Championships records were broken except for these: 1997 in Athens, Greece, 2001 in Edmonton, Alberta, 2007 in Osaka, Japan, and 2013 in Moscow, Russia. And now with the first-ever World Athletics Outdoor Championships held in the U.S. July 15-24, track and field fans, including this writer here, expect to see a world record or two fall at Hayward Field.
Related:
Let’s dive into the world and championships records of each athletics discipline:
MEN’s
- 100 meters ― Usain Bolt, Jamaica, 9.58, 2009.
- 200 meters ― Usain Bolt, Jamaica, 19.19, 2009.
- 400 meters ― Michael Johnson, United States, 43.18, 1999
- 800 meters ― Donavan Brazier, United States, 1:42.34, 2019
- 1500 meters ― Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco, 3:27.65, 1999
- 5000 meters ― Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya, 12:52.79, 2003
- 10,000 meters ― Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia, 26:46.31, 2009
- Marathon ― Abel Kirui, Kenya, 2:06:54, 2009
- 110m hurdles ― Colin Jackson, Great Britain, 12.91, 1993
- 400m hurdles ― Kevin Young, United States, 47.18, 1993
- 3000m steeplechase ― Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenya, 8:00.43, 2009
- 4x100m relay ― Jamaica, 37.04, 2011
- 4x400m relay ― United States, 2:54.29, 1993
- 20km race walk ― Jefferson Perez, Ecuador, 1:17:21, 2003
- 35km race walk ― Will be contested for the first time at World Athletics Championships Oregon22
- 50km race walk ― Yohann Diniz, France, 3:33:12, 2017
- High jump ― Bohdan Bondarenko, Ukraine, 2.41m, 2013
- Pole vault ― Dmitri Markov, Australia, 6.05m, 2001
- Long jump ― Mike Powell, United States, 8.95m, 1991
- Triple jump ― Jonathan Edwards, Great Britain, 18.29m, 1995
- Shot put ― Joe Kovacs, United States, 22.91m, 2019
- Discus ― Virgilijus Alekna, Lithuania, 70.17m, 2005
- Hammer ― Ivan Tikhon, Belarus, 83.63m, 2007
- Javelin ― Jan Zelezny, Czech Republic, 92.80m, 2001
- Decathlon ― Ashton Eaton, United States, 9045 points, 2015
WOMEN’s
- 100 meters ― Marion Jones, United States, 10.70, 1999
- 200 meters ― Dafne Schippers, Netherlands, 21.63, 2015
- 400 meters ― Jarmila Kratochilova, Czechoslovakia, 47.99, 1983
- 800 meters ― Jarmila Kratochilova, Czechoslovakia
- 1500 meters ― Sifan Hassan, Netherlands, 3:51.95, 2019
- 5000 meters ― Hellen Obiri, Kenya, 14:26.72, 2019
- 10,000 meters ― Berhane Adere, Ethiopia, 30:04.18, 2003
- Marathon ― Paula Radcliffe, Great Britain, 2:20:57, 2005
- 100m hurdles ― Sally Pearson, Australia, 12.28, 2011
- 400m hurdles ― Dalilah Muhammad, United States, 52.16, 2019
- 3000m steeplechase ― Beatrice Chepkoech, Kenya, 8:57.84, 2019
- 4x100-meter relay ― Jamaica, 41.07, 2015
- 4x400-meter relay ― United States, 3:16.71, 1993
- 20km racewalk ― Olimpiada Ivanova, Russia, 1:25:41, 2005
- 35km racewalk ― Will be contested for first time at World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
- 50km racewalk ― Ines Henriques, Portugal, 4:05:56, 2017
- High jump ― Stefka Kostadinova, Bulgaria, 2.09m, 1987
- Pole vault ― Yelena Isinbayeva, Russia, 5.01m, 2005
- Long jump ― Jackie Joyner-Kersee, United States, 7.36m, 1987
- Triple jump ― Inessa Kravets, Ukraine, 15.50m, 1995
- Shot put ― Natalya Lisovskaya, Soviet Union, 21.24m, 1987, and Valerie Adams, New Zealand, 21.24m, 2011
- Discus ― Martina Hellman, East Germany, 71.62m, 1987
- Hammer ― Anita Wlodarczyk, Poland, 80.85m, 2015
- Javelin ― Olisdeilys Menendez, Cuba, 71.70m, 2005
- Heptathlon ― Jackie Joyner-Kersee, United States, 7128 points, 1987
Mixed:
- 4x400m relay ― United States, 3:09.34, 2019