Men
The first world record in the men's 1000 metres was recognised by the IAAF in 1913. 27 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event.
The following tables show the world record progression in the men's and women's 1000 metres as ratified by World Athletics.
The first world record in the men's 1000 metres was recognised by the IAAF in 1913. 27 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event.
The first world record in the women's 1000 metres was recognised by the IAAF in 1922. 13 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event.
| Time | Athlete | Country | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:17.4 | Georgette Lenoir |  France | Paris | 1922-08-06 |
| 3:12.0 | Lucie Bréard | France | Paris | 1922-08-20 |
| 3:08.2 | Edith Trickey |  Great Britain | London | 1924-08-04 |
| 3:06.6 | Lina Radke |  Germany | Brzeg | 1930-08-24 |
| 3:04.4 | Gladys Lunn | Great Britain | London | 1931-05-16 |
| 3:02.5 | Stanisława Walasiewicz |  Poland | Katowice | 1933-10-08 |
| 3:00.6 | Gladys Lunn | Great Britain | Birmingham | 1934-06-23 |
| 2:35.9 | Gunhild Hoffmeister |  East Germany | Potsdam | 1972-08-20 |
| 2:35.0 | Karin Krebs | East Germany | Potsdam | 1974-08-28 |
| 2:33.8 | Nikolina Shtereva |  Bulgaria | Sofia | 1976-07-04 |
| 2:30.67 | Christine Wachtel | East Germany | West Berlin | 1990-08-17 |
| 2:29.34 | Maria Mutola |  Mozambique | Brussels | 1995-08-05 |
| 2:28.98 | Svetlana Masterkova |  Russia | Brussels | 1996-08-23 |
The first record in the 100 metres for men (athletics) was recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as World Athletics, in 1912.
The first world record in the 100 metres sprint for women was recognised by the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) in 1922. The FSFI was absorbed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1936. The current record is 10.49 seconds set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.
The first world record in the women's pole vault was recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1994. The inaugural record, 4.05 metres by Sun Caiyun of China set in 1992, was the world's best mark as of December 31, 1994.
The following tables shows the world record progression in the Men's 3000 metres. The International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, ratified its first world record in the event in 1912.
The following table shows the world record progression in the men's and women's triple jump, officially ratified by the IAAF.
The following table shows the world record progression in the men's and women's 800 metres, officially ratified by the IAAF.
The first World Record in the 200 m for women (athletics) was recognised by the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) in 1922. The FSFI was absorbed by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1936. However, the IAAF did not maintain a record category for 200 m (bend) as opposed to 200 m (straight) until after 1951. The IAAF eliminated the 200 m (straight) record after 1976. "y" denotes times set at 220 yards which were ratified as world records.
The first world record in the men's 400 metres hurdles was recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912. That inaugural record was the performance by Charles Bacon at the 1908 Olympics.
The first world record in the women's 4 x 100 metres relay was recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1922. 45 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event. The following table shows the world record progression in the women's 4 × 100 metre relay, as ratified by the IAAF. "y" denotes time for 4 × 110 yards (402.34 m), ratified as a record for this event.
The women's 100 metres hurdles is an outdoor track event over a distance of 100 metres with ten hurdles at the height of 83.8 cm (33 inches). The event superseded the women's 80 metres hurdles. The world records of the women's 100 metres hurdles have been recognised by World Athletics since 1969. Every world record undergoes a ratification process that includes a wind assistance check and doping control.
The following table shows the world record progression in the women's 4 x 400 metres relay. The first world record in the event was recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1969. 15 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event.
The official world records in the 5000 metres, or 5000-metre run, are held by Joshua Cheptegei with 12:35.36 for men and Gudaf Tsegay with 14:00.21 for women.
The official world records in the 10,000 metres are held by Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei with 26:11 minutes for men and Kenyan Beatrice Chebet with 28:54.14 for women.
The world record for the 60 metres hurdles is recognised by World Athletics, the governing body for the sport of athletics, for both men and women. The event is recognised in indoor settings only. The current men's record is 7.27 A seconds, set by the USA's Grant Holloway on 24 February 2021 in Madrid, Spain. The current women's record is held by The Bahamas’s Devynne Charlton and Tia Jones. Charlton ran 7.67 seconds in New York City on 11 February 2024 and Jones ran 7.67 A in Albuquerque on 16 February 2024.
