The following tables shows the world record progression in the men'sand women's 3000 metres .
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World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) ratified its first world record in the event in 1912.
The following tables shows the world record progression in the men'sand women's 3000 metres .
World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) ratified its first world record in the event in 1912.
From 1912–2025, 27 world records have been ratified by World Athletics outdoors in the event. [1] The current world record holder is Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, with his time of 7:17.55 set in 2024. [2]
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:02.4 |  Louis de Fleurac (FRA) | 19 June 1904 | Paris, France |
| 8:55.0 |  Edward Dahl (SWE) | 27 October 1907 | Norrköping, Sweden |
| 8:54.0 | John Svanberg (SWE) | 21 August 1908 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 8:49.6 | Jean Bouin (FRA) | 11 June 1911 | Colombes, France |
| 8:48.5 |  Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) | 24 September 1911 | Oulunkylä, Finland |
| 8:46.6 | Bror Fock (SWE) | 24 May 1912 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:36.8 | Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) | 12 July 1912 [1] | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 8:33.2 | John Zander (SWE) | 7 August 1918 [1] | |
| 8:28.6 | Paavo Nurmi (FIN) | 27 August 1922 [1] | Turku, Finland |
| 8:27.6 | Edvin Wide (SWE) | 7 June 1925 [1] | Halmstad, Sweden |
| 8:25.4 | Paavo Nurmi (FIN) | 24 May 1926 [1] | Berlin, Germany |
| 8:20.4 | 13 July 1926 [1] | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 8:18.8 |  Janusz Kusociński (POL) | 19 June 1932 [1] | Antwerp, Belgium |
| 8:18.4 |  Henry Nielsen (DEN) | 24 July 1934 [1] | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 8:14.8 | Gunnar Höckert (FIN) | 16 September 1936 [1] | |
| 8:09.0 | Henry Kälarne (SWE) | 14 August 1940 [1] | |
| 8:01.2 | Gunder Hägg (SWE) | 28 August 1942 [1] | |
| 7:58.8 |  Gaston Reiff (BEL) | 12 August 1949 [1] | Gävle, Sweden |
| 7:55.6 |  Sándor Iharos (HUN) | 14 May 1955 [1] | Budapest, Hungary |
| 7:55.6 |  Gordon Pirie (ENG) | 22 June 1956 [1] | Trondheim, Norway |
| 7:52.8 | 4 September 1956 [1] | Malmö, Sweden | |
| 7:49.2 | Michel Jazy (FRA) | 27 June 1962 [1] | Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France |
| 7:49.0+ | 23 June 1965 [1] | Melun, France | |
| 7:46.0 |  Siegfried Herrmann (GDR) | 5 August 1965 [1] | Erfurt, East Germany |
| 7:39.6 |  Kipchoge Keino (KEN) | 27 August 1965 [1] | Helsingborg, Sweden |
| 7:37.6 | Emiel Puttemans (BEL) | 14 September 1972 [1] | Aarhus, Denmark |
| 7:35.2 |  Brendan Foster (GBR) | 3 August 1974 [1] | Gateshead, England |
| 7:32.1 | Henry Rono (KEN) | 27 June 1978 [1] | Oslo, Norway |
| 7:29.45 |  Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 20 August 1989 [1] | Cologne, West Germany |
| 7:28.96 | Moses Kiptanui (KEN) | 16 August 1992 [1] | Cologne, Germany |
| 7:25.11 |  Noureddine Morceli (ALG) | 2 August 1994 [1] | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| 7:20.67 | Daniel Komen (KEN) | 1 September 1996 [1] | Rieti, Italy |
| 7:17.55 |  Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) | 25 August 2024 [1] | Chorzów, Poland |
(+) – indicates en route time during longer race.
Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m from 1981. [1]
From 1973–2025, World Athletics has ratified 7 world records in the event indoors for men. The current short track world record of 7:22.91 by Grant Fisher has not yet been ratified. [3]
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:39.2 h | Emiel Puttemans (BEL) | 18 February 1973 | Berlin, Germany |
| 7:37.51 | Moses Kiptanui (KEN) | 20 February 1992 | Seville, Spain |
| 7:35.15 | Moses Kiptanui (KEN) | 12 February 1995 | Ghent, Belgium |
| 7:30.72 |  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | 4 February 1996 | Stuttgart, Germany |
| 7:26.15 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | 25 January 1998 | Karlsruhe, Germany |
| 7:24.90 | Daniel Komen (KEN) | 6 February 1998 | Budapest, Hungary |
| 7:23.81 | Lamecha Girma (ETH) | 15 February 2023 | Liévin, France |
| 7:22.91 |  Grant Fisher (USA) | 8 February 2025 | New York City, United States |
The first record officially recognised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF) was set on 6 July 1974 by Lyudmila Bragina from the Soviet Union.
As of June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified nine world records in the outdoor event. [4]
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14:44.4 |  Ana Cicanei (ROM) | 1927 | — |
| 10:56.0 | Phyllis Perkins (GBR) | 22 May 1954 | London, United Kingdom |
| 10:55.2 | Phyllis Perkins (GBR) | 25 June 1955 | London, United Kingdom |
| 10:25.8 | Leila Buckland (GBR) | 27 August 1955 | London, United Kingdom |
| 10:16.2 | June Bridgland (GBR) | 25 August 1956 | London, United Kingdom |
| 10:16.0 | Phyllis Perkins (GBR) | 27 October 1956 | London, United Kingdom |
| 9:44.0 |  Roberta Picco (CAN) | 23 July 1966 | Don Mills, Canada |
| 9:42.8 |  Paola Pigni (ITA) | 11 May 1969 | Formia, Italy |
| 9:38.0 | Paola Pigni (ITA) | 2 September 1969 | Milan, Italy |
| 9:26.9 | Doris Brown (USA) | 10 July 1971 | Bakersfield, United States |
| 9:23.4 | Joyce Smith (GBR) | 16 July 1971 | London, United Kingdom |
| 9:09.2 | Paola Pigni (ITA) | 11 May 1972 | Formia, Italy |
| 8:53.0 |  Lyudmila Bragina (URS) | 12 August 1972 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:52.8* | Lyudmila Bragina (URS) | 6 July 1974 [4] | Durham, United States |
| 8:46.6 | Grete Andersen-Waitz (NOR) | 24 June 1975 [4] | Oslo, Norway |
| 8:45.4 | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 21 June 1976 [4] | Oslo, Norway |
| 8:27.2* | Lyudmila Bragina (URS) | 7 August 1976 [4] | College Park, United States |
| 8:26.78 | Svetlana Ulmasova (URS) | 25 July 1982 [4] | Kiev, Soviet Union |
| 8:22.62 | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) | 26 August 1984 [4] | Leningrad, Soviet Union |
| 8:22.06 |  Zhang Linli (CHN) | 12 September 1993 [4] | Beijing, PR China |
| 8:12.19 | Wang Junxia (CHN) | 12 September 1993 [4] | Beijing, PR China |
| 8:06.11 | Wang Junxia (CHN) | 13 September 1993 [4] | Beijing, PR China |
* - indicates ratified time. Auto times for Bragina's 8:52.8 and 8:27.2 were 8:52.74 and 8:27.12 respectively.
World Athletics has ratified seven short track world records for the women's 3000 metres. [5]
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:39.79 | Zola Budd (GBR) | 8 February 1986 | Cosford |
| 8:33.82 |  Elly van Hulst (NED) | 4 March 1989 | Budapest |
| 8:32.88 | Gabriela Szabo (ROU) | 18 February 2001 | Birmingham |
| 8:29.15 | Berhane Adere (ETH) | 3 February 2002 | Stuttgart |
| 8:27.86 |  Liliya Shobukhova (RUS) | 17 February 2006 | Moscow |
| 8:23.72 | Meseret Defar (ETH) | 3 February 2007 | Stuttgart |
| 8:16.60 | Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) | 6 February 2014 | Stockholm |