World records in athletics

World records in athletics (track and field) are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Records are kept for all events contested at the Olympic Games and some others. Unofficial records for some other events are kept by track and field statisticians. The only non-metric distance for which official records are kept is the mile run.

Ratification

The criteria which must be satisfied for ratification also apply to national or other restricted records and also to performances submitted as qualifying marks for eligibility to compete in major events such as the Olympic Games.

The criteria include:
* The dimensions of the track and equipment used must conform to standards.
* Except in road events (road running and race walking), the performance must be set in a single-sex race. [Rule 260, part 18. IAAF COMPETITION RULES 2008.]
* All team members in a relay race must be of the same nationality.
* Pacemakers are allowed, provided they have not been lapped; lapped athletes must give way.
* Drug testing immediately after the performance is now required for ratification of a record. Existing records which predate this requirement are still extant. Athletes who pass the immediate test but are later found to have been on drugs have their performances invalidated.
* In sprint events up to 200 m and in jump events, wind assistance is permitted only up to 2.0 m/s. In decathlon or heptathlon, average wind assistance of less than 2.0 m/s is required across all applicable disciplines; and maximum of 4.0 m/s in any one event.
* In sprint events up to 400 m, photo finish fully automatic timing is required.
* There is no restriction on altitude; since the thinner atmosphere of higher altitude provides less air resistance, locations such as Mexico City and Sestriere are popular in the sprint and jump events.
* In road events, the course is not required to be a circuit, but must not have too great a downhill gradient.
* In road events, the course must be accurately measured, by a certified measurer.

Bonus payments

Witnessing a world record brings great pleasure for athletics fans; athletes' personal sponsors and the promoters of major meetings such as the IAAF Golden League have offered bonuses to athletes breaking a record.

Some middle-distance runners have specialized in acting as pacemakers in longer races, receiving a fee without even finishing the race, and possibly a bonus if a record results. This is a useful occupation for athletes who are capable of running accurately to a specified pace, but not capable of the very fastest times to become champions in their own right.

In the pole vault (and potentially the high jump) record bonuses create an incentive for an athlete capable of smashing a record to instead break it by the minimum amount (one centimetre), multiple times, at multiple meetings, in order to accumulate multiple bonuses. This has been done by Sergey Bubka in the men's pole vault, and Yelena Isinbayeva in the women's pole vault. Some commentators have complained that neither athlete ever posted as high a mark as they were capable of. In other disciplines this perverse incentive does not arise, since it is practically impossible to deliberately break a record by a small margin.

Outdoor world records

Men

Women

Notes

ee also

*Association of Track and Field Statisticians
*World Record progression 100 m men
*World Record progression 100 m women
*World record progression for the mile run
*World record progression for the Men's 10,000 m
*World Record progression Pole Vault men
*World Record progression Pole Vault women
*World record progression 20km walk men
*World record progression 20km walk women
*World record progression 50km walk men
*World junior records in athletics
*African records in athletics
*European records in athletics

External links

tatistics

* [http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/records/index.html Records overview] - IAAF
* [http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/recbycat/location=O/recordtype=WR/event=0/age=N/area=0/sex=M/records.html Official world outdoor records - men] - IAAF
* [http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/recbycat/location=O/recordtype=WR/event=0/age=N/area=0/sex=W/records.html Official world outdoor records - women] - IAAF
* [http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/recbycat/location=I/recordtype=WR/event=0/age=N/area=0/sex=M/records.html Official world indoor records - men] - IAAF
* [http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/recbycat/location=I/recordtype=WR/event=0/age=N/area=0/sex=W/records.html Official world indoor records - women] - IAAF
* [http://www.athletix.org/Statistics/stats.html World Record progression in athletics] - athletix.org
* [http://www.alltime-athletics.com/ Track and Field all-time performances]

* [http://www.mastersathletics.net Masters Track & Field World Records]

Rules

* [http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/imported/42192.pdf Competition Rules 2008] - "IAAF.org" (PDF file, 1.3 MB)