World records at 31 Summer Olympics. World records in athletics. Longest record

The leadership of the English Athletics Federation put forward the idea of ​​resetting world records due to the large number and scale of doping scandals in 2015. The initiative found understanding with President Sebastian Coe.

He proposed canceling "suspicious" superior results that could be achieved using illegal drugs. Such records still seem unattainable today.

Story

The first professional athletes appeared in the middle of the 19th century in England. At the same time, the registration of the best results in various types of athletics competitions began for the first time. The first world records in athletics were recorded in the 1-mile run. With the organization of international governing bodies, the IAAF, in 1914, rules were developed for the registration of highest achievements and a list of disciplines in which they were recorded.

Gradually, methods for measuring results and the conditions for holding competitions were regulated so that the value of records was not questioned. In 1968 in Mexico City, at the Olympic Games, a highly automated time measurement system was used for the first time in running disciplines. The result was recorded with an accuracy of hundredths of a second. World records in athletics in throwing and jumping began to be recorded using the most modern measuring instruments and electronic systems.

Basic rules for ratifying world records

To put athletes on a level playing field, strict rules set by the IAAF must be followed for a record to be valid. So, finishing equipment, markings - everything must comply with approved standards. World records - the best results in athletics - are not recorded in competitions where athletes of different genders participate, or if athletes with different nationalities run in a relay team. When conducting sprint races up to 200 m and horizontal jumps, the tailwind should not exceed 2 m/s. For all-around competitions, wind gusts of up to 4 m/s are allowed.

The most important condition for the successful registration of world records in athletics with international sports bodies is the implementation of strict anti-doping control measures. Any violations of the rules for taking samples and conducting their research make the highest achievements illegitimate. It is around these questions that doubts about the regularity of particularly extraordinary world achievements revolve.

Varieties of world achievements

The most prestigious records in the athletics world are those set by men and women in Olympic athletics, in competitions held outdoors. After the Olympics, the second most important athletics competition is the summer world championship. World Athletics Championship records are an honorable achievement for any runner, thrower or all-around athlete. Winter championships, held in indoor sports arenas, have their own specifics and their own table of highest achievements.

Any significant athletic competition has its own history, and therefore its own table of achievements. Records of the Olympic Games, continental championships, and the largest stages of the track and field Grand Prix are a significant incentive for any athlete. The largest sports facilities also keep a record of their best results, which can be constantly updated.

Records at different ages

In the history of sports there are many stars who showed record results at different stages of their sports career. In the table where the world records in athletics among juniors are listed, there are the names of those who later achieved the highest results as adults. The fastest sprinter on the planet, Usain Bolt, holds the world record in the 200 m race for juniors - 19.93 s and seniors - 19.19 s.

After finishing his career in big sports, a real athlete does not stop active training. Holding competitions between veterans contributes to the popularity of sports, and world records in athletics among veterans are an excellent incentive not to reduce competitive activity in adulthood. Athletes compete in their age groups and strive to break the records set by their peers.

Leap into the next millennium

Experts are often asked how often they will be updated and to what level the highest results in different athletics disciplines can be achieved. History contains records that seemed unshakable, but were surpassed by athletes of future generations. One of the most striking examples is the achievement of long jumper Bob Beamon.

In the final of the Olympics in Mexico City, he managed to jump 8.90 m. The previous world record was exceeded by a fantastic 55 cm. On the day of the final, it was drizzling, the wind was within normal limits. They said that he, like all athletes, was helped by the high altitude. For a long time, the judges could not correctly measure Beamon’s “flight,” and when record numbers appeared, no one could believe their correctness for a long time. This record was considered eternal, but 23 years have passed, and the American jumper exceeded it at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo by 5 cm. Beamon's achievement remains an Olympic record.

Oldest record

If a decision is made to reset the table of world records, achievements that may well be half a century old will also fall. The oldest world records in athletics were set at a time when the use of stimulants was not subject to such severe bans as today. Therefore, many people express the inappropriateness of their presence in the list of the highest achievements, although they are shown not as “caliphs for an hour,” but as athletes who have gone through a long and difficult path to the top.

On July 26, 1983, Czechoslovakian runner Jarmila Kratokhvilova ran 2 laps around the stadium - 800 m - in 1 minute 53.28 seconds. She was already an experienced athlete and had been a sprinter before middle-distance running. Her result seems unrealistic for today's runners.

The oldest world record related to the disciplines included in the athletics program is the indoor shot put record, also shown by the Czechoslovakian athlete Helena Fibingerova. On February 19, 1977, she sent a projectile to 20 m 50 cm. The best result for the open arena is also an old-timer, he is only 9 years younger and 13 cm longer. It belongs to the Soviet athlete Natalya Lisovskaya.

High performance sport

A world record is not only a benchmark for everyone who plays sports at a high level. In the modern world, where sport is a developed branch of mass entertainment, material incentives are also important. Bonuses and payments that are intended for world record-breaking athletes are expressed in significant numbers. It is no coincidence that the pole vault, a form in which the final height is set by the athlete and coach, has the largest number of successful attempts to set a new world record. The legendary Sergei Bubka is the author of 35 world records, and Elena Isimbaeva raised the bar to a record 28 times.

Marathon – 2:03.38 – Patrick Makau (Kenya)

The legend about the appearance of the marathon says that the Greek warrior Pheidippides ran from the site of the battle of Marathon to Athens with the speed of an arrow fired from a bow. However, he would still be unlikely to compete with modern marathon running professionals. Kenyan Patrick Makau didn't have good news for the spectators waiting for him at the finish line of the 2011 Berlin Marathon, but the athlete tried his best. He broke away from his closest pursuers, who, by the way, were his compatriots, by four minutes, but, most importantly, crossed the finish line, setting a record time for completing the distance - 2:03.38, improving by 21 seconds the achievement of Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia, set at the same Berlin Marathon, but three years earlier.

Run, 800 m – 1:40.91 – David Rudisha (Kenya)

Kenya is famous for its endurance runners, but of course it also boasts guys like David Rudisha, an 800m specialist. In 2010, the 22-year-old athlete won the World Cup and the African Championship, simultaneously twice updating the world record, which previously belonged to the Dane Wilson Kipketer and stood for 13 years. However, Rudisha did not stop there; his cherished desire was to win the Olympic Games, and in August 2012, David made his dream come true. It was as if he had no rivals in the final, and Rudisha, without any visible effort, won the gold medal, setting a new world record of 1:40.91. At the same time, it seems that even such an achievement is not the limit for the Kenyan, and hardly anyone will be surprised when the athlete is able to improve the result shown at the Olympics one more time or two.

Running, 3000 m steeplechase – 8.58.81 – Gulnara Samitova-Galkina (Russia)

There are many names of our compatriots in the list of world records in athletics; however, new names appear there infrequently, but each world record holder from Russia is all the more valuable to us. The 3000-meter steeplechase is an old discipline, but it only joined the Olympic family in 2008. And this reunion turned out to be triumphant for the athlete from our country. Gulnara Samitova-Galkina finished in splendid isolation at the Beijing Olympic Stadium, setting a record time of 8:58.81. Over the past five years, only Yulia Zaripova has come close to the record; she currently has the second result in history - 9:05.02 - however, it is still quite far from updating the record set by Gulnara.

High jump – 2.09 m – Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria)

Not all world records are updated as often. A number of achievements have remained inviolable since the last century. One of these record-breaking pillars of athletics is the achievement of Stefka Kostadinova from Bulgaria, who specialized in the high jump. Throughout her sports career, she had many bright victories, but the athlete probably remembers the 1987 World Championships in Rome with special trepidation. It was there that she set one of the oldest records in athletics today, jumping over the bar set at a height of 2.09. For 26 years, only Blanka Vlasic seriously tried to storm the record of the Bulgarian athlete, but it stood, and it is unknown when the next contender to improve the result will appear.

Pole vault – 6.14 m – Sergey Bubka (Ukraine)

The best world record of the Soviet and Ukrainian track and field athlete Sergei Bubka is not yet 20 years old, but it has already been recorded as “eternal”. If the day ever comes when someone can surpass the incredible 6.14, it will surely be the new record holder's second birthday.

Bubka improved his own record 16 times, and still did not reach his limit. Sergei conquered the height of 6.14 at a competition in Italian Sestriere, and since then no one except the record holder himself has even tried to set the bar even close to this mark. The best after Bubka were Russian Maxim Tarasov and Australian Dmitry Markov, but their result was only 6.05. No one has yet been able to come close to one of the greatest sporting achievements of mankind, and the question of whether this record will ever be broken still remains open.

Pole vault – 5.06 m – (Russia)

Record breakers often have to break through psychological barriers that no one has been able to overcome before them. A striking example of this was demonstrated by one of the most famous Russian athletes -. During her career, she set 28 world records, breaking the bar for the first time at various heights from 4.82 to 5.06. Elena became the first athlete to reach the five-meter mark, and on the day this happened, Isinbayeva was applauded by the whole world. Millions of people applauded the Russian as she won Olympic gold in Beijing with a score of 5.05. A year later, at the Diamond League stage in Zurich, Elena improved her achievement by another centimeter, and since then the mark of 5.06 has been the ultimate dream of all athletes in the jumping sector. However, it is premature to talk about overthrowing the record holder: besides Isinbayeva, only one athlete climbed to the five-meter height - American Jennifer Sur.

Run, 100 m – 9.58 – Usain Bolt (Jamaica)

Of course, we should never forget about the fastest man on the planet – Jamaican Usain Bolt. It makes hearts beat faster and lights a fire in the eyes. His mini-shows on the track receive maximum television ratings. And besides, he also runs very fast. And so fast that no one can keep up with him. Bolt currently holds three world records. At the London Olympics, Usain, as part of the Jamaican 4x100 relay team, won gold with a score of 36.84. His personal bests have not been updated since the World Championships in Berlin, but a crazy 19.19 in the 200m and a simply insane 9.58 in the 100m are the best the athletics world has seen in the new century. We can only hope that Bolt himself decides not to stop there and will be able to improve his amazing records a little more.

As a rule, each Games brings records. If the world record can be surpassed in a very short time and at any major competition, then the Olympic record can only be improved at the Games. Thus, the record recorded during the Olympic competitions, if not improved at the same Games, will remain unbroken for at least four years.

At the Games, records are recorded only in those sports in which there are objective methods of sports judging, i.e. where the result can be determined by a measuring device: in track cycling competitions (round and pursuit), in athletics, swimming, speed skating, shooting (bullet, skeet, archery), weightlifting. In total, 128 highest achievements of the Games are recorded in the table of Olympic records.

The improvement of records has been especially intensive since the XVI Games of 1956. Then 77 new Olympic records were set in Melbourne, 18 of which surpassed world ones. The next Games - in Rome - brought 74 Olympic records and 27 world records. 77 Olympic and 35 world records were set in Tokyo. The Olympics in Mexico City in 1968 brought 74 Olympic and 29 world records. Even greater success was achieved by the participants of the XX Games in Munich: 94 Olympic records were set here, 46 of which were higher than world records. At the competitions in Montreal, judges recorded 82 Olympic records, of which 34 were world records.

The Moscow Olympics brought 61 Olympic and 36 world records. The figures were noticeably lower at the XXIII Games in Los Angeles, where 36 Olympic and 11 world records were set. At the Games in Seoul, Olympic records were improved 104 times and in 30 cases were recorded as world achievements.

At the 1976 Winter Olympics, eight world records were set in speed skating events across nine distances. During the XIII White Olympiad, the outstanding American runner Eric Heiden set new records at all five (!) distances competed.

During their participation in the Games (since 1952), USSR athletes improved Olympic records 201 times. Today our country's athletes hold 25 Olympic records. Envoys from Leningrad improved Olympic records 33 times.

The oldest Olympic record is the phenomenal achievement of the American long jumper Robert Beamon, who jumped 8 meters 90 centimeters in Mexico City in 1968. The magnificent achievement of Vladimir Salnikov, who swam 1500 meters at the Moscow Olympics in 14 minutes 58.27 seconds, remains unbeaten.

In the Olympic Games competitions in cycling (in track racing - rounds and pursuit), athletics, swimming, speed skating, shooting and weightlifting, the highest achievements of athletes are recorded as Olympic records.

Currently, athletes of the Soviet Union hold 26 Olympic records.

The capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, will host the Summer Olympic Games in 2016. On the eve of this bright event, we decided to remember the mind-blowing, funny, and sometimes completely crazy moments that happened at the main sporting competitions throughout the history of games.

Olympic Games and Rugby

In 1924, during the last Olympic Rugby Games held, the USA defeated France 17:3. French fans were furious and attacked the US team's substitutes. The judge was forced to resort to police protection. The crowd screamed and whistled as the medals were presented.

A year later, the International Olympic Committee elected a new president who, unlike his predecessor, was not fond of rugby, and therefore excluded this sport from the Olympic program. Rugby will return to the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

Abebe Bikila's record marathon

The reserve marathon runner was brought into the main team in 1960 at the last minute due to an injury to a teammate. Nobody took Abebe Bikila seriously, but the relatively unknown marathon runner broke the world record, and he covered the entire distance barefoot.

The reason for this decision was simple - his only pair of sneakers had worn out during training. Four years later, Bikila won another gold medal and set another world record at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Marathon runner on a whim

Czech runner Emil Zatopek won the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races at the Helsinki Olympics (1952). After that, he decided to take part in the marathon, even though he didn't know the rules. During the race, Zatopek carefully watched the man who was predicted to be the favorite and tried to understand how to behave. He also did not drink anything from the tables along the way, since he did not know that marathon runners were allowed to drink soft drinks. Despite everything, Zatopek won the marathon.

Bob Beamon's Giant Leap

During the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, American athlete Bob Beamon competed in the long jump. He, of course, wanted to win a medal, but he never expected that he would break a world record in the process. Bob managed to jump a whopping 8.90 meters, surpassing the previous record by 55 centimeters. The electronic recorder was only designed for 8.70 meters, so the judges had to use a regular tape measure to measure the jump.

Gallant Henry Pierce

The extremely talented rower Henry Bobby Pierce was the clear favorite to win the 1928 Olympics. In the middle of the race, a sudden obstacle appeared in the way of Pierce's boat - a duck with ducklings. The athlete stopped to let a family of ducks pass, which did not stop him from overtaking all competitors.

Gallstones Kipa Keino

Kipchoge Keino, while competing at the 1968 Olympics, fainted during the 10,000-meter race. The cause was severe pain from gallstones. However, the athlete woke up, stood up and completed the race. Although doctors told him not to compete any further, Kip sneaked out of his hotel and took a bus to the stadium to take part in the 1500m race.

After the bus got stuck in traffic, he ran all the way to the stadium, making it right to the start. The most amazing thing in this story is that Kip managed not only to win the race, but also set an Olympic record.

Missing Olympic flag

The world's first Olympic flag went missing after the end of the Antwerp Olympics in 1920. For 77 years, no one knew what happened to the flag. In 1997, during an interview with Haig Priest, the oldest living Olympic medalist at the time, Haig was told that the flag was missing.

The former diver shocked a reporter (and the world) by revealing that the flag was kept at the bottom of his old suitcase. It turns out that, at the encouragement of his teammate at the Olympics, Haig climbed the flagpole and stole the flag.

1904 Olympic Marathon

The Olympic Marathon at the 1904 St. Louis Games was probably the most extreme example of Olympic farce in history. 32 athletes took to the start line, but many soon dropped out of the race because they inhaled dust along the way. One of the athletes almost died during the race from a hemorrhage in the stomach. Another athlete snacked on an apple along the way, which turned out to be rotten. He retired from the race due to stomach cramps.

The winner was not much luckier - he was literally in agony in the last kilometers, because before the race the coach injected him with a small dose of the rat poison strychnine as a stimulant (doping was not prohibited at that time). The South African runner, who managed to finish ninth, was chased along the way by a pack of wild dogs. Only 18 of the 32 runners managed to complete the marathon. And one of the athletes, John Lortz, even drove a 14 km distance in a car.

Australian speed skater Stephen Bradbury

Australian speed skater Stephen Bradbury won a medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City against all odds. Before this, he was plagued by a series of catastrophic failures. At the 1994 Winter Olympics, Bradbury's hip was pierced by another athlete's skate, after which he lost a lot of blood. In 2000, during training, a speed skater crashed into the side and broke his neck.

In 2002, he was last and far behind the rest of the participants. However, a miracle happened (at least for him). The rest of the athletes collided and got hit. So Bradbury, after a series of failures, managed to win gold.

Shun Fujimoto's Broken Knee

Before the Montreal Olympics in 1976, the Japanese won the men's artistic gymnastics competition four times. In Montreal, they won their 5th gold medal in a row, but it was done truly heroically. Gymnast Shun Fujimoto was injured during the very beginning of his performance, but instead of going to the doctors, he gritted his teeth and continued performing as if nothing had happened.

After breaking several world records during his performance and securing Team Japan's gold medal, Shun took his leave and limped off stage. The doctors were shocked - the gymnast had a fractured kneecap.

The Olympic Games are the main start in the life of any athlete. Participants approach it at the peak of their form and capabilities. And if you add a good dose of adrenaline and the Olympic spirit to one hundred percent physical readiness, you can get a recipe for a successful performance that will be entered into the book of records.

All 70 arrows in the top ten

The first world record at the Olympics was set even before the official opening ceremony of the Games. In the preliminary archery competition, where participants simply allocated places in the playoff bracket of an individual tournament, the representative of South Korea, Kim Woo-jin, accomplished the seemingly impossible - all of his 70 arrows flew into the top ten. This is an absolute result that can only be repeated, but cannot be beaten. Kim Woo-jin improved by one point the previous world achievement of his compatriot Lim Dong-hyun, who also set his record at the Olympic competitions - four years ago in London 2012. So, archery records in the pre-Olympic days are already becoming a tradition.

As for Kim Woo-jin, in Rio de Janeiro he won a gold medal in the team tournament as part of his team, but in the individual competition, where he was naturally seeded number one, the South Korean sensationally lost in the 1/16 finals to the little-known Indonesian Riau Ega Agat. It’s one thing to hit targets in an abstract competition with all participants in the qualifications, and quite another to wage a head-to-head fight with a specific opponent.

The pool seemed to get shorter

After the abolition of high-tech overalls in 2009, in which swimmers literally began to beat the stopwatch, few believed in the further progress of swimming. Before each new start, bets were made on who would be able to break the world record and at what distance. And each time the record holders surprised with their results. In Rio, they began the race for records in the qualifying swims of the first day of the competition. True, here too there were skeptics who believe that the organizers of the Games are again to blame for everything. They allegedly built a swimming pool with lanes 2cm shorter than the 50m Olympic standard.

Nevertheless, all seven records have been ratified. Two belonged to the British Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke (57.55 in the preliminary heat and 57.13 in the final). The rest of the heroines are women: the Australian relay team (4x100 freestyle, 3:30.65), Sweden's Sarah Sjoström (100 and butterfly, 55.48), American Katie Ledecky (400 and 800 m freestyle, 3:56.46 and 8:04.79, respectively) , Hungarian Katinka Hosshu (400m individual medley, 4.26.36). Most of all I want to be happy for the “Iron Lady” from Hungary. She chased this record for seven years. And for Olympic gold - 12, from the 2004 Games in Athens.

Grandma won't teach you anything bad

In athletics, Polish athlete Anita Wlodarczyk is improving her results with enviable consistency. In Rio, she threw the hammer at 82.29 m, beating her own achievement of 2015 (81.08 m). Although we are not talking about seconds at all, this was the “fastest” record. The rest had to wait much longer.

Ethiopian Almaz Ayana won the gold medal in the 10,000 meters, finishing in 29 minutes 17.45 seconds. The previous record holder, Chinese Wang Junxia, ​​was photographed in front of a scoreboard with the letters WR back in 1993 (29:31.78).

But the most unexpected champion and record holder was the South African athlete Wayde van Niekerk. He ran on the eighth lane, which was considered inconvenient. But this circumstance did not prevent him from winning the 400 m race with a result of 43.03 seconds. The record for this distance has stood since 1999 and belonged to the American Michael Johnson (43.18). It’s funny, but van Niekerk is trained by his own grandmother, who is already 74 years old. And it seems that the old lady knows a lot about running.

Pentacampions in swimsuits

Natalya Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina each won two gold medals in Rio - in a duet and in a group, thus becoming five-time Olympic champions. For synchronized swimmers, this is a repeat of the record of Anastasia Davydova, who retired after London. Considering that only two sets of awards are awarded at the Olympics, it is very difficult to assemble such a collection. For example, at the world championships, girls compete for seven sets. So Natasha is a 19-time champion, Sveta is an 18-time champion. Will Ishchenko and Romashina be able to surpass their Rio Olympic achievement? At least so far the girls have not announced their retirement. But in any case, they have already rewritten the history of synchronized swimming.

And Asya Davydova, and Natasha Ishchenko, and Sveta Romashina are completely different. Each of them had their own path to achieving success, each of them developed it in their own way,” said Tatyana Danchenko, coach of the Ishchenko-Romashina duet. - This era of fivefold for each of them requires a separate volume of biography; it certainly cannot be covered in one volume.

Karelin in a skirt

In swimming you can win several medals in one Olympics. But to become a multiple champion, for example, in wrestling, you need to remain a hegemon for many years. Even two “golds” for an individual wrestler is very cool. Three-time Olympic champions in wrestling can be counted on one hand. In addition to our Alexander Karelin and Buvaysar Saitiev, there are six more people, including the Cuban Mihan Lopez, who has joined the cohort of greats already here in Rio.

So the achievement of Japanese Kaori Ityo, who became a four-time winner of Olympic gold in Brazil, can be called transcendental. Just think: Ityo won the Olympics for the first time back in 2004 in Athens! In her weight, up to 63 kg, she had no equal in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Starting from the 2014 World Championships in Tashkent, Kaori changed her weight (up to 58 kg), but this did not affect her success in any way. By the time she arrived in Rio, the Japanese woman had not lost at the World Championships and Olympics for 14 years.

Our Valeria Koblova was close to breaking this fantastic streak, but, leading in the score, the Russian woman missed out on the victory in the last seconds. And thus contributed to Ityo’s great record.

Golden Rugby

It doesn’t often happen that the first Olympic medal in a country’s history turns out to be gold. This happened in Rio de Janeiro.

Fiji athletes have been taking part in the Games since 1976. During this time, the state, located on an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, represented 72 people in nine sports at the Olympics. Boxing, cycling, judo, athletics, sailing, archery, weightlifting - as it turned out, the list was missing rugby sevens, in which the Fijians are the dockers. Suffice it to say that they were the ones who won the most prestigious World Series of Rugby Sevens in the last two seasons.

In Rio de Janeiro, rugby sevens was included in the Olympic program for the first time, and the islanders took full advantage of the opportunity. From six matches in the men's tournament, Fiji recorded six wins to claim historic honours.

Among the Olympic medalists who won the first gold for their country, Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling deserves special mention. If only because the 21-year-old guy defeated the great and terrible Michael Phelps, and at the American’s favorite distance - the 100 butterfly.

The British sped off

“The velodrome in Rio is very fast for a new track. Therefore, there will be a lot of records here,” our silver medalist in the team sprint Anastasia Voinova looked at the water. During the Olympics, seven world achievements were broken here: more often, records were updated only in weightlifting and swimming (eight each).

The authorship of five out of seven records belongs to British racers, which is not surprising. The British team competed here at the 2012 London Home Games, winning six top medals. It is interesting that three world achievements were consistently renewed by the British in the team pursuit. In fact, they did this in every race they entered.

Among those who diluted the sovereignty of the United Kingdom are Chinese women Qinjie Gong and Tianshi Zhong. In one of the preliminary races in the team sprint, they set an Olympic record, and in the semifinals - a world record. The duet of our girls Nastya Voinova and Daria Shmeleva indirectly contributed to these achievements. After all, the Chinese competed in absentia or in person with them.