Top 10 Unbelievable Athletics World Records

There's something thrilling about witnessing a world record. Here's a list of the 10 most remarkable world records ever achieved in athletics.

10. Yelena Isinbayeva - Pole Vault

Yelena Isinbayeva, not only known for her stunning looks but also as the greatest female pole vaulter in the world, has set 20 world records, including 9 in 2005 alone. She has remained virtually unbeaten since the 2004 Olympic Games.

While Emma George played a key role in transforming female pole vaulting in the late 90s, raising the world record from 4.23m to 4.60m in just four years, Isinbayeva took the sport to unprecedented heights in July 2005 by becoming the first woman to clear 5m, later surpassing it with a 5.01m vault in August of that year.

Here is the historic moment when Isinbayeva cleared 5m for the first time.

Uwe Hohn’s legendary javelin throw of 104.80m in 1984, achieved on a windy day, made him the first person to throw the javelin beyond 100m. The throw was so far outside the field that it prompted the IAAF to redesign the javelin to intentionally underperform. As a result, the world record statistics were reset, and Hohn’s throw was officially designated as an ‘eternal world record.’

Jan Zelezny holds the current javelin world record at 98.48 meters, a feat he achieved in 1996.

Florence Griffith-Joyner, an iconic American sprinter, claimed three gold medals at the 1988 Olympic Games, excelling in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events.

Known primarily as a 200m specialist, Griffith-Joyner shocked the world by setting a new 100m world record of 10.49 seconds during the quarter-finals of the US Olympic Trials. Earlier that day, she had run a 10.60, a time that would have set the world record, were it not for wind assistance.

She broke the world record by an astounding 0.17 seconds, achieving this feat with no wind assistance, cementing it as one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in athletics.

Throughout her career, she faced persistent allegations of drug use, which became even more intense after her untimely death at the age of 38.

She was married to Olympic gold medalist and triple jumper Al Joyner, and was the sister-in-law of Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the world record holder in the heptathlon.

She also holds the 200m world record at 21.34 seconds, a time she set in September 1988.

Sergei Bubka set the pole vault world record 35 times throughout his illustrious career. He was the first man to clear 6 meters and remains the only athlete to clear 6.10 meters. In 1994, he set a world record of 6.14 meters and officially retired in 2001.

As a young athlete, Roman Sebrle faced uncertainty in choosing a sport to specialize in, so he decided to take on all of them. In 2001, he made history as the first person to score over 9000 points in the decathlon, setting a world record with 9026 points.

Specializing in both the javelin and high jump, it was the javelin that nearly cost him his career in January 2007 when a wayward throw from 55 meters struck his right shoulder as he was resting, embedding 12 cm deep into his arm. He quickly removed the projectile and was fortunate not to suffer more severe injuries. He made a full recovery and went on to win the World Championships in Osaka later that same year, setting a personal best – in, unsurprisingly, the javelin.

Paula Radcliffe is regarded as the greatest female marathon runner in history. Out of the seven marathons she has competed in, she has emerged victorious in six and set a record in five. Her performances include four of the five fastest times ever run. In the 2003 London Marathon, she made history by setting a world record with an astonishing time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 25 seconds, beating the previous record by over three minutes.

Entering the 2004 Olympics as the 'Great British Hope', she was forced to withdraw after covering 36 km, visibly upset. Just five days later, she dropped out of the 10,000m race with eight laps to go. Her early exits made headlines across the UK, with public reactions ranging from sympathy to criticism, with some media outlets accusing Radcliffe of 'quitting' instead of finishing the race.

After the disappointing Olympics, she made an incredible comeback, winning the 2004 New York Marathon, followed by a victory in the 2005 London Marathon. This race became infamous when Radcliffe, needing a bathroom break, stopped to relieve herself on the side of the road in full view of the spectators and live television cameras.

She also holds the European record for the 10,000m with a time of 30:01:09, ranking just behind Wang Junxia’s world record of 29:31:78.

Often overshadowed by her East German rival, Marita Koch, Czech 400m runner Jarmila Kratochvilova didn’t truly reach her peak until she was 32. In 1983, on a whim, she entered a small tournament in Munich as an 800m competitor and unexpectedly set a world record with a time of 1:53:28.

Riding the wave of her recent success, she embarked on a bold challenge at the World Championships just 10 days later, competing in both the 400m and 800m events. Despite the grueling schedule, she easily won the 800m and broke the 400m world record with a time of 47.99. Though Marita Koch surpassed her 400m record in 1985 with a time of 47.60, Kratochvilova's 800m record still stands as one of the longest unbroken marks in athletics.

Throughout her career, she faced persistent allegations of illegal drug use.

I couldn't find a video of her 800m record, so here's footage of her 400m record.

During the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, Bob Beamon achieved the unthinkable.

Beamon sprinted down the track and leaped into the history books with a jump of 8.90 meters, surpassing the previous world record by 55 cm. The distance was so incredible that when the announcer revealed the jump’s length, Beamon collapsed to his knees, covering his face in disbelief, and needed assistance to stand up.

The reigning Olympic champion, Lynn Davies of Great Britain, told Beamon, 'You have destroyed this event,' and from that moment, the term 'Beamonesque' became a part of track and field lexicon, used to describe extraordinary achievements. It is said that the optical equipment available at the time could not measure such an incredible leap, so manual measuring was employed instead.

While Beamon’s jump has been celebrated by sports fans around the world, there were environmental conditions that played a significant role in creating this 'Beamonesque' mark. The altitude of Mexico City, 7,400 feet above sea level, provided an advantage for events like the long jump. No other major competition has been held at such a high altitude since. The maximum allowed aiding wind of 2 meters per second also played a part in his success. Moreover, immediately after Beamon’s leap, a heavy rainstorm made it nearly impossible for his competitors to match his remarkable performance, creating the perfect storm of conditions for one of the greatest long jumps in history.

Beamon's record stood unchallenged for 23 years until Mike Powell broke it in 1991 with a jump of 8.95m.

Widely regarded as one of the most unique events in athletics, the triple jump was forever changed by the arrival of British superstar Jonathan Edwards. In 1995, he became the first man to officially clear 18 meters, leaping 18.16m at the Gothenburg World Championships. That record lasted a mere 20 minutes before Edwards surpassed it with an even more astonishing jump of 18.29m.

Although Edwards never reached those distances again, he achieved something remarkable in 2002 by holding gold medals in all four major championships – the Olympics, World Championships, European Championships, and Commonwealth Games. He retired in 2003 as Great Britain's most decorated medal-winning athlete.

Only one other athlete, Kenny Harrison, has officially cleared 18 meters. Edwards, however, achieved this feat four times (18.00, 18.01, 18.16, 18.29), and also recorded an incredible wind-assisted jump of 18.43m, prompting many to reconsider what was physically possible in the event.

With current elite triple jumpers struggling to exceed 17.80m, Edwards' record seems unlikely to be surpassed in the near future.

The four-minute mile – three words that once terrified runners – until Roger Bannister came along and shattered the belief that this record was impossible to break.

On May 2, 1953, Bannister set a new British Mile record with a time of 4:03.6, sparking the belief that breaking the 4-minute barrier might be achievable. However, by the end of that year, Australian John Landy had made greater strides, posting a time of 4:02.0. Bannister realized that time was running out and that he needed to act soon or risk being overtaken by Landy.

This monumental moment occurred on May 6, 1954, during a meet between the British AAA and Oxford University at Iffley Road Track in Oxford, attended by about 3,000 spectators. Prior to the event, winds gusted up to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), and Bannister had previously stated he preferred not to race under such conditions to conserve energy for a future attempt. However, as the winds subsided just before the race, Bannister decided to run. He completed the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. His pacing was assisted by two other runners, Brasher and Chataway, both of whom later went on to successful careers of their own. The race was broadcast live by BBC Radio, with commentary provided by Harold Abrahams, famous for his role in 'Chariots of Fire.'

The stadium announcer for this historic race was Norris McWhirter, who would later go on to edit the Guinness Book of Records. He famously delayed announcing the result, building suspense by stretching out the reveal of Bannister’s time as long as possible.

“Ladies and gentlemen, here is the result of event 9, the one-mile: 1st, No. 41, R.G. Bannister, Amateur Athletic Association and formerly of Exeter and Merton Colleges, Oxford, with a time that sets new meeting and track records, and – subject to ratification – will be a new English Native, British National, All-Comers, European, British Empire, and World Record. The time was 3…”

The crowd’s roar drowned out the rest of the announcement, filling the stadium with an overwhelming sense of triumph.

Only 46 days later, on June 21, in Turku, Finland, Bannister’s record was surpassed by his rival John Landy, who completed the mile in 3:57.9. The IAAF ratified the time as 3 minutes 58.0 seconds due to the rounding rules in place at the time.

Bannister and Landy faced off in the 1954 Commonwealth Games, where they were the only two men to have run a sub-4-minute mile. This race was dubbed 'The Miracle Mile.' Bannister emerged victorious with a time of 3:58.8, while Landy finished second at 3:59.6. Bannister later competed in the 1954 European Championships, where he won the 1500m, before retiring to pursue a career in neuroscience.

Today, running a sub-4-minute mile is considered standard for elite middle-distance runners. The current world record stands at 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999.

Contributor: JT

Sources: wikipedia

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