Olympic Records in Athletics: Athletics was the original event at the first Summer Games which took place in 776 BC. The stadium-length foot race or "stade" was the only event held in that Summer Games. Athletics events have been an integral part of modern Summer Games since its inception in 1896. A number of athletics records have been made in various events of sporting disciplines in the long history of Olympics.
Some of the famous personalities of world athletics are Carl Lewis, Jesse Owens, Donavan Bailey, Florence Griffith Joyner, Derartu Tulu, Olga Kuzenkova among host of others.
The current Olympic records in various men's events of athletics are as follows:
The current Olympic record in men's 100 meter race is held by Donovan Bailey of Canada. He made the record in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games with a timing of 9.84 seconds.
The current Olympic records in men's 200 meter race and 400 meter race were made by Michael Johnson of USA in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. He finished in a record time of 19.32 seconds in the 200 meter event. The time taken in 400 meter event was 43.49 seconds.
Vebjorn Rodal of Norway is the holder of the current athletics records in men's 800 meter race with a timing of 1:42.58 seconds. The record was made in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games.
The current Olympic record in men's 1500 meter race is held by Noah Ngeny of Kenya. The record was made by him in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games with a timing of 3:32.07 seconds.
Said Aouita of Marocco holds the current Olympic record in men's 5000 meter race. He made the record with a timing of 13:05.59 seconds in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.
The current Olympic record in men's 10000 meter race is held by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia. His timing in the event was 27:05.10 seconds in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Carlos Lopes of Portugal is the holder of the current Olympic record in men's marathon race with a timing of 2:09:21 seconds. The record was made in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.
The current Olympic record in men's 110 meter hurdles is held by Xiang Liu of China. His timing was 12.91 seconds in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Kevin Young of the United States is the holder of the current Olympic record in men's 400 meter hurdles. He made the record in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games with a timing of 46.78 seconds.
The current Olympic record in men's 3000 meter steeplechase is held by Kenyan athlete Julius Kariuki. His timing in the event in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games was 8:05.51 seconds.
The current Olympic record in men's 4X100 meter relay race is held by the United States who finished in a record time of 37.40 seconds. The record was made in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The members of the USA team were Michael Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell and Carl Lewis.
The United States holds the current athletics records in men's 4X400 meter relay race with a timing of 2:55.74 seconds. The record was made in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games. Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Michael Johnson and Steve Lewis were the members of the USA team.
The current Olympic record in men's 20 kilometer walk event is held by Robert Korzeniowski of Poland. The record was made by him in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games with a timing of 1:18.59 seconds.
The current Olympic record in men's 50 kilometer walk event is held by Russian athlete Vyacheslav Ivanenko. His timing in the event in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games was 3:38.29 seconds.
Charles Austin of USA is the holder of the current Olympic record in men's high jump event with a distance of 2.39 meter. The record was made in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games.
Bob Beamon of the United States made the current Olympic record in men's long jump event in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. His jump measured a distance of 8.90 meter.
The current Olympic record in men's pole vault event is held by Tim Mack of USA. His vault in the 2004 Athens Summer Games measured 5.95 meter.
Kenny Harrison of the United States jumped a record distance of 18.09 meter in men's triple jump event in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games.
Ulf Timmermann of Germany is the holder of the current Olympic record in men's shot put event. His throw measured a distance of 22.47 meter in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games.
The current Olympic record in men's discus throw event is held by Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania. His throw measured 69.89 meter in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The current Olympic record in men's hammer throw event was made by Russian athlete Sergey Litvinov. His throw in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games measured a distance of 84.80 meter.
Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic is the holder of the current Olympic record in men's javelin throw event with a distance of 90.17 meter. The record was made in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games.
Roman Sebrle of Czech Republic made the current Olympic record in men's decathlon event in the 2004 Athens Summer Games. His point in the event was 8893.
The current Olympic records in various events in women's athletics competition are as follows:
The current Olympic records in women's 100 meter race and 200 meter race are held by Florence Griffith Joyner of USA. She made the records in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. Her timings in the 100 meter and 200 meter events were 10.62 seconds and 21.34 seconds respectively.
The current Olympic record in women's world athletics 400 meter race was made by Marie-Jose Perec of France in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. The time taken by her was 48.25 seconds.
· Nadezhda Olizarenko of Russia is the holder of the current Olympic records in athletics for women's 800 meter race with a timing of 1:53.43 seconds. The record was made in the 1980 Moscow Summer Games.
The current Olympic record in women's 1500 meter race is held by Paula Ivan of Romania. The record was made by her in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games with a timing of 3:53.96 seconds.
Gabriela Szabo of Romania holds the current Olympic record in women's 5000 meter race. She made the record with a timing of 14:40.79 seconds in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games.
The current Olympic record in women's 10000 meter race is held by Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia. Her timing in the event was 30:17.49 seconds in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Naoko Takahashi of Japan is the holder of the current Olympic record in women's marathon race with a timing of 2::23:14 seconds. The record was made in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games.
The current Olympic record in women's 110 meter hurdles is held by Joanna Hayes of USA. Her timing was 12.37 seconds in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Fani Halkia of Greece is the holder of the current Olympic record in women's 400 meter hurdles. She made the record in the 2004 Athens Summer Games with a timing of 52.77 seconds.
The current Olympic record in women's 4X100 meter relay race is held by East Germany who finished in a record time of 41.60 seconds. The record was made in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The members of the German team were Romy Muller, Barbel Wockel, Ingrid Auerswald and Marlies Gohr.
Russia holds the current Olympic record in women's 4X400 meter relay race with a timing of 3:15.17 seconds. The record was made in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina and Olga Bryzgina were the members of the Russian team.
The current Olympic record in women's 20 kilometer walk event is held by Liping Wang of China. The record was made by her in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games with a timing of 1:29.05 seconds.
Yelana Slesarenko of Russia is the holder of the current Olympic record in women's high jump event with a distance of 2.06 meter . The record was made in the 2004 Athens Summer Games .
Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the United States made the current Olympic record in women's long jump event in the 1988 Seoul Olympics . Her jump measured a distance of 7.40 meter . Jackie Joyner-Kersee is also the record holder for the heptathlon event . She collected 7291 points in the event.
The current Olympic record in women's pole vault event is held by Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia . Her vault in the 2004 Athens Summer Games measured 4.91 meter .
Inessa Kravets of Ukraine jumped a record distance of 15.33 meter in women's triple jump event in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games .
Ilona Slupianek of Germany is the holder of the current Olympic record in women's shot put event . Her throw measured a distance of 22.41 meter in the 1980 Moscow Summer Games.
The current Olympic record in women's discus throw event is held by Martina Hellmann of Germany. Her throw measured 72.30 meter in the 1988 Seoul Olympics .
The current Olympic record in women's hammer throw event was made by Russian athlete Olga Kuzenkova. Her throw in the 2004 Athens Summer Games measured a distance of 75.02 meter.
