In the world of athletics, speed is everything. And when it comes to running, some athletes have achieved the unimaginable, breaking world records that have stood for years. Here are the current world records for the fastest running times in various distances, as of 2021:
Starting with the shortest distance, the men’s 100-meter record of 9.58 seconds was set by Usain Bolt of Jamaica on August 16, 2009, at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Bolt, who is widely regarded as the fastest man in history, also holds the world record for the 200-meter dash, which he set on August 20, 2009, in the same event, with a time of 19.19 seconds.
Moving on to the quarter-mile race, the men’s 400-meter record of 43.03 seconds was set by Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa on August 14, 2016, at the Rio Olympics. This was a remarkable achievement, as van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson’s long-standing world record of 43.18 seconds, which had stood for almost two decades.
Next up is the 800-meter race, where the men’s record of 1:40.91 was set by David Rudisha of Kenya on August 9, 2012, at the London Olympics. This record-breaking run was one of the highlights of the games, as Rudisha led from start to finish, running the fastest time in the event in almost 30 years.
In the middle-distance category, the men’s 1500-meter record of 3:26.00 was set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco on July 14, 1998, at the Golden Gala meet in Rome, Italy. This record has stood for over two decades, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in athletics.
Moving on to the long-distance events, the men’s 5000-meter record of 12:35.36 was set by Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda on October 7, 2020, at the Valencia World Record Day event in Spain. Cheptegei broke the previous record, which was set by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia in 2004, by over 6 seconds.
In the men’s 10,000-meter event, the record of 26:11.00 was set by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia on August 26, 2005, at the Brussels Memorial Van Damme meet in Belgium. This record has stood for over 15 years, and is regarded as one of the most challenging records to break in athletics.
Finally, in the marathon event, the men’s record of 2:01:39 was set by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya on September 16, 2018, at the Berlin Marathon in Germany. This was a remarkable achievement, as Kipchoge broke the previous record by over a minute, and became the first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours and 2 minutes.
In conclusion, these records are a testament to the remarkable feats that human beings can achieve with the right combination of talent, hard work, and determination. It will be interesting to see whether these records will be broken in the future, as athletes continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of athletics.
