World Records are those officially ratified by the IAAF. We have also listed the statistically best-acceptable marks in other non-ratified events that are “frequently” contested (+).
If the ratified WR is altitude-aided—i.e., made at an altitude over 1000 meters in an event where the thinner air has a positive effect—we sub-list the unofficial best.
(A) = altitude over 1000 meters; i = indoors; m = meters; M = miles; p = mark pending ratification; (r) = road; y = yards
| Track Events | ||||
| 100 | 9.58 | Usain Bolt (Jamaica) | Berlin, Germany | 8/16/09 |
| 150+ | 14.35 | Usain Bolt (Jamaica) | Manchester, England | 5/17/09 |
| 200 | 19.19 | Usain Bolt (Jamaica) | Berlin, Germany | 8/20/09 |
| 300+ | 30.81 | Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) | Ostrava, Czechia | 6/28/17 |
| 400 | 43.03 | Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 8/14/16 |
| 600+ | 1:12.81 | Johnny Gray (US) | Santa Monica, California | 5/24/86 |
| 800 | 1:40.91 | David Rudisha (Kenya) | London, England | 8/09/12 |
| 1000 | 2:11.96 | Noah Ngeny (Kenya) | Rieti, Italy | 9/05/99 |
| 1500 | 3:26.00 | Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) | Rome, Italy | 7/14/98 |
| Mile | 3:43.13 | Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) | Rome, Italy | 7/07/99 |
| 2000 | 4:44.79 | Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) | Berlin, Germany | 9/07/99 |
| Steeple | 7:53.63 | Saïf Shaheen (Qatar) | Brussels, Belgium | 9/03/04 |
| 2000 Steeple+ | 5:10.86 | Mahiedine Mekhissi (France) | Reims, France | 6/30/10 |
| 3000 | 7:20.67 | Daniel Komen (Kenya) | Rieti, Italy | 9/01/96 |
| 2 Miles+ | 7:58.61 | Daniel Komen (Kenya) | Hechtel, Belgium | 7/19/97 |
| 5000 | 12:35.36 | Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) | Fontvieille, Monaco | 8/14/20 |
| 10,000 | 26:11.00 | Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) | Valencia, Spain | 10/07/20 |
| 20,000+ | 56:26.0 | Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) | Ostrava, Czechia | 6/27/07 |
| 56:20.1p | Bashir Abdi (Belgium) | Brussels, Belgium | 9/04/20 | |
| Hour | 21,330m | 13M, 446y | Mo Farah (Great Britain) | Brussels, Belgium | 9/04/20 |
| 25,000+ | 1:12:25.4 | Moses Mosop (Kenya) | Eugene, Oregon | 6/03/11 |
| 30,000+ | 1:26:47.4 | Moses Mosop (Kenya) | Eugene, Oregon | 6/03/11 |
| 110 Hurdles | 12.80 | Aries Merritt (US) | Brussels, Belgium | 9/07/12 |
| 300 Hurdles+ | 33.78 | Karsten Warholm (Norway) | Oslo, Norway | 6/11/20 |
| 400 Hurdles | 45.94 | Karsten Warholm (Norway) | Tokyo, Japan | 8/03/21 |
| Relay Events | ||||
| 4 x 100 | 36.84 | Jamaica | London, England | 8/11/12 |
| (Nesta Carter 10.1, Michael Frater 8.9, Yohan Blake 9.0, Usain Bolt 8.8) | ||||
| 4 x 200 | 1:18.63 | Jamaica | Nassau, Bahamas | 5/24/14 |
| (Nickel Ashmeade, Warren Weir, Jermaine Brown 19.6, Yohan Blake 19.4) | ||||
| 4 x 400 | 2:54.29 | United States | Stuttgart, Germany | 8/22/93 |
| (Andrew Valmon 44.5, Quincy Watts 43.6, Butch Reynolds 43.23, Michael Johnson 42.94) | ||||
| Mixed-Sex 4 x 400 | 3:09.34 | United States | Doha, Qatar | 9/28/19 |
| (Wil London 44.9, Allyson Felix 50.4, Courtney Okolo 49.9, Michael Cherry 44.1) | ||||
| 4 x 800 | 7:02.43 | Kenya | Brussels, Belgium | 8/25/06 |
| (Joseph Mutua 1:46.73, William Yiampoy 1:44.38, Ismael Kombich 1:45.92, Wilfred Bungei 1:45.40) | ||||
| 4 x 1500 | 14:22.22 | Kenya | Nassau, Bahamas | 5/25/14 |
| (Collins Cheboi 3:38.6 Silas Kiplagat 3:32.5, James Magut 3:38.8, Asbel Kiprop 3:32.3) | ||||
| 4 x Mile+ | 15:49.08 | Ireland | Dublin, Ireland | 8/17/85 |
| (Eamonn Coghlan 4:00.2, Marcus O’Sullivan 3:55.3, Frank O’Mara 3:56.6, Ray Flynn 3:56.98) | ||||
| Sprint Medley+ | 3:10.76 | Santa Monica TC (US) | Tempe, Arizona | 4/06/85 |
| (Carl Lewis 20.3, Ferran Tyler 20.1, Benny Hollis 47.1, Johnny Gray 1:43.3) | ||||
| Distance Medley | 9:15.50 | United States | Nassau, Bahamas | 5/03/15 |
| (Kyle Merber 2:53.56, Brycen Spratling 45.95, Brandon Johnson 1:44.75, Ben Blankenship 3:51.24) | ||||
| 4 x 110 Hurdles+ | 52.94 | Team USA Blue Drake | Des Moines, Iowa | 4/25/15 |
| (Jason Richardson, Aleec Harris, Aries Merritt, David Oliver) | ||||
| Field Events | ||||
| High Jump | 2.45 | 8-½ | Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) | Salamanca, Spain | 7/27/93 |
| Pole Vault | 6.22 | 20-4¾i | Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) | Clermont-Ferrand, France | 2/25/23 |
| Long Jump | 8.95 | 29-4½ | Mike Powell (US) | Tokyo, Japan | 8/30/91 |
| Triple Jump | 18.29 | 60-¼ | Jonathan Edwards (Great Britain) | Gothenburg, Sweden | 8/07/95 |
| Shot | 23.37 | 76-8¼ | Ryan Crouser (US) | Eugene, Oregon | 6/18/21 |
| 23.38 | 76-8½ip | Ryan Crouser (US) | Pocatello, Idaho | 2/18/23 | |
| 23.56 | 77-3¾p | Ryan Crouser (US) | Westwood, California | 5/27/23 | |
| Discus | 74.08 | 243-0 | Jürgen Schult (East Germany) | Neubrandenburg, Germany | 6/06/86 |
| Hammer | 86.74 | 284-7 | Yuriy Syedikh (Soviet Union) | Stuttgart, Germany | 8/30/86 |
| Javelin | 98.48 | 323-1 | Jan Železný (Czechia) | Jena, Germany | 5/25/96 |
| Multi Event | ||||
| Decathlon | 9126 | Kevin Mayer (France) | Talence, France | 9/15-16/18 |
| (10.55, 7.80/25-7¼ 16.00/52-6, 2.05/6-8¾, 48.42 [4563], 13.75, 50.54/165-10, 5.45/17-10½, 71.90/235-11, 4:36.11 [4563]) | ||||
| Road Events | ||||
| 5K | 12:49 | Berihu Aregawi (Ethiopia) | Barcelona, Spain | 12/31/21 |
| 10K | 26:24 | Rhonex Kipruto (Kenya) | Valencia, Spain | 1/12/20 |
| 15K+ | 40:27 | Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) | Lisbon, Portugal | 11/21/21 |
| 20K+ | 54:29 | Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) | Lisbon, Portugal | 11/21/21 |
| Half-Marathon | 57:31 | Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) | Lisbon, Portugal | 11/21/21 |
| 25K+ | 1:11:18 | Dennis Kimetto (Kenya) | Berlin, Germany | 5/06/12 |
| 1:11:08p | Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) | Berlin, Germany | 9/25/22 | |
| 30K+ | 1:26:45 | Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) | Berlin, Germany | 9/16/18 |
| 1:25:40p | Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) | Berlin, Germany | 9/25/22 | |
| Marathon | 2:01:09 | Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) | Berlin, Germany | 9/25/22 |
| 50K | 2:40:13 | Stephen Mokoka (South Africa) | Gqeberha, South Africa | 3/06/22 |
| 2:38:43p | CJ Albertson (US) | San Francisco, California | 10/08/22 | |
| 100K | 6:13:33 | Takahiro Sunada (Japan) | Lake Saroma, Japan | 6/21/98 |
| 6:09:14 | Nao Kazami (Japan) | Kitami City, Japan | 6/24/18 | |
| Ekiden Relay | 1:57:06 | Kenya | Chiba, Japan | 11/17/05 |
| (Josphat Muchiri 13:24, Martin Mathathi 27:12, Daniel Mwangi 13:59, | ||||
| Mekubo Mogusu 27:56, Onesmus Nyerre 14:36, John Kariuki 19:59) | ||||
| Walk Events | ||||
| 20,000 | 1:17:25.6 | Bernardo Segura (Mexico) | Bergen, Norway | 5/07/94 |
| 20K(road) | 1:16:36 | Yusuke Suzuki (Japan) | Nomi, Japan | 3/15/15 |
| 30,000 | 2:01:44.1 | Maurizio Damilano (Italy) | Cuneo, Italy | 10/03/92 |
| 35,000 | Pending | |||
| 35K(road) | Pending | |||
| 50,000 | 3:35:27.2 | Yohann Diniz (France) | Reims, France | 3/12/11 |
| 50K(road) | 3:32:33 | Yohann Diniz (France) | Zürich, Switzerland | 8/15/14 |
as of May 31, 2023