(as of February 19, 2024)
There are those who think that the sport would have been better off if WA (then the IAAF) had listened to proposals to create a set of “new millennium” World Records starting with the 2000 season. We hasten to note that creating a new set of all-time bests wouldn’t have to mean throwing the old ones out. There would simply be records for the 1900s and another set for the 2000s.
Had the international federation bought into that revolutionary idea, this is what the “new millennium” World Records would look like (* = actual WA World Record, surpassing the best mark of the 1900s):
Go here to see what new-millennium American Records look like.
| MEN’S TRACK | ||||
| 100 | 9.58* | Usain Bolt | (Jamaica) | ’09 |
| 200 | 19.19* | Usain Bolt | (Jamaica) | ’09 |
| 400 | 43.03* | Wayde van Niekerk | (South Africa) | ’16 |
| 800 | 1:40.91* | David Rudisha | (Kenya) | ’12 |
| 1000 | 2:13.88 | Jake Wightman | (Great Britain) | ’22 |
| 1500 | 3:26:12 | Hicham El Guerrouj | (Morocco) | ’01 |
| Mile | 3:44.95 | Hicham El Guerrouj | (Morocco) | ’01 |
| 2000 | 4:43.13* | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | (Norway) | ’23 |
| Steeple | 7:52.11* | Lamecha Girma | (Ethiopia) | ’04 |
| 3000 | 7:23.63 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | (Norway) | ’23 |
| 5000 | 12:35.36* | Joshua Cheptegei | (Uganda) | ’20 |
| 10,000 | 26:11.00* | Joshua Cheptegei | (Uganda) | ’20 |
| 110 Hurdles | 12.80* | Aries Merritt | (USA) | ’12 |
| 400 Hurdles | 45.94* | Karsten Warholm | (Norway) | ’21 |
| Half-Marathon | 57:31* | Jacob Kiplimo | (Uganda) | ’21 |
| Marathon | 2:00:35* | Kelvin Kiptum | (Kenya) | ’23 |
| 20K Walk | 1:16:36* | Yusuke Suzuki | (Japan) | ’15 |
| 35K Walk | 2:21:31* | Vladimir Kanaykin | Russia) | ’06 |
| 4 x 100 | 36.84* | Jamaica | ’12 | |
| 4 x 400 | 2:55.39 | United States | ’08 | |
| MEN’S FIELD | ||||
| High Jump | 2.43 | 7-11½ | Mutaz Barshim | (Qatar) | ’14 |
| Pole Vault | 6.23 | 20-5¼* | Mondo Duplantis | (Sweden) | ’23 |
| Long Jump | 8.74 | 28-8¼ | Dwight Phillips | (USA) | ’09 |
| Triple Jump | 18.21 | 59-9 | Christian Taylor | (USA) | ’15 |
| Shot | 23.56 | 77-3¾ | Ryan Crouser | (USA) | ’23 |
| Discus | 73.88 | 242-5 | Virgilijus Alekna | (Lithuania) | ’00 |
| Hammer | 84.90 | 278-6 | Vadim Devyatovskiy | (Belarus) | ’05 |
| Javelin | 97.76 | 320-9 | Johannes Vetter | (Germany) | ’20 |
| Decathlon | 9126* | Kevin Mayer | (France) | ’18 |
| WOMEN’S TRACK | ||||
| 100 | 10.54 | Elaine Thompson-Herah | (Jamaica) | 21 |
| 200 | 21.41 | Shericka Jackson | (Jamaica) | ’15 |
| 400 | 48.14 | Salwa Eid Naser | (Bahrain) | ’19 |
| 800 | 1:54.01 | Pamela Jelimo | (Kenya) | ’08 |
| 1000 | 2:29.15 | Faith Kipyegon | (Kenya) | ’20 |
| 1500 | 3:49.11* | Faith Kipyegon | (Kenya) | ’23 |
| Mile | 4:07.84* | Faith Kipyegon | (Kenya) | ’23 |
| 2000 | 5:21.56* | Francine Niyonsaba | (Burundi) | ’21 |
| Steeple | 8:44.32* | Beatrice Chepkoech | (Kenya) | ’18 |
| 3000 | 8:16.60i | Genzebe Dibaba | (Ethiopia) | ’14 |
| 5000 | 14:00.21* | Gudaf Tsegau | (Ethiopia) | ’23 |
| 10,000 | 29:01.03* | Letesenbet Gidey | (Ethiopia) | ’21 |
| 100 Hurdles | 12.12* | Tobi Amusan | (Nigeria) | ’22 |
| 400 Hurdles | 50.68* | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone | (USA) | ’22 |
| Half-Marathon | 62:52* | Letesenbet Gidey | (Ethiopia) | ’21 |
| Marathon | 2:11:53* | Tigst Assefa | (Ethiopia) | ’23 |
| 20K Walk | 1:23:49* | Jiayu Yang | (China) | ’21 |
| 35K Walk | 2:37:15* | Mária Pérez | (Spain)) | ’23 |
| 4 x 100 | 40.82* | United States | ’12 | |
| 4 x 400 | 3:16.85 | United States | ’21 | |
| WOMEN’S FIELD | ||||
| High Jump | 2.08 | 6-9¾i | Kajsa Bergqvist | (Sweden) | ’06 |
| 2.08 | 6-9¾ | Blanka Vlašić | (Croatia) | ’09 | |
| Pole Vault | 5.06 | 16-7¼* | Yelena Isinbaeva | (Russia) | ’09 |
| Long Jump | 7.42 | 24-4¼ | Tatyana Kotova | (Russia) | ’02 |
| Triple Jump | 15.74 | 51-7¾ | Yulimar Rojas | (Venezuela) | ’22 |
| Shot | 21.46 | 70-5 | Larisa Peleshenko | (Russia) | ’00 |
| Discus | 71.46 | 234-5 | Valarie Allman | (USA) | ’22 |
| Hammer | 82.98 | 272-3* | Anita Włodarczyk | (Poland) | ’16 |
| Javelin | 72.28 | 237-2* | Barbora Špotáková | (Czechia) | ’08 |
| Heptathlon | 7032 | Carolina Klüft | (Sweden) | ’07 |