Olympic Records in Athletics: From Bolt to Kipyegon, every Olympic record in Athletics

Athletics is one of the traditional disciplines of the modern Olympic Games, having its first appearance in the first edition of the games in Athens in 1896. When talking about Olympic records in athletics, we must take into account the difference between a world record and an Olympic record, since the latter only refers to marks achieved during a Games. An Olympic record can also be a world record. Olympic records are the best marks ever achieved in the history of the Olympic Games and can only be broken every four years.

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Oldest Olympic Records in Athletics

Even today there are several Olympic records that are still valid, some like that of Bob Beamon and his 8.90m in the long jump in the now distant time of Mexico 68 or that of the Soviet Sergey Litvinov and his 84.80m in the hammer throw event in Seoul 88.

In the women's category, there are seven Olympic records that have survived since Seoul 88. The most notable is the American Florence Griffith, who set two records in the 100m and 200m, 10'62 and 21'34s respectively, which are considered impossible to beat. The oldest, however, dates back to Moscow in 1980, when the Soviet Nadezhda Olizarenko set the 800m in 1:53.43.

However, since Seoul 1988, an Olympic record has always been broken in athletics, with a whopping five in the men's section and three in the women's at the last Games in Rio 2016.

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Men's Olympic Records in Athletics

In the men's 100m and 200m, the champion is Jamaican Usain Bolt, with a time of 9.63 and 19.30 seconds respectively, set in 2012 and 2008. Curiously, the legendary sprinter holds world records that are lower than the Olympic ones: 9.58s and 19.19s, both achieved in 2009.