Longest Standing World Records In Track and Field History! (Some OVER 40 Years)

As they say, "Records are made to be broken," and in the realm of athletics, that appears to happen very regularly. There are a few world records that defy the general pattern. These marks are the longest-standing world records in athletics to this day, unaffected by the wealth of talent that has passed through the sport in previous decades. Without further ado, here is our list of the ten athletics world records that have stood the longest.

 10. Jonathan Edwards - Tripple Jump - 29 years (1995 - Present)

Edwards won a gold medal at the World Championships, capping an undefeated year in which he set two world records in one meeting. With a first jump of 18.16 meters (59 feet 7 inches), he became the first man to legally clear the 18-meter barrier. That record ran for around twenty minutes. He was the first to clear 60 feet with his second jump of 18.29 meters.

9. Randy Barnes – Shot Putt – 31 Years (1989 - 2020)

Barnes threw a throw of 22.66 meters (74.3 feet) on January 20, 1989, at the Sunkist Invitational in Los Angeles, setting a new indoor world record that was higher than his outdoor personal best at the time. Later on, Barnes turned into a long drive competitor, trying to hit the ball as far as he could; he made it to the World Long Drive Championship in 2005.

8. Javier Sotomayor - High Jump - 32 years (1992 - Present)

With a personal best of 2.45 m (8 feet 0 1⁄4 in), Sotomayor—the 1992 Olympic champion—became the greatest high jumper of the 1990s and remains the only person to have jumped eight feet.

7. Mike Powell - Long Jump - 33 years (1991 - Present)

Powell jumped 8.95 meters (29 feet 4 1⁄4 inches) at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, breaking Bob Beamon's nearly 23-year-old long jump world record by 5 cm (2 inches). Powell has held the long jump world record for more than 20 years; the record has remained intact since August 1991, making Powell the fourth individual to do so since 1900.

6. Galina Chistyakova – Long Jump – 35 Years (1989 - Present)

Chistyakova holds the current long jump world record, having jumped 7.52 meters on June 11, 1988. She won the World Indoor Championship in 1989 and the Bronze Medal at the 1988 Olympics. She also held the world record for the triple jump in 1989, clearing 14.52 meters before the IAAF.

5. Sergey Bubka –  Pole Vault – 36 Years (1984-2020)

Legendary pole vaulter Sergy Bubka is tied for fourth.  In addition to winning an Olympic gold medal and shattering the men's pole vault world record 35 times, he won six straight IAAF World Championships. In addition, Bubka has broken his personal record 14 times. He was the first pole vaulter to clear both 6.0 and 6.10 meters, and from 1984 to 2014, he held the world record, which was the same as Kostadinova's 30-year mark.

4. Florence Griffith Joyner – 100m – 37 Years (1988 - Present)

Flo-Jo broke the previous 100-meter world record at the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials. At the 1988 Olympics, she went on to win three gold medals. She abruptly retired shortly after the 1988 games. Griffith Joyner maintained her status as a popular culture icon after she gave up athletics by doing sponsorship agreements, acting, and designing. At the age of 38, she passed away peacefully in her sleep in 1998 following an epileptic attack.

4. Stefka Kostadinova – High Jump – 37 Years (1987 - Present)

Kostadinova is a former athlete from Bulgaria who participated in high jump competitions. Since 1987, her 2.09-meter world record has remained in place. She won the Olympic gold in 1996, the World indoor championship twice, and the World championship five times. Since 2005, she has served as the Bulgarian Olympic Committee's president.

3. Jürgen Schult – Discuss – 38 Years (1986 - 2024)

Since 1986, Schult, a former track and field athlete from Germany, has held the world record in the discus throw. He won the gold medal in the discus throw at the 1988 Summer Olympics while competing for East Germany.

3. Yuriy Sedykh – Hammer Throw – 38 Years (1986 - Present)

In Stuttgart during the 1986 European Championships, Sedykh set the current world record for the hammer throw, which stands at 86.74 meters. In the history of the event, only Sedykh & Sergey Litvinov have thrown over 86 meters (Ivan Tsikhan's 2005 throw of 86.73 meters was disqualified by the IAAF in April 2014 because of doping violations). The longest standing world record in men's track and field history belongs to him.

2. Marita Koch – 400m – 39 years (1985 - Present)

Koch was a sprint track and field athlete from Germany. She set fourteen world records for indoor events and sixteen world records for outdoor sprints during her career. Her 400-meter personal best, which she set on October 6, 1985, is still standing at 47.60.

1. Jarmila Kratochvílová – 800m – 41 Years (1983 - Present)

At the 1983 World Championships, Kratochvílová won both the 400 and 800 meters, setting a new world mark in the 400 meters. She also established the 800-meter world record in 1983, which is still the longest-standing individual world record in sports. The only athlete to have finished within a second of Kratochvílová's record since it was established was Pamela Jelimo of Kenya in 2008.