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Sport

Athletic World Records

Discover how well you know historic world records, measurement marks, and unprecedented times in track and field.

This is a free, 14-question multiple-choice quiz. Answer each question to see whether you got it right, with an explanation for every answer. There is no sign-up and no time limit — take it as many times as you like, and scroll down for the full answer key once you are done.

Question 1 of 14

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What is Usain Bolt's men's 100-meter world record time set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin?

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Answer key & explanations

Every question in this quiz, with the correct answer marked and an explanation of why it is right. Use it to revise before or after taking the quiz above.

  1. 1.What is Usain Bolt's men's 100-meter world record time set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin?

    • A9.58 seconds✓ Correct
    • B9.63 seconds
    • C9.69 seconds
    • D9.72 seconds

    Correct answer: 9.58 seconds

    Usain Bolt shattered his own world record in Berlin on August 16, 2009, clocking an astonishing 9.58 seconds.

  2. 2.Which Swedish pole vaulter has broken the men's pole vault world record over ten consecutive times?

    • ARenaud Lavillenie
    • BArmand Duplantis✓ Correct
    • CSam Kendricks
    • DSergey Bubka

    Correct answer: Armand Duplantis

    Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis progressively broke the pole vault world record through consistent one-centimeter increments.

  3. 3.Who holds the women's 100-meter sprint world record of 10.49 seconds, established in 1988?

    • AMarion Jones
    • BFlorence Griffith-Joyner✓ Correct
    • CElaine Thompson-Herah
    • DShelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

    Correct answer: Florence Griffith-Joyner

    Florence Griffith-Joyner ('Flo-Jo') posted the enduring time of 10.49 seconds at the 1988 US Olympic Trials in Indianapolis.

  4. 4.Which Kenyan runner became the first person in history to break the two-hour marathon barrier in an unofficial exhibition event?

    • AKenenisa Bekele
    • BKelvin Kiptum
    • CEliud Kipchoge✓ Correct
    • DHaile Gebrselassie

    Correct answer: Eliud Kipchoge

    Eliud Kipchoge clocked 1:59:40.2 at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna in 2019, though it was ineligible for official record status.

  5. 5.What distance did American long jumper Bob Beamon achieve at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics to shatter the world record?

    • A8.65 meters
    • B8.90 meters✓ Correct
    • C8.95 meters
    • D9.05 meters

    Correct answer: 8.90 meters

    Bob Beamon leaped 8.90 meters (29 feet 2.5 inches), surpassing the existing world mark by 55 centimeters in a historic jump.

  6. 6.Who broke Bob Beamon's long jump mark in 1991 with a world record leap of 8.95 meters that still stands?

    • ACarl Lewis
    • BMike Powell✓ Correct
    • CDwight Phillips
    • DMiltiadis Tentoglou

    Correct answer: Mike Powell

    Mike Powell jumped 8.95 meters (29 feet 4.25 inches) at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo during a dramatic duel with Carl Lewis.

  7. 7.Which Ukrainian pole vault legend was the first person to clear the 6.00-meter barrier?

    • ASergey Bubka✓ Correct
    • BMaksim Tarasov
    • CRadion Gataullin
    • DIgor Trandenkov

    Correct answer: Sergey Bubka

    Sergey Bubka cleared 6.00 meters in Paris in 1985 and proceeded to break indoor and outdoor pole vault world marks 35 times.

  8. 8.What is the men's high jump world record of 2.45 meters held by Cuba's Javier Sotomayor set in 1993?

    • A2.42 meters
    • B2.45 meters✓ Correct
    • C2.48 meters
    • D2.50 meters

    Correct answer: 2.45 meters

    Javier Sotomayor cleared 2.45 meters (8 feet 0.5 inches) in Salamanca, Spain, in July 1993, establishing the longest-standing men's high jump record.

  9. 9.Which Czech athlete holds the men's javelin throw world record with a mark of 98.48 meters set in 1996?

    • AJan Železný✓ Correct
    • BTero Pitkämäki
    • CThomas Röhler
    • DJohannes Vetter

    Correct answer: Jan Železný

    Jan Železný launched the javelin 98.48 meters in Jena, Germany, using the modern redesigned javelin specifications.

  10. 10.Who set the men's 400-meter world record of 43.03 seconds from lane eight at the 2016 Rio Olympics?

    • AWayde van Niekerk✓ Correct
    • BMichael Johnson
    • CKirani James
    • DSteven Gardiner

    Correct answer: Wayde van Niekerk

    South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson's 17-year-old record by sprinting 43.03 seconds from the outside lane in Rio.

  11. 11.Which American shot putter holds the men's world record with a throw of 23.56 meters set in 2023?

    • AJoe Kovacs
    • BRyan Crouser✓ Correct
    • CRandy Barnes
    • DChristian Cantwell

    Correct answer: Ryan Crouser

    Two-time Olympic champion Ryan Crouser improved the world shot put record to 23.56 meters at the Los Angeles Grand Prix in May 2023.

  12. 12.Who broke the women's 400-meter hurdles world record multiple times, lowering it below 51 seconds at the 2022 World Championships?

    • ADalilah Muhammad
    • BFemke Bol
    • CSydney McLaughlin-Levrone✓ Correct
    • DShamier Little

    Correct answer: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

    Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone clocked an unprecedented 50.68 seconds in Eugene in 2022, and subsequently lowered it again at the Paris 2024 Games.

  13. 13.Which British middle-distance legend was the first person to run a sub-four-minute mile in 1954?

    • ARoger Bannister✓ Correct
    • BSebastian Coe
    • CSteve Cram
    • DPeter Snell

    Correct answer: Roger Bannister

    On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford.

  14. 14.Who set the men's triple jump world record of 18.29 meters at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg?

    • AChristian Taylor
    • BJonathan Edwards✓ Correct
    • CWill Claye
    • DKenny Harrison

    Correct answer: Jonathan Edwards

    Great Britain's Jonathan Edwards jumped 18.29 meters on his second attempt in Gothenburg, becoming the first athlete past 60 feet.

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