Femke Bol wrote sports history in Apeldoorn on Sunday by improving the ‘oldest’ world record in athletics at the NK indoor in Apeldoorn. She dived 49.26 in the 400 meters under the 41-year-old top time (49.59) of the Czech Jarmila Kratochvilová. These are five very old athletics records that are still in the books.
800 meter outdoor vrouwen: Jarmila Kratochvílová (1983)
Kratochvílová no longer holds the world record for the 400 meters indoor because of Bol, but the top time 800 meters outdoor is still to her name. On July 26, 1983, the Czech raced to 1:53.28 in Munich.
It doesn’t look like Kratochvílová’s record will be broken any time soon. The fastest woman this century in the 800 meters is the Kenyan Pamela Jelimo in 2008 and she was almost a second slower: 1.54.01. And the fastest woman of 2022 at this distance, the American Athing Mu (1.56.30), was more than three seconds above Kratochvílová’s record time.
There is a hint of doping around the world record Kratochvílová. Time has run out in the peak years of anabolic steroid use, which allowed women to become unnaturally strong and fast.
Snelste tijden ooit 800 meter outdoor vrouwen
- Jarmila Kratochvíllová (Tsjechoslowakije) – 1.53,28 (1983)
- Nadezjda Olizarenko (Sovjet-Unie) – 1.53,43 (1980)
- Pamela Jelimo (Kenia) – 1.54,01 (2008)
Women’s 400 meters outdoor: Marita Koch (1985)
Suspicion of doping also hangs around the world record in the 400 meters outdoor of Marita Koch. The East German recorded 47.60 on February 18, 1985 in the Australian capital Canberra.
The gap with the competition is less than in the 800 meters. In 2019, the Bahraini Salwa Eid Naser ran 48.14 at the World Cup in Doha and became the fastest woman this century in the 400 meters. The best time of 2022 was by the Dominican Marileidy Paulino (48.99).
As well as in the 400 meters indoor, Bol is of course also an outdoor Dutch record holder. At the European Championships in Munich, she set the record time of 49.44 last year, although that is not a particularly fast time from a historical perspective. 34 women were once faster than the Amersfoortse.
Snelste tijden ooit 400 meter outdoor vrouwen
- Marita Koch (Oost-Duitsland) – 47,60 (1985)
- Jarmila Kratochvíllová (Tsjechoslowakije) – 47,99 (1983)
- Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrein) – 48,14 (2019)
Women’s 100 and 200 meters outdoor: Florence Griffith-Joyner (1988)
Florence Griffith-Joyner has been known for decades as the fastest sprinter ever. On July 16, 1988, the American ran the 100 meters in 10.49 in Indianapolis. It was then expected that no woman could match that achievement for a long time. That was right.
In recent years, the world top has only come close to Griffith-Joyner, who died in 1998. It is therefore certainly not excluded that the world record in the 100 meters will be improved sometime in the coming years. In 2021, Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah was only five hundredths slower: 10.54. Last year, the Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clocked the best time (10.62).
Also in the 200 meters, the world record has been held for 35 years by Griffith-Joyner, who ran the bizarre time of 21.34 at the Seoul Olympics, especially for those years. In recent years, Shericka Jackson has come close. The Jamaican ran 21.45 and 21.55 in 2022. Dafne Schippers is still the European record holder in the 200 meters with 21.63.
Snelste tijden ooit 100 meter outdoor vrouwen
- Florence Griffith-Joyner (VS) – 10,49 (1988)
- Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica) – 10,54 (2021)
- Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) – 10,60 (2021)
Snelste tijden ooit 200 meter outdoor vrouwen
- Florence Griffith-Joyner (VS) – 21,34 (1988)
- Shericka Jackson (Jamaica) – 21,45 (2022)
- Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica) – 21,53 (2021)
Men’s Long Jump Outdoors: Mike Powell (1991)
It is one of the most sensational world records ever. At the 1968 Games in Mexico City, American Bob Beaman jumped 8.90 meters. He improved the record by no less than 55 centimeters.
It took 23 years for Beaman’s record to be broken. The American Mike Powell reached 8.95 meters on August 30, 1991 in Tokyo and that world record has now stood for 32 years.
The new generations don’t even come close. The furthest jump this century was in 2009 by American Dwight Phillips (8.74), who is ninth in the all-time ranking. In 2022, the furthest jump of the year came in the name of the Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou.
Verste sprongen ooit outdoor mannen
- Mike Powell (VS) – 8,95 meter (1991)
- Bob Beaman (VS) – 8,90 meter (1968)
- Carl Lewis (VS) – 8,87 meter (1991)
