The 20,000 metres (approximately 12.43 mi or 65,617 ft) is a rarely contested long-distance running event in track and field competitions; most world records in the event have been set during half marathons and one-hour races, as a half marathon is roughly 21,000 meters.

World Records

+ = indicates a time was taken at an intermediate distance in a longer race

Men

Event Result Athlete Nationality Date Place Meeting Citation
20,000 m (track) 56:20.02+ Bashir Abdi  Belgium 4 September 2020 Brussels Memorial Van Damme [1]
20 km (road) 55:21+ Zersenay Tadese  Eritrea 21 Mar 2010 Lisbon Lisbon Half Marathon [2]

Women

Event Result Athlete Nationality Date Place Meeting Citation
20,000 m (track) 1:05:26.6 Tegla Loroupe  Kenya 3 Sep 2000 Borgholzhausen [3]
20 km (road) 1:01:25+ Joyciline Jepkosgei  Czech Republic 1 Apr 2017 Prague Prague Half Marathon [4]

All-time top 25

Men

Rank Result (m) Athlete Nation Date Place Ref
1 56:20.02+ Bashir Abdi  Belgium 4 September 2020 Brussels [5]
2 56:20.30+ Mo Farah  Great Britain 4 September 2020 Brussels [6]
3 56:20.55+ Sabastian Sawe  Kenya 2 September 2022 Brussels [7]
4 56:26.0+ Haile Gebrselassie  Ethiopia 27 June 2007 Ostrava [8]
5 56:51.60+ Sondre Nordstad Moen  Norway 7 August 2020 Kristiansand [9]
6 56:55.6+ h Arturo Barrios  Mexico 30 March 1991 La Fléche
7 57:07.41+ Kibiwott Kandie  Kenya 2 September 2022 Brussels [10]
8 57:18.4+ h Dionisio Castro  Portugal 31 March 1990 La Flèche
9 57:24.2+ Jos Hermens  Netherlands 1 May 1976 Arnhem
10 57:28.7+ h Carl Thackery  Great Britain 31 March 1990 La Flèche
11 57:44.4+ h Gaston Roelants  Belgium 20 September 1972 Brussels
12 57:48.7 Toshihiko Seko  Japan 11 May 1985 Odawara
13 57:50.25+ Morhad Amdouni  France 19 September 2020 Lucciana
14 58:17.3+ Daniel Mateo  Spain 20 April 2021 La Nucía [11]
15 58:18.4+ Bertrand Itsweire  France 31 March 1990 La Flèche
16 58:25.0 Bill Rodgers  United States 9 August 1977 Boston
17 58:30.2+ Werner Schildhauer  Germany 29 April 1983 Cottbus
18 58:37.2+ h Rob de Castella  Australia 17 April 1982 Rome
19 58:37.8+ h Mariano Haro  Spain 9 August 1975 San Sebastián
20 58:53.6+ Girmaw Amare  Israel 26 January 2020 Tel Aviv
21 58:43.8 h Franco Fava  Italy 9 April 1977 Rome
22 59:02.0 h Rashid Sharafetdinov  Soviet Union 2 May 1971 Leningrad
23 59:14.02 Stéphane Schweickhardt  Switzerland 15 April 1998 Martigny
24 59:19.0 András Fancsali  Hungary 15 April 1978 Budapest
25 59:24.8+ Leszek Bebło  Poland 31 March 1990 La Flèche

Women

Rank Result Athlete Nation Date Place Ref
1 1:05:26.6 Tegla Loroupe  Kenya 3 September 2000 Borgholzhausen
2 1:05:35.3 Dire Tune  Ethiopia 17 June 2009 Ostrava
3 1:06:48.8 Izumi Maki  Japan 19 September 1993 Amagasaki
4 1:06:55.5 Rosa Mota  Portugal 14 May 1983 Lisbon
5 1:07:19.9 Naomi Sakashita  Japan 10 October 1995 Amagasaki
6 1:07:47.0 Kaori Kumura  Japan 19 September 1993 Amagasaki
7 1:07:49.9 Rika Ota  Japan 17 June 1992 Akashi
8 1:07:52.0 Midori Shimizu  Japan 1 October 1994 Amagasaki
9 1:08:07.6 Megumi Fujiwara  Japan 17 June 1992 Akashi
10 1:08:46.6 Takako Kobayashi  Japan 1 October 1994 Amagasaki
11 1:08:51.9 Junko Asari  Japan 17 June 1992 Akashi
12 1:08:52.6 Nanae Sasaki  Japan 29 May 1984 Tokyo
13 1:08:59.2 Aki Yasaki  Japan 17 June 1992 Akashi
14 1:09:19.1 Chiyuki Ona  Japan 17 June 1992 Akashi
15 1:09:53.0 Blandine Bitzner  France 13 May 2000 La Celle-Saint-Cloud
16 1:10:30.4+ Helena Javornik  Slovenia 19 July 2006 Maribor
17 1:10:35.0 Leah Malot  Kenya 17 June 2009 Ostrava
18 1:10:50.2 Christa Vahlensieck  West Germany 25 October 1975 Essen
19 1:10:56.6 Ágnes Özéné Sipka  Hungary 16 October 1988 Székesfehérvár
20 1:11:00.0 Miki Kitajima  Japan 20 September 1993 Amagasaki
21 1:11:05.0+ Judit Nagy  Hungary 22 October 1989 Székesfehérvár
22 1:11:48.9+ Karolina Szabo  Hungary 23 April 1988 Budapest
23 1:12:44 Maria Luisa Irizar  Spain 23 June 1985 Laredo
24
25

In popular culture

Tegla Loroupe's 20,000 meter world record was mentioned in Chapter 1, problem 64P of Chemistry (Seventh Edition) by John E. McMurry, Robert C. Fay, and Jill Kirsten Robinson. [12]

References

  1. ^ "Hassan and Farah smash world one hour records in Brussels". European Athletics. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  2. ^ "IAAF: Scorching 58:23 world half marathon record by Tadese in Lisbon| News | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  3. ^ "IAAF: Women's outdoor 20,000 Metres | Records | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  4. ^ "IAAF: Jepkosgei breaks four world records at Prague Half Marathon| News | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  5. ^ "Hassan and Farah smash world one hour records in Brussels". European Athletics. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  6. ^ Rich Perelman (4 September 2020). "THE TICKER: Three world records: for Farah, Abdi and Hassan in Brussels; another win for van Aert at Le Tour; double death for Iranian wrestler?". thesportsexaminer.com. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Wanda Diamond League – One Hour Run Results and Split Times" (PDF). sportresult.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  8. ^ "IAAF: Men's outdoor 20,000 Metres | Records | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  9. ^ "2020 Stadionmila Kristiansand Results" (PDF). stadionmila.no/. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Wanda Diamond League – One Hour Run Results and Split Times" (PDF). sportresult.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Dani Mateo tritura el récord de España de la hora: 20.593 metros". soycorredor.es (in Spanish). 20 April 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Chegg.com". www.chegg.com. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
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