Updated December 4, 2007

Unofficial Masters Records 

In recent years, the masters movement has seen an explosion in stat-keeping. World Masters Athletics maintains "official" age-group records, but nipping at its heels are sophisticated sites that keep more credible sets of world age-group records. Most notable are by Austria's Martin Gasselsberger, whose mastersathletics.net is awesome in its scope and detail, and by Italy's Filippo L. Fasolato and Werter Corbelli, whose stats appear on the Italian masters site. Below on this page is the pioneering work of Britain's Peter Matthews, a world-renowned British track statistician and journalist constantly on the lookout for the best marks. Masters track is a sideline. For a voluminous listing of masters long-distance records for all age groups, check out USATF's record site. The relay marks are from a combination of other sources, including National Masters News and Internet colleagues. Got questions or corrections? Write me.

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL MASTERS RECORDS

Swedish-based Over-35 Masters All-Time Top 10s

British-based Over-35 masters bests by Martin Rix

Absolute HJ records and other WR graphs by Weia Reinboud

TRACK RECORDS FOR MEN 40 AND OLDER

100m 10.29 Troy Douglas (11/30/62)  NED Leiden, NED  6/7/03

200m 20.64 Troy Douglas (11/30/62) NED Paris 8/27/03

400m 47.82 Enrico Saraceni (5/19/64) ITA Arhus DEN  7/25/04
(NOTE: Lee Evans is credited with a 47.5 hand-timed at age 42 in 1989.)

800m 1:50.69 Colm Rothery IRE 1/28/60 Stretford, GBR 9/2/00 (Johnny Gray, USA, born 6/19/60, ran 1:48.81 indoors at Atlanta, Georgia, on 3/2/01)

1000m 2:26.71 Eamonn Coghlan IRL (11/24/52) Gainesville 1/24/94 (indoors)

1500m 3:44.06 Jim Sorensen (5/10/67) USA Los Angeles 3 June 2007

Mile 4:02.53 David Moorcroft (4/10/53) GBR Belfast 6/19/93;
3:58.15 (indoors) Eamonn Coghlan (11/24/52) IRL Boston 4/20/94

3000m 8:05.08 Martti Vainio (12/30/50) FIN Mikkell 6/91

5000m 13:43.15 Mohamed Ezzher (4/26/60)  FRA  Sotteville 7/3/00

10,000m 28:30.88 Martti Vainio (12/30/50) FIN Hengelo 6/25/91

Marathon 2:08:46 Andrés Espinosa (2/4/63) MEX Berlin 9/28/03

3000m steeplechase 8:38.40 Angelo Carosi  ITA  (1/20/64)  Firenze  7/11/04

110m (39-inch) hurdles 13.73 David Ashford (1/24/63) USA, Carolina, P.R. 7/11/03

110m (42-inch) hurdles 13.79 Roger Kingdom (8/26/62) USA Slippery Rock, PA 6/23/04

400m hurdles 52.62 Antônio Eusébio Dias Ferreira (3/2/60) BRA Rio de Janeiro 7/23/00

Decathlon 7525 points Kip Janvrin (8/7/65) USA San Sebastián 24 Aug 2005
        (11.56, 6.78, 14.01, 1.80, 49.46, 15.40, 42.70, 4.70, 58.43, 4:25.87)

20 km walk 1:21:36 Willi Sawall (11/7/41) AUS Melbourne 7/4/82

50 km walk 3:49:06 José Marín (1/20/50)  ESP  Badalona  3/22/92

FIELD RECORDS FOR MEN 40 AND OLDER

High jump 2.15 (7-0 5/8) Glen Conley (1957) USA Troy, New York 8/2/97

Pole vault 5.50 (18-1/2) Larry Jessee (3/31/52) USA El Paso 8/24/96 (USATF and WMA have ratified this mark, but it is widely doubted.)

Long jump 7.685 (25-2 1/2) Aaron Sampson  (9/20/61) USA Cedar City, Utah, 6/21/02

Triple jump 16.58 (54-4 3/4) Ray Kimble (4/19/53) USA Edinburgh 7/2/93

Shot put 21.41 (70-3) Brian Oldfield (6/1/45) USA Innsbruck 8/22/85

Discus 69.46 (227-11) Al Oerter (9/19/36) USA Wichita 5/31/80

Hammer 82.23 (269-9) Igor Astapkovich (1/4/63) BELARUS  Minsk 7/10/04

Javelin 85.92 (281-11) Jan Zelezny (6/16/66) CZE Gothenburg 9 August 2006

TRACK RECORDS FOR WOMEN 35 AND OLDER

100m 10.74 Merlene Ottey (5/10/60) JAM Milan 9/7/96

200m 21.93 Merlene Ottey (5/10/60) JAM Brusells 8/25/95

400m 50.27 Jearl Miles-Clark (9/4/66) USA Madrid 9/20/02

800m 1:56.53 Lyubov Gurina (8/6/57) RUS Hechtel 7/30/94

1000m 2:31.5 Maricica Puica (7/29/50) ROM Poiana Brasov 6/1/86

1500m 3:57.73 Maricica Puica (7/29/50) ROM Brusells 8/30/85

Mile 4:17.33 Maricica Puica (7/29/50) ROM 8/21/85

2000m 5:28.69 Maricica Puica (7/29/50) ROM London 7/11/86

3000m 8:23.23 Edith Masai (4/4/67) KEN Monaco 7/19/02

5000m 14:33.84 Edith Masai (4/4/67) KEN Oslo 6/2/06

10,000m 31:06.63 Helena Javornik (3/26/66) SLO Athens 8/27/04

2000m steeple 6:30.83 Lesley Lehane (3/12/63) USA Orono, Maine, 31 July 1998

3000m steeple 9:50.29 Natalya Cherepanova 3/9/67 RUS Tula 8/10/03 (NOTE: Russia's Mariya Vilisova, born in 1969, recorded 9:50.14 in Tula on 7/29/04. DOB not listed.)

Marathon 2:21:29 Lyudmila Petrova RUS (37) 23 April 2006 London

100m hurdles 12.40 Gail Devers (11/19/66) USA Lausanne 7/2/02

400m hurdles 52.94 Marina Stepanova (5/1/50) RUS Tashkent 9/17/86

Heptathlon 6533 Jane Frederick (4/7/52) USA Talence 10/27-28/87; 13.60, 1.82 (5-11 1/2), 15.50 (50-10 1/4), 24.73; 6.29 (20-7 3/4), 49.70 (163-1) , 2:14.88

5 km walk 21:20.61 Maya Sazonova (5/28/65)  KAZ  Almaty 5/28/00 (indoor best: 21:00.0  Tamara Kovalenko (6/4/64) RUS Moskva  1/23/00

10 km walk 42:42+ Tamara Kovalenko (6/4/64) RUS Moscow 5/19/00

20 km walk 1:25:59; Tamara Kovalenko (6/4/64) RUS Moscow 5/19/00

FIELD RECORDS FOR WOMEN 35 AND OLDER

High jump 2.01 (6-7) Inga Babakova  (6/27/67) UKR Oslo 6/27/03

Pole vault 4.50 (14-9) Stacy Dragila (3/25/71) USA Eugene, Oregon 27 May 2007

Long jump 6.99 (22-9) Heike Daute-Drechsler (12/16/64) GER Sydney 9/29/00

Triple jump 14.42 (47-3 /3/4) Inessa Kravets UKR 10/5/66 RUS Tula  6/15/03

Triple jump 14.23 (46-8 1/4) Natalya Kayukova 12/10/66 RUS Tula  6/1/02

Shot put 21.46 (70-4 3/4) Larisa Peleshenko (2/29/64) RUS Moscow 8/26/00; 21.47i (70-5 1/4) Helena Fibingerova (7/31/49) Jablonec 2/9/85

Discus 69.60 (228-4) Faina Melnik (7/9/45) RUS Donetsk 9/9/80

Hammer 69.17 (226-11 1/2) Alla Davydova (5/21/66) RUS Valencia 5/24/03

Javelin (new specs) 66.00    (216-6) Tatyana Shikolenko (5/10/68)  RUS  Tula 8/10/03

TRACK RECORDS FOR WOMEN 40 AND OLDER

100m 10.99 Merlene Ottey (5/10/60) JAM Thessaloniki 8/30/00

200m 22.72 Merlene Ottey (5/10/60) SLO Athens, GRE  8/23/04

400m 53.68A Sara Montecinos (3/8/54) CHILE Cali 3/19/94
(nonaltitude best: 53.73 Sara Montecinos (3/8/54) CHI Santiago de Chile 9/12/94)

800m 1:59.25 Yekaterina Podkopayeva (6/11/52) RUS Luxembourg 6/30/94

1000m 2:36.16 Yekaterina Podkopayeva (6/11/52) RUS Nancy 9/14/94; 2:36.08i Yekaterina Podkopayeva (6/11/52) Livin 2/13/93

1500m 3:59.78 Yekaterina Podkopayeva (6/11/52) RUS Nice 7/18/94

Mile 4:23.78 Yekaterina Podkopayeva (6/11/52) RUS Rome 6/9/93

3000m 9.02.83(i) Lyubov Kremlyova 12/21/61 RUS Moscow 1/22/02

5000m 15:20.59 Elena Fidatov (7/24/60) ROM Bucharest 8/7/00

10,000m 32:12.07 Nicole Leveque (1/27/51) FRA Helsinki 8/13/94

Marathon 2:26:51 Priscilla Welch (11/22/44) GBR London 5/10/87

80m hurdles 11.25 Leslie Estwick (40) CAN Brisbane, Australia 7/12/01

100m hurdles  13.55  Clova Court (2/10/60)  GBR  Bedford 8/19/00

200m hurdles 29.0 Maeve Kyle (10/6/28) IRL Dublin 7/29/69

400m hurdles 58.3 Gowry Retchakan (6/21/60) GBR  Hoo 9/3/00

3000m steeple 10:38.98 Soraya Telles (9/15/58) BRA Rio de Janeiro 6/5/99

5000m walk 21:11.0 Maya Sazonova KZK (5/28/65) Almaty 6/24/01

10 km walk 45:09+  Kerry Saxby-Junna (6/2/61) AUS Edmonton   8/9/01

20 km walk 1:33:40.2t  Kerry Saxby-Junna (6/2/61)  AUS Brisbane 9/6/01

Heptathlon 4359 points Conceição Geremias (7/23/56)  BRA  São Caetano
do Sul    9/7/97 (15.61, 1.57, 12.14, 28.26, 5.49, 32.08, 2:56.10)

FIELD RECORDS FOR WOMEN 40 AND OLDER

High jump 1.76 (5-9 1/4) Debbie Brill (3/10/53) CAN, Gateshead 8/6/99; 1.76 Patricia "Trish" Porter, USA; Albuquerque, New Mexico, 6/06/04

Pole vault 3.60 (11-9 3/4)  Larissa Lowe (8/19/63) BRIT  4/24/04, Kingston, London

Long jump 6.41  (21-0 1/2) Vera Olenchenko (3/21/59)  RUS  Rostov-na-Donu
6/26/00

Triple jump 12.31 (40-4 3/4) Conceição Geremias (7/23/56)  BRA  São Paulo 5/24/97

Shot put 19.05 (62-6) Antonina Ivanova (12/25/32) RUS Orel 8/28/73 19.16i (62-10 1/2) Antonina Ivanova (12/25/32) Moscow 2/24/74

Discus 67.10 (220-2) Ellina Zvereva (11/16/60)  BLR  Edmonton 8/11/01

Hammer 58.30 (191-3) Oneithea Lewis USA (6/11/60) Syracuse 8/3/02

Javelin 64.06 (210-2) Tessa Sanderson (3/14/56) UK, London 7/12/96

RELAY RECORDS FOR MEN 40 AND OLDER

(As reported by National Masters News and other sources)

4X100m age 40-49: 42.20 SpeedWest Track Club (Frank Strong, Cornell Stephenson, Kettrell Berry, Willie Gault) Irvine, Calif. 5-2-04

4X200m age 40-49: 1:29.85 USA (Austin, Hartfield, Mitchell, Collins) 5-1-92

4X400m age 40-49: 3:20.83  Sal Allah, Kevin Morning, Ed Gonera, Ray Blackwell USA
Philadelphia   4/27/01

4X800m age 40-49: 7:54.17 Mighty Micros USA (John Hinton, 1:55; Brian Pope, 2:01; Kevin Paulk, 2:02; Tony Young, 1:55) Franklin, Thomas, Romaine) Eugene, Oregon, USA 6-28-04

4X1500m age 40-49: 16:24.12 Mighty Micros, USA Pete Magill (42), Angel Roman (41), Kevin Paulk (42), Tony Young (41), Eugene 6/22/03

4Xmile age 40-49: 17:14.31 Mighty Micros USA -- Pete Magill, CA (4:21.1), Brian Pope, MS (4:18.7), John Hinton, NC (4:20.6) and Tony Young, WA (4:14.0). Eugene, Oregon, USA 6-26-04

4X1600 age 40-49: 17.40.63 U.S. team (David Olds, Jamin Aasum, Peter Magill, Tony Young) 6/29/2002 Eugene, OR

Sprint medley age 40-49: 3:36.1m USA (Bill Knocke, Edens, Smith, Cohen) 8-14-82

Distance medley age 40-49: 10:19.11 Masters of L.A./USA (Peter Magill, Cornell Stephenson, Angel Roman, David Olds) 03/22/2003, Northridge, CA

RELAY RECORDS FOR WOMEN 35 AND OLDER

4X100m age 35-39: 48.63 France (Desmier, Sulter, Andreas, Apavou) 8-6-89 Eugene, Oregon, USA

4X400m age 35-39: 3:50.80 GBR Gateshead 9-8-99

4X800m age 35-39: 9:37.29 HOL (Van de Van, Pos, Ruyter, Verhoef) 9-25-92 Dordrecht

4X1500m age 35-and-over: 20:13.0 British Milers Club (Deborah Howard V35 4:52.3, Pat Gallagher V50 4:48.3, Kim Davison V35 4:59.2, Liz Craig V35 5:33.3), Watford, England, 4-14-9

RELAY RECORDS FOR WOMEN 40 AND OLDER

4X100m age 40-49: 50.07 GER Gateshead 8-9-99

4X400m age 40-49: 3:58.70 USA (Denise Foreman, Irene Thompson, Jacqueline Board, Mary Libal) 8-24 (?)-96 Eugene, Oregon, USA

4X800m age 40-49: 10:26.6 USA (Stoneking, Jansen, Larson, Day) 7-24-94 Blaine, Minnesota, U

INDOOR RECORDS

WORLD INDOOR RECORDS (Note: Some superior elite marks are not listed)

AMERICAN INDOOR RECORDS (Note: Some superior elite marks are not listed)

WORLD AND AMERICAN INDOOR RELAY RECORDS (MEN AND WOMEN)

Please send corrections to Peter Matthews, editor, International Athletics Annual; co-editor, Athletics International at peter@matthews.in2home.co.uk