Chronography of Athletics
Page
last modified 12 March 2023
See
also Sports and Games
See also Football
See also Olympics Sports Events
See below for speed, height, length records
3 March 2018, Roger Bannister,
first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes, died (born 23 March 1929)
1 September 2006, Bob Mathias,
decathlete, died (born 17 November 1930)
16 February 2004, Shirley Strickland,
athlete, died.
22 November 2000, Emil Zapotek,
long distance runner, died.
4 February 1995, Godfrey Brown,
runner, died (born 21 February 1915).
5 March 1993, Canadian
sprinter Ben
Johnson was banned from the sport for life after failing a drugs
test. In 1988 he had been banned for 2 years after using steroids at the
Olympics.
11 May� 1990, Harry Whittle, athlete
(hurdles), died (born 2 May� 1922)
31 December 1989, Ryan Sheckler,
athlete, was born.
5 December 1988, Elizabeth
Gleadle, Canadian athlete, was born.
10 September 1987, Ben Baker,
British athletics (high jump) champion, died (born 15 February 1892)
26 November 1986, Malcolm Nokes, athlete (hammer throwing) died.
19 January 1985, Thomas Richards, athlete (marathon), died.
26 December 1984, Terence Johnson, long distance walker, died.
30 March 1983, Donald Cerrone, athlete, was born.
22 October 1981, David Burghley, athletics, died.
5 February 1981, Geoffrey Dyson, athlete, died (born 22
June�� 1914).
29 March 1981. The first London Marathon was run, with 6,700 competitors; the Norwegian, Inge Simonsen,
won.
22 February 1981, Guy Butler, athlete, died (born 25 August 1899).
31 March 1980, The Black American athlete Jesse Owens died, aged 67. He won 4 medals at the 1936 �Aryan�
Olympics in Germany, enraging Hitler, who
refused to shake Owens� hand.
29 March 1975, Tommy Green, champion walker, died (born 30
March 1894).
2 September 1974, Maureen Gardner, athlete (hurdles), died
12 August 1973, Darren Campbell, athlete, was
born.
16 February 1973, Cathy Freeman,
athlete, was born.
13 November 1972, Arnold Jackson, athlete, died (born 5 April 1891).
27 August 1972, Denise Lewis, heptathlete, was
born
26 December 1970, Lilian Board, athletics champion, died (born
13 December 1948).
18 April 1970, Donald Finlay, athlete (hurdles), died.
2 January 1970, Andrea Holmes, trampoline champion, was born.
30 November 1969, Catherine McKiernan, athlete, was born.
28 November 1969, Sonia O�Sullivan, athlete (running), was born.
26 July 1969, Tanni Grey-Thompson, athlete,
was born
4 February 1969, Matthew Yates, athlete, was born
8 January 1969, Albert Hill, athlete, died.
13 August 1968, Tony Jarrett, English sprinter, was born.
14 September 1967, Michael Johnson, athlete, was born.
13 October 1966, John Regis, athlete (sprinting), was born.
10 May� 1966, Jonathan Edwards, triple jump
athlete, was born.
22 October 1964, Michael Hill, athletics (javelin), was born.
14 August 1964, Geoffrey Parsons, athlete (high jump), was
born.
3 February 1963, Stefano Mei, Italian athlete, was born
24 November 1962, Andrea Lynch, athlete, was born.
10 May� 1962, John Ngugi, Kenyan athlete
(runner) was born in Kigumo, Muranga District.
3 March 1962, Jackie Joyner Kersee, athlete, was born.
19 February 1962, Stewart Matthews, trampoline champion, was
born.
30 December 1961, Ben Johnson, athlete, was born.
22 September 1961, Jack Buckner, athlete, was born.
19 April 1961, Jim Fox, athlete (modern pentathlon), was
born.
3 March 1961, Fatima Whitbread, athlete (javelin), was born.
14 November 1960, Judy Simpson, athlete, was born.
17 July 1960, Frank O�Mara, athlete (runner) was born.
2 April 1960, Linford Christie, athlete, was born in
Jamaica.
9 September 1959, Susan Cheeseborough, gymnast, was born.
4 December 1958, Tim Hutchings, athletics champion, was born.
28 November 1958, Kriss Akabusi, athletics (hurdles) champion,
was born.
18 November 1958, Shirley Strong, athlete (hurdles), was born.
17 April 1958, Laslo Babits: Canadian javelin thrower was
born (died 2013).
9 November 1957, Peter O�Connor, athlete (long jump), died
(born 18 October 1874).
28 October 1957, Glen Hoddle, athlete, was born.
5 June�� 1957,
New York narcotics investigator, Dr Herbert Berger, urged the American Medical
Association to investigate use of stimulating drugs by athletes.
4 June�� 1957, John Treacy,
marathon runner, was born.
26 December 1956, Sarah Springman, athlete (triathlon), was
born.
29 September 1956, Sebastian Coe, British international athlete,
was born in Chiswick, London.
26 April 1956, Avril Lennox, gymnast, was born.
14 March 1956, Theresa Sanderson, athlete (javelin), was
born.
25 February 1956, Mary Stewart, athlete, was born.
9 October 1955, Steve Ovett, athlete (javelin), was born.
31 August 1955, Ed Moses, athlete, was born.
16 May� 1955, Olga Korbutt, gymnast, was born.
1 May� 1955, Donna Hartley, athletics
champion, was born.
28 March 1953, James Francis Thorpe, athlete, died.
10 May� 1953, David Moorcroft, athlete, was
born.
5 April 1953, Easter Sunday. Verona Elder, sprinter, was born.
28 March 1953, James Francis Thorpe, athlete, died.
21 November 1952, Eamonn Coghlan, athlete, was born in Dublin.
25 May� 1952, David Jenkins, athlete, was
born.
3 May� 1952, Allan Wells, athlete, was born.
6 November 1951, Thomas Kiely, athlete, died (born 25 August 1869).
17 September 1951, Susan Reeve, athletics (long jump) was born).
3 May� 1950, Allan Wells, athlete., was born
28 October 1949, Barbara Lawton, athletics (high jump)
champion, was born.
19 October 1949, Ian Thompson, marathon runner, was born.
21 August 1949, Geoffrey Capes, athlete (shot put), was born.
4 March 1949, George Larner, Olympic walker, died.
13 December 1948, Lilian Board, athletics champion, was born
(died 26 December 1970)
11 October 1947, Alan Pascoe, athletics (hurdles), was born.
11 September 1946, Mike Bull, athletics (pole vault), was born in
Belfast.
7 April 1946, Colette Besson, athlete, was born (died 9
August 2005)
22 October 1945, Sheila Sherwood, athlete (long jump), was
born.
27 June�� 1945, William Sturgess, champion
walker, died (born 2 April 1871).
4 June�� 1943, Walter George, athlete, died
(born 9 September 1858).
29 June�� 1942, Maurice Davin, athlete, was
born.
20 May� 1942, Lynn Davies, long jump athlete,
was born.
15 April 1942, Valeriy Brumel, Olympic high jumper, was born
in Razvedki, USSR (died 2003).
4 October 1940, Susan Platt, athlete (javelin), was born.
10 February 1940, Mary Rand, athlete, was born.
6 July 1939, Mary Peters, athletics (pentathlon) was born.
19 March 1939, Ron Atkinson, athlete, was born.
5 August 1938, Hayes Jones, US athlete, was
born in Sturksville, Mississippi
26 February 1938, Brian Kilby, marathon runner, was born m
Coventry, UK.
25 February 1938, Herb Elliott, runner, was born in Subiaco,
Western Australia.
26 October 1937, Joyce Smith, marathon runner, was born.
17 August 1937, Arthur Rowe, athlete (shot put), was born
16 March 1936, Thelma Hopkins, athlete (high jump), was born.
29 September 1935, Bruce Tulloh, athlete (runner), was born.
25 May� 1935. US athlete Jesse Owens
broke 5 world records in one day.
26 November 1934, Suzanne Allday, athletics (shot) champion) was
born.
11 November 1934, Elzbieta Krzesinska, Polish long jumper, was
born in Warsaw (died 2015)
25 December 1933, Basil Heatley, marathon runner, was born.
7 January 1933, Diane Leather, athlete, was born.
18 June�� 1932, Stanley Vickers, athlete
(walking), was born.
17 June�� 1932, Derek Ibbotson, athlete, was
born.
17 April 1931, Howard Payne, athletics (hammer throwing) was
born (died 1 March 1992).
7 April 1931, Geoffrey Elliott, pole vaulter, was born in
Ilford, London.
31 January 1931, Chris Chataway, athlete, was born.
17 November 1930, Bob Mathias, decathlete, was born (died 1
September 2006)
1929, The starting block came
into use.
20 November 1928, John Disley, athlete, was born.
21 August 1928, Christopher Brasher, athletics champion, was
born in Guyana.
16 August 1928, Sheila Lerwill, athlete (high jump) was born.
11 June�� 1928, Alan Paterson,
athletics (high jump), was born.
2 June�� 1922, Denis Horgan,
athletics (shot put), died (born 18 May� 1871).
2 May� 1922, Harry Whittle,
athlete (hurdles), was born (died 11 May�
1990)
1918,
The sport of orienteering began in
Sweden (there known as orientering). By 1948 the sport had entered the UK and
USA.
24 October 1918, James Peters, marathon runner, was born.
18 July 1917, Lou Boudreau, athlete, was born.
31 March 1915, Wyndham Halswelle, athlete, died (born 30
May� 1882).
11 January 1915, Cyril Holmes, athlete, was born.
6 January 1915, Ibolya Csak, Hungarian high
jumper, was born (died 9 February 2006)
22 June�� 1914, Geoffrey Dyson,
athlete, was born (died 5 February 1981).
12 September 1913, Jesse Owens,
US athlete, was born.
27 January 1913, Athlete Jim Thorpe
was stripped of two Olympic gold medals for his involvement in �professional�
sport.
19 September 1910, Nellie Halstead, athlete, was born.
5 January 1910, Jack Lovelock, athlete, was
born.
28 October 1907, Thomas Hampson, athlete, was born (died 4
September 1965).
15 September 1905, Patrick O�Callaghan, athlete (hammer throwing)
was born (died 1 December 1991).
25 March 1905, Robert Howland, athletics (shot put), was born
(died 7 March 1986).
16 December 1903, Harold Whitlock, champion walker, was born
(died 27 December 1985).
2 August 1902, Ernie Harper, marathon runner, was born.
16 January 1902, Eric Liddell, Scottish athlete,
was born (died 1945)
29 August 1900, Samuel Ferris, marathon runner,
was born (died 21 March 1980).
23 November 1894, Ture Persson, Swedish sprinter,
was born.
30 March 1894, Tommy Green, champion walker,
was born (died 29 March 1975).
15 February 1892, Ben Baker, British athletics
(high jump) champion, was born (died 10 September 1987)
5 April 1891, Arnold Jackson, athlete, was
born (died 13 November 1972).
11 May� 1890, William Applegarth, athletics champion, was
born (died 5 December 1958).
25 August 1899, Guy Butler, athlete, was born
(died 22 February 1981).
2 April 1888, Daniel F Ahearne, athletics
triple jump champion, was born.
1887,
The first English Cross Country Running Championships were held.
1886,
The first Amateur Athletics Championships, UK, were held.
18 August 1885, Timothy Ahearne, athletics
triple jump champion, was born in Limerick, Ireland.
1884,
The Gaelic Athletic Association was formed.
1883,
The Scotland Amateur Athletics Association was established.
1 November 1883, Philip Baker, athletics
champion, was born (died 9 October 1982).
30 May� 1882, Wyndham Halswelle, athlete, was born (died 31
May� 1915).
1880,
The Midlands Counties Athletics Association, England, was established.
1880,
In Britain, the Amateur Athletics
Association (AAA) was established to organise amateur athletics for men in
England and Wales. In 1922 the Women�s Amateur Athletics Association was
established, after the AAA refused to allow women�s clubs to affiliate. The two
bodies merged in 1991.
1879,
The Northern Counties Athletics
Association, England, was established.
12 December 1879, Alfred Shrub, athlete (runner),
was born (died 23 April 1964).
3 October 1879, Thomas Nicolson, athlete (hammer
throwing), was born (died 18 April 1951).
20 July 1877, Patrick Leahy, athlete, was
born.
27 April 1876, Cornelius Leahy, athlete, was
born.
18 October 1874, Peter O�Connor, athlete (long
jump), was born (died 9 November 1957).
18 May� 1871, Denis Horgan, athletics (shot put), was born
(died 2 June�� 1922).
2 April 1871, William Sturgess, champion
walker, was born (died 27 June�� 1945).
25 August 1869, Thomas Kiely, athlete, was born
(died 6 November 1951).
17 June�� 1866, The New York Athletic Club was founded by John G Babcock,
who also invented a sliding seat for rowers.
4 February 1863, Lenox Tindall, athlete, was born
(died 10 June�� 1940).
30 June�� 1859. The great
tightrope walker, Charles Blondin, crossed Niagara Falls in eight minutes.� He traversed a rope 1100 feet long, 160 feet
above the water.� This was the first
crossing of Niagara on a tightrope.
9 September 1958, Walter George, athlete, was born
(died 4 June�� 1943).
30 May� 1855, Marshall Brooks, athletics (high jump) was
born (died 5 January 1944)
Speed records
Marathon
10/2019, Eliud Kipchoge,
Kenyan athlete, broke the 2 hour barrier for the marathon with a toime oif
1:59:40 seconds, although this did not count as an official record. He also
holds the official record for the marathon, set in Berlin in 2018, of 2:01:39.
21 October 1979, Norwegian female runner
Grete Waitz set a new time record of 2 hours 27 minutes 32.6 seconds for the New York marathon, 26
miles / 42 km.
1 hour
1972, Gaston
Roielants (Belgium) set a new distance record of 12 miles, 1,599 yards
10,000 metres
14 July 1973, Dave Bedford (England) set a new
world record of 27 minutes 31.0 seconds.
1972,
Lase Viren
(Finland) set a new world record at the 1972 Olympics for running 10,000 metres
of 27 minutes 38.4 seconds.
5,000 metres
1972,
Emiel Puttemans (Belgium) set a new world
record for running 5,000 metres of 13 minutes 13 seconds.
11 June�� 1965, Frenchman Michel Jazy set a new world record for running
5,000 metres of 13 minutes 29 seconds.
16 January 1965, Australian Ron Clarke
set a new 5,000 metre record of 13 minuntes 34.6 seconds in Hobart, Tasmania.
19 June�� 1956, Gordon Pirie set a new record of 13 minutes 36.8 seconds
for the 5,000 metres run.
18 September 1955, Russian athlete Vladimir Kuts set a world 5,000
metre record of 14 minutes
46.8 seconds.
1 mile
12 December 1975, John Walker (New Zealand)
ran the mile in 3 minutes 49.4 seconds
1967, Jim Ryun,
USA, ran the mile in 3 minutes 51.1 seconds
9 June�� 1965,
Frenchman Michel
Jazy, 28, set a new record for running 1 mile of 3 minutes 53.6 seconds.
27 January 1962, Peter Snell set a new world
record of 3 minutes, 54.4 seconds
1 January 1962, world record = 3 minutes, 54.5 seconds
6 May� 1954, Roger Bannister,
25 years old, ran the first mile in under four minutes in 3 minutes 59.4
seconds, on the Iffley Road track in Oxford. The previous record, 4 minutes 1.3 seconds, had stood since 1945. In September 1993
Algerian athlete Noureddine Morceli ran a mile in 3 minutes 44.39
seconds, currently the world record.
1 January 1934, world record = 4 minutes, 7.6
seconds
23 March 1929, Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes (3 minutes, 59.4 seconds), was born in
Harrow, London.
1902, Joseph Binks, athletics champion
set a record 4 mins 15.8 seconds time for running a
mile, a time not beaten until 1921.
Half-mile
27 May� 1973, Rick Wohlhuter
(USA) set a new record of 1 minute 44.6 seconds.
3 February 1962, Peter Snell set a new world
record of 1 minute, 45.1 seconds
1 January 1962, world record = 1 minute, 46.8
seconds
20 August 1938, In London, athlete Briton Shirley
Wooderson set a new world record, running the half mile in 1 minute 49.2 seconds.
1 January 1934, world record = 1 minute, 50.9 seconds
400 metres
1967, Tommie Smoith ran the 400 metres in 44.5 seconds
100 metres
2005, Asafa Powell ran the 100 metre sprint in 9.77 seconds.
1999, Tim Montgomery legitimately matched Ben Johnson�s
disallowed time of 9.78 seconds for the
100 metre sprint/
25 August 1991, Carl Lewis
set a new world record for the 100m
sprint, 9.85 seconds.
26 September 1988. The Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson flew home from the
Seoul Olympics in disgrace after being stripped of his 100m medal after failing
a drugs test. He had run the 100m sprint 2 days earlier in a record
time of 9.79 seconds but was found to have taken steroids.
Afterwards Ben
Johnson divided his time between his family in Toronto and acting as
personal bodyguard for Libya�s Colonel Gaddafi.
14 October 1968, US athlete James Hines
ran the 100 metres in under 10 seconds, a
record that stood until 1983.
Long Jump
30 August 1991, Mike Powell
set a new long jump record of 8.95 metres.
18 October 1968, Bob Beamon,
22, US athlete, shattered the world long jump record by 53 cm (21 inches),
attaining a jump of 8.9 metres (29 ft,
2.5 inches), a record that stood until 1991 when Mike Powell jumped 8.95 metres (29 ft 4.5 inches).
High Jump,
29 September 1962, Valeri Brumel set a new world
record of 7ft, 5.75 inches
1 January 1962, world record = 7ft 4 inches
29 June�� 1956, In Los Angeles, athlete Charley Dumas
set a new high jump record of 2.1 metres (7 feet),
1 January 1934, world record = 6 ft, 8.625 inches.
Pole Vault,
24 October 1970, Christos Papnicolaou (Greece) set a new
world record of 18 fteet 0.25 inches.
21 June�� 1969, John Pennel (USA) set a new
world record of 17 feet 10.25 inches
1967, Paul Wilson set a new world
record of 17 feet 7.75 inches
1 January 1964, world record = 17 feet, 0.75
inches
22 June�� 1962, Pentti Nikula set a new world
record of 16 feet 2.25 inches
1 January 1962, world record = 15 feet, 9.25
inches
1 January 1934, world record = 14 feet, 4.375
inches
Shot Put
1967, Randy Matson set a new world
record of 71 feet 5.5 inches
18 May� 1962, Dallas Long set a new world
record of 65 feet, 10.5 inches
1 January 1962, world record = 65 feet, 10 inches
1 January 1934, world record = 53 feet, 1.75
inches
Discus
1 January 1964, world record = 205 feet, 5.5
inches
1 July 1962, Al Oerter set a new world record of 204 feet 10.5 inches
1 January 1962, world record = 199 feet, 2.5
inches
1 January 1934, world record = 169 feet, 8.875
inches
Javelin,
18 June�� 1969, Jorma Kinnunen (Finland) se a
new world record of 304 feet 1.5 inches
1 January 1964, world record = 284 feet, 7 inches
1 January 1962, world record = 284 feet, 7 inches
1 January 1934, world record = 249 feet, 8 inches