Men’s track and field records for the European continent, as recognized by the European Athletic Association.
1. 100 Meters
Francis Obikwelu, Portugal, 9.86. August 22, 2004. Obikwelu’s performance earned him a silver medal at the Athens Olympics, .01 behind Justin Gatlin.2. 200 Meters
Pietro Mennea, Italy, 19.72 September 12, 1979. Mennea achieved his mark at altitude in Mexico City.3. 400 Meters
Thomas Schonlebe, East Germany, 44.33. September 3, 1987. Schonlebe set his record while winning the gold medal at the World Championships in Rome.4. 800 Meters
Wilson Kipketer, Denmark, 1:41.11. August 24, 1997. Kipketer tied Sebastian Coe’s outdoor world record earlier in 1997, then broke the mark, then broke it again during a Grand Prix meet in Cologne, Germany. Kipketer’s world record stood for 13 years, until
David Rudisha broke it in 2010.
5. 1000 Meters
Sebastian Coe, Great Britain, 2:12.18. July 11, 1981. Coe set the world record at the Bislett Games in Norway. The mark was broken by Noah Ngeny in 1999.6. 1500 Meters
Fermin Cacho, Spain, 3:28.95. August 13, 1997. Cacho set his European mark while finishing second by .04 to Hicham El Guerrouj in Zurich. At the time Cacho was the third man in history to run the 1500 in less than 3:29.7. Mile
Steve Cram, Great Britain, 3:46.32. July 27, 1985. Cram edged Sebastian Coe at the 1985 Bislett Games to set the world mile record. The mark stood for eight years until Noureddine Morceli broke it in 1993.8. 2000 Meters
Steve Cram, Great Britain, 4:51.39. August 4, 1985. Cram set the world record in Hungary, which was broken two years later by Said Aouita.9. 3000 Meters
Mohammed Mourhit, Belgium, 7:26.62. August 18, 2000. The two-time World Cross Country champion set his European mark at the Herculis meet in Monaco.10. 5000 Meters
Mohammed Mourhit, Belgium, 12:49.71. August 25, 2000. Mourhit finished second in the Memorial Van Damme meet to Brahim Lahlafi. Lahlafi later became a French citizen but was running for Morocco in 2000, so Mourhit retains the European record.
