Women's World Championship Records

1. 100 Meters

Marion Jones, United States, 10.70. August 22, 1999. Before Jones’ problems with performance-enhancing drugs began, she successfully defended her World Championship 100-meter title, running her best-ever time at normal altitude.

2. 200 Meters

Silke Gladisch-Moller, East Germany, 21.74. September 3, 1987. Gladisch-Moller turned the 100-200 double at the Rome Championships, edging a young Florence Griffith-Joyner in the 200 final.

3. 400 Meters

Jarmila Kratochvilova, Czechoslovakia, 47.99. August 10, 1983. Kratochvilova won the rare 400-800 double at the first-ever outdoor World Championship, held in Helsinki, setting world records in both events. Her 400-meter world record was topped by Marita Koch in 1985.

4. 800 Meters

Jarmila Kratochvilova, Czechoslovakia, 1:54.68. August 9, 1983. Kratochvilova won the first leg of her 400-800 double in the 800, setting a world record that still stands. Kratochvilova owns the only World Championship marks that remain from the initial event in 1983.

5. 1500 Meters

Tatyana Tomashova, Russia, 3:58.52. August 31, 2003. Tomashova was a surprise 1500-meter winner, tracking down favorite Sureyya Ayhan on the final lap.

6. *3000 Meters

Qu Yunxia, China, 8:28.71. August 16, 1993. Qu set a Championship mark that will never be broken because 1993 was the final year in which women ran the 3000 meters. The event was replaced by the 5000-meter run in 1995.

* Event no longer contested in the World Championships.

7. 5000 Meters

Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopia, 14:38.59. August 13, 2005. Dibaba won her second consecutive 5000-meter gold medal and capped a 5000-10,000 double with her victory at the Helsinki Championships.

8. 10,000 Meters

Berhane Adere, Ethiopia, 30.04.18. August 23, 2003. Before she moved on to focus on the marathon, Adere earned three World Championship medals, including a gold medal performance in 2003.

9. Marathon

Paula Radcliffe, Great Britain, 2:20:57. August 14, 2005. Radcliffe dominated the marathon in Helsinki, winning by more than a minute.

10. Steeplechase

Ekaterina Volkova, Russia, 9:06.57. August 27, 2007. Volkova took the lead in the latter stages of the second-ever World Championship women’s steeplechase event and won by more than two seconds.