RECORDS

When it comes to performance, athletes have lived up to the Olympic motto, “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” Marks of 100 years ago are easily eclipsed by high school athletes today. Here’s a look at how times and distances have improved in some of the high-profile events since the modern games began 100 years ago.

100 Meters

Athens (1896)*

Men: 12.0

Women:

L.A. (1932)

Men: 10.3

Women: 11.9

Tokyo (1964)

Men: 10.05

Women: 11.49

Olympic Record

Men: 9.84 (Donovan Bailey, Canada, 1996)

Women: 10.92 (Gayle Devers, U.S., 1996)

World Records

Donovan Bailey (Canada): 9.84

Florence Griffith Joyner (U.S.): 10.49

* Women’s race not held

*

1,500 Meters

Athens (1896)*

Men: 4:33.2**

Women:

L.A. (1932)*

Men: 3:51.2

Women:

Tokyo (1964)*

Men: 3:38.1

Women:

Olympic Record

Men: 3:32.53 (Sebastian Coe, Britain, 1984)

Women: 3:53.96 (Paula Ivan, Romania, 1988)

World Records

Said Auota (Morocco): 3:27.37

Qu Yunxia (China): 3:50.46

* Women’s race not held

** 1 mile (5,280 feet) in 1896; ‘metric mile’ (4,291 feet) after that

*

High Jump

Athens (1896)*

Men: 5-11 1/4

Women:

L.A. (1932)

Men: 6-5 1/2

Women: 5-5 1/4

Tokyo (1964)

Men: 7-1 3/4

Women: 6-2 3/4

Olympic Record

Men: 7-10 (Charles Austin, U.S., 1996)

Women: 6-8 (Louise Ritter, U.S., 1988)

World Records

Javier Sotomayor (Cuba): 8-0 1/2

Stevka Kostadinova (Bulgaria): 6-10 1/4

* Women’s event not held

Long Jump

Athens (1896)*

Men: 20-10

Women:

L.A. (1932)*

Men: 25-0 3/4

Women:

Tokyo (1964)

Men: 26-5 3/4

Women: 22-2 1/4

Olympic Record

Men: 29-2 1/2 (Bob Beamon, U.S., 1968)

Women: 24-3 1/4 (Jackie Joyner, U.S., 1988)

World Records

Mike Powell (U.S.): 29-4 1/2

Galina Chistyakova (Russia): 24-8 1/4

* Women’s event not held

*

100 Freestyle

Athens (1896)*

Men: 1:22.2

Women:

L.A. (1932)

Men: 58.2

Women: 1:06.8

Tokyo (1964)

Men: 53.4

Women: 59.5

Olympic Record

Men: 48.63 (Matt Biondi, U.S., 1988)

Women: 54.01 (Zhuang Yong, China, 1992)

World Records

Alexander Popov (Russia): 48:21

Le Jingyi (China): 54:01

* Women’s race not held

*

Pole Vault

Athens (1896)

Men: 10-10

Women:

L.A. (1932)

Men: 14-1 3/4

Women:

Tokyo (1964)

Men: 16-8 1/4

Women:

Olympic Record

Men: 19-4 1/4 (Sergi Bubka, Ukraine, 1988)

Women:

World Records

Sergi Bubka (Ukraine): 20-1 3/4

No women’s event

Sources: The Olympic Notebook; 1996 Information Please Almanac; Track: Field Events by Bobbie Moore and W.J. Galloway’s Book on Running by Jeff Galloway