Marathon world record progression

alt=Sebastian Sawe, the men's marathon world record holder.|thumb|upright|Sebastian Sawe, the men's marathon world record holder

thumb|upright=1.2|[[Mary Keitany during her women-only world record run at the 2017 London Marathon with 2:17:01]]

World records in the marathon are ratified by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.

Sabastian Sawe set the men's world record of 1:59:30 at the London Marathon on April 26, 2026, becoming the first person in history to run a sub two-hour marathon in race conditions.

Kenyan athlete Ruth Chepng'etich broke the women's world record with a time of 2:09:56 on October 13, 2024, at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, a mixed-sex race.

In addition to the standard women's marathon world record, World Athletics recognizes a second world record for women in the "Women Only" category for races run on a course without any male athletes in the competition. The current "Women Only" record of 2:15:41 was set by Tigst Assefa on April 26, 2026, at the London Marathon in the elite women's race.

History

Marathon races were first held in 1896, but the distance was not standardized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF, now World Athletics) until 1921.

The actual distance for pre-1921 races frequently varied from the 1921 standard of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). In qualifying races for the 1896 Summer Olympics, Greek runners Charilaos Vasilakos (3:18:00) and Ioannis Lavrentis (3:11:27) won the first two modern marathons. On April 10, 1896, Spiridon Louis of Greece won the first Olympic marathon in Athens, Greece, in a time of 2:58:50. However, the distance for the event was 40,000 meters. Three months later, British runner Len Hurst won the inaugural Paris to Conflans Marathon (also around 40 km) in a time of 2:31:30. In 1900, Hurst would better his time on the same course with a 2:26:28 performance.

Later, Shizo Kanakuri of Japan was reported to have set a world record of 2:32:45 in a November 1911 domestic qualification race for the 1912 Summer Olympics, but this performance was also run over a distance of approximately 40 km.

The first marathon over the official distance was won by American Johnny Hayes at the 1908 Summer Olympics, with a time of 2:55:18.4.

It is possible that Stamata Revithi, who ran the 1896 Olympic course a day after Louis, is the first woman to run the modern marathon; she is said to have finished in hours. World Athletics credits Violet Piercy's 1926 performance as the first woman to race the standard marathon distance; however, other sources report that the 1918 performance of Marie-Louise Ledru in the Tour de Paris set the initial mark for women. Other "unofficial" performances have also been reported to be world bests or world records over time: although her performance is not recognized by World Athletics, Adrienne Beames from Australia is frequently credited as the first woman to break the three-hour barrier in the marathon.

In the 1953 Boston Marathon, the top three male finishers were thought to have broken the standing world record, but Keizo Yamada's mark of 2:18:51 is considered to have been set on a short course of 25.54 miles (41.1 km). The Boston Athletic Association also does not report Yamada's performance as a world best for this reason.

On October 25, 1981, American Alberto Salazar and New Zealander Allison Roe set apparent world bests at the 1981 New York City Marathon (2:08:13 and 2:25:29), however, these marks were invalidated when the course was later found to have been 151 meters short. Although World Athletics' progression notes three performances set on the same course in 1978, 1979, and 1980 by Norwegian Grete Waitz, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians considers the New York City course suspect for those performances, too.

On April 18, 2011, the Boston Marathon produced what were at that time the two fastest marathon performances in history. Winner Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya recorded a time of 2:03:02, followed by countryman Moses Mosop in 2:03:06. However, since the Boston course does not meet the criteria for record attempts (the starting line is too high relative to the finish), these times were not ratified by the IAAF.

Eight IAAF world records were set at the Polytechnic Marathon (1909, 1913, 1952–1954, 1963–1965). WA-recognized world records have been broken at all of the original five World Marathon Majors on numerous occasions (updated 09/2022); twelve times at the Berlin Marathon, three times at the Boston Marathon, five times at the Chicago Marathon, six times at the London Marathon, and five times at the New York City Marathon. However, the records established in the Boston event have been disputed on grounds of a downhill point-to-point course, while four of the five New York records have been disputed on grounds of a short course.

On April 26, 2026, Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha became the first individuals to run a record-eligible marathon in under two hours, at the 2026 London Marathon.

Criteria for record eligibility

For a performance to be ratified as a world record by World Athletics, the marathon course on which the performance occurred must be long, (the distance in kilometers being the official distance; the distance in miles is an approximation) and meet other criteria that rule out artificially fast times produced on courses aided by downhill slope or tailwind. The criteria include:

"The start and finish points of a course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance."
"The decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed an average of one in a thousand (i.e., 1m per km)."

The Association of Road Racing Statisticians, an independent organization that compiles data from road running events, also maintains an alternate marathon world best progression but with standards they consider to be more stringent.

Women's world record changes

thumb|[[Tigst Assefa during her women's world record run at the 2023 Berlin Marathon with 2:11:53]]

The IAAF Congress, at the 2011 World Championships, passed a motion changing the record eligibility criteria effective October 6, 2007, so that women's world records must be set in all-women competitions. The result of the change was that Radcliffe's 2:17:42 performance at the 2005 London Marathon supplanted her own existing women's mark as the "world record"; the earlier performance is to be referred to as a "world best".

Unofficial record attempts

In December 2016, Nike, Inc., announced that three top distance runners—Eliud Kipchoge, Zersenay Tadese, and Lelisa Desisa—had agreed to forgo the spring marathon season to work with the company in an effort to run a sub-two-hour marathon.

The Breaking2 event took place in the early morning of May 6, 2017; Kipchoge crossed the finish line with a time of 2:00:25. This time was more than two minutes faster than the world record at the time.

Kipchoge took part in a similar attempt to break the two-hour barrier in Vienna on October 12, 2019, as part of the Ineos 1:59 Challenge. He successfully ran the first sub-two-hour marathon distance, with a time of 1:59:40.2. The effort did not count as a new world record under IAAF rules due to the setup of the challenge. Specifically, it was not an open event, Kipchoge was handed fluids by his support team throughout, the run featured a pace car, and included rotating teams of other runners pacing Kipchoge in a formation designed to reduce wind resistance and maximize efficiency. The achievement was recognized by Guinness World Records with the titles 'Fastest marathon distance (male)' and 'First marathon distance run under two hours' instead of an official world record.

Men

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at: 17/02/1963 tillpos: 95.8

at: 15/06/1963 tillpos: 92.4

at: 13/06/1964 tillpos: 91.8

at: 21/10/1964 tillpos: 86.6

at: 12/06/1965 tillpos: 86.0

at: 03/12/1967 tillpos: 78.8

at: 30/05/1969 tillpos: 75.2

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at: 28/09/2014 tillpos: 58.9

at: 16/09/2018 tillpos: 54.8

at: 25/09/2022 tillpos: 53.2

at: 08/10/2023 tillpos: 51.39

at: 26/04/2026 tillpos: 48.5

</timeline>

<div>

Table key:<br />

<br />

</div>

The edition of the marathon is linked on some of the dates.

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! style="width:140px"|Name

! style="width:160px"|Nationality

! style="width:160px"|Date

! style="width:180px"|Event/Place

! style="width:120px"|Source

! style="width:360px"|Notes

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:55:18.4 || Johnny Hayes || rowspan="4" | || July 24, 1908 || London Olympics, England || rowspan="8" | IAAF || Time was officially recorded as 2:55:18 2/5. Italian Dorando Pietri finished in 2:54:46.4, but was disqualified for receiving assistance from race officials near the finish.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:52:45.4 || Robert Fowler || January 1, 1909 || Yonkers, United States || rowspan="5" | Ian Ridpath, a former director of the Polytechnic marathon, has indicated on his website that some sources have wrongly listed the date of Barrett performance as May 26, 1909, and has confirmed the true date as May 8, 1909. Given that Barrett's marathon in London most likely concluded before Raines' marathon held on the same date in New York, it is also likely that Barrett rather than Raines broke the world best set by Clark three months earlier.|group=nb || Polytechnic Marathon, London, England

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:40:34.2 || Thure Johansson || || August 31, 1909 || Stockholm, Sweden

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:38:16.2 || Harry Green || || May 12, 1913 || rowspan="2" | Polytechnic Marathon ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:36:06.6 || Alexis Ahlgren || || May 31, 1913 || Report in The Times claiming world record. however, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians estimated the course to be 40 km.

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:30:57.6 || Harry Payne || || July 5, 1929 || AAA Championships, London, England || rowspan="2" | ARRS ||

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:26:14 || Sohn Kee-chung || Japanese Korea || March 21, 1935 || Tokyo, Japan || Also romanized as Kitei Son.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:27:49.0 || Fusashige Suzuki || rowspan="2" | || March 31, 1935 || rowspan="2" | Tokyo, Japan || rowspan="4" | IAAF || According to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, Suzuki's 2:27:49 performance occurred in Tokyo on March 21, 1935, during a race in which he finished second to Sohn Kee-chung (sometimes referred to as Kee-Jung Sohn or Son Kitei) who ran a 2:26:14.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:26:44.0 || Yasuo Ikenaka || April 3, 1935 || Also romanized as Kitei Son.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:25:39 || Suh Yun-bok || Korea || April 19, 1947 || Boston Marathon || Disputed (short course). Disputed (point-to-point).

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:20:42.2|| rowspan="4" | Jim Peters || rowspan="4" | || June 14, 1952 || rowspan="2" | Polytechnic Marathon || rowspan="3" | IAAF, ARRS || MarathonGuide.com states the course was slightly long. Report in The Times claiming world record.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:18:40.4 || June 13, 1953 || Report in The Times claiming world record.

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:18:04.8 || Paavo Kotila || || August 12, 1956 || Finnish Athletics Championships, Pieksämäki, Finland || ARRS ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:15:17.0 || Sergei Popov || || August 24, 1958 || European Athletics Championships, Stockholm, Sweden || rowspan="3" | IAAF, ARRS || The ARRS notes Popov's extended time as 2:15:17.6

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:15:16.2 || Abebe Bikila || || September 10, 1960 || Rome Olympics, Italy ||World record fastest marathon run in bare feet.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:15:15.8 || Toru Terasawa || || February 17, 1963 || Beppu-Ōita Marathon ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:14:28 || Leonard Edelen || || June 15, 1963 || Polytechnic Marathon || IAAF || Point-to-point course. Report in The Times claiming world record and stating that the course may have been long.

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:14:43 || Brian Kilby || || July 6, 1963 || Port Talbot, Wales  || ARRS ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:13:55 || Basil Heatley || || June 13, 1964 || Polytechnic Marathon || IAAF || Point-to-point course. Report in The Times claiming world record.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:12:11.2 || Abebe Bikila || || October 21, 1964 || Tokyo Olympics, Japan || IAAF, ARRS ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:12:00 || Morio Shigematsu || || June 12, 1965 || Polytechnic Marathon || IAAF || Point-to-point course. Report in The Times claiming world record.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:09:36.4 || rowspan="2" | Derek Clayton || rowspan="2" | || December 3, 1967 || Fukuoka Marathon || IAAF, ARRS ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:08:33.6 || May 30, 1969 || Antwerp, Belgium  || IAAF || Disputed (short course).

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:09:28.8 || Ron Hill || rowspan="2" | || July 23, 1970 || Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, Scotland || rowspan="4" | ARRS ||

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:09:12 || Ian Thompson || January 31, 1974 || Christchurch Commonwealth Games, New Zealand ||

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:09:05.6 || Shigeru So || || February 5, 1978 || Beppu-Ōita Marathon ||

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:09:01 || Gerard Nijboer || || April 26, 1980 || Amsterdam Marathon ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:08:18 || Robert de Castella || || December 6, 1981 || Fukuoka Marathon || rowspan="6" | IAAF, ARRS ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:08:05 || Steve Jones || || October 21, 1984 || Chicago Marathon ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:07:12 || Carlos Lopes || || April 20, 1985 || rowspan="2" | Rotterdam Marathon ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:06:50 || Belayneh Dinsamo || || April 17, 1988 ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:06:05 || Ronaldo da Costa || || September 20, 1998 || Berlin Marathon || First time the 40K mark was passed under two hours (1:59:55).

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:05:42 || Khalid Khannouchi || || October 24, 1999 || Chicago Marathon ||

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:05:38 || Khalid Khannouchi || || April 14, 2002 || London Marathon || rowspan="4" | IAAF, ARRS || First "World's Best" recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The ARRS notes Khannouchi's extended time as 2:05:37.8

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:04:55 || Paul Tergat || || September 28, 2003 || rowspan="8" | Berlin Marathon || First world record for the men's marathon ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:04:26|| rowspan="2" | Haile Gebrselassie || rowspan="2" | || September 30, 2007 ||

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:03:59 || September 28, 2008 || The ARRS notes Gebrselassie's extended time as 2:03:58.2.

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:03:38 || Patrick Makau || rowspan="7" | || September 25, 2011 || IAAF, ARRS ||

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:03:23 || Wilson Kipsang || September 29, 2013 || IAAF ARRS ARRS ||

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:01:09 || September 25, 2022 || World Athletics||

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

|2:00:35

|Kelvin Kiptum

|October 8, 2023

|Chicago Marathon

|World Athletics

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

|1:59:30

|Sabastian Sawe

|April 26, 2026

|London Marathon

|World Athletics

|Pending ratification. First man to break 2:00:00 in a record-eligible marathon

Women

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from: start till: end atpos: 230

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at: 03/05/1975 tillpos: 140.7

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at: 01/05/1977 tillpos: 125.7

at: 10/09/1977 tillpos: 124.3

at: 22/10/1978 tillpos: 107.4

at: 21/10/1979 tillpos: 102.6

at: 26/10/1980 tillpos: 97.0

at: 17/04/1983 tillpos: 96.4

at: 18/04/1983 tillpos: 88.1

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at: 30/09/2001 tillpos: 76.3

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at: 21/04/2024 tillpos: 68.8

at: 27/04/2025 tillpos: 67.5

at: 26/04/2026 tillpos: 67.1

</timeline>

<div>

Table key:<br />

<br />

</div>

{| class="wikitable" style=" font-size: 95%;"

|- style="background:#dfdfdf;"

! style="width:120px"|Time

! style="width:140px"|Name

! style="width:160px"|Nationality

! style="width:160px"|Date

! style="width:180px"|Event/Place

! style="width:120px"|Source

! style="width:360px"|Notes

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 5:40 || Marie-Louise Ledru || France || September 29, 1918 || Tour de Paris Marathon || ARRS ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 3:40:22 || Violet Piercy || || October 3, 1926 || London || rowspan="2" | IAAF || The ARRS indicates that Piercy's 3:40:22 was set on August 2, 1926, during a time trial on a course that was only 35.4 km.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 3:37:07 || Merry Lepper || || December 16, 1963 || Culver City, United States || Disputed (short course). however, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians notes the date of Sampson's performance was August 16, 1964. The ARRS also notes that Sampson's mark was set during a time trial and does not recognize it in their progression of marathon world bests.

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 3:14:23 || Maureen Wilton || || May 6, 1967 || Toronto, Canada || rowspan="9" | IAAF, ARRS || The ARRS notes Wilton's extended time as 3:14:22.8

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 3:07:27.2 || Anni Pede-Erdkamp || || September 16, 1967 || Waldniel, West Germany || The ARRS notes Pede-Erdkamp's extended time as 3:07:26.2

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 3:02:53 || Caroline Walker || rowspan="5" | || February 28, 1970 || Seaside, OR ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 3:01:42 || rowspan="2" | Elizabeth Bonner || May 9, 1971 || Philadelphia, United States  ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:55:22 || September 19, 1971 || New York City Marathon ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:49:40 || Cheryl Bridges || December 5, 1971 || rowspan="2" | Culver City, United States ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:46:36 || Michiko Gorman || December 2, 1973 || The ARRS notes Gorman's extended time as 2:46:37

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:46:24 || Chantal Langlacé || || October 27, 1974 || Neuf-Brisach, France ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:43:54.5 || Jacqueline Hansen || || December 1, 1974 || Culver City, United States || The ARRS notes Hansen's extended time as 2:43:54.6

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:42:24 || Liane Winter || rowspan="2" | || April 21, 1975 || Boston Marathon || IAAF || Disputed (point-to-point).

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:27:32.6 || October 21, 1979 || Disputed (short course).

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:31:23 || Joan Benoit || rowspan="2" | || February 3, 1980 || Auckland, New Zealand  || rowspan="2" | ARRS ||

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:30:57.1 || Patti Catalano || September 6, 1980 || Montreal, Canada  ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:25:41.3 || Grete Waitz || || October 26, 1980 || New York City Marathon || IAAF || Disputed (short course).

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:30:27 || rowspan="2" | Joyce Smith || rowspan="2" | || November 16, 1980 || Tokyo, Japan  || rowspan="2" | ARRS ||

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:29:57 || March 29, 1981 || London Marathon ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:25:28 || Allison Roe || || October 25, 1981 || New York City Marathon || IAAF || Disputed (short course).

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:29:01.6|| Charlotte Teske || || January 16, 1982 || Miami, United States  || rowspan="2" | ARRS ||

|- style="background:#ffd0bd;"

| style="text-align:right;"| 2:26:12 || Joan Benoit || || September 12, 1982 || Nike OTC Marathon, Eugene, United States  ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:25:28.7 || Grete Waitz || || April 17, 1983 || London Marathon || IAAF, ARRS ||

|- style="background:#d6ecf3;"

| 2:22:43 || Joan Benoit || || April 18, 1983 || Boston Marathon || IAAF || Disputed (point-to-point). The ARRS notes Radcliffe's extended time as 2:15:24.6

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

|2:17:42

|April 17, 2005

|IAAF

|-style="background:skyBlue;"

|2:17:01

|Mary Jepkosgei Keitany

| rowspan="2" |

|April 23, 2017

|IAAF

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:14:04 || Brigid Kosgei || October 13, 2019 || Chicago Marathon || IAAF ||

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

|2:11:53

|Tigst Assefa

|September 24, 2023

|Berlin Marathon

|World Athletics

|First woman to break the 2:12:00 barrier in the marathon.

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

|2:16:16

|Peres Jepchirchir

| rowspan="2" |

|April 21, 2024

|London Marathon

|World Athletics

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:09:56

| Ruth Chepng'etich

| October 13, 2024

| Chicago Marathon

| World Athletics

| First woman to break the 2:11:00 and 2:10:00 barriers in the marathon. Chepng'etich was banned on 23 October 2025 for three years for the presence and use of hydrochlorothiazide, though achievements and records pre-dating the 14 March 2025 sample stand.

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:15:50

| rowspan="2" | Tigst Assefa

| rowspan="2" |

| April 27, 2025

| rowspan="2" | London Marathon

| World Athletics

|- style="background:skyBlue;"

| 2:15:41

| April 26, 2026

| World Athletics