The one hour run is an athletics event in which competitors try to cover as much distance as possible within one hour. While officially recognized by World Athletics as a track event, it is rarely contested apart from occasional world record attempts.
The event has a long history, with first recorded races dating back to the late 17th century. The first athlete to run more than 20 kilometers in one hour was Emil Zátopek, in September 1951. Zátopek also set the 20,000 metres world record in the same race. Since that time, most men's 20,000 m world records were also set en route to one hour world records.
The men's world record is , set by Mo Farah, while the women's world record is , set by Sifan Hassan. Both were set on 4 September 2020 during the 2020 Diamond League Ivo Van Damme Memorial.
Men's world record progression Distance (m)AthleteCountryPlaceDate18,742Alfred ShrubbGlasgow1904-11-0519,021Jean BouinStockholm1913-07-0619,210Paavo NurmiBerlin1928-10-0719,339Viljo HeinoTurku1945-09-3019,558Emil ZátopekPrague1951-09-1520,052Emil ZátopekStará Boleslav1951-09-2920,190Bill BaillieAuckland1963-08-2420,232Ron ClarkeGeelong1965-10-2720,664Gaston RoelantsLeuven1966-10-2820,784Gaston RoelantsBrussels1972-09-2020,907Jos HermensPapendal1975-09-2820,944Jos HermensPapendal1976-05-0121,101Arturo BarriosLa Flèche1991-03-3021,285Haile GebrselassieOstrava2007-06-2721,330Mo FarahBrussels2020-09-04
Women's world record progression Distance (m)AthleteCountryPlaceDate18,084Silvana CruciataRome1981-05-0218,340Tegla LoroupeBorgholzhausen1998-08-0718,517Dire TuneOstrava2008-06-1218,930Sifan HassanBrussels2020-09-04
All-time top 25
Men Updated September 2022.
RankResult (m)AthleteNationDatePlace121,330Mo Farah4 September 2020Brussels221,322Bashir Abdi4 September 2020Brussels321,285Haile Gebrselassie27 June 2007Ostrava421,250Sabastian Sawe2 September 2022Brussels521,131Sondre Nordstad Moen7 August 2020Kristiansand621,101Arturo Barrios30 March 1991La Flèche720,944Jos Hermens1 May 1976Papendal820,943Dionisio Castro31 March 1990La Flèche920,940Kibiwott Kandie2 September 2022Brussels1020,855Carl Thackery31 March 1990La Flèche1120,797Kiplimo Kimutai1 June 2009Hengelo1220,784Gaston Roelants20 September 1972Brussels1320,772Morhad Amdouni19 September 2020Lucciana1420,756Wilson Kiprop1 June 2009Hengelo1520,639Samuel Nyangincha30 March 1991La Flèche1620,620Godfrey Kiprotich30 March 1991La Flèche1720,601Bertrand Itsweire31 March 1990La Flèche1820,593Daniel Mateo20 April 2021La Nucía1920,587Peter Kiprotich19 September 2020Lucciana2020,550Gerard Tebroke28 September 1978Groningen2120,547Bill Rodgers9 August 1977Boston2220,536Werner Schildhauer29 April 1983Cottbus2320,525Hansjörg Kunze31 March 1990La Flèche2420,518Willy Polleunis20 September 1972Brussels2520,516Rob de Castella17 April 1982Rome
Women Updated September 2020. Mx = Mixed race RankResult (m)AthleteNationDatePlace118,930Sifan Hassan4 September 2020Brussels218,571Lonah Chemtai Salpeter4 September 2020Brussels318,517Dire Tune12 June 2008Ostrava418,341Eva Cherono4 September 2020Brussels518,340Tegla Loroupe7 August 1998Borgholzhausen618,084Silvana Cruciata4 May 1981Rome718,027Rosa Mota14 May 1983Lisbon817,974Helen Bekele4 September 2020Brussels917,955Sarah Lahti4 September 2020Brussels1017,952Junko Kataoka1 October 1994Tokyo1117,930Molly Huddle1 November 2020Attleboro1217,871Naomi Sakashita10 October 1995Amagasaki1317,776Jeļena Prokopčuka8 August 2003Riga1417,709Katrin Dörre-Heinig7 July 1988Leipzig1517,693Izumi Maki1 October 1994Tokyo1617,692Midori Fumoto1 October 1994Tokyo1717,569Annmarie Tuxbury1 November 2020Attleboro1817,546Marta Galimany4 September 2020Brussels1917,545Alice Jepkemboi Kimutai17 June 2014Ostrava2017,544Muluhabt Tsega17 June 2014Ostrava2117,343Leah Malot16 June 2009Ostrava2217,335Elena Loyo4 September 2020Brussels2317,332 Valerie Duvialard23 March 1996Rouen2417,330Julia Mombi Muraga17 June 2014Ostrava2517,323Likina Amebaw4 September 2020Brussels
References
External links IAAF list of one-hour records in XML