List of junior world records in athletics facts for kids

World U20 Records in the sport of athletics are like the best-ever achievements by young athletes before they turn 20. These records are officially approved by World Athletics, which is the main group that organizes athletics around the world.

To make sure everyone is competing fairly, an athlete's age for U20 records is counted as their age on December 31st of the year they compete. This stops athletes from switching between age groups during a season. These records used to be called "world junior records."

Outdoor Records

Here's a guide to the colors you might see in the tables:

•       Awaiting ratification: This record is super new and is still being checked by World Athletics to make sure everything is correct.
•       not a World Athletics record event: This event isn't one of the official record events recognized by World Athletics.
•       Not ratified or later rescinded by World Athletics: This record was either not approved by World Athletics, or it was approved but then later taken away (sometimes because of issues like doping control).

You might also see these small letters:

• h = hand timing (measured by a person with a stopwatch)
• A = automatic timing (measured by electronic equipment)
• + = en route to longer distance (the record was set during a longer race)
• # = not officially ratified by World Athletics (not yet approved)
• X = unratified due to inadequate doping control (not approved because drug testing wasn't done properly)
• OT = oversized track (> 200m in circumference) (the track was bigger than usual)

Men's Outdoor Records

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Age
100 m	9.91 A (+0.8 m/s)	Letsile Tebogo	Botswana	2 August 2022	World U20 Championships	Cali, Colombia	19 years, 60 days
	9.89 (+0.8 m/s)	Issamade Asinga	Suriname	28 July 2023	South American Championships	São Paulo, Brazil	18 years, 211 days
200 m	19.69 (-0.3 m/s)	Erriyon Knighton	United States	26 June 2022	USA Championships	Eugene, United States	18 years, 148 days
	19.49 (+1.4 m/s)	Erriyon Knighton	United States	30 April 2022	LSU Invitational	Baton Rouge, United States	18 years, 91 days
300 m	31.61	Clarence Munyai	South Africa	28 June 2017	Golden Spike Ostrava	Ostrava, Czech Republic	19 years, 129 days
400 m	43.87	Steve Lewis	United States	28 September 1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	19 years, 135 days
600 m	1:14.79	Mohamed Ali Gouaned	Algeria	26 March 2021	Algerian Winter Championships	Algiers, Algeria	18 years, 264 days
800 m	1:41.73	Nijel Amos	Botswana	9 August 2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	18 years, 147 days
1000 m	2:15.00	Benjamin Kipkurui	Kenya	17 July 1999		Nice, France	18 years, 201 days
	2:13.93	Abubaker Kaki	Sudan	22 July 2008	DN Galan	Stockholm, Sweden	19 years, 31 days
1500 m	3:28.81	Ronald Kwemoi	Kenya	18 July 2014	Herculis	Fontvieille, Monaco	18 years, 302 days
Mile	3:48.06	Reynold Cheruiyot	Kenya	16 September 2023	Prefontaine Classic	Eugene, United States	19 years, 48 days
2000 m	4:56.25	Tesfaye Cheru	Ethiopia	5 July 2011	Pro Athlé Tour Meeting de Reims Champagne-Ardenne	Reims, France	18 years, 125 days
3000 m	7:28.19	Yomif Kejelcha	Ethiopia	27 August 2016	Meeting Areva	Saint-Denis, France	19 years, 26 days
Two miles	8:08.69	Selemon Barega	Ethiopia	30 June 2019	Prefontaine Classic	Palo Alto, United States	19 years, 161 days
5000 m	12:43.02	Selemon Barega	Ethiopia	31 August 2018	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium	18 years, 223 days
10000 m	26:41.75	Samuel Wanjiru	Kenya	26 August 2005	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium	18 years, 289 days
110 m hurdles (99/100 cm)	12.72 A (+1.0 m/s)	Sasha Zhoya	France	21 August 2021	World U20 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	19 years, 57 days
110 m hurdles (106.7 cm)	13.12 (+1.6 m/s)	Liu Xiang	China	2 July 2002		Lausanne, Switzerland	18 years, 354 days
400 m hurdles	47.34	Roshawn Clarke	Jamaica	21 August 2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	19 years, 51 days
2000 m steeplechase	5:19.99	Meresa Kahsay	Ethiopia	12 July 2013	World Youth Championships	Donetsk, Ukraine	17 years, 50 days
3000 m steeplechase	7:58.66	Stephen Cherono	Kenya	24 August 2001	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium	18 years, 313 days
High jump	2.37 m	Dragutin Topić	Yugoslavia	12 August 1990		Plovdiv, Bulgaria	19 years, 153 days
		Steve Smith	Great Britain	20 September 1992		Seoul, South Korea	19 years, 175 days
Pole vault	6.05 m	Armand Duplantis	Sweden	12 August 2018	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	18 years, 275 days
Long jump	8.35 m (+1.1 m/s)	Sergey Morgunov	Russia	20 June 2012	Russian Junior Championships	Cheboksary, Russia	19 years, 132 days
Triple jump	17.50 m (+0.4 m/s)	Volker Mai	East Germany	23 June 1985		Erfurt, East Germany	19 years, 51 days
	17.87 m (+1.3 m/s)	Jaydon Hibbert	Jamaica	13 May 2023	SEC Championships	Baton Rouge, United States	18 years, 116 days
Shot put (6 kg)	23.00 m	Jacko Gill	New Zealand	18 August 2013		Auckland, New Zealand	18 years, 241 days
	23.34 m X	Konrad Bukowiecki	Poland	19 July 2016	World U20 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	19 years, 124 days
Discus throw (1.75 kg)	71.37 m	Miká Sosna	Germany	10 June 2022		Schönebeck, Germany	18 years, 362 days
Hammer throw (6 kg)	85.57 m	Ashraf Amgad Elseify	Qatar	14 July 2012	World Junior Championships	Barcelona, Spain	17 years, 145 days
Javelin throw (800 g)	86.48 m	Neeraj Chopra	India	23 July 2016	World U20 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	18 years, 212 days
Decathlon (Senior implements)	8397 pts	Torsten Voss	East Germany	6–7 July 1982		Erfurt, East Germany	19 years, 45 days
	100m (wind) Long jump (wind) Shot put High jump 400m 110H (wind) Discus Pole vault Javelin 1500m 10.76 7.66m 14.41m 2.09m 48.37 14.37 41.76m 4.80m 62.90m 4:34.04
Decathlon (6 kg shot, 1.75 kg discus, 99 cm hurdles)	8435 pts	Niklas Kaul	Germany	22–23 July 2017	European U20 Championships	Grosseto, Italy	19 years, 162 days
	100m (wind) Long jump (wind) Shot put High jump 400m 110H (wind) Discus Pole vault Javelin 1500m 11.48 (-1.3 m/s) 7.20 m (+1.6 m/s) 15.37 m 2.05 m 48.42 14.55 (-0.2 m/s) 48.49 m 4.70 m 68.05 m 4:15.52
10000 m walk (track)	38:46.4	Viktor Burayev	Russia	20 May 2000		Moscow, Russia	17 years, 271 days
10 km walk (road)	37:44	Wang Zhen	China	18 September 2010	IAAF Race Walking Challenge Final	Beijing, China	19 years, 25 days
4 × 100 m relay	38.51 A	Mihali Xhotyeni Sinesipho Dambile Letlhogonolo Moleyane Benjamin Richardson	South Africa	22 August 2021	World U20 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	19 years, 173 days 17 years, 246 days
4 × 400 m relay	3:00.33	Zachary Shinnick Josephus Lyles Brian Herron Sean Hooper	United States	23 July 2017	Pan American U20 Championships	Trujillo, Peru	19 years, 1 day
	2:59.30	Frederick Lewis Matthew Boling Matthew Moorer Justin Robinson	United States	21 July 2019	Pan American U20 Championships	San José, Costa Rica	19 years, 1 day 19 years, 155 days 17 years, 113 days

Women's Outdoor Records

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Age
100 m	10.88 (+2.0 m/s)	Marlies Oelsner	East Germany	1 July 1977		Dresden, East Germany	19 years, 102 days
	10.75 (+1.6 m/s)	Sha'Carri Richardson	United States	8 June 2019	NCAA Division I Championships	Austin, United States	19 years, 75 days
200 m	21.81 (+0.8 m/s)	Christine Mboma	Namibia	3 August 2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	18 years, 73 days
	21.78 (+0.6 m/s)	Christine Mboma	Namibia	9 September 2021	Weltklasse Zürich	Zürich, Switzerland	18 years, 110 days
400 m	49.42	Grit Breuer	Germany	27 August 1991	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	19 years, 192 days
	49.22 A	Christine Mboma	Namibia	17 April 2021	Namibian Championships	Windhoek, Namibia	17 years, 330 days
	48.54	Christine Mboma	Namibia	30 June 2021	Irena Szewińska Memorial	Bydgoszcz, Poland	18 years, 39 days
	49.24 A	Christine Mboma	Namibia	11 April 2021		Lusaka, Zambia	17 years, 324 days
800 m	1:54.01	Pamela Jelimo	Kenya	29 August 2008	Weltklasse Zürich	Zürich, Switzerland	18 years, 268 days
1000 m	2:34.89	Audrey Werro	Switzerland	17 June 2023	Meeting Nikaïa	Nice, France	19 years, 82 days
1500 m	3:51.34	Lang Yinglai	China	18 October 1997	National Games of China	Shanghai, China	18 years, 57 days
Mile	4:17.57	Zola Budd	Great Britain	21 August 1985	Weltklasse Zürich	Zürich, Switzerland	19 years, 87 days
	4:17.13	Birke Haylom	Ethiopia	15 June 2023	Bislett Games	Oslo, Norway	17 years, 160 days
3000 m	8:28.83	Zola Budd	Great Britain	7 September 1985		Rome, Italy	19 years, 104 days
5000 m	14:30.88	Tirunesh Dibaba	Ethiopia	11 June 2004		Bergen, Norway	18 years, 254 days
	14:16.54	Medina Eisa	Ethiopia	23 July 2023	Anniversary Games	London, United Kingdom	18 years, 201 days
10000 m	30:26.50	Linet Masai	Kenya	15 August 2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	18 years, 254 days
100 m hurdles	12.71 (+1.3 m/s)	Britany Anderson	Jamaica	24 July 2019	Motonet Grand Prix	Joensuu, Finland	18 years, 174 days
400 m hurdles	53.60	Sydney McLaughlin	United States	27 April 2018	National Relay Championships	Fayetteville, United States	18 years, 263 days
	52.75	Sydney McLaughlin	United States	13 May 2018	SEC Championships	Knoxville, United States	18 years, 279 days
3000 m steeplechase	8:58.78	Celliphine Chepteek Chespol	Kenya	26 May 2017	Prefontaine Classic	Eugene, United States	18 years, 64 days
High jump	2.04 m	Yaroslava Mahuchikh	Ukraine	30 September 2019	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	18 years, 11 days
Pole vault	4.71 m i	Wilma Murto	Finland	31 January 2016		Zweibrücken, Germany	17 years, 234 days
Long jump	7.14 m (+1.1 m/s)	Heike Drechsler	East Germany	4 June 1983		Bratislava, Czechoslovakia	18 years, 170 days
Triple jump	14.62 m (+1.0 m/s)	Tereza Marinova	Bulgaria	25 August 1996		Sydney, Australia	18 years, 355 days
Shot put	20.54 m	Astrid Kumbernuss	East Germany	1 July 1989		Orimattila, Finland	19 years, 146 days
Discus throw	74.40 m	Ilke Wyludda	East Germany	13 September 1988		East Berlin, East Germany	19 years, 169 days
Hammer throw	73.43 m	Silja Kosonen	Finland	28 June 2021		Vaasa, Finland	18 years, 194 days
Javelin throw	63.86 m	Yulenmis Aguilar	Cuba	2 August 2015	Pan American Junior Championships	Edmonton, Canada	18 years, 364 days
	63.96 m X	Elina Tzengko	Greece	1 August 2020	Pan Hellenic U20 Championships	Ioannina, Greece	17 years, 334 days
Heptathlon	6542 pts	Carolina Klüft	Sweden	9–10 August 2002	European Championships	München, Germany	19 years, 189 days
	13.33 (-0.3 m/s) (100 m hurdles), 1.89 m (high jump), 13.16 m (shot put), 23.71 (-0.3 m/s) (200 m) / 6.36 m (+1.1 m/s) (long jump), 47.61 m (javelin), 2:17.99 (800 m)
5000 m walk (track)	20:28.05	Tatyana Kalmykova	Russia	12 July 2007		Ostrava, Czech Republic	17 years, 183 days
10000 m walk (track)	42:47.25	Anežka Drahotová	Czech Republic	23 July 2014	World Junior Championships	Eugene, United States	19 years, 1 day
	42:43 h	Svetlana Vasilyeva	Russia	27 February 2011	Russian Winter Walking Championships	Sochi, Russia	18 years, 218 days
10 km walk (road)	41:57	Gao Hongmiao	China	8 September 1993	National Games of China	Beijing, China	19 years, 144 days
	41:52	Tatyana Mineyeva	Russia	5 September 2009		Penza, Russia	19 years, 26 days
	41:55	Irina Stankina	Russia	11 February 1995		Adler, Russia	17 years, 323 days
4 × 100 m relay	42.59 A	Serena Cole Tina Clayton Kerrica Hill Tia Clayton	Jamaica	5 August 2022	World U20 Championships	Cali, Colombia	18 years, 40 days 17 years, 352 days 17 years, 152 days 17 years, 352 days
	42.58	Serena Cole Tina Clayton Brianna Lyston Tia Clayton	Jamaica	17 April 2022	CARIFTA Games	Kingston, Jamaica	17 years, 295 days 17 years, 243 days 17 years, 328 days 17 years, 243 days
4 × 400 m relay	3:27.60	Alexandria Anderson Ashlee Kidd Stephanie Smith Natasha Hastings	United States	18 July 2004	World Junior Championships	Grosseto, Italy	17 years, 172 days 18 years, 358 days 19 years, 21 days 17 years, 361 days
	3:24.04	Alexis Holmes Kimberly Harris Ziyah Holman Kayla Davis	United States	21 July 2019	Pan American U20 Championships	San José, Costa Rica	19 years, 174 days 17 years, 10 days 17 years, 201 days 15 years, 212 days

Mixed Outdoor Records

Event	Record	Athlete	Nation	Date	Meet	Place
4 × 400 m relay	3:17.69 A	Charlie Batholomew Madison Whyte Will Sumner Kennedy Wade	United States	2 August 2022	World U20 Championships	Cali, Colombia

Indoor Records

Men's Indoor Records

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Age
60 m	6.51	Mark Lewis-Francis	Great Britain	11 March 2001	World Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	18 years, 188 days
200 m	20.37	Walter Dix	United States	12 March 2005		Fayetteville, United States	19 years, 40 days
400 m	44.80	Kirani James	Grenada	27 February 2011	SEC Championships	Fayetteville, United States	18 years, 179 days
800 m	1:44.35	Yuriy Borzakovskiy	Russia	30 January 2000		Dortmund, Germany	18 years, 293 days
1000 m	2:15.77	Abubaker Kaki	Sudan	21 February 2008		Stockholm, Sweden	18 years, 245 days
1500 m	3:36.02	Jakob Ingebrigtsen	Norway	20 February 2019	PSD Bank Meeting	Düsseldorf, Germany	18 years, 154 days
Mile	3:55.02	German Fernandez	United States	28 February 2009	Big 12 Championships	College Station, United States	18 years, 118 days
3000 m	7:32.87	Hagos Gebrhiwet	Ethiopia	2 February 2013	New Balance Grand Prix	Boston, United States	18 years, 267 days
5000 m	12:53.29	Isiah Koech	Kenya	11 February 2011	PSD Bank Meeting	Düsseldorf, Germany	17 years, 54 days
60 m hurdles (99/100 cm)	7.34	Sasha Zhoya	France	22 February 2020	French U20 Championships	Miramas, France	17 years, 242 days
High jump	2.35 m	Vladimir Yashchenko	Soviet Union	12 March 1978	European Championships	Milan, Italy	19 years, 59 days
Pole vault	5.88 m	Armand Duplantis	Sweden	25 February 2018	All Star Perche	Clermont-Ferrand, France	18 years, 107 days
Long jump	8.22 m	Viktor Kuznyetsov	Ukraine	22 January 2005		Brovary, Ukraine	18 years, 192 days
Triple jump	17.54 m	Jaydon Hibbert	Jamaica	11 March 2023	2023 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships	Albuquerque, United States	18 years, 53 days
Shot put (6 kg)	22.48 m	Konrad Bukowiecki	Poland	8 January 2016		Toruń, Poland	18 years, 297 days
	22.96 m	Konrad Bukowiecki	Poland	29 December 2016		Spała, Poland	19 years, 287 days
Heptathlon (Junior)	6062 pts	Jente Hauttekeete	Belgium	13–14 February 2021	Mehrkampf - Siebenkampf U20	Frankfurt, Germany	18 years, 336 days
	60m Long jump Shot put High jump 60m H Pole vault 1000m 7.07 7.33 m 15.64 m 2.10 m 8.06 4.70 m 2:46.71

Women's Indoor Records

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Age
60 m	7.07	Ewa Swoboda	Poland	12 February 2016	Copernicus Cup	Toruń, Poland	18 years, 201 days
	7.07 A	Kaila Jackson	United States	10 March 2023	NCAA Division I Championships	Albuquerque, United States	18 years, 253 days
200 m	22.40	Bianca Knight	United States	14 March 2008	NCAA Division I Championships	Fayetteville, United States	19 years, 72 days
	22.33	Adaejah Hodge	British Virgin Islands	12 March 2023	New Balance Nationals	Boston, United States	16 years, 364 days
400 m	50.82	Sanya Richards	United States	13 March 2004	NCAA Division I Championships	Fayetteville, United States	18 years, 292 days
	50.52	Sydney McLaughlin	United States	25 February 2018	SEC Championships	College Station, United States	18 years, 202 days
	50.36	Sydney McLaughlin	United States	10 March 2018	NCAA Division I Championships	College Station, United States	18 years, 215 days
	50.52	Athing Mu	United States	6 February 2021	Charlie Thomas Invitational	College Station, United States	18 years, 243 days
800 m	1:58.40	Athing Mu	United States	27 February 2021	Southeastern Conference Championships	Fayetteville, United States	18 years, 264 days
1000 m	2:35.80	Mary Cain	United States	8 February 2014	New Balance Indoor Grand Prix	Roxbury, United States	17 years, 281 days
1500 m	4:01.57	Lemlem Hailu	Ethiopia	19 February 2020	Meeting Hauts de France Pas de Calais	Liévin, France	18 years, 274 days
	3:58.43	Birke Haylom	Ethiopia	4 February 2024	New Balance Grand Prix	Boston, United States	18 years, 29 days
Mile	4:24.10	Kalkidan Gezahegne	Ethiopia	20 February 2010	Aviva Indoor Grand Prix	Birmingham, United Kingdom	18 years, 288 days
3000 m	8:33.56	Tirunesh Dibaba	Ethiopia	20 February 2004	Aviva Indoor Grand Prix	Birmingham, United Kingdom	18 years, 142 days
	8:32.34	Melknat Wudu	Ethiopia	4 February 2024	New Balance Grand Prix	Boston, United States	19 years, 32 days
5000 m	14:53.99	Tirunesh Dibaba	Ethiopia	31 January 2004	Boston Indoor Games	Boston, United States	18 years, 122 days
	14:42.94	Senayet Getachew	Ethiopia	27 January 2024	BU John Thomas Terrier Classic	Boston, United States	18 years, 118 days
60 m hurdles	7.92	Ackera Nugent	Jamaica	13 March 2021	NCAA Division I Championships	Fayetteville, United States	18 years, 318 days
	7.91	Grace Stark	United States	29 February 2020	SEC Championships	College Station, United States	18 years, 299 days
	7.91	Ackera Nugent	Jamaica	26 February 2021	Big 12 Championships	Lubbock, United States	18 years, 303 days
High jump	2.02 m	Yaroslava Mahuchikh	Ukraine	31 January 2020	Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe	Karlsruhe, Germany	18 years, 134 days
Pole vault	4.71 m	Wilma Murto	Finland	31 January 2016		Zweibrücken, Germany	17 years, 234 days
Long jump	6.91 m	Larissa Iapichino	Italy	20 February 2021	Italian Championships	Ancona, Italy	18 years, 217 days
Triple jump	14.37 m	Ren Ruiping	China	11 March 1995		Barcelona, Spain	19 years, 38 days
Shot put	20.51 m	Heidi Krieger	East Germany	8 February 1984		Budapest, Hungary	18 years, 203 days
Pentathlon	4542 pts	Alina Shukh	Ukraine	4 February 2017	International Combined Events Meeting	Lasnamäe, Estonia	17 years, 358 days
	8.98 (60 m hurdles), 1.89 m (high jump), 13.81 m (shot put), 6.12 m (long jump), 2:16.84 (800 m)
	4550 pts	Alina Shukh	Ukraine	27 January 2017	Ukrainian Team Championships	Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine	17 years, 350 days
	8.85 (60 m hurdles), 1.88 m (high jump), 14.27 m (shot put), 6.04 m (long jump), 2:17.69 (800 m)
	4635 pts A	Kendell Williams	United States	15 March 2014	NCAA Division I Championships	Albuquerque, United States	18 years, 274 days
	8.21 (60 m hurdles), 1.88 m (high jump), 12.05 m (shot put), 6.32 m (long jump), 2:17.31 (800 m)
	4694 pts OT	Sibylle Thiele	East Germany	26 January 1984		Senftenberg, East Germany	18 years, 326 days
	8.59 (60 m hurdles), 1.86 m (high jump), 14.32 m (shot put), 6.51 m (long jump), 2:20.4 (800 m)
	4558 pts X	Nafissatou Thiam	Belgium	3 February 2013		Ghent, Belgium	18 years, 168 days
	8.65 (60m hurdles), 1.84m (high jump), 14.00m (shot put), 6.30m (long jump), 2:21.18 (800m)