World records in athletics

World records in the sport of athletics are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking.
Records are kept for all events contested at the Olympic Games and some others. Unofficial records for some other events are kept by track and field statisticians. The only non-metric distance for which official records are kept is the mile run.

The criteria which must be satisfied for ratification also apply to national or other restricted records and also to performances submitted as qualifying marks for eligibility to compete in major events such as the Olympic Games.

The criteria include:

• The dimensions of the track and equipment used must conform to standards. In road events, the course must be accurately measured, by a certified measurer.
• Except in road events (road running and race walking), the performance must be set in a single-sex race.
• All team members in a relay race must be of the same nationality.
• Pacemakers are allowed, provided they have not been lapped; lapped athletes must give way.
• Drug testing immediately after the performance is now required for ratification of a record. Existing records which predate this requirement are still extant. Athletes who pass the immediate test but are later found to have been on drugs have their performances invalidated.
• In running events up to 200 m in distance and in horizontal jump events, wind assistance is permitted only up to 2.0 m/s. In decathlon or heptathlon, average wind assistance of less than 2.0 m/s is required across all applicable disciplines; and maximum of 4.0 m/s in any one event.
• In running events up to 800 m in distance, photo finish fully automatic timing is required.
• There is no restriction on altitude; since the thinner atmosphere of higher altitude provides less air resistance, locations such as Mexico City and Sestriere have previously been the sites of records in the sprint and jump events. See effects of high altitude on humans. Records set at high altitude venues are often marked with an "A" though that does not disqualify it as a record. Under those circumstances, a "sea level" best is also tracked by statisticians. Long-distance races run at altitude, with less oxygen available to the athlete, have shown to be to the athlete's disadvantage. Remarkable distance races run at altitude are also noted with the A. Currently the only standing record set at altitude is Sergey Bubka's pole vault. Based on the circumstances of his records (discussed below), the altitude was not a major factor.
• In road events, the course is not required to be a circuit, but the overall decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed 1:1000, i.e. 1 m/km.
• In road events, 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.

·         Witnessing a world record brings great pleasure for athletics fans; athletes' personal sponsors and the promoters of major meetings such as the IAAF Golden League have offered bonuses to athletes breaking a record.

·         Some middle-distance runners have specialized in acting as pacemakers in longer races, receiving a fee without even finishing the race, and possibly a bonus if a record results. This is a useful occupation for athletes who are capable of running accurately to a specified pace, but not capable of the very fastest times to become champions in their own right.

·         In the pole vault record bonuses create an incentive for an athlete capable of smashing a record to instead break it by the minimum amount (one centimetre), multiple times, at multiple meetings, in order to accumulate multiple bonuses. This has been done by Sergey Bubka in the men's pole vault, and Yelena Isinbayeva in the women's pole vault. Some commentators have complained that neither athlete ever posted as high a mark as they were capable of. In other disciplines this issue does not arise, since it is practically impossible to deliberately break a record by a small margin.

• Prior to 2000, separate records were recorded for outdoor and indoor events. In 2000, IAAF rule 260.18a (formerly 260.6a) was amended, so now it states that "world records" (as opposed to "indoor world records") can be set in a facility "with or without roof". This rule was not applied retroactively, so for example, Sergey Bubka's pole vault World Indoor record of 6.15 m is not considered to be a World record, because it was set before 2000, although it would be considered a World record had it been set after 2000. It is the only Indoor record which is greater than the World record (6.15 Indoor world record by Sergey Bubka, versus 6.14 World record by Sergey Bubka). All current World records were set outdoors.

Madonna's Record

Madonna has added another Guinness World Records title to her collection after her latest album MDNA went straight in at No.1 in the UK charts at the weekend.

It marks the 12th time the singer has reached the top spot with a long-player, making her the most successful solo artist ever on the UK album charts, edging past Elvis Presley's record of 11 No.1 albums.

Madonna's No.1 albums (Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer, The Immaculate Collection, Evita (film soundtrack), Ray of Light, Music, American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Hard Candy, Celebration and MDNA) have spent 30 cumulative weeks at No.1 - more than any other solo female on the UK albums chart.

Elvis Presley has had 11 UK No.1 albums (Rock 'n Roll, Loving You (film soundtrack), King Creole (film soundtrack), Elvis is Back!, G.I. Blues (film soundtrack), Blue Hawaii (film soundtrack), Pot Luck, From Elvis in Memphis, 40 Greatest, Elv1s - 30 #1 Hits, The King).

Madonna still trails The Beatles for the most No.1 albums on UK chart by a single act, with the Fab Four having notched up an incredible 15 No.1 albums

Nevertheless, the 53-year-old can rightly claim the title of the queen of pop, with the star currently holding 20 world records including the highest grossing music tour per concert by a female artist for her 60-date 2006 'Confessions' tour and the top-selling female recording artist of all time, with record sales in excess of 75 million in the USA and 200 million abroad.

about Usain Bolt The fastest man on the world

Bolt's personal best of 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres is the fastest ever legal time. Bolt also holds the second fastest time of 9.69 seconds (more precisely 9.683), the current Olympic record. Tyson Gay recorded a time of 9.68 s at the 2008 US Olympic Trials, but was aided with a tail wind of 4.1 m/s, exceeding the legal limit of 2.0 m/s set by the IAAF and nullifying its inclusion as a world record. Obadele Thompson's run of 9.69 s in 1996 is also not recognised as it was aided by a 5.0 m/s tail wind.

Bolt's personal best of 19.19 s in the 200 metres is the world record. This was recorded at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin against a headwind of −0.3 m/s. He has also broken the Olympic record with a time of 19.30 s (more precisely 19.296 s)

The Jamaican relay team including Bolt, set the 4x100 metres world and Olympic records at the 2008 Olympics with a time of 37.10 seconds. This is the only run in the IAAF top ten performances which was not set by an American team.

Bolt also holds the 200 metres world teenage best results for the age categories 15 (20.58 s), 16 (20.13 s, world youth record), 17 (19.93 s) and 18 (19.93 s, world junior record). He also holds the 150 metres world best set in 2009, during which he ran the last 100 metres in 8.70 seconds, the quickest timed 100 metres ever.

Average speed

From his record time of 9.58 s for the 100 m sprint Usain Bolt's average ground speed equates to: 37.58 km/h or 23.35 mph. However, once his reaction time of 0.15 s is subtracted, his time is closer to 9.43 s, making his average speed closer to 38.18 km/h or 23.72 mph.

Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed. Bolt's Jamaican track and field idols include Herb McKenley and former Jamaican 100 m 200 m world record holder, Don Quarrie. Michael Johnson, the former 200 m world and Olympic record holder, is also held in high esteem by Bolt. The first sport to interest him was cricket and he said if he was not a sprinter he would be a fast bowler instead.^[ As a child he was a supporter of the Pakistani cricket team and admired the bowling of Waqar Younis. He is also a fan of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian opener Chris Gayleand Australian opener Matthew Hayden. During a charity cricket match Bolt clean-bowled Chris Gayle. Gayle was complimentary of Bolt's pace and swing. Bolt also struck a six off Chris Gayle's bowling. Another bowler complimentary of Bolt's pace was former West Indies fast-bowling great Curtly Ambrose.

Bolt has also expressed his love for football and is a fan of Manchester United as well as Real Madrid. Bolt has also declared he is a fan of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Following a race in Manchester, he met the team at their training ground and offered Portuguese national Cristiano Ronaldo some sprinting advice. Bolt was a special guest of Manchester United at the 2011 UEFA Champions League final in London, where he stated he'd like to play for them after he retires.

In 2010, he also revealed his fondness of music, when he played a reggae DJ set to a crowd in Paris.

The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, (born 21 August 1986), is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and (along with his teammates) the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events.

Bolt won a 200 m gold medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, making him the competition's youngest-ever gold medalist. In 2004, at the CARIFTA Games, he became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in less than 20 seconds with a time of 19.93 s, breaking the previous world junior record held by Roy Martin by two-tenths of a second. He turned professional in 2004, and although he competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he missed most of the next two seasons due to injuries. In 2007, he broke Don Quarrie's 200 m Jamaican record with a run of 19.75 s.

His 2008 season began with his first world record performance—a 100 m world record of 9.72 s—and culminated in world and Olympic records in both the 100 m and 200 m events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. He ran 9.69 s for the 100 m and 19.30 s in the 200 m, and also set a 4×100 m relay record of 37.10 s with the Jamaican team. This made him the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. The following year he further lowered his own 100 m and 200 m world records to 9.58 s and 19.19 s respectively at the 2009 World Championships. This made him the first man to hold both the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time.

His 2009 record breaking margin over 100 m is the highest since the start of digital time measurements. His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt", and awards including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, and Laureus Sportsman of the Year.

After winning the 200 m title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma. To promote Bolt's chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released a series of videos including Bolt's then-world-record-setting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations. After his world record breaking run in New York City, which was preceded by a lightning storm, the press frequently made puns on the Jamaican's name, nicknaming him "Lightning Bolt" and the "Bolt from the blue".^] During the Beijing 2008 100 m final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes that had "Beijing 100 m Gold" emblazoned across them. His athletics agent is PACE Sports Management

the history about guiness world record(part 2)

Several world records that were once included in the book have been removed for ethical reasons. By publishing world records in a category, the book may encourage others to try to beat that record, even at the expense of their own health and safety. For example, following publication of a "heaviest fish" record, many fish owners overfed their pets beyond the bounds of what was healthy, so entries such as these were removed. The Guinness Book also dropped records within their "eating and drinking records" section of Human Achievements in 1991 over concerns that potential competitors could do harm to themselves and expose the publisher to potential litigation. These changes included the removal of all liquor, wine, and beer drinking records, along with other unusual records for consuming such unlikely things as bicycles and trees. Other records, such as sword swallowing and rally driving (on public roads), were closed from further entry as the current holders had performed beyond what are considered safe human tolerance levels. Earlier editions also made reference to former King Zog of Albania holding the world record for amount of cigarettes consumed being c.150 per day.

There have been instances of closed records being reopened. For example, the sword swallowing record was listed as closed in 1990 Guinness Book of World Records, but the Guinness World Records Primetime TV show, which started in 1998, accepted three sword swallowing challenges (and so did the 2007 edition of the Guinness World Records onwards). Similarly, the speed beer drinking records which were dropped from the book in 1991, reappeared 17 years later in the 2008 edition, but were moved from the "Human Achievements" section of the older bookto the "Modern Society" section of the newer edition.

As of 2010, it is required in the guidelines of all "large food" type records that the item be fully edible, and distributed to the public for consumption, in order to prevent food wastage. Chain letters are also not allowed. "Guinness World Records does not accept any records relating to chain letters, sent by post or e-mail. If you receive a letter or an e-mail, which may promise to publish the names of all those who send it on, please destroy it, it is a hoax. No matter if it says that Guinness World Records and the postal service are involved, they are not."

On 10 December 2010 The Guinness World Records rested its new "dreadlock" category after investigation of its first and only female title holder, Asha Mandela, with this official statement:

"Following a review of our guidelines for the longest dreadlock, we have taken expert advice and made the decision to rest this category. The reason for this is that it is difficult, and in many cases impossible, to measure the authenticity of the locks due to expert methods employed in the attachment of hair extensions/ re-attachment of broken off dreadlocks. Effectively the dreadlock can become an extension and therefore impossible to adjudicate accurately. It is for this reason Guinness World Records has decided to rest the category and will no longer be monitoring the category for longest dreadlock."

In 1976, a Guinness Book of World Records museum opened in the Empire State Building. Speed shooter Bob Munden then went on tour promoting the Guinness Book of World Records by performing his record fast draws with a standard weight single-action revolver from a western movie type holster. His fastest time for a draw was .02 of a second. Among exhibits were life-size statues of the world's tallest man (Robert Wadlow) and world's largest earth worm, an X-ray photo of a sword swallower, repeated lightning strike victim Roy Sullivan's hat complete with lightning holes and a pair of gem-studded golf shoes for sale for $6500.^[ This museum has been closed since.

In more recent years the Guinness company has permitted the franchising of small museums with displays based on the book, all currently (as of 2010) located in towns popular with tourists: Tokyo, Copenhagen, San Antonio. There were once Guinness World Records museums and exhibitions at the Trocadero in London, Bangalore, San Francisco, Myrtle Beach, Orlando, Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The Orlando museum, which closed in 2002, was branded The Guinness Records Experience; the Hollywood, Niagara Falls, Copenhagen, and Gatlinburg, Tennessee museums also previously featured this branding.

While some displays are dramatic, like the statues of the world's tallest and shortest people, or videos of records being broken, much of the information is presented simply with text and photos.

The 55-year history of Guinness World Records began with a single question, the type that has been repeated millions of times at dinner parties, pubs, classrooms and work places across the globe.

During a shooting party in County Wexford, Ireland, in 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver – then Managing Director of the Guinness Brewery – asked a simple question: what was Europe’s fastest game bird? Despite a heated argument and an exhaustive search within the host’s reference library the answer could not be found.

Sir Hugh realized that similar questions were going unanswered all around the world, and that a definitive book containing superlative facts and answers would be of great use to the general public. With the help of the London-based fact-finding twins Norris and Ross McWhirter, he set about bringing this definitive collection of superlative facts to reality. On 27 August 1955, the first edition of “The Guinness Book of Records” was bound and, by Christmas that year, became Britain’s number one bestseller.

Over the intervening years, copies of The Guinness Book of Records – later renamed Guinness World Records – have continued to fly off bookshop shelves. During this time, it has become clear that, to our readers, a world record is more than a simple fact: it’s a means of understanding your position in the world… a yardstick for measuring how you and those around you fit in. Knowing the extremes – the biggest, the smallest, the fastest, the most and the least – offers a way of comprehending and digesting an increasingly complex world overloaded with information.