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The following table shows the yearly rankings in the marathon since 1921 (men) and 1970 (women), based on the best performance in the classic distance race of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards).
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2022) |
The data for the women's marathon from 1970 to 1979 is compiled from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races.[1] All other data is compiled from the Association of Road Racing Statisticians.[2]
Key: Current world record
| Year | Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 2:47:29.8 |  Florestano Benedetti (ITA) | 1921-09-20 | Bologna, Italy |
| 1922 | 2:46:26 |  Gabriel Ruotsalainen (FIN) | 1922-09-10 | Helsinki, Finland |
| 1923 | 2:40:47 |  Aksel Jensen (DEN) | 1923-06-16 | Windsor, England |
| 1924 | 2:36:10 |  Shizo Kanaguri (JPN) | 1924-04-12 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1925 | 2:35:59 |  Sam Ferris (GBR) | 1925-05-30 | Windsor, England |
| 1926 | 2:34:25 | Iivari Rötkö (FIN) | 1926-09-12 | Helsinki, Finland |
| 1927 | 2:35:21.4 | Verner Laaksonen (FIN) | 1927-09-11 | Helsinki, Finland |
| 1928 | 2:32:57 |  Boughera El Ouafi (FRA) | 1928-08-05 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 1929 | 2:30:57.6 | Harry Payne (GBR) | 1929-07-05 | Stamford Bridge, England |
| 1930 | 2:36:33 | Fukutaro Shibui (JPN) | 1930-05-28 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1931 | 2:33:19 |  Juan Zabala (ARG) | 1931-10-28 | Košice, Slovakia |
| 1932 | 2:31:31 | Tanji Yahagi (JPN) | 1932-04-30 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1933 | 2:31:10 | Kozo Kusunoki (JPN) | 1933-11-03 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1934 | 2:32:56 | Tamao Shiwaku (JPN) | 1934-11-23 | Osaka, Japan |
| 1935 | 2:26:14 | Sohn Kee-Jung (JPN) | 1935-03-21 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1936 | 2:28:32 | Sohn Kee-Jung (JPN) | 1936-04-18 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1937 | 2:30:38 |  Manuel Dias (POR) | 1937-03-28 | Lisbon, Portugal |
| 1938 | 2:30:27.6 |  Pat Dengis (USA) | 1938-05-30 | Salisbury, Massachusetts, United States |
| 1939 | 2:31:26 | Toyu Go (JPN) | 1939-11-03 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1940 | 2:33:42 | Shoichiro Takenaka (JPN) | 1940-11-01 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1941 | 2:31:27 | Les Pawson (USA) | 1941-05-30 | Salisbury, Massachusetts, United States |
| 1942 | 2:31:38 | Zaiten Kimoto (JPN) | 1942-11-02 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1943 | 2:38:35.3 |  Gérard Côté (CAN) | 1943-11-07 | Yonkers, New York, United States |
| 1944 | 2:40:48.6 | Charles Robbins (USA) | 1944-11-12 | Yonkers, New York, United States |
| 1945 | 2:36:37.6 |  Sven Håkansson (SWE) | 1945-10-28 | Gothenburg, Sweden |
| 1946 | 2:31:37 | Mikko Hietanen (FIN) | 1946-07-11 | Imatra, Finland |
| 1947 | 2:30:58 | Mikko Hietanen (FIN) | 1947-08-23 | Loughborough, England |
| 1948 | 2:31:02 | Mikko Hietanen (FIN) | 1948-09-07 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 1949 | 2:28:39.4 | Salomon Könönen (FIN) | 1949-10-02 | Turku, Finland |
| 1950 | 2:29:09.4 |  Feodosiy Vanin (URS) | 1950-07-12 | Moscow, Russia |
| 1951 | 2:28:07.4 | Veikko Karvonen (FIN) | 1951-08-03 | Tampere, Finland |
| 1952 | 2:20:42.2 | Jim Peters (GBR) | 1952-06-14 | Windsor, England |
| 1953 | 2:18:34.8 | Jim Peters (GBR) | 1953-10-04 | Turku, Finland |
| 1954 | 2:17:39.4 | Jim Peters (GBR) | 1954-06-26 | Chiswick, England |
| 1955 | 2:21:21.6 | Veikko Karvonen (FIN) | 1955-09-04 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 1956 | 2:18:04.8 | Paavo Kotila (FIN) | 1956-08-12 | Pieksämäki, Finland |
| 1957 | 2:19:50 |  Sergei Popov (URS) | 1957-09-01 | Moscow, Russia |
| 1958 | 2:15:17.6 | Sergei Popov (URS) | 1958-08-24 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 1959 | 2:17:45.2 | Sergei Popov (URS) | 1959-11-11 | Košice, Slovakia |
| 1960 | 2:15:16.2 |  Abebe Bikila (ETH) | 1960-09-10 | Rome, Italy |
| 1961 | 2:18:54 |  Takayuki Nakao (JPN) | 1961-03-21 | Nagoya, Japan |
| 1962 | 2:16:09.6 |  Yu Mang-Hyang (PRK) | 1962-10-24 | Pyongyang, North Korea |
| 1963 | 2:14:28 |  Leonard Edelen (USA) | 1963-06-15 | Chiswick, England |
| 1964 | 2:12:11.2 | Abebe Bikila (ETH) | 1964-10-21 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1965 | 2:12:00 | Morio Shigematsu (JPN) | 1965-06-12 | Chiswick, England |
| 1966 | 2:14:04.8 |  Michael Ryan (NZL) | 1966-11-27 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 1967 | 2:09:36.4 |  Derek Clayton (AUS) | 1967-12-03 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 1968 | 2:10:47.8 | Bill Adcocks (GBR) | 1968-12-08 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 1969 | 2:08:33.6 | Derek Clayton (AUS) | 1969-05-30 | Antwerp, Belgium |
| 1970 | 2:09:28.8 | Ron Hill (GBR) | 1970-07-23 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| 1971 | 2:11:08.8 | Derek Clayton (AUS) | 1971-09-25 | Hobart, Australia |
| 1972 | 2:10:30 | Frank Shorter (USA) | 1972-12-03 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 1973 | 2:11:12.6 | John Farrington (AUS) | 1973-07-14 | Richmond, South Australia |
| 1974 | 2:09:12.0 | Ian Thompson (GBR) | 1974-01-31 | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| 1975 | 2:09:55 | Bill Rodgers (USA) | 1975-04-21 | Boston, United States |
| 1976 | 2:09:55.0 |  Waldemar Cierpinski (GDR) | 1976-07-31 | Montreal, Canada |
| 1977 | 2:10:55.3 | Bill Rodgers (USA) | 1977-12-04 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 1978 | 2:09:05.6 | Shigeru So (JPN) | 1978-02-05 | Beppu, Japan |
| 1979 | 2:09:27 | Bill Rodgers (USA) | 1979-04-16 | Boston, United States |
| 1980 | 2:09:01 |  Gerard Nijboer (NED) | 1980-04-26 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 1981 | 2:08:18 | Robert de Castella (AUS) | 1981-12-06 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 1982 | 2:08:52 | Alberto Salazar (USA) | 1982-04-19 | Boston, United States |
| 1983 | 2:08:37 | Robert de Castella (AUS) | 1983-04-09 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 1984 | 2:08:05 | Steve Jones (GBR) | 1984-10-21 | Chicago, United States |
| 1985 | 2:07:12 | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 1985-04-20 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 1986 | 2:07:51 | Robert de Castella (AUS) | 1986-04-21 | Boston, United States |
| 1987 | 2:08:18 | Takeyuki Nakayama (JPN) | 1987-12-06 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 1988 | 2:06:50 |  Belayneh Dinsamo (ETH) | 1988-04-17 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 1989 | 2:08:01 |  Juma Ikangaa (TAN) | 1989-11-05 | New York City, United States |
| 1990 | 2:08:16 | Steve Moneghetti (AUS) | 1990-09-30 | Berlin, Germany |
| 1991 | 2:08:53 | Koichi Morishita (JPN) | 1991-02-03 | Beppu, Japan |
| 1992 | 2:08:07 |  David Tsebe (RSA) | 1992-09-27 | Berlin, Germany |
| 1993 | 2:08:51 |  Dionicio Ceron (MEX) | 1993-12-05 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 1994 | 2:07:15 |  Cosmas Ndeti (KEN) | 1994-04-18 | Boston, United States |
| 1995 | 2:07:02 | Sammy Lelei (KEN) | 1995-09-24 | Berlin, Germany |
| 1996 | 2:08:25 |  Martín Fiz (ESP) | 1996-03-24 | Kyong-Ju, South Korea |
| 1997 | 2:07:10 |  Khalid Khannouchi (MAR) | 1997-10-19 | Chicago, United States |
| 1998 | 2:06:05 |  Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) | 1998-09-20 | Berlin, Germany |
| 1999 | 2:05:42 | Khalid Khannouchi (MAR) | 1999-10-24 | Chicago, United States |
| 2000 | 2:06:36 | António Pinto (POR) | 2000-04-16 | London, UK |
| 2001 | 2:06:50 | Josephat Kiprono (KEN) | 2001-04-22 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 2002 | 2:05:37.8 | Khalid Khannouchi (USA) | 2002-04-14 | London, UK |
| 2003 | 2:04:55 | Paul Tergat (KEN) | 2003-09-28 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2004 | 2:06:14 | Felix Limo (KEN)[3] | 2004-04-04 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 2005 | 2:06:19.5 |  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | 2005-10-16 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 2006 | 2:05:56 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | 2006-09-24 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2007 | 2:04:26 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | 2007-09-30 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2008 | 2:03:58.2 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | 2008-09-28 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2009 | 2:04:26.3 | Duncan Kibet (KEN) | 2009-04-05 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 2010 | 2:04:48 | Patrick Makau Musyoki (KEN) | 2010-04-11 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 2011 | 2:03:38 | Patrick Makau Musyoki (KEN) | 2011-09-11 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2012 | 2:04:15 | Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) | 2012-09-09 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2013 | 2:03:23 | Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich (KEN) | 2013-09-28 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2014 | 2:02:57 | Dennis Kimetto (KEN) | 2014-09-28 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2015 | 2:04:00 | Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) | 2015-09-27 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2016 | 2:03:03 |  Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) | 2016-09-25 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2017 | 2:03:32 | Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) | 2017-09-24 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2018 | 2:01:39 | Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) | 2018-09-16 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2019 | 2:01:41 | Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) | 2019-09-29 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2020 | 2:03:00 | Evans Chebet (KEN) | 2020-12-06 | Valencia, Spain |
| 2021 | 2:03:36 |  Bashir Abdi (BEL) | 2021-10-24 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 2022 | 2:01:09 | Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) | 2022-10-25 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2023 | 2:00:35 | Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) | 2023-10-08 | Chicago, United States |
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Key: Current world record
| Year | Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3:02:53 | Caroline Walker (USA) | 1970-02-28 | Seaside, United States |
| 1971 | 2:46:30 | Adrienne Beames (AUS) | 1971-08-31 | Werribee, Australia |
| 1972 | 2:55:45 | Cheryl Bridges (USA) | 1972-08-12 | Terre Haute, United States |
| 1973 | 2:46:36 | Michiko Gorman (USA) | 1973-12-02 | Culver City, United States |
| 1974 | 2:43:55 | Jacqueline Hansen (USA) | 1974-12-01 | Culver City, United States |
| 1975 | 2:38:19 | Jacqueline Hansen (USA) | 1975-10-12 | Eugene, United States |
| 1976 | 2:39:11 | Michiko Gorman (USA) | 1976-10-24 | New York, United States |
| 1977 | 2:34:48 |  Christa Vahlensieck (FRG) | 1977-09-10 | West Berlin, West Germany |
| 1978 | 2:32:30 |  Grete Waitz (NOR) | 1978-10-22 | New York, United States |
| 1979 | 2:27:33 | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 1979-10-21 | New York, United States |
| 1980 | 2:25:41 | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 1980-10-26 | New York, United States |
| 1981 | 2:26:47 | Allison Roe (NZL) | 1981-04-20 | Boston, United States |
| 1982 | 2:26:12 | Joan Benoit (USA) | 1982-09-12 | Eugene, United States |
| 1983 | 2:22:43 | Joan Benoit (USA) | 1983-04-18 | Boston, United States |
| 1984 | 2:24:26 | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 1984-05-13 | London, UK |
| 1985 | 2:21:06 | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 1985-04-21 | London, UK |
| 1986 | 2:24:54 | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 1986-04-20 | London, UK |
| 1987 | 2:22:48 | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 1987-05-10 | London, UK |
| 1988 | 2:23:51 | Lisa Martin (AUS) | 1988-01-31 | Osaka, Japan |
| 1989 | 2:24:33 | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 1989-04-17 | Boston, United States |
| 1990 | 2:25:24 | Rosa Mota (POR) | 1990-04-16 | Boston, United States |
| 1991 | 2:24:18 |  Wanda Panfil (POL) | 1991-04-15 | Boston, United States |
| 1992 | 2:23:43 |  Olga Markova (RUS) | 1992-04-20 | Boston, United States |
| 1993 | 2:24:07 |  Wang Junxia (CHN) | 1993-04-04 | Tianjin, PR China |
| 1994 | 2:21:45 | Uta Pippig (GER) | 1994-04-18 | Boston, United States |
| 1995 | 2:25:11 | Uta Pippig (GER) | 1995-04-17 | Boston, United States |
| 1996 | 2:26:04 | Katrin Dörre (GER) | 1996-01-28 | Osaka, Japan |
| 1997 | 2:22:07 | Tegla Loroupe (KEN) | 1997-04-20 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 1998 | 2:20:47 | Tegla Loroupe (KEN) | 1998-04-19 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 1999 | 2:20:43 | Tegla Loroupe (KEN) | 1999-09-26 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2000 | 2:21:33 | Catherine Ndereba (KEN) | 2000-10-22 | Chicago, United States |
| 2001 | 2:18:47 | Catherine Ndereba (KEN) | 2001-10-07 | Chicago, United States |
| 2002 | 2:17:17.7 | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) | 2002-10-13 | Chicago, United States |
| 2003 | 2:15:24.6 | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) | 2003-04-13 | London, UK |
| 2004 | 2:19:41 | Yoko Shibui (JPN) | 2004-09-26 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2005 | 2:17:42 | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) | 2005-04-17 | London, UK |
| 2006 | 2:19:36 | Deena Kastor (USA) | 2006-04-23 | London, UK |
| 2007 | 2:20:38 | Zhou Chunxiu (CHN) | 2007-04-22 | London, UK |
| 2008 | 2:19:19 | Irina Mikitenko (GER) | 2008-09-28 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2009 | 2:22:11 | Irina Mikitenko (GER) | 2009-04-26 | London, UK |
| 2010 | 2:22:04 | Atsede Baysa (ETH) | 2010-04-11 | Paris, France |
| 2011 | 2:19:19 | Mary Keitany (KEN) | 2011-04-17 | London, UK |
| 2012 | 2:18:37 | Mary Keitany (KEN) | 2012-04-22 | London, UK |
| 2013 | 2:19:57 | Rita Jeptoo Sitienei (KEN) | 2013-10-15 | Chicago, USA |
| 2014 | 2:20:18 | Tirfi Tsegaye (ETH) | 2014-09-28 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2015 | 2:19:25 | Gladys Cherono (KEN) | 2015-09-27 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2016 | 2:19:41 | Tirfi Tsegaye (ETH) | 2016-01-22 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| 2017 | 2:17:01 | Mary Keitany (KEN) | 2017-04-23 | London, UK |
| 2018 | 2:18:11 | Gladys Cherono (KEN) | 2018-09-16 | Berlin, Germany |
| 2019 | 2:14:04 | Brigid Kosgei (KEN) | 2019-10-13 | Chicago, USA |
| 2020 | 2:17:16 | Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) | 2020-12-06 | Valencia, Spain |
| 2021 | 2:17:43 | Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) | 2021-10-03 | London, UK |
| 2022 | 2:14:18 | Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) | 2022-10-09 | Chicago, United States |
| 2023 | 2:11:53 | Tigst Assefa (ETH) | 2023-09-24 | Berlin, Germany |
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- National records in the marathon
- Marathon world record progression
- Masters M35 marathon world record progression
- Masters M40 marathon world record progression
- Masters M45 marathon world record progression
- Masters M50 marathon world record progression
- Masters M55 marathon world record progression
- Masters M60 marathon world record progression
- Masters M65 marathon world record progression
- Masters M70 marathon world record progression
- Masters M75 marathon world record progression
- Masters M80 marathon world record progression
- Masters M85 marathon world record progression
- Masters W35 marathon world record progression
- Masters W40 marathon world record progression
- Masters W45 marathon world record progression
- Masters W50 marathon world record progression
- Masters W55 marathon world record progression
- Masters W60 marathon world record progression
- Masters W65 marathon world record progression
- Masters W70 marathon world record progression
- Masters W75 marathon world record progression
- Masters W80 marathon world record progression
- Masters W85 marathon world record progression
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