Sabastian Sawe, Mondo Duplantis' World Records Among 7 Ratified by World Athletics

World Athletics has officially ratified seven senior world records and one world U20 record, all set within the first five months of 2026.

The newly confirmed marks span a range of disciplines, from indoor sprints and hurdles to the marathon and field events.

Among the world records ratified are those of reigning London Marathon champion Sabastian Sawe, Mondo Duplantis and Tigst Assefa.

The World Athletics Indoor Championships in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland, were the stage for two record-breaking performances in March.

Switzerland's Simon Ehammer reclaimed his world indoor heptathlon title with a phenomenal score of 6670 points, eclipsing the long-standing record of 6645 set by Ashton Eaton of the USA back in 2012.

Ehammer built his victory on a series of strong results, including a 6.69-second 60m dash and an impressive 8.31m long jump.

He sealed the record with a world heptathlon best of 7.52 seconds in the 60m hurdles and a personal best of 2:41.04 in the final 1000m run.

The following day, Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas successfully defended her 60m hurdles title, clocking 7.65 seconds. Her time equalled the world record she had previously set in Glasgow in 2024, cementing her dominance in the event.

The TCS London Marathon on April 26 saw both the men's and women's records fall. Kenya's Sabastian Sawe made history by becoming the first man to run a sub-two-hour marathon on a record-eligible course.

He finished in a stunning 1:59:30, shattering the previous record of 2:00:35 held by the late Kelvin Kiptum. Sawe broke away from a competitive field in the final mile to secure the win.

Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha also finished under the two-hour mark at 1:59:41, while Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda took third in 2:00:28.

In the women's race, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa defended her title with a time of 2:15:41, trimming nine seconds off her own women-only world record set in London the previous year.

The race was historic, with Hellen Obiri (2:15:53) and Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:15:55) also finishing, marking the first time three women have broken the 2:16 barrier in a single race.

Pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis of Sweden raised his own world record by another centimetre, clearing 6.31m at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala on March 12.

Competing in his birth city, the Olympic and world champion improved upon his previous best of 6.30m. In the United States, Khaleb McRae broke the men's world short track 400m record at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville on February 13.

McRae blazed to a time of 44.52 seconds, taking 0.05 seconds off the previous record set by Kerron Clement on the same track in 2005.

Chinese teenager Yan Ziyi delivered a sensational performance at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen on May 23.

The 18-year-old threw the javelin 71.74m, adding nearly six meters to the world U20 record and placing her second on the all-time senior list behind only world record-holder Barbora Spotakova.

Finally, a new world short track 4x800m record was ratified. The American team of Clay Pender, Luke Houser, Luciano Fiore, and Sean Dolan clocked 7:10.29 at the Penn Classic in Philadelphia on February 6, improving on the previous best set by a US team in 2018.