Discontinued Race Walking Events
World Records Progression

Explore the progression of discontinued Race Walking Events World Records, including the men’s and women’s track walking races.

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Throughout the history of athletics, numerous track race walking events were officially recognized before gradually disappearing from international competition. Many of these distances remained in use only for a limited period, resulting in relatively few officially ratified world records before the events were discontinued.

This page brings together the world record progressions of these discontinued men’s track race walking events, preserving their historical significance in a single reference. Although most record progressions contain only a handful of performances, they illustrate the evolution of race walking before the standardization of the modern championship distances. Together, these events form an important part of the history and development of race walking.

**George Larner**
1908 Olympic Champion 3500 Race Walking
Les Sports Modernes, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Discontinued Race Walking Events, World Records progression
Men’s events

30,000 metres Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
2:01:44.1	Maurizio Damilano	UTA	3/10/1992	Cuneo	National Meeting, record attempt
2:03:56.5	Thierry Toutain	FRA	24/3/1991	Héricourt	International Meeting
2:04:55.5	Guillaume LeBlanc	CAN	16/6/1990	Sept-Illes	National Invitational Meeting
2:08.00.0	Jose Marin	ESP	8/4/1979	Barcelona	International Meeting
2:11:53.4	Raul Gonzalez	MEX	19/5/1978	Førde	International Meeting
2:12:58.0	Bernd Kannenberg	FRG	11/5/1974	Kassel	National Meeting
2:14:21.2	Peter Frenkel	GDR	14/4/1974	East Berlin	National Meeting
2:14:45.6	Karl-Heinz Stadmuller	GDR	16/4/1972	East Berlin	National Meeting
2:15:16.0	Christoph Hohme	GDR	11/4/1971	East Berlin	National Meeting
2:17:16.8	Anatoliy Yegorov	URS	15/7/1959	Leningrad	National Meeting
2:19:43.0	Anatoliy Vedyakov	URS	23/8/1958	Moskva	National Meeting
2:20:40.2	Anatoliy Vedyakov	URS	7/10/1955	Moskva	National Meeting
2:21:38.6	Josef Doležal	TCH	12/10/1952	Praha	National Meeting
2:27:42.0	John Ljungren	SWE	3/8/1952	Värnamo	International Meeting
2:27:46.6	László Sándor	HUN	18/5/1952	Budapest	National Meeting
2:28:57.4	Harry Olsson	SWE	15/8/1943	Boras	World Record attempt
2:30:33.6	Herman Schmidt	GER	27/4/1941	Hamburg	International Meeting
2:37:18.2	Herman Müller	GER	11/9/1921	München	German Championships

3000 metres Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
11:51.8	Werner Hardmo	SWE	1/9/1945	Malmö‎‎	National Meeting
11:56.0	Werner Hardmo	SWE	21/8/1945	Tibro	National Meeting, World Record attempt
11:59.8	Werner Hardmo	SWE	22/8/1944	Uppsala	National Meeting
12:02.2	Werner Hardmo	SWE	8/9/1943	Stockholm	National Meeting
12:10.4	Werner Hardmo	SWE	25/8/1943	Örebro	National Meeting
12:19.0	John Mikaelson	SWE	5/9/1942	Malmö‎‎	National Meeting
12:23.8	Edgar Bruun	NOR	23/9/1937	Oslo	NOR-SWE walks dual meeting
12:34.2	John Mikaelson	SWE	13/7/1937	København	International Meeting	intermediate time during 5000m race (21:14.0 also WR)
12:36.0	Gunnar Jonning	SWE	23/8/1936	Mjolby	Swedish Championships
12:38.2	Alebert A. Cooper	GBR	20/7/1935	London	Ponders Ends Annual Fere and Gala
12:53.8	Gunnar Rasmussen	DEN	7/7/1918	København	National Meeting

5000 metres Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
20:26.8	Werner Hardmo	SWE	31/7/1945	Kumla	National Meeting
20:31.6	Werner Hardmo	SWE	4/9/1943	Malmö‎‎	National Meeting
20:55.8	John Mikaelsson	SWE	5/9/1942	Malmö‎‎	Hö‎‎stspelen
21:02.8	Edgar Bruun	NOR	26/9/1937	Oslo	International Meeting
21:14.0	John Mikaelsson	SWE	25/8/1943	Örebro	National Meeting
21:19.0	John Mikaelson	SWE	13/7/1937	København	International Meeting
21:42.0	Edgar Bruun	NOR	16/6/1937	Oslo	National Meeting
21:49.2	John Mikaelson	SWE	13/9/1936	Kristinehamn	National Meeting
21:52.4	Albert Cooper	GBR	14/9/1935	London	National Meeting
21:59.0	Arthur Tell Scwab	SUI	30/5/1931	Riga	International Meeting of the S.V. Union Riga Club
21:59.8	Gunnar Rasmussen	DEN	6/7/1918	København	National Meeting
24:35.8	Tore Bildt	SWE	30/7/1991	Stockholm	International Meeting

10,000 metres Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
42:10:4	Grigoriy Panichkin	URS	10/6/1958	Riga	National Meeting
42:18.4	Grigoriy Panichkin	URS	7/5/1958	Stalinabad	National Meeting
42:39.6	Werner Hardmo	SWE	9/9/1945	Kumla	National Meeting
42:47.8	Werner Hardmo	SWE	19/9/1943	Mariestad	National Meeting
43:21.4	Werner Hardmo	SWE	29/8/1943	Växjö	Swedish Walking Championships
43:25.2	Edgar Bruun	NOR	26/9/1937	Oslo	NOR – SWE walks dual meet
43.52.0	Edgar Bruun	NOR	25/6/1937	Oslo	International Meeting
44:42.4	Alfred H. Pope	GBR	31/8/1932	London	World Record attempt at 5,6,7,8 Miles and 1 Hour	also WRs for the other events (5 miles, 6 miles, 7 miles, 8 miles and 1 Hour)
45:26.4	Gunnar Rasmussen	DEN	18/8/1918	København	National Championship
46:28.4	George Goulding	CAN	11/7/1912	Stockholm	Olympic Games

1 Hour Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
13,812 m	John Mikaelsson	SWE	1/9/1945	Stockholm	National Meeting
13.593 m	Werner Hardmo	USWERS	8/10/1944	Arvika	National Meeting
13.555 m	John Mikaelsson	SWE	5/10/1941	Kumla	National Meeting
13.363 m	Fritz Schwab	SUI	9/8/1941	Berlin	National Meeting
13,308 m	Alfred Pope	GBR	31/8/1932	London	World Record attempt at 5,6,7,8 Miles and 1 Hour
13,275 m	George E. Larner	GBI	30/9/1905	London

15,000 metres Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
1:05:18.0	Leonid Spirin	URS	24/9/1957	Dnepropetrovsk	National Meeting
1:05:45.8	Leonid Spirin	URS	7/5/1957	Moskva	National Meeting
1:05:59.6	Josef Dolezal	TCH	30/5/1954	Stara Boleslav	National Meeting
1:08:08.0	Bruno Junk	URS	11/9/1951	Kharkov	National Meeting
1:08:28.0	Dumitru Paraschivescu	ROM	19/3/1949	Bucuresti	National Meeting
1:09.04.8	Athrur Tell Schwab	SUI	20/6/1935	Oslo	International Meeting
1:10:23.0	Gunnar Rasmussen	DEN	9/5/1918	København		road event, initially ratified, subsequently deleted

25,000 metres Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
2:00:46.0	Janis Dalins	LAT	1/6/1933	Riga	National Meeting	Also 2 Hours Race Walking WR (318m track)
2:03.49.0	Armando Valente	ITA	28/9/1930	Paris	International walk during FRA-HUN dual meeting
2:05:12.3	Arthur Tell Scwab	SUI	10/4/1927	Berlin	International Meeting
2:07:10.3	Niels Petersen	DEN	6/7/1919	København	National Meeting	road event with the strat and finish in Østerbro Stadium

2 Hours Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
29.572 m.	Maurizio Damilano	ITA	3/10/1992	Cuneo
29.090 m.	Thierry Toutain	FRA	24/3/1991	Héricourt
28.358 m.	Ralph Kowalsky	GDR	28/3/1962	Berlin
28.165 m.	Jose Marin	ESP	8/4/1979	Barcelona	National Meeting
27.153 m.	Bernd Kannenberg	FRG	11/5/1974	Kassel
26.930 m.	Peter Frenkel	GDR	14/4/1974	East Berlin
26.911 m.	Karl Heinz Stadmuller	GDR	16/4/1972	East Berlin
26.658 m.	Peter Frenkel	GDR	11/4/1971	East Berling
26.429 m.	Anatoliy Yegorov	URS	15/7/1959	Leningrad
26.118 m.	Edward “Ted” Allsopp	AUS	22/9/1956	Melbourne	International Meeting
25.865 m.	Anatoliy Vedyakov	URS	7/10/1955	Moscow
25.701 m.	Josef Dolezal	TCH	14/5/1955	Stara Boleslav	National Meeting
25.595 m.	Josef Dolezal	TCH	12/10/1952	Praha
25.531 m.	Olle Andersson	SWE	15/9/1945	Stockholm	World Record attempt
25.263 m.	Edgar Bruun	NOR	8/10/1939	Kristinehamn	NOR-SWE walks match
24.843 m.	Janis Dallins	LAT	1/6/1933	Riga	National Meeting	Also 25,000 miles Race Walking WR (318m track)
24.256 m.	Harolg Ross	GBR	20/5/1911	London (Herne Hill)

1 Mile Race Walking (1609,34 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
6:25.8	George Goulding	CAN	4/6/1910	Montreal

2 Miles Race Walking (3218,69 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
12:45.0	Werner Hardmo	SWE	1/9/1945	Malmö‎‎
12:54.0	Werner Hardmo	SWE	18/7/1944	Landskrona	National Meeting
13:00:0	Werner Hardmo	SWE	17/7/1944	Malmö‎‎	National Meeting
13:00.8	Werner Hardmo	SWE	26/6/1944	Stockholm	National Meeting
13:05.2	Werner Hardmo	SWE	26/9/1943	Örebro	National Meeting
13:09.8	Werner Hardmo	SWE	18/6/1943	Västerås	National Meeting
13:11.4	George Larner	GBI	13/7/1904	Manchester

3 Miles Race Walking (4828,03 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
20:25.8	George Larner	GBI	19/8/1945	Brighton

4 Miles Race Walking (6437,37 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
27:14.0	George Larner	GBI	19/8/1905	Brighton

5 Miles Race Walking (8046,72 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
34:32.8	Josef Doležal	TCH	15/10/1955	Manchester	Invitational event during London – Praha Meeting
35:00.0	Josef Doležal	TCH	4/5/1955	Tábor	National Meeting
35:15.0	Roland Hardy	GBR	31/5/1952	London	Inter-Countries championships over 7 miles
35:24.0	Roland Hardy	GBR	4/8/1951	London	GBR-FRA international match	intermediate time during invitational 10000m event
35:33.0	Harry Churcher	GBR	16/6/1949	London	National Meeting
35:43.4	Harry Churcher	GBR	5/6/1948	Motspur Park	National Meeting
35:47.2	Alfred Pope	GBR	31/8/1932	London
36:00.2	George Larner	GBI	30/9/1905	London

6 Miles Race Walking (9656,01 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
43:07.0	Alfred Pope	GBR	31/8/1932	London
43:26.2	George Larner	GBI	30/9/1905	London

7 Miles Race Walking (11.265,41 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
48:15.2	Werner Hardmo	SWE	9/9/1945	Kumla	National Meeting
48:36.4	John Mikaelsson	SWE	1/9/1945	Stockholm	National Meeting
48:53.6	Werner Hardmo	SWE	1/1/1944	Örebro	National Meeting
49:04.6	Werner Hardmo	SWE	10/9/1944	Kumla	National Meeting
49:21.2	John Mikaelsson	SWE	27/9/1942	Kristinehamn	National Meeting
49:59.2	Werner Hardmo	SWE	13/9/1942	Kumla	National Meeting
50:19.2	John Mikaelsson	SWE	3/4/1937	London	International Meeting
50:28.8	Alfred Pope	GBR	31/8/1932	London
50:40.8	George Goulding	CAN	23/10/1915	New Brunswick

8 Miles Race Walking (12.874,75 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
58:04.6	Alfred Pope	GBR	31/8/1932	London
58:18.5	George Larner	GBI	30/9/1905	London

9 Miles Race Walking (14.484,96 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
1:07.37.8	George Larner	GBI	17/7/1908	London

10 Miles Race Walking (16.093,74 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
1:10:45.8	Josef Doležal	TCH	30/4/1954	Stara Boleslav	National Meeting
1:10:55.8	John Mikaelsson	SWE	23/8/1945	Stockholm	National Meeting
1:11:58.0	Werner Hardmo	SWE	8/10/1944	Arvika	National Meeting
1:13:03.8	John Mikaelsson	SWE	30/8/1942	Soderhamn	National Meeting	in conjuction with Swedish Championships
1:13:59.4	John Mikaelsson	SWE	2/9/1939	Sundyberg	National Meeting
1:14:30.6	Frank Redman	GBR	26/5/1934	London	Inter-Countries Championships
1:15:57.4	George Larner	GBI	17/7/1908	London

15 Miles Race Walking (24.140,71 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
1:56:09.8	Janis Dalins	LAT	1/6/1933	Riga
1:59:12.6	Harold Ross	GBI	20/5/1911	London	Walking Club promotion meeting

20 Miles Race Walking (32.186,83 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
2:27:38.6	Vittorio Visini	ITA	1/11/1975	Vicenza
2:30:38.6	Gerhard Weidner	FRG	25/5/1973	Hamburg	International Meeting
2:31:33.0	Anatoliy Vedyakov	URS	23/8/1958	Moskva	National Meeting
2:33:09.4	Josef Doležal	TCH	14/5/1954	Stara Boleslav	National Meeting
2:41:07.0	Harry Olsson	SWE	15/8/1943	Borås	National Meeting
2:43:38.0	Albert Plumb	GBR	7/5/1932	Birmingham	National Championships
2:47:52.0	Thomas Griffith	GBI	3/12/1870	London

25 Miles Race Walking (32.186,83 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
3:32:26.0	Janis Dalins	LAT	16/6/1932	Riga	International Meeting
3:37.06.8	Sidney Schofield	GBI	20/5/1911	London	Surrey Walking Club promotion meeting

30 Miles Race Walking (48.280,32 metres)

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
3:48:23.4	Bernd Kannenberg	FRG	16/11/1975	Nerviano
3:51:48.6	Gerhard Weidner	FRG	8/4/1974	Hamburg
3:56:12.6	Peter Selzer	GDR	3/10/1971	Naumburg
4:00:06.4	Christoph Höhne	GDR	18/10/1969	East Berlin
4:02:33.0	Christoph Höhne	GDR	16/5/1965	Potsdam
4:04:56.8	Abdon Pamich	ITA	19/11/1961	Roma
4:07:11.0	Sergey Lobastov	URS	23/8/1958	Moskva	National Meeting
4:12:03.4	Ladislav Moc	TCH	21/6/1956	Praha
4:16:14.8	Milan Skront	TCH	30/4/1956	Krnov
4:20:10.6	Antal Roka	HUN	30/10/1955	Budapest	National Meeting
4:21:11.0	John Ljunggren	SWE	8/8/1953	Fristad
4:21:12.6	Antal Roka	HUN	1/6/1952	Budapest	National Meeting
4:21:38.2	John Ljunggren	SWE	29/7/1951	Gislaved	National Meeting
4:24:54.2	Florimond Cornet	FRA	11/10/1942	Paris	National Meeting
4:29:31.8	Harold Whitlock	GBR	5/10/1935	London	National Meeting

Discontinued Race Walking Events World Records Progression
Women’s events

5,000 metres Race Walking

Mark	Athlete	Country	Date	City	Competition	Notes
20:02.60	Gillian O’ Sullivan	IRL	13/7/2002	Dublin	Irish Championships
20:13.26	Kerry Saxby – Junna	AUS	23/2/1996	Hobart	International Meeting
20:17.19	Kerry Saxby	AUS	14/1/1990	Sydney	International Meeting
20:32.75	Kerry Saxby	AUS	19/3/1989	Brisbane	National Championships
20:45.32	Kerry Saxby	AUS	20/3/1988	Perth	National Championships
20:55.76	Kerry Saxby	AUS	10/1/1988	Sydney	National Meeting
21:20.2	Yan Hong	CHN	29/3/1987	Xinglong	National Meeting
21:26.5	Guan Ping	CHN	17/10/1986	Qingdao	National Championships
21:34.37	Li Sujie	CHN	7/6/1986	Beijing	National Championships
21:35.25	Giuliana Salce	ITA	19/6/1986	Verona	International Meeting
21:36.2	Olga Krishtop	URS	4/8/1984	Penza	National Championships
21:40.3	Yan Hong	CHN	5/5/1984	Fana / Bergen	International Meeting
21:51.85	Giuliana Salce	ITA	1/10/1983	L’ Aquilla
22:04.0	Olga Yarutkina	URS	21/8/1983	Depropetrovsk	National Meeting
22:41.4	Aleksandra Deverinskaya	URS	15/5/1982	Fana / Bergen	International Meeting
22:45.6	Sue Cook	AUS	24/4/1982	Adelaide	National Meeting
22:50.0	Aleksandra Deverinskaya	URS	24/7/1981	Leningrad	National Championships

The event was removed for the World Record list at 1/1/2004

References

Müller Stefan, Progression of world records (2025-10-07)
NUTS, National Union of Track Statisticians
World Athletics – Progression of World Athletics Records (2024 edition)
World Athletics – World Records Progression

Discontinued Race Walking EventsWorld Records Progression

Discontinued Race Walking Events, World Records progression Men’s events