December is usually a quiet season when it comes to track and field sports. In the northern hemisphere, athletes are preparing for the indoor season, whereas in the southern hemisphere the summer’s competitive season is approaching. However, some great track and field results have been made in December.
Due to the weather conditions, the best outdoor track & field results have naturally been achieved in southern countries. Most of these records were made in the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998 and during the summer’s competitive seasons in Australia.
Throughout history, 11
world records have been broken in December. The latest of these is the world record of half marathon by
Kibiwott Kandie in 2020.
Haile Gebrselassie also took to the streets in Doha in December 2002, and broke the world record of 10 km road running with a time of 27.02.
The first world record made in December went to
Jack Metcalfe for triple jump in 1935. Emma George from Australia is the only one to set a world record on an indoor track in December. George set the world record in pole jumping first outdoors in 1995 (428), and then, year later, she set a new record of 440 in a sports hall.
World Records made in December
Discipline | Result | Athlete | Date & Place |
Triple jump | 15.78 | Jack Metcalfe AUS | 14.12.1935 Sydney |
Triple jump | 16.00 | Adhemar Ferreira da Silva BRA | 03.12.1950 São Paulo |
Hammer throw | 64.05 | Stanislav Nenashev URS | 12.12.1954 Baku |
High jump | 1.76 | Mildred McDaniel USA | 01.12.1956 Melbourne |
10 000 m | 28:15.6h | Ron Clarke AUS | 18.12.1963 Melbourne |
Heptathlon | 8309 | Bill Toomey USA | 11.12.1969 Los Angeles CA |
Pole vault | 4.28 | Emma George AUS | 17.12.1995 Perth |
Pole vault (ind) | 4.40 | Emma George AUS | 10.12.1996 Melbourne |
10 km road | 27:02 | Haile Gebrselassie ETH | 13.12.2002 Doha |
50 km race walk | 3:35:47 | Nathan Deakes AUS | 02.12.2006 Geelong |
Half marathon | 57:32 | Kibiwott Kandie KEN | 06.12.2020 Valencia |
The best track and field results of both men and women come from some of the best athletes. For example, the master hammer thrower
Koji Murofushi emerged from winter hibernation by throwing a nice result of 78.57 in the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998.
Ibrahim Jeilan and
Ayanleh Souleiman have been familiar sights in world championship arenas of long-distance running in recent years, and they achieved good times on 1 500 and 5 000 metres.
In women’s sports, the Russian ladies
Anna Chicherova and
Maria Lasitskene have made mockery of the two-metre bar in high jump. The top shot putter
Valerie Adams from New Zealand visited her home country and putted Christmas greetings of 19.44 metres. In hundred metre run,
Sally Pearson, better known as a hurdler, set the Christmas season’s record of 11.17 seconds.
Best Results in December
Miehet
Discipline | Result | Athlete | Date & Place |
60 m (ind.) | 6.56 | Nicolas Macrozonaris CAN | 14.12.2002 Montréal |
| 6.56 | Joe Morris USA | 13.12.2013 Air Force Academy CO |
100 m | 10.00 | Koji Ito JPN | 13.12.1998 Bangkok |
| 9.7h (+6.6) | Rod Mapstone AUS | 21.12.1996 Perth |
| 9.8h (+6.6) | Shane Hearn AUS | 21.12.1996 Perth |
200 m | 20.1h | Kennedy Ondiek KEN | 23.12.1989 Nairobi |
| 20.25 | Koji Ito JPN | 18.12.1998 Bangkok |
400 m | 44.99 | R.A. Sugath Thilakaratne SRI | 14.12.1998 Bangkok |
800 m | 1:44.3hA | Samuel Tirop KEN | 23.12.1989 Nairobi |
1500 m | 3:34.32 | Ayanleh Souleiman DJI | 20.12.2011 Doha |
Mile | 3:51.99 | Johan Fourie RSA | 10.12.1984 Port Elizabeth |
3 000 m (ind.) | 7:44.34 | Julian Oakley NZL | 16.12.2017 Boston MA |
5 000 m | 13:15.18 | Ibrahim Jeilan ETH | 05.12.2010 Yokohama |
10 000 m | 27:17.75.54 | Akira Aizawa JPN | 04.12.2020 Osaka |
Half marathon | 57:32 | Kibiwott Kandie KEN | 06.12.2020 Valencia |
Marathon | 2:03:00 | Evans Chebet KEN | 06.12.2020 Valencia |
60 m H. (ind.) | 7.62 | Spencer Adams USA | 01.12.2012 Clemson SC |
| 7.62 | Greggmar Swift BAR | 12.12.2014 Bloomington IN |
110 m H | 13.15 | Liu Xiang CHN | 12.12.2006 Doha |
400 m H | 48.78 | Kenji Narisako JPN | 10.12.2006 Doha |
3 000 m steepl. | 8:18.3h | Julius M. Korir KEN | 09.12.1990 Formia |
High jump (ind.) | 2.35 | Ivan Ukhov RUS | 28.12.2016 Yekaterinburg |
High jump | 2.34A | Javier Sotomayor CUB | 02.12.1990 Ciudad de México |
Pole vault (halli) | 5.93 | Renaud Lavillenie FRA | 21.12.2013 Aulnay-sous-Bois |
Pole vault | 5.85 | Paul Burgess AUS | 30.12.2006 Perth |
Long jump (ind.) | 8.33 | Reggie Kelly USA | 03.12.1983 Jackson |
Long jump | 8.23 | Luis Felipe Méliz CUB | 01.12.2002 La Habana |
Triple jump | 17.32 | Pedro Pablo Pichardo CUB | 20.12.2013 La Habana |
Shot put (ind.) | 22.58 | Ryan Crouser USA | 05.12.2020 Manhattan KS |
Shot put | 21.05 | Jacko Gill NZL | 08.12.2020 Auckland |
Discus | 69.40 | Art Swarts USA | 08.12.1979 Scotch Plains |
| 65.94 | Frantz Kruger RSA | 28.12.2001 Parow |
Hammer | 78.57 | Koji Murofushi JPN | 13.12.1998 Bangkok |
Javelin | 83.04 | R.M.S.J. Ranasinghe SRI | 03.12.2015 Diyagama |
Decathlon | 8552 | Kevin Mayer FRA | 19.12.2020 Saint-Paul |
4 x 100 m | 38.95 | Thaimaa | 10.12.2007 Nakhon Ratchasima |
4 x 400 m | 3:02.62 | Intia | 19.12.1998 Bangkok |
20 km race walk | 1:19:33 | Nick A'Hern AUS | 15.12.1990 Melbourne |
50 km race walk | 3:35:47 | Nathan Deakes AUS | 02.12.2006 Geelong |
Naiset
Laji | Tulos | Urheilija | Pvm Paikka |
60 m (ind) | 7.17 | Irina Khabarova RUS | 24.12.2005 Omsk |
| 7.17 | Javianne Oliver USA | 08.12.2017 Bloomington IN |
100 m | 11.17 | Sally Pearson AUS | 16.12.2017 Brisbane |
| 10.99 (+2.7) | Li Xuemei CHN | 13.12.1998 Bangkok |
200 m | 22.48 | Damayanthi Dharsha SRI | 18.12.1998 Bangkok |
400 m | 50.42 | Beatrice Masilingi NAM | 14.12.2020 Pretoria (ei vahvistettu) |
800 m | 1:59.85 | Shiny Wilson IND | 20.12.1995 Madras |
1 500 m | 4:08.63 | Maryam Jamal BRN | 12.12.2006 Doha |
3 000 m | 8:51.20 | Linden Hall AUS | 22.12.2020 Melbourne |
5 000 m | 14:50.43 | Elana Meyer RSA | 19.12.1991 Port Elizabeth |
10 000 m | 30:20.44 | Hitomi Niiya JPN | 04.12.2020 Osaka |
| 31:17.28 | Grace Kimanzi KEN | 08.12.2018 Yamaguchi |
Half marathon | 1:05:18 | Genzebe Dibaba ETH | 06.12.2020 Valencia |
Marathon | 2:17:16 | Peres Jepchirchir KEN | 06.12.2020 Valencia |
60 m H (ind.) | 8.04 | Jasmine Camacho-Quinn PUR | 08.12.2017 Bloomington IN |
100 m H | 12.63 | Olga Shishigina KAZ | 19.12.1998 Bangkok |
400 m H | 55.09 | Sarah Carli AUS | 19.12.2020 Sydney |
3 000 m steepl. | 9:45.06 | Cheryl Chan Xue Rou SGP | 12.12.2020 Sydney |
High jump (ind) | 2.00 | Anna Chicherova RUS | 25.12.2002 Bryansk |
| 2.00 | Mariya Lasitskene RUS | 23.12.2017 Minsk |
High jump | 1.97 | Juana Arrendel DOM | 02.12.2002 San Salvador |
Pole vault (ind) | 4.80 | Jenn Suhr USA | 05.12.2015 Brockport NY |
Pole vault | 4.72 | Nina Kennedy AUS | 16.12.2020 Perth |
Long jump | 6.89 | Guan Yingnan CHN | 17.12.1998 Bangkok |
Long jump (ind) | 6.88 | Irina Meleshina RUS | 23.12.2007 Ryazan |
Triple jump | 14.37 | Xie Limei CHN | 11.12.2006 Doha |
Triple jump (ind) | 14.34 | Yelena Ivanova RUS | 29.12.2002 Sankt Peterburg |
Shot put (ind) | 21.60 | Valentina Fedjuschina UKR | 28.12.1991 Simferopol |
Shot put | 19.44 | Valerie Adams NZL | 17.12.2005 Auckland |
Discus | 64.66 | Li Yanfeng CHN | 11.12.2009 Hongkong |
Hammer | 74.15 | Zhang Wenxiu CHN | 08.12.2006 Doha |
Havelin | 62.60 | Sonia Bisset CUB | 01.12.2002 La Habana |
Javelin (old) | 65.74 | Pam Matthews AUS | 16.12.1979 Brisbane |
Heptathlon | 6055 | Evelyn Aguilar COL | 19.12.2020 Saint-Paul |
4 x 100 m | 43.34 | Kuuba | 01.12.2002 La Habana |
4 x 400 m | 3:31.24 | Meksiko | 06.12.2002 San Salvador |
20 km race walk | 1:30:45 | Regan Lamble AUS | 13.12.2015 Melbourne |