What Is The Fastest 10k Time Ever? Diving Into Astounding 10k Stats

It’s always fun to look at the fastest running times for specific distances and drop your jaw in awe at the blazing performances. Today, we will look at the fastest time for a 10k.

What is the fastest 10k time ever? What is the fastest 10k time high school runners have achieved, and what is the world record 10k time for women and men?

In this article, we will discuss the fastest time for a 10k, the progression of the world record 10k times for men and women, the fastest 10k time high school runners have achieved, and the average 10k times for everyday runners.

We will cover: 

• What Is The Fastest 10k Time Ever?

• The 10k World Record Progression

• What Is the Fastest 10k High School Time?

Let’s dive in! 

What Is The Fastest 10k Time Ever? 

So, what is the fastest 10k time ever? For that stat, we have to look at the 10,000-meter world records.

According to World Athletics, the official 10,000-meter world record for men on the track is a time of 26:11.00, a record held by Ugandan runner Joshua Cheptegei and set on October 7, 2020, at Estadio de Atletismo del Turia in Valencia, Spain.

This means that the fastest 10 km time works out to an average pace of 4:13 per mile or 2:37 per kilometer.

According to World Athletics, the official women’s 10,000-meter world record on the track is a time of 29:01.03. This world record 10,000-meter performance is held by Ethiopian runner Letesenbet Gidey and was set on June 8, 2021, at Blankers-Koen Stadion, in Hengelo, Netherlands.

Therefore, Gidey ran an average pace of 4:41 per mile en route to her 10k world record.

Related: Race Time Calculator – Predict Your Race Finish Times

According to Athletics Weekly, the fastest 10k time on the road is 26:24. This 10k world record is held by Kenyan runner Rhonex Kipruto and was set on January 12, 2020.

In terms of the pace, this fastest 10 km time works out to just about 4:15 per mile (or 2:38 per kilometer).

According to Athletics Weekly, the fastest 10k time for women on the road is 29:14. This women’s 10k world record is held by Ethiopian runner Yalemzerf Yehualaw and was set on February 27, 2022. 

Yehualaw‘s fastest 10 km time workouts out to 4:47 per mile or 2:58 per kilometer.

The fastest 10k run performances were not officially recognized as world records by the IAAF until August 2003, when the IAAF Congress decided to approve world record status for several long-distance road distances, including the 10 km.

Prior to this time, rather than being considered “10 km world records,” the fastest 10k race times were considered “world bests 10 km” times.

When looking at the fastest 10 km performances for both men and women, it is quite evident that the 10 km world records and prior 10 km world bests have been dominated by runners of East African descent.

Indeed, the 10 km distance has been dominated by runners from East Africa since the 1990s. 

When looking specifically at the fastest 10 km times, all 10 of the official 10k men’s world records have been set by east African runners, five of whom are Kenyan.

On the women’s side, nine of the fastest 10 km performances for women were also achieved by runners from East African nations.

The 10k World Record Progression

The first 10,000-meter world record ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was in 1912 and was reflective of the 30:58.8 performance by French runner Jean Bouin from the prior year.

There have been 38 official 10k world records ratified by the IAAF. 

Time	Athlete	Country	Date	Place
30:58.8	Jean Bouin	France	November 16, 1911	Paris, France
30:40.2	Paavo Nurmi	Finland	June 22, 1921	Stockholm, Sweden
30:35.4	Ville Ritola	Finland	May 25, 1924	Helsinki, Finland
30:23.2	Ville Ritola	Finland	July 6, 1924	Paris, France
30:06.2	Paavo Nurmi	Finland	August 31, 1924	Kuopio, Finland
30:05.6	Ilmari Salminen	Finland	July 18, 1937	Kouvola, Finland
30:02.0	Taisto Mäki	Finland	September 29, 1938	Tampere, Finland
29:52.6	Taisto Mäki	Finland	September 17, 1939	Helsinki, Finland
29:35.4	Viljo Heino	Finland	August 25, 1944	Helsinki, Finland
29:28.2	Emil Zátopek	Czech Republic	June 11, 1949	Ostrava, Czech Republic
29:27.2	Viljo Heino	Finland	September 1, 1949	Kouvola, Finland
29:21.2	Emil Zátopek	Czech Republic	October 22, 1949	Ostrava, Czech Republic
29:02.6	Emil Zátopek	Czech Republic	August 4, 1950	Turku, Finland
29:01.6	Emil Zátopek	Czech Republic	November 1, 1953	Stara Boleslav, Czech Republic
28:54.2	Emil Zátopek	Czech Republic	June 1, 1954	Brussels, Belgium
28:42.8	Sandor Iharos	Hungary	July 15, 1956	Budapest, Hungary
28:30.4	Vladimir Kuts	Russia	September 11, 1956	Moscow, Soviet Union
28:18.8	Pyotr Bolotnikov	Russia	October 15, 1960	Kiev, Soviet Union
28:18.2	Pyotr Bolotnikov	Russia	August 11, 1962	Moscow, Soviet Union
28:15.6	Ron Clarke	Austria	December 18, 1963	Melbourne, Australia
27:39.4	Ron Clarke	Austria	July 14, 1965	Oslo, Norway
27:38.4	Lasse Virén	Finland	September 3, 1972	Munich, Germany
27:30.8	David Bedford	Great Britain	July 13, 1973	London, United Kingdom
27:30.5	Samson Kimobwa	Kenya	June 30, 1977	Helsinki, Finland
27:22.4	Henry Rono	Kenya	June 11, 1978	Vienna, Austria
27:13.8	Fernando Mamede	Portugal	July 2, 1984	Stockholm, Sweden
27:08.2	Arturo Barrios	Mexico	August 18, 1989	Berlin, Germany
27:07.9	Richard Chelimo	Kenya	July 5, 1993	Stockholm, Sweden
26:58.4	Yobes Ondieki	Kenya	July 10, 1993	Oslo, Norway
26:52.2	William Sigei	Kenya	July 22, 1994	Oslo, Norway
26:43.5	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	June 5, 1995	Hengelo, Netherlands
26:38.1	Salah Hissou	Morocco	August 23, 1996	Brussels, Belgium
26:31.3	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	July 4, 1997	Oslo, Norway
26:27.9	Paul Tergat	Kenya	August 22, 1997	Brussels, Belgium
26:22.7	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	June 1, 1998	Hengelo, Netherlands
26:20.3	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	June 8, 2004	Ostrava, Czech Republic
26:17.5	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	August 26, 2005	Brussels, Belgium
26:11.0	Joshua Cheptegei	Uganda	October 7, 2020	Valencia, Spain

There have been far fewer women’s 10k world record performances ratified by the IAAF than for men, as the first women’s 10,000-meter world record was not recognized by the IAAF until 1981.

Before the IAAF decided to accept the 10,000-meter run as a world record-eligible event for women in 1981, the 10,000-meter run was not a particularly common international track event for women. 

It was occasionally contested at select track events, but the 10k on the track was not included in the World Championships and Olympic Games for women until 1987 and 1988, respectively.

Thus, prior to the IAAF recognizing the 10k world records for women in 1981, the primary long-distance track event that was world record eligible for women was the 3000-meter run.

There have been eleven 10k world records for women:

Time	Athlete	Country	Date	Place
32:17.2	Yelena Sipatova	Russia	October 19, 1981	Moscow, Soviet Union
31:35.3	Mary Decker-Slaney	United States	July 16, 1982	Eugene, USA
31:35.0	Lyudmila Baranova	Russia	May 29, 1983	Krasnodar, Soviet Union
31:27.6	Raisa Sadreydinova	Russia	September 7, 1983	Odessa, Soviet Union
31:13.8	Olga Bondarenko	Russia	June 24, 1984	Kiev, Soviet Union
30:59.4	Ingrid Kristiansen	Norway	July 27, 1985	Oslo, Norway
30:13.7	Ingrid Kristiansen	Norway	July 5, 1986	Oslo, Norway
29:31.8	Wang Junxia	China	September 8, 1993	Beijing, PR China
29:17.4	Almaz Ayana	Ethiopia	August 12, 2016	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
29:06.8	Sifan Hassan	Netherlands	June 6, 2021	Hengelo, Netherlands
29:01.0	Letesenbet Gidey	Ethiopia	June 8, 2021	Hengelo, Netherlands

What Is the Fastest 10k High School Time?

The fastest 10k high school times come from 10,000-meter track races since this distance is not contested in cross country and it’s difficult to find 10k road race records.

On the boy’s side, the fastest 10k high school time on the track is 28:32.7, a record held by Rudy Chapa from Hammond High School in Hammond, Indiana. 

This high school 10k record has stood since April 24, 1976, and was set in Des Moines, Iowa.

In races that were run by only high schoolers, the fastest 10,000-meter time for high school boys is 30:30.2.

This fastest high school 10k time is held by Jack Cuvo from Easton, Pennsylvania, and was set in Annandale, New Jersey, on July 12, 1985.

On the girl’s side, the fastest 10k high school time on the track is 32:52.5, a record held by Mary Shea from Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

This high school 10k record has stood since June 15, 1979, and was set at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Walnut, California.

What’s your 10k PR? Want to get faster? Try a 10k training plan here.