The 2000 metres or 2000-metre run is a
track running
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
event where five laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track, or ten laps around a 200 m indoor track - the distance is 11.68 meters short of 1¼ miles.
The global governing body
World Athletics
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
recognises official
world records
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizat ...
for the distance, and it is also recorded in continental and national record settings. The men's world record is held by Morocco's
Hicham El Guerrouj, who ran a time of 4:44.79 in 1999, while the women's world record is held by Ethiopia's
Genzebe Dibaba who ran a time of 5:23.75 in 2017.
The distance regularly features on event programmes of professional one-day track and field meetings, serving as a comparatively novel event with greater scope for record-breaking performances. It is also used at lower level competitions, such as school and youth tournaments.
Despite its world record status, it has not yet featured as a world championship level event indoors or outdoors: the event was briefly held at national level in the mid-1960s at the
Spanish Indoor and
Soviet Indoor Athletics Championships
The Soviet Indoor Athletics Championships (russian: Чемпионат СССР по лёгкой атлетике в помещении) was an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the Soviet Athletics Federation, which served a ...
.
Records
World records
Continental records
All-time top 15
Men
*Correct as of August 2020.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 4:51.30:
*
Hicham El Guerrouj also ran 4:48.36 (1998) and 4:51.17 (2001).
*
Vénuste Niyongabo also ran 4:49.00 (1997).
*
Noureddine Morceli also ran 4:49.55 (1996).
Women
*Correct as of September 2021.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 5:34.53:
*
Genzebe Dibaba also ran 5:27.50 (2014).
References
;General
Records by Event 2000 metres World Athletics. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
Events in track and field
Middle-distance running
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