User:Hwttdz/List of World Records in Cycling

World records in the sport of athletics are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking.

Records are kept for all events contested at the Olympic Games and some others. Unofficial records for some other events are kept by track and field statisticians. The only non-metric distance for which official records are kept is the mile run.

Ratification
The criteria which must be satisfied for ratification also apply to national or other restricted records and also to performances submitted as qualifying marks for eligibility to compete in major events such as the Olympic Games.

The criteria include:
 * The dimensions of the track and equipment used must conform to standards. In road events, the course must be accurately measured, by a certified measurer.
 * Except in road events (road running and race walking), the performance must be set in a single-sex race.
 * All team members in a relay race must be of the same nationality.
 * Pacemakers are allowed, provided they have not been lapped; lapped athletes must give way.
 * Drug testing immediately after the performance is now required for ratification of a record. Existing records which predate this requirement are still extant.  Athletes who pass the immediate test but are later found to have been on drugs have their performances invalidated.
 * In running events up to 200m in distance and in horizontal jump events, wind assistance is permitted only up to 2.0 m/s. In decathlon or heptathlon, average wind assistance of less than 2.0 m/s is required across all applicable disciplines; and maximum of 4.0 m/s in any one event.
 * In running events up to 800m in distance, photo finish fully automatic timing is required.
 * There is no restriction on altitude; since the thinner atmosphere of higher altitude provides less air resistance, locations such as Mexico City and Sestriere have previously been the sites of records in the sprint and jump events. See 1968 in athletics to see how altitude once affected world records.  Because of the affect of altitude, records set at high altitude venues are marked with an "A" though that does not disqualify it as a record.  Under those circumstances, a "sea level" best is also tracked by statisticians.  Long distance races run at altitude, with less oxygen available to the athlete, have shown to be to the athlete's disadvantage.  Remarkable distance races run at altitude are also noted with the A.  Currently the only standing record set at altitude is Sergey Bubka's Pole Vault.  Based on the circumstances of his records (discussed below), the altitude was not a major factor.
 * In road events, the course is not required to be a circuit, but must not have too great a downhill gradient.

Bonus payments
Witnessing a world record brings great pleasure for athletics fans; athletes' personal sponsors and the promoters of major meetings such as the IAAF Golden League have offered bonuses to athletes breaking a record.

Some middle-distance runners have specialized in acting as pacemakers in longer races, receiving a fee without even finishing the race, and possibly a bonus if a record results. This is a useful occupation for athletes who are capable of running accurately to a specified pace, but not capable of the very fastest times to become champions in their own right.

In the pole vault (and potentially the high jump) record bonuses create an incentive for an athlete capable of smashing a record to instead break it by the minimum amount (one centimetre), multiple times, at multiple meetings, in order to accumulate multiple bonuses. This has been done by Sergey Bubka in the men's pole vault, and Yelena Isinbayeva in the women's pole vault. Some commentators have complained that neither athlete ever posted as high a mark as they were capable of. In other disciplines this problem does not arise, since it is practically impossible to deliberately break a record by a small margin.

Outdoor world records
Prior to 2000, separate records were recorded for outdoor and indoor events. In 2000, IAAF rule 260.18a (formerly 260.6a) was amended, so now it states that "world records" (as opposed to "indoor world records") can be set in a facility "with or without roof". This rule was not applied retroactively, so for example, Sergey Bubka's pole vault World Indoor record of 6.15 m is not considered to be a World record, because it was set before 2000, although it would be considered a World record had it been set after 2000. It is the only Indoor record which is greater than the World record (6.15 Indoor world record by Sergey Bubka, versus 6.14 World record by Sergey Bubka). All current World records were set outdoors.

Women
+ = in route to longer distance

Best performances in non-IAAF World Record events
Events which do not qualify for IAAF-ratified world records are typically referred to as world bests. While very common in the first half of 20th century, a large number of races over distances by imperial measurements became rare occurrences and the IAAF removed all imperial measured events from its world record lists in 1976 – with the sole exception being the mile run (which remains common due to its historical prominence in track and field).

Some road racing distances and indoor variations of outdoor events fall outside of IAAF's lists. Records set in uncommon events usually do not adhere to the strict criteria found in IAAF-ratifiable events. One example is the 150 metres record, which was set by Usain Bolt on a specially-made straight track, while previous performances (such as the Bailey–Johnson 150-metre race) were completed on a traditional circuit which included a partial bend in the track.

The 40 yard dash – a standard acceleration evaluation for American Football players – does not fall within the usual criteria of athletics racing events. In most 40 yard dashes, reaction times are not recorded as timing starts only once the player is in motion. Furthermore the standards for timing a "football 40" are so lax and inconsistent that a real world record cannot be claimed. Performances are hand-timed and calculated to 1/100th of a second, although studies show human beings simply cannot react consistently or accurately enough for this to be a valid method. Even those using light beams are timed by the motion of the athlete, still removing the normal factor of reaction time. All these factors make track and "football 40" performances incomparable. The world best time for a "football 40" is 4.17 by Deion Sanders. The extrapolated best for an Olympic level athlete, including reacting to a starting gun currently is by Maurice Greene at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics with a time of 4.24.