3000 metres
The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the 3K or 3K run, where 7.5 laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track.
It is debated whether the 3000m should be classified as a middle-distance or long-distance event. In elite-level competition, 3000 m pace is more comparable to the pace found in the longer 5000 metres event, rather than mile pace. The world record performance for 3000 m equates to a pace of 58.76 seconds per 400 m, which is closer to the 60.58 seconds for 5000 m than the 55.46 seconds for the mile. However, the 3000 m does require some anaerobic conditioning, and an elite athlete needs to develop a high tolerance to lactic acid, as does the mile runner. Thus, the 3000 m demands a balance of aerobic endurance needed for the 5000 m and lactic acid tolerance needed for the Mile.
In men's athletics, 3000 metres has been an Olympic discipline only as a team race at the 1912, 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics. It has not been contested at any of the IAAF outdoor championships, but is occasionally hosted at annual elite track and field meetings. It is often featured in indoor track and field programmes and is the longest-distance event present at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.
In women's athletics, 3000 metres was a standard event in the Olympic Games and World Championships. The event was discontinued at World Championship and Olympic level after the 1993 World Championships in Athletics – Qu Yunxia being the final gold medal winner at the event. Starting with the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and the 1996 Olympic Games, it was replaced by 5000 metres, with other IAAF-organized championships following suit.
Skilled runners in this event reach speeds near vVO2max, for which the oxygen requirements of the body cannot continuously be satisfied, requiring some anaerobic effort.
All-time top 25
The men's world record is 7:20.67 set by Daniel Komen of Kenya in 1996. Komen also holds the world indoor mark with 7:24.90 minutes set in 1998. The women's world record is 8:06.11 set by Wang Junxia of China in 1993. The world indoor women's record is 8:16.60 minutes, set by Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba in 2014.Outdoor men
- Correct as of August 2018.
| Pos | Time | Athlete | Date | Venue | Ref |
| 1 | 7:20.67 | 1 September 1996 | Rieti | ||
| 2 | 7:23.09 | 3 September 1999 | Brussels | ||
| 3 | 7:25.02 | 18 August 2000 | Monaco | ||
| 4 | 7:25.09 | 28 August 1998 | Brussels | ||
| 5 | 7:25.11 | 2 August 1994 | Monaco | ||
| 6 | 7:25.79 | 7 August 2007 | Stockholm | ||
| 7 | 7:26.62 | 18 August 2000 | Monaco | ||
| 8 | 7:27.18 | 25 July 1995 | Monaco | ||
| 9 | 7:27.26 | 6 May 2011 | Doha | ||
| 10 | 7:27.55 | 6 May 2011 | Doha | ||
| 11 | 7:27.59 | 8 August 1998 | Monaco | ||
| 12 | 7:27.66 | 6 May 2011 | Doha | ||
| 13 | 7:27.75 | 10 August 1996 | Monaco | ||
| 14 | 7:28.00 | 18 August 2018 | Gothenburg | ||
| 15 | 7:28.28 | 3 September 2004 | Brussels | ||
| 16 | 7:28.41 | 10 August 1996 | Monaco | ||
| 17 | 7:28.45 | 8 August 1998 | Monaco | ||
| 18 | 7:28.67 | 4 August 1999 | Monaco | ||
| 19 | 7:28.70 | 10 August 1996 | Monaco | ||
| 19 | 7:28.70 | 29 August 2010 | Rieti | ||
| 21 | 7:28.72 | 27 August 2006 | Rieti | ||
| 22 | 7:28.73 | 5 May 2017 | Doha | ||
| 23 | 7:28.76 | 6 May 2011 | Doha | ||
| 24 | 7:28.93 | 4 August 1999 | Monaco | ||
| 25 | 7:28.94 | 4 August 1999 | Monaco |
Outdoor women
- Correct as of 30 June 2019.
| Pos | Time | Athlete | Date | Venue | Ref |
| 1 | 8:06.11 | 13 September 1993 | Beijing | ||
| 2 | 8:12.18 | 13 September 1993 | Beijing | ||
| 3 | 8:16.50 | 13 September 1993 | Beijing | ||
| 4 | 8:18.49 | 30 June 2019 | Stanford | ||
| 5 | 8:19.78 | 12 September 1993 | Beijing | ||
| 6 | 8:20.07 | 30 June 2019 | Stanford | ||
| 7 | 8:20.27 | 30 June 2019 | Stanford | ||
| 8 | 8:20.68 | 9 May 2014 | Doha | ||
| 9 | 8:21.14 | 9 May 2014 | Doha | ||
| 10 | 8:21.29 | 30 June 2019 | Stanford | ||
| 11 | 8:21.42 | 19 July 2002 | Monaco | ||
| 12 | 8:21.64 | 15 July 1994 | London | ||
| 13 | 8:21.84 | 13 September 1993 | Beijing | ||
| 14 | 8:22.20 | 19 July 2002 | Monaco | ||
| 15 | 8:22.22 | 14 June 2015 | Rabat | ||
| 16 | 8:22.62 | 26 August 1984 | Leningrad | ||
| 17 | 8:23.23 | 19 July 2002 | Monaco | ||
| 18 | 8:23.26 | 17 August 2001 | Zürich | ||
| 19 | 8:23.55 | 9 May 2014 | Doha | ||
| 20 | 8:24.41 | 9 May 2014 | Doha | ||
| 21 | 8:24.51 | 14 September 2007 | Brussels | ||
| 22 | 8:25.40 | 29 June 2001 | Rome | ||
| 23 | 8:25.56 | 29 Jun 2001 | Rome | ||
| 24 | 8:25.62 | 17 August 2001 | Zürich | ||
| 25 | 8:25.83 | 7 September 1985 | Rome |
Indoor men
- Correct as of May 2020.
| Pos | Time | Athlete | Venue | Date | Ref |
| 1 | 7:24.90 | Budapest | 6 February 1998 | ||
| 2 | 7:26.15 | Karlsruhe | 25 January 1998 | ||
| 3 | 7:27.80 | Stuttgart | 5 February 2011 | ||
| 4 | 7:28.00 | Stuttgart | 5 February 2011 | ||
| 5 | 7:29.37 | Stuttgart | 5 February 2011 | ||
| 6 | 7:29.94 | Karlsruhe | 12 February 2012 | ||
| 7 | 7:30.16 | Stockholm | 21 February 2013 | ||
| 8 | 7:30.51 | Stockholm | 20 February 2007 | ||
| 9 | 7:31.09 | Stuttgart | 2 February 2008 | ||
| 10 | 7:31.66 | Stockholm | 21 February 2013 | ||
| 11 | 7:32.02 | Stockholm | 10 February 2010 | ||
| 12 | 7:32.41 | Valencia | 13 February 2010 | ||
| 13 | 7:32.43 | Birmingham | 17 February 2007 | ||
| 14 | 7:32.69 | Birmingham | 17 February 2007 | ||
| 15 | 7:32.78 | Stockholm | 10 February 2010 | ||
| 16 | 7:32.80 | Liévin | 19 February 2020 | ||
| 17 | 7:32.87 | Boston | 2 February 2013 | ||
| 18 | 7:32.89 | Liévin | 14 February 2012 | ||
| 19 | 7:32.98 | Sevilla | 22 February 2003 | ||
| 20 | 7:33.19 | Liévin | 19 February 2020 | ||
| 21 | 7:33.73 | Liévin | 23 February 2003 | ||
| 21 | 7:33.73 | Stockholm | 10 February 2010 | ||
| 23 | 7:34.05 | Valencia | 14 February 2009 | ||
| 24 | 7:34.14 | Stockholm | 23 February 2012 | ||
| 25 | 7:34.47 | Birmingham | 21 February 2009 |
Indoor women
- Correct as of May 2020.
| Pos | Time | Athlete | Date | Venue | Ref |
| 1 | 8:16.60 | 6 February 2014 | Stockholm | ||
| 2 | 8:23.72 | 3 February 2007 | Stuttgart | ||
| 3 | 8:23.74 | 3 February 2007 | Stuttgart | ||
| 4 | 8:25.27 | 6 February 2010 | Stuttgart | ||
| 5 | 8:25.70 | 27 February 2020 | Boston | ||
| 6 | 8:26.41 | 4 February 2017 | Karlsruhe | ||
| 7 | 8:26.66 | 27 February 2020 | Boston | ||
| 8 | 8:27.86 | 17 February 2006 | Moscow | ||
| 9 | 8:28.49 | 7 February 2009 | Stuttgart | ||
| 10 | 8:28.71 | 27 February 2020 | Boston | ||
| 11 | 8:29.00 | 17 February 2006 | Moscow | ||
| 12 | 8:29.15 | 3 February 2002 | Stuttgart | ||
| 13 | 8:29.41 | 18 February 2017 | Birmingham | ||
| 14 | 8:30.53 | 21 February 2009 | Birmingham | ||
| 15 | 8:30.76 | 18 February 2017 | Birmingham | ||
| 16 | 8:31.50 | 3 February 2007 | Stuttgart | ||
| 17 | 8:31.94 | 16 February 2008 | Birmingham | ||
| 18 | 8:32.47 | 16 February 2019 | Leipzig | ||
| 19 | 8:32.88 | 18 February 2001 | Birmingham | ||
| 20 | 8:33.25 | 27 January 2007 | Boston | ||
| 21 | 8:33.37 | 26 January 2008 | Boston | ||
| 22 | 8:33.82 | 4 March 1989 | Budapest | ||
| 23 | 8:34.80 | 4 March 1989 | Budapest | ||
| 24 | 8:35.68 | 17 February 2006 | Moscow | ||
| 25 | 8:35.86 | 9 February 2008 | Valencia |
Medalists
Women's Olympic medalists
Women's World Championships medalists
Men's World Indoor Championships medalists
Women's World Indoor Championships medalists
- Known as the World Indoor Games
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