# World and Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing saw more World records broken than any Olympic Games before. Numerous new Olympic records were further set.

## Archery

| Event | Date | Record | Round | Name | Nationality | Score | Record |
| Women's team | 9 August | 216 arrow ranking round | Ranking Round | Park Sung-hyun Yun Ok-Hee Joo Hyun-Jung | South Korea | 2004 | OR |
| Women's team | 10 August | 24 arrow match | First Round | Natalia Valeeva Pia Carmen Maria Lionetti Elena Tonetta | Italy | 215 | OR |
| Women's team | 10 August | 24 arrow match | Quarterfinals | Bérengère Schuh Sophie Dodemont Virginie Arnold | France | 218 | OR |
| Women's team | 10 August | 24 arrow match | Quarterfinals | Park Sung-hyun Yun Ok-Hee Joo Hyun-Jung | South Korea | 231 | WR, OR |
| Women's individual | 14 August | 12 arrow match | Round of 16 | Park Sung-hyun | South Korea | 115 | OR |
| Men's team | 11 August | 24 arrow match | First Round | Rafał Dobrowolski Piotr Piątek Jacek Proć | Poland | 223 | OR |
| Men's team | 11 August | 24 arrow match | Quarterfinal | Im Dong-Hyun Lee Chang-Hwan Park Kyung-Mo | South Korea | 224 | OR |
| Men's team | 11 August | 24 arrow match | Final | Im Dong-Hyun Lee Chang-Hwan Park Kyung-Mo | South Korea | 227 | OR |
| Men's individual | 13 August | 12 arrow match | Round of 64 | Jacek Proc | Poland | 116 | OR |
| Men's individual | 13 August | 12 arrow match | Round of 32 | Lee Chang-hwan | South Korea | 117 | OR |

## Track & Field
### Men's records

| Event | Record | Name | Nation | Date | Record |
| Men's 100 metres | 9.69 s | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 16 August 2008 | WR, OR |
| Men's 200 metres | 19.30 s | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 20 August 2008 | WR, OR |
| Men's 5000 metres | 12:57.82 min | Kenenisa Bekele | Ethiopia | 23 August 2008 | OR |
| Men's 10000 metres | 27:01.17 min | Kenenisa Bekele | Ethiopia | 17 August 2008 | OR |
| Men's 4x400 metre relay | 2:55.39 min | LaShawn Merritt Angelo Taylor David Neville Jeremy Wariner | United States | 23 August 2008 | OR |
| Men's marathon | 2:06:32 hr | Samuel Kamau Wanjiru | Kenya | 24 August 2008 | OR |
| Men's 50 kilometre walk | 3:37:09 | Alex Schwazer | Italy | 22 August 2008 | OR |
| Men's pole vault | 5.96 m | Steven Hooker | Australia | 22 August 2008 | OR |
| Men's javelin throw | 90.57 m | Andreas Thorkildsen | Norway | 23 August 2008 | OR |

### Women's records

| Event | Record | Name | Nation | Date | Record |
| Women's 400 metre hurdles | 52.64 s | Melaine Walker | Jamaica | 20 August 2008 | OR |
| Women's 3,000 metre steeplechase | 8:58.81 min | Gulnara Galkina-Samitova | Russia | 17 August 2008 | WR, OR |
| Women's 10,000 metres | 29:54.66 | Tirunesh Dibaba | Ethiopia | 20 August 2008 | OR |
| Women's 20km walk | 1:26:31 hr | Olga Kaniskina | Russia | 20 August 2008 | OR |
| Women's triple jump | 15.39 m | Françoise Mbango Etone | Cameroon | 17 August 2008 | OR |
| Women's pole vault | 5.05 m | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 18 August 2008 | WR, OR |
| Women's hammer throw | 76.34 m | Aksana Miankova | Belarus | 20 August 2008 | OR |

## Cycling

| Event | Time | Name | Nation | Date | Record |
| Men's Sprint | 9.815 | Chris Hoy | Great Britain (GBR) | 2008-08-17 | OR |
| Men's Individual pursuit | 4:15.031 | Bradley Wiggins | Great Britain (GBR) | 2008-08-15 | OR |
| Men's Team pursuit | 3:53.312 | Bradley Wiggins Paul Manning Geraint Thomas Ed Clancy | Great Britain (GBR) | 2008-08-18 | OR |
| Women's Sprint | 10.963 | Victoria Pendleton | Great Britain (GBR) | 2008-08-17 | OR |

## Shooting
### Men's records

| Event | Event | Score | Name | Nation | Date | Record |
| 25 m rapid fire pistol | Qual. | 583 | Keith Sanderson | United States (USA) | 2008-08-16 | OR |
| 25 m rapid fire pistol | Final | 780.2 | Oleksandr Petriv | Ukraine (UKR) | 2008-08-16 | OR |
| Trap | Final | 146 | David Kostelecký | Czech Republic | 2008-08-10 | OR |
| Double trap | Qual. | 145 | Walton Eller | United States (USA) | 2008-08-12 | OR |
| Double trap | Final | 190 | Walton Eller | United States (USA) | 2008-08-12 | OR |
| Skeet | Qual. | 121 | Vincent Hancock | United States (USA) | 2008-08-16 | OR |
| Skeet | Final | 145 | Vincent Hancock Tore Brovold | United States (USA) Norway (NOR) | 2008-08-16 | OR |

### Women's records

| Event | Event | Score | Name | Nation | Date | Record |
| 50 m rifle three positions | Qual. | 589 | Du Li | China (CHN) | 2008-08-14 | OR |
| 50 m rifle three positions | Final | 690.3 | Du Li | China (CHN) | 2008-08-14 | OR |
| 10 m air rifle | Qual. | 400 | Kateřina Emmons | Czech Republic (CZE) | 2008-08-09 | WR, OR |
| 10 m air rifle | Final | 503.5 | Kateřina Emmons | Czech Republic (CZE) | 2008-08-09 | OR |
| 25 m pistol | Qual. | 590 | Otryadyn Gündegmaa | Mongolia (MGL) | 2008-08-13 | OR |
| 25 m pistol | Final | 793.4 | Chen Ying | China (CHN) | 2008-08-13 | OR |
| 10 m air pistol | Qual. | 391 | Natalia Paderina | Russia (RUS) | 2008-08-10 | OR |
| 10 m air pistol | Final | 492.3 | Guo Wenjun | China (CHN) | 2008-08-10 | OR |
| Trap | Final | 91 | Satu Mäkelä-Nummela | Finland (FIN) | 2008-08-11 | OR |
| Skeet | Qual. | 72 | Chiara Cainero | Italy (ITA) | 2008-08-14 | OR |
| Skeet | Final | 93 | Chiara Cainero Kim Rhode Christine Brinker | Italy (ITA) United States (USA) Germany (GER) | 2008-08-14 | OR |
* $^b$ This equalled Renata Mauer's Olympic record.
* $^c$ This equalled Tao Luna's Olympic record.

## Swimming

Due to the use of the LZR Racer, a specialised swimming suit developed by NASA and the Australian Institute of Sport, many records were broken. New world records were set 25 times (affecting 23 distinct world records) and new Olympic records were set 65 times and one other was equalled (affecting 30 distinct Olympic records). Only Ian Thorpe's 3:40.59 in the 400 metres freestyle and Inge de Bruijn's 56.61 in the 100 metres butterfly, both set in Sydney, remained Olympic records. Michael Phelps of the United States also broke the record for the most gold medals ever won by an Olympian with a total of 14; 8 of which were won during the 2008 Summer Olympics - this was also a world record.

### Men

| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record | Day |
| Men's 100 m breaststroke | August 9 | Heat 7 | Alexander Dale Oen | Norway | 59.41 | OR | 1 |
| Men's 400 m individual medley | August 9 | Heat 4 | Michael Phelps | United States | 4:07.82 | OR | 1 |
| Men's 100 m backstroke | August 10 | Heat 4 | Matt Grevers | United States | 53.41 | OR | 2 |
| Men's 100 m breaststroke | August 10 | Semifinal 2 | Alexander Dale Oen | Norway | 59.16 | OR | 2 |
| Men's 400 m individual medley | August 10 | Final | Michael Phelps | United States | 4:03.84 | WR | 2 |
| Men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | August 10 | Heat 1 | Nathan Adrian (48.82) Cullen Jones (47.61) Ben Wildman-Tobriner (48.03) Matt Grevers (47.77) | United States | 3:12.23 | WR | 2 |
| Men's 100 m freestyle | August 10 | Heat 1 leadoff* | Amaury Leveaux | France | 47.76 | OR | 2 |
| Men's 100 m backstroke | August 11 | Semifinal 1 | Arkady Vyatchanin | Russia | 53.06 | OR | 3 |
| Men's 100 m backstroke | August 11 | Semifinal 2 | Hayden Stoeckel | Australia | 52.97 | OR | 3 |
| Men's 100 m breaststroke | August 11 | Final | Kosuke Kitajima | Japan | 58.91 | WR | 3 |
| Men's 200 m butterfly | August 11 | Heat 6 | Michael Phelps | United States | 1:53.70 | OR | 3 |
| Men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | August 11 | Final | Michael Phelps (47.51) Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02) Cullen Jones (47.65) Jason Lezak (46.06) | United States | 3:08.24 | WR | 3 |
| Men's 100 m freestyle | August 11 | Final leadoff* | Eamon Sullivan | Australia | 47.24 | WR | 3 |
| Men's 200 m freestyle | August 12 | Final | Michael Phelps | United States | 1:42.96 | WR | 4 |
| Men's 100 m backstroke | August 12 | Final | Aaron Peirsol | United States | 52.54 | WR | 4 |
| Men's 200 m breaststroke | August 12 | Heat 5 | Paolo Bossini | Italy | 2:08.98 | OR | 4 |
| Men's 200 m breaststroke | August 12 | Heat 7 | Dániel Gyurta | Hungary | 2:08.68 | OR | 4 |
| Men's 200 m butterfly | August 12 | Semifinal 2 | Michael Phelps | United States | 1:53.70 | OR | 4 |
| Men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | August 12 | Heat 2 | David Walters (1:46.57) Ricky Berens (1:45.47) Erik Vendt (1:47.11) Klete Keller (1:45.51) | United States | 7:04.66 | OR | 4 |
| Men's 100 m freestyle | August 13 | Semifinal 1 | Alain Bernard | France | 47.20 | WR | 5 |
| Men's 100 m freestyle | August 13 | Semifinal 2 | Eamon Sullivan | Australia | 47.05 | WR | 5 |
| Men's 200 m breaststroke | August 13 | Semifinal 1 | Kosuke Kitajima | Japan | 2:08.61 | OR | 5 |
| Men's 200 m butterfly | August 13 | Final | Michael Phelps | United States | 1:52.03 | WR | 5 |
| Men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | August 13 | Final | Michael Phelps (1:43.31) Ryan Lochte (1:44.28) Ricky Berens (1:46.29) Peter Vanderkaay (1:44.68) | United States | 6:58.56 | WR | 5 |
| Men's 50 m freestyle | August 14 | Heat 11 | César Cielo | Brazil | 21.47 | OR | 6 |
| Men's 50 m freestyle | August 14 | Heat 12 | Amaury Leveaux | France | 21.46 | OR | 6 |
| Men's 100 m butterfly | August 14 | Heat 7 | Jason Dunford | Kenya | 51.14 | OR | 6 |
| Men's 100 m butterfly | August 14 | Heat 9 | Milorad Čavić | Serbia | 50.76 | OR | 6 |
| Men's 50 m freestyle | August 15 | Semifinal 1 | César Cielo | Brazil | 21.34 | OR | 7 |
| Men's 1500 m freestyle | August 15 | Heat 3 | Ryan Cochrane | Canada | 14:40.84 | OR | 7 |
| Men's 1500 m freestyle | August 15 | Heat 5 | Grant Hackett | Australia | 14:38.92 | OR | 7 |
| Men's 200 m backstroke | August 15 | Final | Ryan Lochte | United States | 1:53.94 | WR | 7 |
| Men's 200 m individual medley | August 15 | Final | Michael Phelps | United States | 1:54.23 | WR | 7 |
| Men's 50 m freestyle | August 16 | Final | César Cielo | Brazil | 21.30 | OR | 8 |
| Men's 100 m butterfly | August 16 | Final | Michael Phelps | United States | 50.58 | OR | 8 |
| Men's 4 × 100 m medley relay | August 17 | Final | Aaron Peirsol (53.16) Brendan Hansen (59.27) Michael Phelps (50.15) Jason Lezak (46.76) | United States | 3:29.34 | WR | 9 |
* World record split from the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay
Note: At the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay final, anchor Jason Lezak swam the fastest 100 m split (46.06); however, this is not considered an official FINA record, as he did not swim the first leg.

### Women

| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record | Day |
| Women's 400 m freestyle | August 10 | Heat 5 | Katie Hoff | United States | 4:03.71 | OR | 2 |
| Women's 400 m freestyle | August 10 | Heat 6 | Federica Pellegrini | Italy | 4:02.19 | OR | 2 |
| Women's 100 m backstroke | August 10 | Heat 5 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 59.61 | OR | 2 |
| Women's 100 m backstroke | August 10 | Heat 6 | Reiko Nakamura | Japan | 59.36 | OR | 2 |
| Women's 100 m backstroke | August 10 | Heat 7 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 59.00 | OR | 2 |
| Women's 100 m breaststroke | August 10 | Heat 7 | Leisel Jones | Australia | 1:05.64 | OR | 2 |
| Women's 400 m individual medley | August 10 | Final | Stephanie Rice | Australia | 4:29.45 | WR | 2 |
| Women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | August 10 | Final | Inge Dekker (54.37) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (53.39) Femke Heemskerk (53.42) Marleen Veldhuis (52.58) | Netherlands | 3:33.76 | OR | 2 |
| Women's 100 m freestyle | August 10 | Final leadoff* | Britta Steffen | Germany | 53.38 | OR | 2 |
| Women's 200 m freestyle | August 11 | Heat 4 | Pang Jiaying | China | 1:57.37 | OR | 3 |
| Women's 200 m freestyle | August 11 | Heat 5 | Sara Isaković | Slovenia | 1:55.86 | OR | 3 |
| Women's 200 m freestyle | August 11 | Heat 6 | Federica Pellegrini | Italy | 1:55.45 | WR | 3 |
| Women's 100 m backstroke | August 11 | Semifinal 2 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 58.77 | WR | 3 |
| Women's 100 m breaststroke | August 12 | Final | Leisel Jones | Australia | 1:05.17 | OR | 4 |
| Women's 200 m individual medley | August 12 | Semifinal 1 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 2:09.53 | OR | 4 |
| Women's 200 m freestyle | August 13 | Final | Federica Pellegrini | Italy | 1:54.82 | WR | 5 |
| Women's 200 m breaststroke | August 13 | Heat 5 | Rebecca Soni | United States | 2:22.17 | OR | 5 |
| Women's 200 m individual medley | August 13 | Final | Stephanie Rice | Australia | 2:08.45 | OR | 5 |
| Women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | August 13 | Heat 1 | Alena Popchanka (1:58.27) Céline Couderc (1:58.92) Camille Muffat (1:57.32) Coralie Balmy (1:55.86) | France | 7:50.37 | OR | 5 |
| Women's 800 m freestyle | August 14 | Heat 4 | Rebecca Adlington | Great Britain | 8:18.06 | OR | 6 |
| Women's 200 m backstroke | August 14 | Heat 4 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 2:06.76 | OR | 6 |
| Women's 200 m butterfly | August 14 | Final | Liu Zige | China | 2:04.18 | WR | 6 |
| Women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | August 14 | Final | Stephanie Rice (1:56.60) Bronte Barratt (1:56.58) Kylie Palmer (1:55.22) Linda Mackenzie (1:55.91) | Australia | 7:44.31 | WR | 6 |
| Women's 100 m freestyle | August 15 | Final | Britta Steffen | Germany | 53.12 | OR | 7 |
| Women's 200 m breaststroke | August 15 | Final | Rebecca Soni | United States | 2:20.22 | WR | 7 |
| Women's 800 m freestyle | August 16 | Final | Rebecca Adlington | Great Britain | 8:14.10 | OR | 8 |
| Women's 200 m backstroke | August 16 | Final | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 2:05.24 | WR | 8 |
| Women's 50 m freestyle | August 17 | Final | Britta Steffen | Germany | 24.06 | OR | 9 |
| Women's 4 × 100 m medley relay | August 17 | Final | Emily Seebohm (59.33) Leisel Jones (1:04.58) Jessicah Schipper (56.25) Lisbeth Trickett (52.53) | Australia | 3:52.69 | WR | 9 |

## Weightlifting
### Men's records

| Event | Event | Weight | Name | Nation | Date | Record |
| 85 kg | Snatch | 185.0 kg | Andrei Rybakou | Belarus (BLR) | 2008-08-15 | OR |
| 85 kg | Total | 394.0 kg | Andrei Rybakou | Belarus (BLR) | 2008-08-15 | WR, OR |
| 105 kg | Snatch | 200.0 kg | Andrei Aramnau | Belarus (BLR) | 2008-08-18 | OR |
| 105 kg | Clean and Jerk | 236.0 kg | Andrei Aramnau | Belarus (BLR) | 2008-08-18 | OR |
| 105 kg | Total | 436.0 kg | Andrei Aramnau | Belarus (BLR) | 2008-08-18 | OR |

### Women's records

| Event | Event | Weight | Name | Nation | Date | Record |
| 48 kg | Clean and Jerk | 117.0 kg | Chen Xiexia | China (CHN) | 2008-08-09 | OR |
| 48 kg | Total | 212.0 kg | Chen Xiexia | China (CHN) | 2008-08-09 | OR |
| 53 kg | Clean and Jerk | 126.0 kg | Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon | Thailand (THA) | 2008-08-10 | OR |
| 58 kg | Clean and Jerk | 138.0 kg | Chen Yanqing | China (CHN) | 2008-08-11 | OR |
| 58 kg | Total | 244.0 kg | Chen Yanqing | China (CHN) | 2008-08-11 | OR |
| 69 kg | Snatch | 128.0 kg | Liu Chunhong | China (CHN) | 2008-08-13 | OR |
| 69 kg | Clean and Jerk | 158.0 kg | Liu Chunhong | China (CHN) | 2008-08-13 | OR |
| 69 kg | Total | 286.0 kg | Liu Chunhong | China (CHN) | 2008-08-13 | WR, OR |
| 75 kg | Snatch | 128.0 kg | Cao Lei | China (CHN) | 2008-08-15 | OR |
| 75 kg | Clean and Jerk | 154.0 kg | Cao Lei | China (CHN) | 2008-08-15 | OR |
| 75 kg | Total | 282.0 kg | Cao Lei | China (CHN) | 2008-08-15 | OR |
| +75 kg | Snatch | 140.0 kg | Jang Mi-Ran | South Korea (KOR) | 2008-08-16 | WR, OR |
| +75 kg | Clean and Jerk | 186.0 kg | Jang Mi-Ran | South Korea (KOR) | 2008-08-16 | WR, OR |
| +75 kg | Total | 326.0 kg | Jang Mi-Ran | South Korea (KOR) | 2008-08-16 | WR, OR |