The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing saw more World records broken than any Olympic Games before. Numerous new Olympic records were further set.
See also: Archery at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Date | Record | Round | Name | Nationality | Score | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August | 216 arrow ranking round | Ranking Round | align=left | 2004 | OR | |||
| 10 August | 24 arrow match | First Round | align=left | 215 | OR | |||
| 10 August | 24 arrow match | Quarterfinals | align=left | 218 | OR | |||
| 10 August | 24 arrow match | Quarterfinals | align=left | 231 | WR, OR | |||
| 14 August | 12 arrow match | Round of 16 | align=left | 115 | OR | |||
| 11 August | 24 arrow match | First Round | align=left | 223 | OR | |||
| 11 August | 24 arrow match | Quarterfinal | align=left | 224 | OR | |||
| 11 August | 24 arrow match | Final | align=left | 227 | OR | |||
| 13 August | 12 arrow match | Round of 64 | align=left | 116 | OR | |||
| 13 August | 12 arrow match | Round of 32 | align=left | 117 | OR |
See also: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Record | Name | Nation | Date | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 100 metres | 9.69 s | Usain Bolt | 16 August 2008 | WR, OR | ||
| Men's 200 metres | 19.30 s | Usain Bolt | 20 August 2008 | WR, OR | ||
| Men's 5000 metres | 12:57.82 min | Kenenisa Bekele | 23 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Men's 10000 metres | 27:01.17 min | Kenenisa Bekele | 17 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Men's 4x400 metre relay | 2:55.39 min | LaShawn Merritt Angelo Taylor David Neville Jeremy Wariner | 23 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Men's marathon | 2:06:32 hr | Samuel Kamau Wanjiru | 24 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Men's 50 kilometre walk | 3:37:09 | Alex Schwazer | 22 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Men's pole vault | 5.96 m | Steven Hooker | 22 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Men's javelin throw | 90.57 m | Andreas Thorkildsen | 23 August 2008 | OR |
| Event | Record | Name | Nation | Date | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 400 metre hurdles | 52.64 s | Melaine Walker | 20 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Women's 3,000 metre steeplechase | 8:58.81 min | Gulnara Galkina-Samitova | 17 August 2008 | WR, OR | ||
| Women's 10,000 metres | 29:54.66 | Tirunesh Dibaba | 20 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Women's 20km walk | 1:26:31 hr | Olga Kaniskina | 20 August 2008 | OR | ||
| Women's triple jump | 15.39 m | 17 August 2008 | OR | |||
| Women's pole vault | 5.05 m | Yelena Isinbayeva | 18 August 2008 | WR, OR | ||
| Women's hammer throw | 76.34 m | Aksana Miankova | 20 August 2008 | OR |
See also: Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Time | Name | Nation | Date | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Sprint | 9.815 | Chris Hoy | 2008-08-17 | OR | ||
| Men's Individual pursuit | 4:15.031 | Bradley Wiggins | 2008-08-15 | OR | ||
| Men's Team pursuit | 3:53.312 | Bradley Wiggins Paul Manning Geraint Thomas Ed Clancy | 2008-08-18 | OR | ||
| Women's Sprint | 10.963 | Victoria Pendleton | 2008-08-17 | OR |
See also: Shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Score | Name | Nation | Date | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 m rapid fire pistol | Qual. | 583 | Keith Sanderson | 2008-08-16 | OR | |
| Final | 780.2 | Oleksandr Petriv | 2008-08-16 | OR | ||
| Trap | Final | 146 | David Kostelecký | 2008-08-10 | OR | |
| Double trap | Qual. | 145 | Walton Eller | 2008-08-12 | OR | |
| Final | 190 | Walton Eller | 2008-08-12 | OR | ||
| Skeet | Qual. | 121 | Vincent Hancock | 2008-08-16 | OR | |
| Final | 145 | Vincent Hancock Tore Brovold | 2008-08-16 | OR | ||
| Event | Score | Name | Nation | Date | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 m rifle three positions | Qual. | 589 | Du Li | 2008-08-14 | OR | |
| Final | 690.3 | Du Li | 2008-08-14 | OR | ||
| 10 m air rifle | Qual. | 400 | Kateřina Emmons | 2008-08-09 | WR, OR | |
| Final | 503.5 | Kateřina Emmons | 2008-08-09 | OR | ||
| 25 m pistol | Qual. | 590 | Otryadyn Gündegmaa | 2008-08-13 | OR | |
| Final | 793.4 | Chen Ying | 2008-08-13 | OR | ||
| 10 m air pistol | Qual. | 391 | Natalia Paderina | 2008-08-10 | OR | |
| Final | 492.3 | Guo Wenjun | 2008-08-10 | OR | ||
| Trap | Final | 91 | Satu Mäkelä-Nummela | 2008-08-11 | OR | |
| Skeet | Qual. | 72 | Chiara Cainero | 2008-08-14 | OR | |
| Final | 93 | Chiara Cainero Kim Rhode Christine Brinker | 2008-08-14 | OR | ||
See also: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics. 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).[1] 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.
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record | Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 9 | Heat 7 | 59.41 | OR | 1 | ||||
| August 9 | Heat 4 | 4:07.82 | OR | 1 | ||||
| August 10 | Heat 4 | 53.41 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Semifinal 2 | 59.16 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Final | 4:03.84 | WR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Heat 1 | Nathan Adrian (48.82) Cullen Jones (47.61) Ben Wildman-Tobriner (48.03) Matt Grevers (47.77) | 3:12.23 | WR | 2 | |||
| August 10 | Heat 1 leadoff* | 47.76 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 11 | Semifinal 1 | 53.06 | OR | 3 | ||||
| August 11 | Semifinal 2 | 52.97 | OR | 3 | ||||
| August 11 | Final | 58.91 | WR | 3 | ||||
| August 11 | Heat 6 | align=left | 1:53.70 | OR | 3 | |||
| August 11 | Final | Michael Phelps (47.51) Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02) Cullen Jones (47.65) Jason Lezak (46.06) | 3:08.24 | WR | 3 | |||
| August 11 | Final leadoff* | 47.24 | WR | 3 | ||||
| August 12 | Final | 1:42.96 | WR | 4 | ||||
| August 12 | Final | 52.54 | WR | 4 | ||||
| August 12 | Heat 5 | 2:08.98 | OR | 4 | ||||
| August 12 | Heat 7 | 2:08.68 | OR | 4 | ||||
| August 12 | Semifinal 2 | 1:53.70 | OR | 4 | ||||
| August 12 | Heat 2 | David Walters (1:46.57) Ricky Berens (1:45.47) Erik Vendt (1:47.11) Klete Keller (1:45.51) | 7:04.66 | OR | 4 | |||
| August 13 | Semifinal 1 | 47.20 | WR | 5 | ||||
| August 13 | Semifinal 2 | 47.05 | WR | 5 | ||||
| August 13 | Semifinal 1 | 2:08.61 | OR | 5 | ||||
| August 13 | Final | 1:52.03 | WR | 5 | ||||
| August 13 | Final | Michael Phelps (1:43.31) Ryan Lochte (1:44.28) Ricky Berens (1:46.29) Peter Vanderkaay (1:44.68) | 6:58.56 | WR | 5 | |||
| August 14 | Heat 11 | 21.47 | OR | 6 | ||||
| August 14 | Heat 12 | 21.46 | OR | 6 | ||||
| August 14 | Heat 7 | 51.14 | OR | 6 | ||||
| August 14 | Heat 9 | 50.76 | OR | 6 | ||||
| August 15 | Semifinal 1 | 21.34 | OR | 7 | ||||
| August 15 | Heat 3 | 14:40.84 | OR | 7 | ||||
| August 15 | Heat 5 | 14:38.92 | OR | 7 | ||||
| August 15 | Final | 1:53.94 | WR | 7 | ||||
| August 15 | Final | 1:54.23 | WR | 7 | ||||
| August 16 | Final | 21.30 | OR | 8 | ||||
| August 16 | Final | 50.58 | OR | 8 | ||||
| August 17 | Final | Aaron Peirsol (53.16) Brendan Hansen (59.27) Michael Phelps (50.15) Jason Lezak (46.76) | 3:29.34 | WR | 9 |
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.
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record | Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Heat 5 | 4:03.71 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Heat 6 | 4:02.19 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Heat 5 | align=left | 59.61 | OR | 2 | |||
| August 10 | Heat 6 | 59.36 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Heat 7 | 59.00 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Heat 7 | 1:05.64 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Final | 4:29.45 | WR | 2 | ||||
| August 10 | Final | Inge Dekker (54.37) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (53.39) Femke Heemskerk (53.42) Marleen Veldhuis (52.58) | 3:33.76 | OR | 2 | |||
| August 10 | Final leadoff* | 53.38 | OR | 2 | ||||
| August 11 | Heat 4 | 1:57.37 | OR | 3 | ||||
| August 11 | Heat 5 | 1:55.86 | OR | 3 | ||||
| August 11 | Heat 6 | 1:55.45 | WR | 3 | ||||
| August 11 | Semifinal 2 | 58.77 | WR | 3 | ||||
| August 12 | Final | 1:05.17 | OR | 4 | ||||
| August 12 | Semifinal 1 | align=left | 2:09.53 | OR | 4 | |||
| August 13 | Final | 1:54.82 | WR | 5 | ||||
| August 13 | Heat 5 | 2:22.17 | OR | 5 | ||||
| August 13 | Final | 2:08.45 | OR | 5 | ||||
| August 13 | Heat 1 | Alena Popchanka (1:58.27) Céline Couderc (1:58.92) Camille Muffat (1:57.32) Coralie Balmy (1:55.86) | 7:50.37 | OR | 5 | |||
| August 14 | Heat 4 | 8:18.06 | OR | 6 | ||||
| August 14 | Heat 4 | 2:06.76 | OR | 6 | ||||
| August 14 | Final | 2:04.18 | WR | 6 | ||||
| August 14 | Final | Stephanie Rice (1:56.60) Bronte Barratt (1:56.58) Kylie Palmer (1:55.22) Linda Mackenzie (1:55.91) | 7:44.31 | WR | 6 | |||
| August 15 | Final | 53.12 | OR | 7 | ||||
| August 15 | Final | 2:20.22 | WR | 7 | ||||
| August 16 | Final | 8:14.10 | OR | 8 | ||||
| August 16 | Final | 2:05.24 | WR | 8 | ||||
| August 17 | Final | 24.06 | OR | 9 | ||||
| August 17 | Final | Emily Seebohm (59.33) Leisel Jones (1:04.58) Jessicah Schipper (56.25) Lisbeth Trickett (52.53) | 3:52.69 | WR | 9 |
See also: Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Weight | Name | Nation | Date | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 kg | Snatch | 185.0 kg | Andrei Rybakou | 2008-08-15 | OR | |
| Total | 394.0 kg | Andrei Rybakou | 2008-08-15 | WR, OR | ||
| 105 kg | Snatch | 200.0 kg | Andrei Aramnau | 2008-08-18 | OR | |
| Clean and Jerk | 236.0 kg | Andrei Aramnau | 2008-08-18 | OR | ||
| Total | 436.0 kg | Andrei Aramnau | 2008-08-18 | OR | ||
| Event | Weight | Name | Nation | Date | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 kg | Clean and Jerk | 117.0 kg | Chen Xiexia | 2008-08-09 | OR | |
| Total | 212.0 kg | Chen Xiexia | 2008-08-09 | OR | ||
| 53 kg | Clean and Jerk | 126.0 kg | Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon | 2008-08-10 | OR | |
| 58 kg | Clean and Jerk | 138.0 kg | Chen Yanqing | 2008-08-11 | OR | |
| Total | 244.0 kg | Chen Yanqing | 2008-08-11 | OR | ||
| 69 kg | Snatch | 128.0 kg | Liu Chunhong | 2008-08-13 | OR | |
| Clean and Jerk | 158.0 kg | Liu Chunhong | 2008-08-13 | OR | ||
| Total | 286.0 kg | Liu Chunhong | 2008-08-13 | WR, OR | ||
| 75 kg | Snatch | 128.0 kg | Cao Lei | 2008-08-15 | OR | |
| Clean and Jerk | 154.0 kg | Cao Lei | 2008-08-15 | OR | ||
| Total | 282.0 kg | Cao Lei | 2008-08-15 | OR | ||
| +75 kg | Snatch | 140.0 kg | Jang Mi-Ran | 2008-08-16 | WR, OR | |
| Clean and Jerk | 186.0 kg | Jang Mi-Ran | 2008-08-16 | WR, OR | ||
| Total | 326.0 kg | Jang Mi-Ran | 2008-08-16 | WR, OR | ||