Winning an Olympic Medal is the biggest dream for any athlete. Every year the records get broken and we get to see some memorable performances. Several athletes such as Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, Michael Phelps, Larisa Latynina, and many others have created many world records at the Olympics. And this year also, many new athletes will look to mark their names in the record books. So, let’s look at some of the records that could be broken at Tokyo 2020.
5. Women’s 10,000m
On the 6th of June, 2021, Sifan Hassan broke Almaz Ayana’s world record of 29 minutes and 17.45 seconds with the timing of 29:06.82 minutes in Hengelo, Netherlands. And just two days later, on 8th June, Letesenbet Gidey broke Sifan Hassan’s world record with a timing of 29:01.03 minutes at the same venue. So, this could be one of the battles to watch out for at the Tokyo Olympics between Letesenbet Gidey and Sifan Hassan.
4. Men’s Shot Put
Currently, this record is held by Randy Barnes, who launched the ball to a distance of 23.12 meters. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Ryan Crouser smashed the Olympic record with a throw of 22.52 meters. Ryan won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics. In the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Crouser, Kovacs, and Walsh came close to Randy Barnes’ long-standing world record of 23.12 meters.
Both Crouser and Walsh threw the ball to a distance of 22.90 meters. Kovacs launched the ball to a distance of 22.91 meters and went on to win the gold medal. Crouser, Kovacs, Walsh, all three of them would be fully prepared to smash that world record mark. So, there is a high possibility this record could get broken at the Tokyo Olympics.
3. Women’s 100m
This world record currently belongs to the late Florence Griffith Joyner. She finished the race with a staggering time of 10.49 seconds at the US Olympic trials. The main contenders to break this record at the Tokyo Olympics this year is Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica and American Sha’Carri Richardson.
Sha’Carri Richardson has been consistently hitting the mark of 10.8 seconds. On the other hand, the 34-year-old veteran Fraser-Pryce is in the form of life. Earlier this month, She became the second-fastest woman on the planet when she smashed a record with a time of 10.63 seconds in Kingston, Jamaica. So, It would be interesting to see who comes on top between the battle of young Richardson and an experience Fraser-Pryce.
2. Men’s Javelin Throw
Currently, this record is held by Jan Zelezny, who achieved this feat by throwing at a distance of 98.48m. In September 2020, Germany’s Johannes Vetter came close to breaking Jan Zelezny’s world record. He achieved a distance of 97.76m at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland. Vetter had also won Gold at the 2017 World Championships. Going by the current form, this is could be an opportunity for Vetter to break this record in Tokyo.
1. Men’s Recurve Archery
This record currently belongs to USA’s Brady Ellison, who had shot 702/720 at the 2019 Pan American Games. Ellison became only the second archer to break the 700-mark barrier. However, South Korea’s Kim Woo-jin is in contention to break this world record. Kim Woo-Jin is the reigning Olympic Champion. Currently, he is ranked fifth in the world and will be aiming to break the world record at Tokyo Olympics.