Senior web editor for World Athletics. ATFS member, athletics fanatic, cake eater. Views are my own. Non-athletics handle: @JonMulkeen
UK
Joined May 2012
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Finally updated my spectator PBs (link in bio).
A few faves:
Most iconic: Bolt's 9.58/19.19 WR double (2009)
Oldest: Bekele's 12:49.60 indoor 5000m (2004)
Newest: Jamaica's 39.62 mixed 4x100m WR (2026)
Most impressive: McLaughlin-Levrone's 47.78 400m (2025)
What are yours?
In 2015, I compiled a chronological list of the sub-10 club when it had reached 100 members.
Eleven years later, there are now 232 of them. 😳
The first 100 took 47 years.
The next 100 took nine.
The fully updated list 👇
jonmulkeen.com/statistics/ch…
I’ve also started posting on Insta, where I can give some of these graphics a bit more room than X allows.
Feel free to follow: instagram.com/statmanjon
The evolution of the men’s 400m hurdles has been extraordinary.
Here are the sub-47 performances by year (1990-2026).
From the dawn of time until 2017, there was just one sub-47.
In 2026 alone, there were 15.
For extra context:
2017 had just 1 sub-48.
2026 has had 58 sub-48s.
The men’s marathon has already reached unprecedented depth in 2026 - with three months of the year still to go.
Typically, almost 40% of the year's 50 fastest times come between Oct-Dec (thanks largely to Chicago and Valencia). So expect the numbers below to rise.
Fastest female marathoners by five-race average
2:14:01 - Assefa
2:14:51 - Chepngetich
2:15:54 - Kosgei
2:16:17 - Jepkosgei
2:17:10 - S. Asefa
2:17:16 - Megertu
2:17:33 - Hassan
2:17:54 - Jepchirchir
2:18:04 - Radcliffe
2:18:07 - Feysa
2:18:48 - Yehualaw
2:19:45 - Keitany
Tigst Assefa's 10k splits in Berlin today en route to her 2:11:04
30:48
30:46
30:41
30:45
20k splits:
1:01:34
1:01:26
Her seventh 5km was 15:17. That would have been enough for 13th place in the standalone 5km at the recent World Road Running Champs.
Jon Mulkeen retweeted
The amount of people who are seemingly fans of our sport who are either willfully or ignorantly misrepresenting the qualification standards for world champs is wild to me. It has to be engagement bait, right?
Standards are designed to achieve 40% of the target number. Other 60% through World Rankings. This is very simple stuff. Last time they were aiming for 50% so yah, they got harder 🤯
So incredibly sad. Had the pleasure of working alongside Parker at numerous World Champs and Olympics over the years.
He was super knowledgeable, a great writer and a devoted family man.
Alison Wade, founder & editor of @fast_women, lost her husband Parker Morse this morning. He was 52 and died unexpectedly.
Equal parts brilliant & kind, Parker was the original webmaster for @runnersworld when the website launched in 1996.
He was the father of twin daughters.
Wind curse continues for @itsgabbyt, this time in Nairobi, a -1.1m/s wind denying her a potential sub-11.
With a perfect 2.0m/s, it would have been a 10.82.
If she'd had 2.0m/s winds in her 15 fastest races, she'd have 12 sub-11s to her name.
Alas, her PB remains 11.00.
Jon Mulkeen retweeted
NEW: Jon Mulkeen has worked in #sportsmedia for more than 20 years and is currently out in Tokyo for the #WorldAthleticsChamps, overseeing editorial for the international governing body.
He’s also out as LGBTQ. In the latest ‘Our Stories in Sport’ Q&A, he shares his journey.
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ALT Jon Mulkeen graphic for Sports Media LGBT+ - collage of personal photos
I’ve really struggled to stay engaged on here since Twitter became all Musky.
Trying things out over on Bluesky. Can’t promise I’ll be as active there as I once was on here but let’s give it a go.
bsky.app/profile/statman-jon…
👋🏼
Georgia Bell, who returned to athletics in June last year after a career in duathlon, is now an Olympic medallist, British record-holder, and sits third on the European all-time list.
Nafi Thiam's winning margin tonight, when winning her 11th major title (global/continental), was just 36 points over KJT.
Her only winning margin smaller than that was when she won her first major title, the 2016 Olympic crown, by just 35 points from Jess Ennis-Hill.
Jon Mulkeen retweeted
Who will you be watching England with this Sunday? 🏴 ⚽️ #lonelinessawarenessweek #euros2024
