10,000 m

World and Japan records, men and women — the progressions, the gap between them, and the full timeline.

Men · World

26:11.00

Joshua Cheptegei

Uganda · Valencia · 7 Oct 2020

Women · World

28:54.14

Beatrice Chebet

Kenya · Eugene · 25 May 2024

Men · Japan

27:05.92

Mebuki Suzuki

Japan · Hachioji · 22 Nov 2025

Women · Japan

30:20.44

Hitomi Niiya

Japan · Osaka · 4 Dec 2020

World Record

Men · World Record

Current26:11.00Joshua Cheptegei· 2020

Date	Time	Athlete	Country	Location
7 Oct 2020	26:11.00	Joshua Cheptegei	Uganda	Valencia
26 Aug 2005	26:17.53	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	Brussels
8 Jun 2004	26:20.31	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	Ostrava
1 Jun 1998	26:22.75	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	Hengelo
22 Aug 1997	26:27.85	Paul Tergat	Kenya	Brussels
4 Jul 1997	26:31.32	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	Oslo
23 Aug 1996	26:38.08	Salah Hissou	Morocco	Brussels
5 Jun 1995	26:43.53	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	Hengelo
22 Jul 1994	26:52.23	William Sigei	Kenya	Oslo
10 Jul 1993	26:58.38	Yobes Ondieki	Kenya	Oslo
5 Jul 1993	27:07.91	Richard Chelimo	Kenya	Stockholm
18 Aug 1989	27:08.23	Arturo Barrios	Mexico	West Berlin
2 Jul 1984	27:13.81	Fernando Mamede	Portugal	Stockholm
11 Jun 1978	27:22.47	Henry Rono	Kenya	Vienna
30 Jun 1977	27:30.47	Samson Kimobwa	Kenya	Helsinki
13 Jul 1973	27:30.80	David Bedford	Great Britain	London
3 Sept 1972	27:38.35	Lasse Viren	Finland	Munich
14 Jul 1965	27:39.89	Ron Clarke	Australia	Oslo

Japan Record

Men · Japan Record

Current27:05.92Mebuki Suzuki· 2025

Date	Time	Athlete	Location
22 Nov 2025	27:05.92	Mebuki Suzuki	Hachioji
10 Dec 2023	27:09.80	Kazuya Shiojiri	Tokyo
4 Dec 2020	27:18.75	Akira Aizawa	Osaka
28 Nov 2015	27:29.69	Kota Murayama	Machida
4 May 2001	27:35.09	Toshinari Takaoka	Palo Alto
2 Jul 1987	27:35.33	Takeyuki Nakayama	Helsinki
2 Jul 1985	27:42.17	Toshihiko Seko	Stockholm
7 Jul 1980	27:43.44	Toshihiko Seko	Stockholm

World vs Japan

Men · Current Gap

+54.92

World26:11.00Joshua Cheptegei

Japan27:05.92Mebuki Suzuki

Record progressions

Current

WR26:11.00Joshua Cheptegei· 2020

JPN27:05.92Mebuki Suzuki· 2025

The gap over time

+54.92Current

WR26:11.00Joshua Cheptegei· 2020

JPN27:05.92Mebuki Suzuki· 2025

The closer the line gets to zero, the closer Japan is to the world record; when it rises, the world record is pulling away. The gap is plotted at every record change — world or national — so the line always reflects the gap at that moment.

Record Timeline

Date	Time	Athlete	Country	Location	Type
22 Nov 2025	27:05.92	Mebuki Suzuki	Japan	Hachioji	Japan Record
25 May 2024	28:54.14	Beatrice Chebet	Kenya	Eugene	World Record
10 Dec 2023	27:09.80	Kazuya Shiojiri	Japan	Tokyo	Japan Record
8 Jun 2021	29:01.03	Letesenbet Gidey	Ethiopia	Hengelo	World Record
6 Jun 2021	29:06.82	Sifan Hassan	Netherlands	Hengelo	World Record
4 Dec 2020	27:18.75	Akira Aizawa	Japan	Osaka	Japan Record
4 Dec 2020	30:20.44	Hitomi Niiya	Japan	Osaka	Japan Record
7 Oct 2020	26:11.00	Joshua Cheptegei	Uganda	Valencia	World Record
12 Aug 2016	29:17.45	Almaz Ayana	Ethiopia	Rio de Janeiro	World Record
28 Nov 2015	27:29.69	Kota Murayama	Japan	Machida	Japan Record
26 Aug 2005	26:17.53	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	Brussels	World Record
8 Jun 2004	26:20.31	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	Ostrava	World Record
3 May 2002	30:48.89	Yoko Shibui	Japan	Palo Alto	Japan Record
4 May 2001	27:35.09	Toshinari Takaoka	Japan	Palo Alto	Japan Record
1 Jul 2000	31:09.46	Yuko Kawakami	Japan	Brunswick, ME	Japan Record
1 Jun 1998	26:22.75	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	Hengelo	World Record
22 Aug 1997	26:27.85	Paul Tergat	Kenya	Brussels	World Record
4 Jul 1997	26:31.32	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	Oslo	World Record
23 Aug 1996	26:38.08	Salah Hissou	Morocco	Brussels	World Record
9 Jun 1996	31:19.40	Hiromi Suzuki	Japan	Tokyo	Japan Record
5 Jun 1995	26:43.53	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	Hengelo	World Record
22 Jul 1994	26:52.23	William Sigei	Kenya	Oslo	World Record
8 Sept 1993	29:31.78	Wang Junxia	China	Beijing	World Record
10 Jul 1993	26:58.38	Yobes Ondieki	Kenya	Oslo	World Record
5 Jul 1993	27:07.91	Richard Chelimo	Kenya	Stockholm	World Record
3 May 1992	31:40.38	Izumi Maki	Japan	Kobe	Japan Record
18 Aug 1989	27:08.23	Arturo Barrios	Mexico	West Berlin	World Record
26 Sept 1988	32:19.57	Akemi Matsuno	Japan	Seoul	Japan Record
2 Jul 1987	27:35.33	Takeyuki Nakayama	Japan	Helsinki	Japan Record
5 Jul 1986	30:13.74	Ingrid Kristiansen	Norway	Oslo	World Record
27 Jul 1985	30:59.42	Ingrid Kristiansen	Norway	Oslo	World Record
2 Jul 1985	27:42.17	Toshihiko Seko	Japan	Stockholm	Japan Record
2 Jul 1984	27:13.81	Fernando Mamede	Portugal	Stockholm	World Record
24 Jun 1984	31:13.78	Olga Bondarenko	Soviet Union	Kiev	World Record
7 Sept 1983	31:27.58	Raisa Sadreydinova	Soviet Union	Odessa	World Record
29 May 1983	31:35.01	Lyudmila Baranova	Soviet Union	Krasnodar	World Record
19 Oct 1981	32:17.20	Yelena Sipatova	Soviet Union	Moscow	World Record
7 Jul 1980	27:43.44	Toshihiko Seko	Japan	Stockholm	Japan Record
11 Jun 1978	27:22.47	Henry Rono	Kenya	Vienna	World Record
30 Jun 1977	27:30.47	Samson Kimobwa	Kenya	Helsinki	World Record
13 Jul 1973	27:30.80	David Bedford	Great Britain	London	World Record
3 Sept 1972	27:38.35	Lasse Viren	Finland	Munich	World Record
14 Jul 1965	27:39.89	Ron Clarke	Australia	Oslo	World Record

Exhibit notes

The story of the record

The record, step by step

The men's 10,000m improved over many years from Ron Clarke's 27:39.89 in 1965. Kenenisa Bekele's 26:17.53 from 2005 then stood for 15 years, until Joshua Cheptegei ran 26:11.00 in Valencia in 2020. The women's world record holder is Beatrice Chebet, with 28:54.14 from 2024.

Japan's progression

The men's record has fallen steadily since the era of Toshihiko Seko and Takeyuki Nakayama, with the pace quickening in the 2020s through Akira Aizawa and Kazuya Shiojiri; Mebuki Suzuki brought it to 27:05.92 in 2025. On the women's side, Hitomi Niiya took a large chunk off Yoko Shibui's 2002 record, running 30:20.44 in 2020.