Marathon world records

In a monumental fortnight for marathon running, Ethiopian Tigst Assefa and Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum shattered the women’s and men’s world records, respectively. While both achievements are groundbreaking, the rate of improvement in women’s marathon times stands out.

Since 1965, men have improved their times by 12 minutes, while women have slashed theirs by over an hour. Specifically, the women’s record dropped by an astonishing 1 hour and 13 minutes during the transformative years of the 60s and 70s. In the last 25 years alone, men have shaved off 6 minutes from their records, whereas women have cut down by 9 minutes.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_world_record_progression