A number of world records and Olympic records were set in various events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. 32 world records were broken in eight sports. The largest number of world records was set in swimming, with eight. China, Great Britain and the United States set the most records, with five each.
| Event | Name | Nation | Score | Date | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's individual (216 arrow ranking round) | Dong Hyun Im | South Korea | 699 Points | 27 July | WR, OR |
| Men's team | Im Dong-Hyun Kim Bub-Min Oh Jin-Hyek | South Korea | 2087 Points | 27 July | WR, OR |
| Event | Name | Nation | Score | Date | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's marathon | Tiki Gelana | Ethiopia | 2h 23:07 | 5 August | OR |
| Men's 100 metres | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 9.63 s | 5 August | OR |
| Women's 100 metres hurdles | Sally Pearson | Australia | 12.35 s | 7 August | OR |
| Men's 800 metres | David Rudisha | Kenya | 1:40.91 | 9 August | WR , OR |
| Women's 4 × 100 metres | Tianna Madison Allyson Felix Bianca Knight Carmelita Jeter | USA | 40.82 s | 10 August | WR, OR |
| Men's 4 × 100 metres | Nesta Carter Michael Frater Yohan Blake Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 36.84 s | 11 August | WR, OR |
| Event | Name | Nation | Score | Date | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's team sprint | Gong Jinjie Guo Shuang | China | 32.447 s | 2 August | WR , OR |
| Gong Jinjie Guo Shuang | China | 32.422 s | 2 August | WR, OR | |
| Men's team sprint | Philip Hindes Chris Hoy Jason Kenny | Great Britain | 42.747 s | 2 August | WR , OR |
| Philip Hindes Chris Hoy Jason Kenny | Great Britain | 42.600 s | 2 August | WR, OR | |
| Men's team pursuit | Ed Clancy Geraint Thomas Steven Burke Peter Kennaugh | Great Britain | 3:52.499 | 2 August | WR , OR |
| Ed Clancy Geraint Thomas Steven Burke Peter Kennaugh | Great Britain | 3:51.659 | 3 August | WR, OR | |
| Women's team pursuit | Dani King Laura Trott Joanna Rowsell | Great Britain | 3:15.669 | 3 August | WR , OR |
| Dani King Laura Trott Joanna Rowsell | Great Britain | 3:14.682 | 4 August | WR, OR | |
| Dani King Laura Trott Joanna Rowsell | Great Britain | 3:14.051 | 4 August | WR, OR | |
| Men's sprint | Jason Kenny | Great Britain | 9.713 s | 4 August | OR |
| Women's sprint | Victoria Pendleton | Great Britain | 10.724 s | 5 August | OR |
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 400 m freestyle | 28 July | Final | Sun Yang |  China | 3:40.14 | OR |
| Men's 100 m breaststroke | 28 July | Semifinal | Cameron van der Burgh |  South Africa | 58.83 | OR |
| Men's 100 m breaststroke | 29 July | Final | Cameron van der Burgh | South Africa | 58.46 | WR , OR |
| Men's 100 m backstroke | 30 July | Final | Matt Grevers |  United States | 52.16 | OR |
| Men's 200 m breaststroke | 1 August | Final | Dániel Gyurta |  Hungary | 2:07.28 | WR, OR |
| Men's 200 m backstroke | 2 August | Final | Tyler Clary | United States | 1:53.41 | OR |
| Men's 1500 m freestyle | 4 August | Final | Sun Yang | China | 14:31.02 | WR, OR |
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Weight | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 53 kg | 29 July | Clean and jerk | Zulfiya Chinshanlo |  Kazakhstan | 131 kg | WR , OR |
| Women's 53 kg | 29 July | Total | Zulfiya Chinshanlo | Kazakhstan | 226 kg | OR |
| Women's 58 kg | 30 July | Snatch | Li Xueying | China | 108 kg | OR |
| Women's 58 kg | 30 July | Total | Li Xueying | China | 246 kg | OR |
| Women's 63 kg | 31 July | Total | Maiya Maneza | Kazakhstan | 245 kg | OR |
| Women's 75 kg | 3 August | Snatch | Natalia Zabolotnaya |  Russia | 131 kg | OR |
| Women's 75 kg | 3 August | Clean & Jerk | Svetlana Podobedova | Kazakhstan | 161 kg | OR |
| Women's 75 kg | 3 August | Total | Natalia Zabolotnaya | Russia | 291 kg | OR |
| Women's +75 kg | 5 August | Snatch | Tatiana Kashirina | Russia | 151 kg | WR, OR |
| Women's +75 kg | 5 August | Clean & Jerk | Zhou Lulu | China | 187 kg | OR |
| Women's +75 kg | 5 August | Total | Zhou Lulu | China | 333 kg | WR, OR |
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Weight | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 56 kg | 29 July | Clean and jerk | Om Yun-Chol |  North Korea | 168 kg | OR |
| Men's 62 kg | 30 July | Snatch | Kim Un-Guk | North Korea | 153 kg | OR |
| Men's 62 kg | 30 July | Total | Kim Un-Guk | North Korea | 327 kg | WR , OR |
| Men's 62 kg | 30 July | Clean and jerk | Óscar Figueroa |  Colombia | 177 kg | OR |
| Men's 77 kg | 1 August | Snatch | Lü Xiaojun | China | 175 kg | WR, OR |
| Men's 77 kg | 1 August | Total | Lü Xiaojun | China | 379 kg | WR, OR |
| Men's 94 kg | 4 August | Clean & Jerk | Ilya Ilyin | Kazakhstan | 233 kg | WR, OR |
| Men's 94 kg | 4 August | Total | Ilya Ilyin | Kazakhstan | 418 kg | WR, OR |
| Date | Event | Athlete | Nation | Record description | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 July 2012 | Archery – Men's individual | Im Dong-Hyun |  South Korea | Scored a world record of 699 in the ranking round | [1] |
| 27 July 2012 | Archery – Men's team | Im Dong-Hyun Kim Bub-Min Oh Jin-Hyek | South Korea | Scored a world record of 2087 in the ranking round | [1] |
| 28 July 2012 | Rowing – Men's coxless pair | Eric Murray Hamish Bond |  New Zealand | Set a world record time of 6:08.50 in the heats | [2] |
| 28 July 2012 | Swimming – Women's 400 metre individual medley | Ye Shiwen | China | Set a world record time of 4:28.43 in the final | [3] |
| 29 July 2012 | Weightlifting – Women's 53 kg | Zulfiya Chinshanlo | Kazakhstan | Set a world record at clean and jerk of 131 kg | [4] |
| 29 July 2012 | Swimming – Women's 100 metre butterfly | Dana Vollmer | United States | Set a world record time of 55.98 | [5] |
| 29 July 2012 | Swimming – Men's 100 metre breaststroke | Cameron van der Burgh | South Africa | Set a world record time of 58.46 | [6] |
| 30 July 2012 | Weightlifting – Men's 62 kg | Kim Un-Guk | North Korea | Set a world record at total of 327 kg | [7] |
| 1 August 2012 | Swimming – Men's 200 metre breaststroke | Dániel Gyurta | Hungary | Set a world record time of 2:07.28 | [8] |
| 1 August 2012 | Weightlifting – Men's 77 kg | Lü Xiaojun | China | Set world record at snatch of 175 kg Set world record at total of 379 kg | [9] |
| 1 August 2012 2 August 2012 | Swimming – Women's 200 metre breaststroke | Rebecca Soni | United States | Set a world record time of 2:20.00 in the semi-final. Set a world record time of 2:19.59 in the final. | [8] [10] |
| 2 August 2012 | Cycling – Women's team sprint | Victoria Pendleton Jessica Varnish |  Great Britain | Set a world record time of 32.526 in the qualification. | |
| 2 August 2012 | Cycling – Women's team sprint | Gong Jinjie Guo Shuang | China | Set a world record time of 32.447 in the qualification. Set a world record time of 32.422 in the first round. | [11] |
| 2 August 2012 | Cycling – Men's team pursuit | Ed Clancy Geraint Thomas Steven Burke Peter Kennaugh | Great Britain | Set a world record time of 3:52.499 in the qualification. Set a world record time of 3:51.659 in the final. | [12] |
| 2 August 2012 | Cycling – Men's team sprint | Philip Hindes Chris Hoy Jason Kenny | Great Britain | Set a world record time of 42.747 in the first round. Set a world record time of 42.600 in the final. | [13] |
| 2 August 2012 | Shooting – Men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol | Alexei Klimov | Russia | Set a world record of 592 in the qualification | [14] |
| 3 August 2012 | Cycling – Women's team pursuit | Dani King Laura Trott Joanna Rowsell | Great Britain | Set a world record time of 3:15.669 in the qualification. | |
| 3 August 2012 | Shooting – Men's 50 metre rifle prone | Sergei Martynov |  Belarus | Set a world record result of 705.5 in the final. | |
| 3 August 2012 | Swimming – Women's 200 metre backstroke | Missy Franklin | United States | Set a world record time of 2:04.06 in the final. | |
| 4 August 2012 | Shooting – Women's trap | Jessica Rossi |  Italy | Scored a world record of 75 in the qualification. Scored a world record of 99 in the final. | |
| 4 August 2012 | Cycling – Women's team pursuit | Dani King Laura Trott Joanna Rowsell | Great Britain | Set a world record time of 3:14.682 in the first round. Set a world record time of 3:14.051 in the final. | |
| 4 August 2012 | Swimming – Men's 1500 metre freestyle | Sun Yang | China | Set a world record time of 14:31.02 in the final. | [15] |
| 4 August 2012 | Swimming – Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay | Missy Franklin Rebecca Soni Dana Vollmer Allison Schmitt | United States | Set a world record time of 3:52.05 in the final. | |
| 4 August 2012 | Weightlifting – Men's 94 kg | Ilya Ilyin | Kazakhstan | Set a world record at clean and jerk of 233 kg. Set a world record total of 418 kg. | [16] |
| 5 August 2012 | Weightlifting – Women's +75 kg | Tatiana Kashirina | Russia | Set a world record at snatch of 151 kg. | |
| 5 August 2012 | Weightlifting – Women's +75 kg | Zhou Lulu | China | Set a world record total of 333 kg. | |
| 9 August 2012 | Athletics – Men's 800 metres | David Rudisha |  Kenya | Set a world record time of 1:40.91 in the final. | |
| 10 August 2012 | Athletics – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay | Tianna Madison Allyson Felix Bianca Knight Carmelita Jeter | United States | Set a world record time of 40.82 in the final. | |
| 11 August 2012 | Athletics – Women's 20 kilometres walk | Elena Lashmanova | Russia | Set a world record time of 1:25.02. | |
| 11 August 2012 | Athletics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay | Nesta Carter Michael Frater Yohan Blake Usain Bolt |  Jamaica | Set a world record time of 36.84 in the final. | [17] |
| 11 August 2012 | Modern Pentathlon – Men's | Nicola Benedetti | Italy | Set a world record time of 9:23.63 in the running element. | [18] |
| 12 August 2012 | Modern Pentathlon – Women's | Anastasiya Prokopenko | Belarus | Set a world record time of 10:20.90 in the running element. | [19] |
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