On the 1 January 2005, the IAAF World Rankings was expanded yet again, this time to include a new track event for women. The addition of the 3000m Steeplechase means that there are now 40 Event Rankings, equally split with 20 for each gender.

Romania's Cristina Casandra is the first official leader of the new event ranking, but Russia's Gulnara Samitova has benefited the most from the inclusion of the new Event Rankings. Samitova climbed from 89th to 38th in the Women's Overall Rankings, because her outstanding world record of 9:01:59 (1449 points) from Iraklio in July can now be included to her overall average score for the past 365 days.

Another further addition to the Rankings as at 1 January 2005 is the 600m - outdoor and indoor - which will join the 1000m as a "Similar Event" to the Men's and Women's 800m Event Rankings. 600m performances since 5 January 2004 are included in today's Rankings' release.

The IAAF World Rankings will continue to be released every fortnight for the rest of January, with weekly updates returning in February, once the international indoor season is in full swing.