# 1997 in the sport of athletics

This article contains an overview of the year 1997 in athletics.

## Major events
### World

* IAAF Grand Prix Final
* World Championships
* World Cross Country Championships
* World Half Marathon Championships
* World Indoor Championships
* World Race Walking Cup
* World Student Games

### Regional

* CARIFTA Games
* Central American and Caribbean Championships
* East Asian Games
* European Cross Country Championships
* European Junior Championships
* European U23 Championships
* Mediterranean Games
* Pan American Junior Championships
* South American Championships
* South American Junior Championships

## World records
### Men

| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Place | Date |
| 800 m | Wilson Kipketer | Denmark | 1:41.73 | Stockholm, Sweden | 7 July |
| 800 m | Wilson Kipketer | Denmark | 1:41.24 | Zürich, Switzerland | 13 August |
| 800 m | Wilson Kipketer | Denmark | 1:41.11 | Cologne, Germany | 24 August |
| 5000 m | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | 12:41.86 | Zürich, Switzerland | 13 August |
| 5000 m | Daniel Komen | Kenya | 12:39.74 | Brussels, Belgium | 22 August |
| 10,000 m | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | 26:31.32 | Oslo, Norway | 4 July |
| 10,000 m | Paul Tergat | Kenya | 26:27.85 | Brussels, Belgium | 22 August |
| 3000 m steeplechase | Wilson Boit Kipketer | Kenya | 7:59.08 | Zürich, Switzerland | 13 August |
| 3000 m steeplechase | Bernard Barmasai | Kenya | 7:55.72 | Cologne, Germany | 24 August |

### Women

| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Place | Date |
| 5000 m | Dong Yanmei | China | 14:31.27 | Shanghai, China | 21 October |
| 5000 m | Jiang Bo | China | 14:28.09 | Shanghai, China | 23 October |
| Pole vault | Emma George | Australia | 4.50 m | Melbourne, Australia | 8 February |
| Pole vault | Emma George | Australia | 4.55 m | Melbourne, Australia | 20 February |
| Hammer throw | Mihaela Melinte | Romania | 69.58 m | Bucharest, Romania | 8 March |
| Hammer throw | Olga Kuzenkova | Russia | 70.78 m | Smolensk, Russia | 11 June |
| Hammer throw | Olga Kuzenkova | Russia | 71.22 m | Munich, Germany | 22 June |
| Hammer throw | Olga Kuzenkova | Russia | 73.10 m | Munich, Germany | 22 June |

## Awards
### Men

| 1996 TRACK & FIELD AWARDS | ATHLETE |
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | Wilson Kipketer (DEN) |
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | Wilson Kipketer (DEN) |
| European Athlete of the Year Award | Wilson Kipketer (DEN) |
| Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award | Michael Johnson (USA) |

### Women

| 1996 TRACK & FIELD AWARDS | ATHLETE |
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | Marion Jones (USA) |
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | Marion Jones (USA) |
| European Athlete of the Year Award | Astrid Kumbernuss (GER) |
| Best Female Track Athlete ESPY Award | Marie-José Pérec (FRA) |

## Season's bests

Best marks of the year :
| Event | Men | Men | Men | Women | Women | Women |
| Event | Athlete | Mark | Notes | Athlete | Mark | Notes |
| 100 metres | Maurice Greene (USA) | 9.86 | | Marion Jones (USA) | 10.76 | |
| 200 metres | Ato Boldon (TRI) | 19.77 | | Marion Jones (USA) | 21.76 | |
| 400 metres | Michael Johnson (USA) | 43.75 | | Cathy Freeman (AUS) | 49.39 | |
| 800 metres | Wilson Kipketer (DEN) | 1:41.11 | WR | Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB) | 1:54.82 | |
| 1500 metres | Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) | 3:28.91 | | Jiang Bo (CHN) | 3:50.98 | |
| 3000 metres | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | 7:26.02 | | Gabriela Szabo (ROU) | 8:27.78 | |
| 5000 metres | Daniel Komen (KEN) | 12:39.74 | WR | Jiang Bo (CHN) | 14:28.09 | WR |
| 10,000 metres | Paul Tergat (KEN) | 26:27.85 | WR | Dong Yanmei (CHN) | 30:38.09 | |
| 100/110 metres hurdles | Allen Johnson (USA) | 12.93 | | Ludmila Engquist (SWE) | 12.50 | |
| 400 metres hurdles | Bryan Bronson (USA) | 47.64 | | Kim Batten (USA) Nezha Bidouane (MAR) | 52.97 | |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Bernard Barmasai (KEN) | 7:55.72 | WR | Melissa Teemant (USA) | 10:30.90 | |
| Pole vault | Sergey Bubka (UKR) | 6.05 m | | Emma George (AUS) | 4.55 m | WR |
| High jump | Javier Sotomayor (CUB) | 2.37 m | | Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) Inga Babakova (UKR) | 2.02 m | |
| Long jump | Iván Pedroso (CUB) | 8.63 m | | Lyudmila Galkina (RUS) | 7.05 m | |
| Triple jump | Yoelbi Quesada (CUB) | 17.85 m | | Sárka Kaspárková (CZE) | 15.20 m | |
| Shot put | Randy Barnes (USA) | 22.03 m | | Astrid Kumbernuss (GER) | 21.22 m | |
| Discus throw | Lars Reidel (GER) | 71.50 m | | Xiao Yanling (CHN) | 70.00 m | |
| Javelin throw | Jan Železný (CZE) | 94.02 m | | Trine Hattestad (NOR) | 69.66 m | |
| Hammer throw | Heinz Weis (GER) | 83.04 m | | Olga Kuzenkova (RUS) | 73.10 m | WR |
| Heptathlon | — | — | — | Sabine Braun (GER) | 6787 pts | |
| Decathlon | Tomás Dvorák (CZE) | 8837 pts | | — | — | — |
| 4×100 metres relay | Canada Robert Esmie Glenroy Gilbert Bruny Surin Donovan Bailey | 37.86 | | United States Chryste Gaines Marion Jones Inger Miller Gail Devers | 41.47 | |
| 4×400 metres relay | United Kingdom Iwan Thomas Roger Black Jamie Baulch Mark Richardson | 2:56.65 | | Germany Anke Feller Uta Rohländer-Fromm Anja Rücker Grit Breuer | 3:20.92 | |