# Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics

At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992, to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders (eight men and six women) were among the contenders. Thirty former Olympic champions competed, and a total number of 1725 athletes from 156 countries.

## Medal summary
### Men

| Games | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres details | Linford Christie Great Britain | 9.96 | Frankie Fredericks Namibia | 10.02 | Dennis Mitchell United States | 10.04 |
| 200 metres details | Michael Marsh United States | 20.01 | Frankie Fredericks Namibia | 20.13 | Michael Bates United States | 20.38 |
| 400 metres details | Quincy Watts United States | 43.50 (OR) | Steve Lewis United States | 44.21 | Samson Kitur Kenya | 44.24 |
| 800 metres details | William Tanui Kenya | 1:43.66 | Nixon Kiprotich Kenya | 1:43.70 | Johnny Gray United States | 1:43.97 |
| 1500 metres details | Fermín Cacho Spain | 3:40.12 | Rachid El Basir Morocco | 3:40.62 | Mohamed Suleiman Qatar | 3:40.69 |
| 5000 metres details | Dieter Baumann Germany | 13:12.52 | Paul Bitok Kenya | 13:12.71 | Fita Bayisa Ethiopia | 13:13.03 |
| 10,000 metres details | Khalid Skah Morocco | 27:46.70 | Richard Chelimo Kenya | 27:47.72 | Addis Abebe Ethiopia | 28:00.07 |
| 110 metres hurdles details | Mark McKoy Canada | 13.12 | Tony Dees United States | 13.24 | Jack Pierce United States | 13.26 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Kevin Young United States | 46.78 (WR) | Winthrop Graham Jamaica | 47.66 | Kriss Akabusi Great Britain | 47.82 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase details | Matthew Birir Kenya | 8:08.84 | Patrick Sang Kenya | 8:09.55 | William Mutwol Kenya | 8:10.74 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | United States (USA) Michael Marsh Leroy Burrell Dennis Mitchell Carl Lewis James Jett* | 37.40 (WR) | Nigeria (NGR) Oluyemi Kayode Chidi Imoh Olapade Adeniken Davidson Ezinwa Osmond Ezinwa* | 37.98 | Cuba (CUB) Andrés Simón Joel Lamela Joel Isasi Jorge Aguilera | 38.00 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | United States (USA) Andrew Valmon Quincy Watts Michael Johnson Steve Lewis Darnell Hall* Charles Jenkins* | 2:55.74 (WR) | Cuba (CUB) Lázaro Martínez Héctor Herrera Norberto Téllez Roberto Hernández | 2:59.51 | Great Britain (GBR) Roger Black David Grindley Kriss Akabusi John Regis Du'aine Ladejo* Mark Richardson* | 2:59.73 |
| Marathon details | Hwang Young-cho South Korea | 2:13:23 | Kōichi Morishita Japan | 2:13:45 | Stephan Freigang Germany | 2:14:00 |
| 20 kilometres walk details | Daniel Plaza Spain | 1:21.25 | Guillaume LeBlanc Canada | 1:22.25 | Giovanni De Benedictis Italy | 1:23.11 |
| 50 kilometres walk details | Andrey Perlov Unified Team ( Russia) | 3:50.13 | Carlos Mercenario Mexico | 3:52.09 | Ronald Weigel Germany | 3:53.45 |
| High jump details | Javier Sotomayor Cuba | 2.34 m | Patrik Sjöberg Sweden | 2.34 m | Hollis Conway United States | 2.34 m |
| High jump details | Javier Sotomayor Cuba | 2.34 m | Patrik Sjöberg Sweden | 2.34 m | Tim Forsyth Australia | 2.34 m |
| High jump details | Javier Sotomayor Cuba | 2.34 m | Patrik Sjöberg Sweden | 2.34 m | Artur Partyka Poland | 2.34 m |
| Pole vault details | Maksim Tarasov Unified Team ( Russia) | 5.80 m | Igor Trandenkov Unified Team ( Russia) | 5.80 m | Javier García Spain | 5.75 m |
| Long jump details | Carl Lewis United States | 8.67 m | Mike Powell United States | 8.64 m | Joe Greene United States | 8.34 m |
| Triple jump details | Mike Conley United States | 18.17 m w | Charles Simpkins United States | 17.60 m | Frank Rutherford Bahamas | 17.36 m |
| Shot put details | Mike Stulce United States | 21.70 m | Jim Doehring United States | 20.96 m | Vyacheslav Lykho Unified Team ( Russia) | 20.94 m |
| Discus throw details | Romas Ubartas Lithuania | 65.12 m | Jürgen Schult Germany | 64.94 m | Roberto Moya Cuba | 64.12 m |
| Hammer throw details | Andrey Abduvaliyev Unified Team ( Tajikistan) | 82.54 m | Igor Astapkovich Unified Team ( Belarus) | 81.96 m | Igor Nikulin Unified Team ( Russia) | 81.38 m |
| Javelin throw details | Jan Železný Czechoslovakia | 89.66 m | Seppo Räty Finland | 86.60 m | Steve Backley Great Britain | 83.38 m |
| Decathlon details | Robert Změlík Czechoslovakia | 8611 | Antonio Peñalver Spain | 8412 | Dave Johnson United States | 8309 |
* Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.

### Women

| Games | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres details | Gail Devers United States | 10.82 | Juliet Cuthbert Jamaica | 10.83 | Irina Privalova Unified Team ( Russia) | 10.84 |
| 200 metres details | Gwen Torrence United States | 21.81 | Juliet Cuthbert Jamaica | 22.02 | Merlene Ottey Jamaica | 22.09 |
| 400 metres details | Marie-José Pérec France | 48.83 | Olha Bryzhina Unified Team ( Ukraine) | 49.05 | Ximena Restrepo Colombia | 49.64 |
| 800 metres details | Ellen van Langen Netherlands | 1:55:54 | Liliya Nurutdinova Unified Team ( Russia) | 1:55:99 | Ana Fidelia Quirot Cuba | 1:56.80 |
| 1500 metres details | Hassiba Boulmerka Algeria | 3:55.30 | Lyudmila Rogachova Unified Team ( Russia) | 3:56.91 | Qu Yunxia China | 3:57.08 |
| 3000 metres details | Yelena Romanova Unified Team ( Russia) | 8:46.04 | Tetyana Dorovskikh Unified Team ( Ukraine) | 8:46.85 | Angela Chalmers Canada | 8:47.22 |
| 10,000 metres details | Derartu Tulu Ethiopia | 31:06.02 | Elana Meyer South Africa | 31:11.75 | Lynn Jennings United States | 31:19.89 |
| 100 metres hurdles details | Voula Patoulidou Greece | 12.64 | LaVonna Martin United States | 12.69 | Yordanka Donkova Bulgaria | 12.70 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Sally Gunnell Great Britain | 53.23 | Sandra Farmer-Patrick United States | 53.69 | Janeene Vickers United States | 54.31 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | United States (USA) Evelyn Ashford Esther Jones Carlette Guidry Gwen Torrence Michelle Finn* | 42.11 | Unified Team (EUN) Olga Bogoslovskaya Galina Malchugina Marina Trandenkova Irina Privalova | 42.16 | Nigeria (NGR) Beatrice Utondu Faith Idehen Christy Opara-Thompson Mary Onyali | 42.81 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | Unified Team (EUN) Yelena Ruzina Lyudmyla Dzhyhalova Olga Nazarova Olha Bryzhina Liliya Nurutdinova* Marina Shmonina* | 3:20.20 | United States (USA) Natasha Kaiser Gwen Torrence Jearl Miles Rochelle Stevens Denean Hill* Dannette Young* | 3:20.92 | Great Britain (GBR) Phylis Smith Sandra Douglas Jennifer Stoute Sally Gunnell | 3:24.23 |
| Marathon details | Valentina Yegorova Unified Team ( Russia) | 2:32:41 | Yuko Arimori Japan | 2:32:49 | Lorraine Moller New Zealand | 2:33:59 |
| 10 kilometres walk details | Chen Yueling China | 44:32 | Yelena Nikolayeva Unified Team ( Russia) | 44:33 | Li Chunxiu China | 44:41 |
| High jump details | Heike Henkel Germany | 2.02 m | Galina Astafei Romania | 2.00 m | Ioamnet Quintero Cuba | 1.97 m |
| Long jump details | Heike Drechsler Germany | 7.14 m | Inessa Kravets Unified Team ( Ukraine) | 7.12 m | Jackie Joyner-Kersee United States | 7.07 m |
| Shot put details | Svetlana Krivelyova Unified Team ( Russia) | 21.06 m | Huang Zhihong China | 20.47 m | Kathrin Neimke Germany | 19.78 m |
| Discus throw details | Maritza Martén Cuba | 70.06 m | Tsvetanka Khristova Bulgaria | 67.78 m | Daniela Costian Australia | 66.24 m |
| Javelin throw details | Silke Renk Germany | 68.34 m | Natalya Shikolenko Unified Team ( Belarus) | 68.26 m | Karen Forkel Germany | 66.86 m |
| Heptathlon details | Jackie Joyner-Kersee United States | 7044 | Irina Belova Unified Team ( Russia) | 6845 | Sabine Braun Germany | 6649 |
* Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.

## Medal table

* Host nation (Spain)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 12 | 8 | 10 | 30 |
| 2 | Unified Team (EUN) | 7 | 11 | 3 | 21 |
| 3 | Germany (GER) | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 4 | Kenya (KEN) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 5 | Cuba (CUB) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | Spain (ESP)* | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 8 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | China (CHN) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 | Canada (CAN) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Morocco (MAR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Ethiopia (ETH) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 | Algeria (ALG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | France (FRA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Greece (GRE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Lithuania (LTU) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Netherlands (NED) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | South Korea (KOR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Jamaica (JAM) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Japan (JPN) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Namibia (NAM) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Nigeria (NGR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 24 | Finland (FIN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Mexico (MEX) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Romania (ROU) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | South Africa (RSA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | Australia (AUS) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 30 | Bahamas (BAH) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Colombia (COL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | New Zealand (NZL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Qatar (QAT) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (35 entries) | Totals (35 entries) | 43 | 43 | 45 | 131 |

## Participating nations

A total of 156 nations participated in the different Athletics events at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
* Albania (1 athlete)
* Algeria (9)
* Andorra (1)
* Angola (5)
* Antigua and Barbuda (5)
* Argentina (4)
* Aruba (2)
* Australia (35)
* Austria (16)
* Bahamas (8)
* Bahrain (6)
* Bangladesh (4)
* Barbados (8)
* Belgium (7)
* Belize (5)
* Benin (4)
* Bermuda (4)
* Bolivia (6)
* Bosnia and Herzegovina (4)
* Botswana (5)
* Brazil (24)
* British Virgin Islands (1)
* Bulgaria (21)
* Burkina Faso (3)
* Cameroon (7)
* Canada (48)
* Cayman Islands (1)
* Central African Republic (8)
* Chad (4)
* Chile (3)
* China (33)
* Chinese Taipei (2)
* Colombia (5)
* Republic of the Congo (6)
* Cook Islands (1)
* Costa Rica (8)
* Ivory Coast (9)
* Croatia (2)
* Cuba (34)
* Cyprus (5)
* Czechoslovakia (18)
* Denmark (3)
* Djibouti (5)
* Ecuador (7)
* El Salvador (2)
* Equatorial Guinea (7)
* Estonia (5)
* Ethiopia (15)
* Fiji (7)
* Finland (26)
* France (57)
* Gabon (2)
* The Gambia (5)
* Germany (79)
* Ghana (8)
* Great Britain (91)
* Greece (11)
* Grenada (4)
* Guam (2)
* Guinea (5)
* Guyana (3)
* Haiti (2)
* Honduras (4)
* Hong Kong (3)
* Hungary (24)
* Iceland (4)
* Independent Olympic Participants (9)
* India (2)
* Iran (2)
* Ireland (19)
* Israel (4)
* Italy (39)
* Jamaica (28)
* Japan (31)
* Jordan (2)
* Kenya (38)
* Kuwait (4)
* Laos (5)
* Latvia (7)
* Lebanon (1)
* Lesotho (6)
* Libya (1)
* Liechtenstein (2)
* Lithuania (8)
* Madagascar (5)
* Malaysia (1)
* Malawi (4)
* Maldives (5)
* Mali (3)
* Malta (2)
* Mauritania (6)
* Mauritius (3)
* Mexico (24)
* Mongolia (1)
* Morocco (13)
* Mozambique (3)
* Myanmar (3)
* Namibia (3)
* Nepal (1)
* Netherlands (15)
* Netherlands Antilles (1)
* New Zealand (13)
* Nicaragua (1)
* Niger (3)
* Nigeria (14)
* North Korea (3)
* Norway (9)
* Oman (4)
* Pakistan (4)
* Panama (1)
* Papua New Guinea (6)
* Paraguay (3)
* Peru (2)
* Philippines (3)
* Poland (24)
* Portugal (36)
* Puerto Rico (7)
* Qatar (11)
* Romania (25)
* Rwanda (7)
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (6)
* San Marino (5)
* Saudi Arabia (2)
* Senegal (9)
* Seychelles (4)
* Sierra Leone (11)
* Slovenia (4)
* South Africa (16)
* South Korea (11)
* Spain (59)
* Sri Lanka (7)
* Sudan (3)
* Suriname (2)
* Swaziland (5)
* Sweden (19)
* Switzerland (15)
* Syria (3)
* Tanzania (4)
* Thailand (18)
* Togo (4)
* Tonga (4)
* Trinidad and Tobago (5)
* Tunisia (1)
* Turkey (2)
* Uganda (4)
* Unified Team (99)
* United Arab Emirates (4)
* United States (117)
* Uruguay (2)
* Vanuatu (6)
* Vietnam (4)
* Virgin Islands (10)
* Yemen (3)
* Zaire (7)
* Zambia (4)
* Zimbabwe (7)