# 1985 in the sport of athletics

This article contains an overview of the year 1985 in the sport of athletics.

## International Events

* African Championships
* Asian Championships
* Balkan Games
* Bolivarian Games
* Central American and Caribbean Championships
* European Indoor Championships
* South American Championships
* Pan Arab Games
* World Cross Country Championships
* World Cup
* World Indoor Games
* World Student Games

## World records
### Men

| EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
| 1,500 metres | Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:29.67 | 16 July | Nice, France |
| 1,500 metres | Said Aouita (MAR) | 3:29.46 | 23 August | Berlin, West Germany |
| Mile | Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:46.32 | 27 July | Oslo, Norway |
| 2,000 metres | Steve Cram (GBR) | 4:51.39 | 4 August | Budapest, Hungary |
| 5,000 metres | Said Aouita (MAR) | 13:00.40 | 27 July | Oslo, Norway |
| High Jump | Rudolf Povarnitsyn (URS) | 2.40m | 11 August | Donetsk, Soviet Union |
| High Jump | Igor Paklin (URS) | 2.41m | 4 September | Kobe, Japan |
| Pole Vault | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 6.00m | 13 July | Paris, France |
| Triple Jump | Willie Banks (USA) | 17.97m | 16 June | Indianapolis, USA |
| Shot Put | Ulf Timmermann (GDR) | 22.62m | 22 September | Berlin, Germany |
| Half Marathon | Steve Jones (GBR) | 1:01:14 | 11 August | Birmingham, UK |
| Half Marathon | Mark Curp (USA) | 1:00:55 | 15 September | Philadelphia, United States |
| Marathon | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 2:07:12 | 20 April | Rotterdam, Netherlands |

### Women

| EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
| 400 metres | Marita Koch (GDR) | 47.60 | 6 October | Canberra, Australia |
| Mile | Mary Slaney (USA) | 4:16.71 | 21 August | Zürich, Switzerland |
| 5,000 metres | Zola Budd (GBR) | 14:48.07 | 26 August | London, Great Britain |
| 10,000 metres | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 30:59.42 | 27 July | Oslo, Norway |
| 400m Hurdles | Sabine Busch (GDR) | 53.55 | 22 September | East Berlin, East Germany |
| 4 × 100 m Relay | East Germany (GDR) • Silke Möller • Sabine Günther • Ingrid Auerswald • Marlies Göhr | 41.37 | 6 October | Canberra, Australia |
| Long Jump | Heike Drechsler (GDR) | 7.44 | 22 September | East Berlin, East Germany |
| Javelin Throw | Petra Felke (GDR) | 75.26 | 4 June | Schwerin, East Germany |
| Javelin Throw | Petra Felke (GDR) | 75.40 | 4 June | Schwerin, East Germany |

## Men's Best Year Performers
### 100 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 9.98 |
| 2. | Ben Johnson (CAN) | 10.00 |
| 3. | Harvey Glance (USA) | 10.05 |
| 4. | Frank Emmelmann (GDR) | 10.06 |
| 5. | Terry Scott (USA) | 10.08 |

### 200 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Lorenzo Daniel (USA) | 20.07 |
| 2. | Kirk Baptiste (USA) | 20.11 |
| 3. | Roy Martin (USA) | 20.13 |
| 4. | Calvin Smith (USA) | 20.14 |
| 5. | Mike Conley (USA) | 20.21 |

### 400 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Michael Franks (USA) | 44.47 |
| 2. | Thomas Schönlebe (GDR) | 44.62 |
| 3. | Innocent Egbunike (NGR) | 44.66 |
| 4. | Roddie Haley (USA) | 44.67 |
| 5. | Darrell Robinson (USA) | 44.71 |

### 800 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Joaquim Cruz (BRA) | 1:42.49 |
| 2. | Johnny Gray (USA) | 1:42.60 |
| 3. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 1:42.88 |
| 4. | Sebastian Coe (GBR) | 1:43.07 |
| 5. | David Mack (USA) | 1:43.35 |

### 1,500 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 3:29.46 |
| 2. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:29.67 |
| 3. | Sydney Maree (USA) | 3:29.77 |
| 4. | José Luis González (ESP) | 3:30.92 |
| 5. | José Manuel Abascal (ESP) | 3:31.69 |

### Mile

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:46.32 |
| 2. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 3:46.92 |
| 3. | José Luis González (ESP) | 3:47.79 |
| 4. | Sebastian Coe (GBR) | 3:49.22 |
| 5. | Steve Scott (USA) | 3:49.93 |

### 3,000 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 7:32.94 |
| 2. | Doug Padilla (USA) | 7:38.25 |
| 3. | Steve Scott (USA) | 7:38.53 |
| 4. | Thomas Wessinghage (FRG) | 7:42.61 |
| 5. | Johan Fourie (RSA) | 7:44.0 |

### 5,000 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 13:00.40 |
| 2. | Sydney Maree (USA) | 13:01.15 |
| 3. | Alberto Cova (ITA) | 13:10.06 |
| 4. | Bruce Bickford (USA) | 13:13.49 |
| 5. | Doug Padilla (USA) | 13:15.44 |

### 10,000 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Bruce Bickford (USA) | 27:37.17 |
| 2. | Mark Nenow (USA) | 27:40.85 |
| 3. | Ed Eyestone (USA) | 27:41.05 |
| 4. | Fernando Mamede (POR) | 27:41.09 |
| 5. | Toshihiko Seko (JPN) | 27:42.17 |

### Half Marathon

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Mark Curp (USA) | 1:00:55 |

### 110m Hurdles

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Roger Kingdom (USA) | 13.14 |
| 2. | Greg Foster (USA) | 13.24 |
| 3. | Andre Phillips (USA) | 13.25 |
| 4. | Mark McKoy (CAN) | 13.27 |
| 4. | Tonie Campbell (USA) | 13.27 |

### 400m Hurdles

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Danny Harris (USA) | 47.63 |
| 2. | Andre Phillips (USA) | 47.67 |
| 3. | Harald Schmid (FRG) | 47.85 |
| 4. | Aleksandr Vasilyev (URS) | 47.92 |
| 5. | Amadou Dia Bâ (SEN) | 48.29 |

### 3,000m Steeplechase

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Henry Marsh (USA) | 8:09.17 |
| 2. | Krzysztof Wesolowski (POL) | 8:11.04 |
| 3. | Joseph Mahmoud (FRA) | 8:11.07 |
| 4. | Rainer Schwarz (FRG) | 8:11.93 |
| 5. | Graeme Fell (CAN) | 8:12.58 |

### High Jump

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Igor Paklin (URS) | 2.41 |
| 2. | Rudolf Povarnitsyn (URS) | 2.40 |
| 3. | Dietmar Mögenburg (FRG) | 2.39 |
| 4. | Patrik Sjöberg (SWE) | 2.38 |
| 5. | Eddy Annys (BEL) | 2.36 |

### Long Jump

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 8.62 |
| 2. | Larry Myricks (USA) | 8.44 |
| 3. | Jason Grimes (USA) | 8.43 |
| 3. | Mike Conley (USA) | 8.43 |
| 5. | Robert Emmiyan (URS) | 8.30 |
| 5. | László Szalma (HUN) | 8.30 |

### Triple Jump

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Willie Banks (USA) | 17.97 |
| 2. | Charles Simpkins (USA) | 17.86 |
| 3. | Khristo Markov (BUL) | 17.77 |
| 4. | Mike Conley (USA) | 17.71 |
| 5. | Oleg Protsenko (URS) | 17.69 |

### Discus

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Imrich Bugár (TCH) | 71.26 |
| 2. | Luis Delís (CUB) | 70.00 |
| 3. | Jürgen Schult (GDR) | 69.74 |
| 4. | Knut Hjeltnes (NOR) | 69.62 |
| 5. | Juan Martínez (CUB) | 69.32 |

### Hammer

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Jüri Tamm (URS) | 84.08 |
| 2. | Yuriy Syedikh (URS) | 82.70 |
| 3. | Günther Rodehau (GDR) | 82.64 |
| 4. | Christoph Sahner (FRG) | 81.56 |
| 5. | Matthias Moder (GDR) | 80.92 |

### Shot Put

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Ulf Timmermann (GDR) | 22.62 |
| 2. | Sergey Smirnov (URS) | 22.05 |
| 3. | Alessandro Andrei (ITA) | 21.95 |
| 4. | Remigius Machura (URS) | 21.88 |
| 4. | Udo Beyer (GDR) | 21.88 |

### Javelin (old design)

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Uwe Hohn (GDR) | 96.96 |
| 2. | Brian Crouser (USA) | 95.10 |
| 3. | Duncan Atwood (USA) | 94.06 |
| 4. | Viktor Yevsyukov (URS) | 93.70 |
| 5. | Zdeněk Adamec (TCH) | 92.94 |

### Pole Vault

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 6.00 |
| 2. | Pierre Quinon (FRA) | 5.90 |
| 3. | Joe Dial (USA) | 5.85 |
| 4. | Vasiliy Bubka (URS) | 5.80 |
| 4. | Mike Tully (USA) | 5.80 |
| 4. | Thierry Vigneron (FRA) | 5.80 |
| 4. | Pavel Bogatyryov (URS) | 5.80 |
| 4. | Philippe Collet (FRA) | 5.80 |
| 4. | Marian Kolasa (POL) | 5.80 |

### Decathlon

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
| 1. | Torsten Voss (GDR) | 8559 |
| 2. | Uwe Freimuth (GDR) | 8504 |
| 3. | Siegfried Wentz (FRG) | 8440 |
| 4. | Aleksandr Nevskiy (URS) | 8409 |
| 5. | John Sayre (USA) | 8381 |

## Women's Best Year Performers
### 100 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 10.86 |
| 2. | Merlene Ottey-Page (JAM) | 10.92 |
| 3. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 10.97 |
| 4. | Marina Zhirova (URS) | 10.98 |
| 5. | Silke Gladisch (GDR) | 10.99 |

### 200 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 21.78 |
| 2. | Merlene Ottey-Page (JAM) | 21.93 |
| 3. | Valerie Brisco (USA) | 21.98 |
| 4. | Silke Gladisch (GDR) | 22.12 |
| 5. | Pam Marshall (USA) | 22.39 |

### 400 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 47.60 |
| 2. | Olga Vladykina (URS) | 48.27 |
| 3. | Valerie Brisco (USA) | 49.56 |
| 4. | Mariya Pinigina (URS) | 49.61 |
| 5. | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 49.89 |

### 800 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ella Kovacs (ROU) | 1:55.68 |
| 2. | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 1:55.91 |
| 3. | Ravilya Agletdinova (URS) | 1:56.24 |
| 4. | Nadiya Olizarenko (URS) | 1:56.25 |
| 5. | Yekaterina Podkopayeva (URS) | 1:56.65 |

### 1,500 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Mary Slaney (USA) | 3:57.24 |
| 2. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 3:57.73 |
| 3. | Ravilya Agletdinova (URS) | 3:58.40 |
| 4. | Natalya Artyomova (URS) | 3:59.28 |
| 5. | Doina Melinte (ROU) | 3:59.88 |

### Mile

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Mary Slaney (USA) | 4:16.71 |
| 2. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 4:17.33 |
| 3. | Zola Budd (GBR) | 4:17.57 |
| 4. | Kirsty McDermott (GBR) | 4:19.41 |
| 5. | Ulrike Bruns (GDR) | 4:21.59 |

### 3,000 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Mary Slaney (USA) | 8:25.83 |
| 2. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 8:27.83 |
| 3. | Zola Budd (GBR) | 8:28.83 |
| 4. | Zamira Zaytseva (URS) | 8:35.74 |
| 5. | Ulrike Bruns (GDR) | 8:36.51 |

### 5,000 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Zola Budd (GBR) | 14:48.07 |
| 2. | Natalya Artyomova (URS) | 14:54.08 |
| 3. | Olga Bondarenko (URS) | 14:55.76 |
| 4. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 14:57.43 |
| 5. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 15:06.04 |

### 10,000 metres

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 30:59.42 |
| 2. | Olga Bondarenko (URS) | 31:25.18 |
| 3. | Aurora Cunha (POR) | 31:35.46 |
| 4. | Svetlana Guskova (URS) | 31:57.80 |
| 5. | Lynn Jennings (USA) | 32:03.37 |

### Half Marathon

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Joan Benoit (USA) | 1:09:44 |

### 100m Hurdles

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL) | 12.42 |
| 2. | Vera Akimova (URS) | 12.59 |
| 3. | Svetlana Gusarova (URS) | 12.61 |
| 4. | Nadezhda Korshunova (URS) | 12.71 |
| 5. | Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR) | 12.72 |

### 400m Hurdles

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Sabine Busch (GDR) | 53.33 |
| 2. | Genowefa Błaszak (POL) | 54.27 |
| 3. | Tatyana Pavlova (URS) | 54.34 |
| 4. | Marina Stepanova (URS) | 54.37 |
| 5. | Judi Brown-King (USA) | 54.38 |

### High Jump

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) | 2.06 |
| 2. | Tamara Bykova (URS) | 2.02 |
| 3. | Silvia Costa (CUB) | 2.01 |
| 4. | Charmaine Weavers (RSA) | 2.00 |
| 4. | Louise Ritter (USA) | 2.00 |

### Long Jump

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Heike Drechsler (GDR) | 7.44 |
| 2. | Yelena Khlopotnova (URS) | 7.31 |
| 3. | Galina Chistyakova (URS) | 7.28 |
| 4. | Jackie Joyner (USA) | 7.24 |
| 5. | Helga Radtke (GDR) | 7.19 |

### Shot Put

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) | 21.73 |
| 2. | Natalya Akhrymenko (URS) | 21.08 |
| 3. | Helena Fibingerová (TCH) | 21.03 |
| 4. | Mihaela Loghin (ROU) | 20.97 |
| 5. | Helma Knorscheidt (GDR) | 20.79 |

### Discus

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Galina Savinkova (URS) | 72.96 |
| 2. | Zdeňka Šilhavá (TCH) | 70.70 |
| 3. | Maritza Marten (CUB) | 70.50 |
| 4. | Martina Hellmann (GDR) | 69.78 |
| 5. | Florenţa Crăciunescu (ROU) | 69.50 |

### Javelin (old design)

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Petra Felke (GDR) | 75.40 |
| 2. | Fatima Whitbread (GBR) | 72.98 |
| 3. | Ivonne Leal (CUB) | 71.82 |
| 4. | Tessa Sanderson (GBR) | 71.18 |
| 5. | Tiina Lillak (FIN) | 70.62 |

### Heptathlon

| RANK | 1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
| 1. | Jackie Joyner (USA) | 6718 |
| 2. | Jane Frederick (USA) | 6666 |
| 3. | Malgorzata Nowak (POL) | 6616 |
| 4. | Sabine Paetz (GDR) | 6595 |
| 5. | Natalya Shubenkova (URS) | 6510 |

## Marathon
### Year Rankings
#### Men

| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | EVENT |
| 1. | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 2:07.12 WR | April 20 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 2. | Steve Jones (WAL) | 2:07.13 | October 20 | Chicago, United States |
| 3. | Djama Robleh (DJI) | 2:08.08 | October 20 | Chicago, United States |
| 4. | Hussein Ahmed Salah (DJI) | 2:08.09 | April 14 | Hiroshima, Japan |
| 5. | Takeyuki Nakayama (JPN) | 2:08.15 | April 14 | Hiroshima, Japan |
| 6. | Steve Jones (WAL) | 2:08.16 | April 21 | London, United Kingdom |
| 7. | Djama Robleh (DJI) | 2:08.26 | April 14 | Hiroshima, Japan |
| 8. | Charlie Spedding (ENG) | 2:08.33 | April 21 | London, United Kingdom |
| 9. | Robert de Castella (AUS) | 2:08.48 | October 20 | Chicago, United States |
| 10. | Mark Plaatjes (RSA) | 2:08.58 | May 4 | Port Elizabeth, South Africa |

#### Women

| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | EVENT |
| 1. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:21:06 WR | April 21 | London, United Kingdom |
| 2. | Joan Samuelson (USA) | 2:21:21 | October 20 | Chicago, United States |
| 3. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:23:05 | October 20 | Chicago, United States |
| 4. | Rosa Mota (POR) | 2:23:29 | October 20 | Chicago, United States |
| 5. | Carla Beurskens (NED) | 2:27:50 | October 20 | Chicago, United States |
| 6. | Veronique Marot (ENG) | 2:28:04 | October 20 | Chicago, United States |
| 7. | Sarah Rowell (ENG) | 2:28:06 | April 21 | London, United Kingdom |
| 8. | Carey May (IRL) | 2:28:07 | January 27 | Osaka, Japan |
| 9. | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 2:28:34 | April 21 | New York, United States |
| 10. | Silvia Ruegger (CAN) | 2:28:36 | January 6 | Houston, United States |

### National Champions

| NATION | MEN'S WINNER | TIME | WOMEN'S WINNER | TIME | PLACE | DATE |
| Australia | Grenville Wood | 2:13:37 | Elizabeth Patmore | 2:46:00 | Sydney | June 9 |
| Belgium | Frederik Vandervennet | 2:15:49 | Agnes Pardaens | 2:42:25 | Leuven | June 9 |
| Canada | Roger Schwegel | 2:22:32 | Bernadette Duffy | 2:48:09 | Winnipeg | June 16 |
| Japan | Hisatoshi Shintaku | 2:09:51 | — | — | Fukuoka | December 1 |
| Netherlands | Cor Vriend | 2:15:51 | Eefje van Wissen | 2:39:32 | Enschede | June 22 |
| West Germany | Herbert Steffny | 2:12:12 | Charlotte Teske | 2:32:38 | Frankfurt | May 19 |
| United States | Ken Martin | 2:12:57 | Nancy Ditz | 2:31:36 | Pittsburgh (men) / California (women) | May 5 (men) / December 8 (women) |

### Road races

| Date | Race | Location | Men's winner | Time | Women's winner | Time |
| January 27 | Osaka International Ladies Marathon | Japan | — | — | Carey May | 2:28:07 |
| February 2 | Auckland Marathon | New Zealand | Jeff Wells | 2:16:43 | Kiersti Jakobsen | 2:37:12 |
| February 10 | Tokyo Marathon | Japan | Shigeru So | 2:10:32 | — | — |
| March 17 | Barcelona Marathon | Spain | Rafael Garcia | 2:18:16 | Joaquina Casas | 2:48:01 |
| March 31 | Vienna Marathon | Austria | Gerhard Hartmann | 2:14:59 | Elena Tsukhlo | 2:39:01 |
| April 15 | Boston Marathon | United States | Geoff Smith | 2:14:05 | Lisa Rainsberger | 2:34:06 |
| April 20 | Rotterdam Marathon | Netherlands | Carlos Lopes | 2:07:12 WR | Wilma Rusman | 2:35:32 |
| April 21 | London Marathon | United Kingdom | Steve Jones | 2:08:16 | Ingrid Kristiansen | 2:21:06 WR |
| May 5 | Pittsburgh Marathon | United States | Ken Martin | 2:12:57 | Lisa Ondieki | 2:31:54 |
| May 5 | Vancouver Marathon | Canada | Adrian Wellington | 2:24:24 | Kikue Teshima | 2:55:34 |
| May 6 | Belfast Marathon | Belfast | Martin Deane | 2:15:52 | Moira O'Neill | 2:45:40 |
| May 12 | Amsterdam Marathon | Netherlands | Jose Reveyn | 2:19:25 | Carolien Lucas | 2:47:15 |
| May 12 | Paris Marathon | France | Jacky Boxberger | 2:10:49 | Maureen Hurst | 2:43:31 |
| May 19 | Geneva Marathon | Switzerland | Nikolay Shamyeyev | 2:19:17 | Nadezhda Gumerova | 2:36:04 |
| June 1 | Stockholm Marathon | Sweden | Tommy Persson | 2:17:18 | Jeanette Nordgren | 2:36:43 |
| July 21 | San Francisco Marathon | United States | Ric Sayre | 2:15:08 | Kersti Jakosen | 2:38:03 |
| August 25 | Reykjavik Marathon | Iceland | Josef Hermann | 2:30:04 | Leslie Watson | 2:52:44 |
| August 31 | Oslo Marathon | Norway | Josef Machalek | 2:19:00 | Oddrun Hovsengen | 2:43:39 |
| September 29 | Berlin Marathon | West Germany | Jimmy Ashworth | 2:11:43 | Magda Ilands | 2:34:10 |
| September 29 | Portland Marathon | United States | Leonard Hill | 2:19:42 | Lynn Bernot | 2:51:25 |
| October 12 | Enschede Marathon | Netherlands | Zoltan Köszegi | 2:15:39 | Eefje van Wissen | 2:39:32 |
| October 12 | Niagara Marathon | Canada | Mark Coleman | 2:30:29 | Charlene MacDonald | 3:07:20 |
| October 13 | Athens Classic Marathon | Greece | Michael Hill | 2:26:20 | Eryl Davies | 3:04:30 |
| October 13 | Beijing Marathon | China | Shigeru So | 2:10:23 | — | — |
| October 13 | Melbourne Marathon | Australia | Frederick Vandervennet | 2:12:35 | Margaret Reddan | 2:44:56 |
| October 20 | Chicago Marathon | United States | Steve Jones | 2:07:13 | Joan Samuelson | 2:21:21 |
| October 27 | New York City Marathon | United States | Orlando Pizzolato | 2:11:34 | Grete Waitz | 2:28:34 |
| October 28 | Dublin Marathon | Ireland | Dick Hooper | 2:16:14 | Julia Gates | 2:41:26 |
| November 3 | Istanbul Marathon | Turkey | Mehmet Terzi | 2:12:50 | — | — |
| November 17 | Buenos Aires Marathon | Argentina | Ruben Huerga | 2:25:20 | Derlis Maria Fraschina | 3:59:47 |
| November 17 | Tokyo Marathon | Japan | — | — | Katrin Doerre | 2:34:21 |
| December 1 | Fukuoka Marathon | Japan | Hisatoshi Shintaku | 2:09:51 | — | — |
| December 8 | Honolulu Marathon | United States | Ibrahim Hussein | 2:12:08 | Carla Beurskens | 2:35:51 |
| December 17 | Tiberias Marathon | Israel | Lindsay Robertson | 2:15:39 | Sharlet Gilbert | 2:42:54 |

## Births

* January 4 — Antar Zerguelaïne, Algerian middle distance runner
* January 4 — Nataliya Zolotukhina, Ukrainian hammer thrower
* January 6 — Nick Owens, American hammer thrower
* February 10 — Mariya Smolyachkova, Belarusian hammer thrower
* March 2 — Patrick Makau Musyoki, Kenyan distance runner
* March 16 — Olexiy Sokyrskiyy, Ukrainian hammer thrower
* March 19 — Sean Wroe, Australian sprinter
* March 21 — Vladimir Kanaykin, Russian race walker
* March 25 — Wilfried Bingangoye, Gabonese sprinter
* April 6 — Anna Avdeyeva, Russian shot putter
* April 7 — James Rendón, Colombian race walker
* April 18 — Musa Amer Obaid, Kenyan-Qatari middle distance runner
* May 4 — Henry Sugut, Kenyan long-distance runner
* May 5 — Gu Junjie, Chinese triple jumper
* May 21 — Mohsen El Anany, Egyptian hammer thrower
* May 26 — Irina Petrova, Russian race walker
* May 27 — Karina Vnukova, Lithuanian high jumper
* May 31 — Kim Hyun-Sub, South Korean race walker
* June 1 — Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopian long-distance runner
* June 3 — Samwel Mwera, Tanzanian middle distance runner
* June 15 — Susan McKelvie, Scottish hammer thrower
* June 17 — Ozge Gurler, Turkish athlete
* June 21 — Ryoko Kizaki, Japanese long-distance runner
* July 29 — Anja Pollmächer, German sprinter
* July 31 — Brimin Kipruto, Kenyan middle distance runner
* August 26 — Oleksiy Kasyanov, Ukrainian decathlete
* September 17 — Tracy-Ann Rowe, Jamaican sprinter
* October 12 — Boniface Kiprop Toroitich, Ugandan athlete
* November 14 — Andrey Krivov, Russian race walker
* November 16 — Rogério Bispo, Brazilian long jumper
* November 18 — Allyson Felix, American sprinter
* December 1 — Andretti Bain, Bahamian sprinter
* December 8 — Kim Deok-Hyeon, South Korean triple jumper
* December 20 — Gilbert Kirwa, Kenyan marathon runner
* December 26 — Carol Rodríguez, Puerto Rican sprinter

## Deaths

* March 4 — Sverre Strandli (59), Norwegian hammer thrower (b. 1925)
* June 15 — Andy Stanfield (67), American athlete (b. 1927)
* October 30 — Edgar Bruun (80), Norwegian race walker (b. 1905)