# 1978 in the sport of athletics

In 1978, the foremost international competitions in the sport of athletics were the 1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 1978 European Athletics Championships. High-profile athletics competitions were also held at the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1978 All-Africa Games and the 1978 Asian Games.
Among the most prominent athletes that year was Kenya's Henry Rono who, in the space of 81 days, broke four world records: the 10,000 m (27:22.5), the 5000 m (13:08.4), the 3000 m steeplechase (8:05.4), and the 3000 m (7:32.1). In the course of the season East German Marita Koch also broke a world record four times, running 22.06 for the 200 m and breaking the 400 m three times, concluding the run with a time of 48.94 to win the European title.

## Major events
### World

* World Cross Country Championships
* 1978 World Military Track and Field Championships
* 1978 Commonwealth Games

### Regional

* 1978 All-Africa Games
* 1978 Asian Games
* 1978 Balkan Athletics Championships
* 1978 CARIFTA Games
* 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games
* 1978 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics
* 1978 European Athletics Championships
* 1978 European Athletics Indoor Championships
* 1978 European Champion Clubs Cup
* 1978 South American Junior Championships in Athletics
* 1978 South American Youth Championships in Athletics
* 1978 Southern Cross Games

### National

* 1978 Italian Athletics Championships
* 1978 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
* 1978 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
* 1978 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
* 1978 UK Athletics Championships
* 1978 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
* 1978 USA–USSR Track and Field Dual Meet

### Marathons

* 1978 Avon International Marathon
* 1978 Berlin Marathon
* 1978 Chicago Marathon
* 1978 New York City Marathon

## World records
### Men

| Event | Performance | Athlete | Nation | Place | Date |
| 3000 m | 7:32.1 | Henry Rono | Kenya | Oslo | 1978-06-27 |
| 5000 m | 13:08.4 | Henry Rono | Kenya | Berkeley | 1978-04-08 |
| 10,000 m | 27:22.47 | Henry Rono | Kenya | Vienna | 1978-06-11 |
| 3000 m steeplechase | 8:05.4 | Henry Rono | Kenya | Seattle | 1978-05-13 |
| High jump | 2.34 | Vladimir Yashchenko | Soviet Union | Tbilisi | 1978-06-16 |
| Pole vault | 5.71 | Mike Tully | United States | Corvallis | 1978-05-19 |
| Discus throw | 71.16 | Wolfgang Schmidt | East Germany | Berlin | 1978-08-09 |
| Hammer throw | 80.32 | Karl-Hans Riehm | West Germany | Heidenheim | 1978-08-06 |
| Hammer throw | 80.14 | Boris Zaitchouk | Soviet Union | Moscow | 1978-07-09 |

### Women

| Event | Performance | Athlete | Nation | Meeting | Place | Date |
| 200 m | 22.06 | Marita Koch | East Germany | | Erfurt | 1978-05-28 |
| 400 m | 48.94 | Marita Koch | East Germany | 1978 European Athletics Championships | Prague | 1978-08-31 |
| 400 m | 49.03 | Marita Koch | East Germany | | Potsdam | 1978-08-19 |
| 400 m | 49.19 | Marita Koch | East Germany | | Leipzig | 1978-07-02 |
| 100 m hurdles | 12.48 | Grażyna Rabsztyn | Poland | | Fürth | 1978-06-10 |
| 400 m hurdles | 54.89 | Tatyana Zelentsova | Soviet Union | 1978 European Athletics Championships | Prague | 1978-09-02 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | 42.27 | Johanna Klier Monika Hamann Carla Bodendorf Marlies Göhr | East Germany | | Potsdam | 1978-08-19 |
| High jump | 2.01 | Sara Simeoni | Italy | | Brescia | 1978-08-04 |
| High jump | 2.01 | Sara Simeoni | Italy | 1978 European Athletics Championships | Prague | 1978-08-31 |
| Long jump | 7.09 | Vilma Bardauskienė | Soviet Union | 1978 European Athletics Championships | Prague | 1978-08-29 |
| Long jump | 7.07 | Vilma Bardauskienė | Soviet Union | | Kishinyov | 1978-08-18 |
| Discus throw | 70.72 | Evelin Jahl | East Germany | | Dresden | 1978-08-12 |

## Season's bests

Best marks of the year :
| Event | Men | Men | Men | Women | Women | Women |
| Event | Athlete | Mark | Notes | Athlete | Mark | Notes |
| 100 metres | Clancy Edwards (USA) Eddie Hart (USA) Steve Williams (USA) | 10.07 | | Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 10.94 | |
| 200 metres | Clancy Edwards (USA) | 20.03 | | Marita Koch (GDR) | 22.06 | WR |
| 400 metres | Alberto Juantorena (CUB) | 44.27 | | Marita Koch (GDR) | 48.94 | WR |
| 800 metres | Olaf Beyer (GDR) | 1:43.84 | | Tatyana Providokhina (URS) | 1:55.80 | |
| 1500 metres | David Moorcroft (GBR) | 3:35.48 | | Giana Romanova (URS) | 3:59.01 | |
| Mile run | Thomas Wessinghage (FRG) | 3:52.50 | | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 4:26.90 | |
| 3000 metres | Henry Rono (KEN) | 7:32.1 | WR | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 8:32.1 | |
| 5000 metres | Henry Rono (KEN) | 13:08.4 | WR | — | — | — |
| 10,000 metres | Henry Rono (KEN) | 27:22.47 | WR | — | — | — |
| Marathon | Shigeru So (JPN) | 2:09:05.6 | | Julie Brown (USA) | 2:36:23.1 | |
| 100/110 metres hurdles | Greg Foster (USA) | 13.22 | | Grażyna Rabsztyn (POL) | 12.48 | WR |
| 400 metres hurdles | Edwin Moses (USA) | 47.94 | | Tatyana Zelentsova (URS) | 54.89 | |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Henry Rono (KEN) | 8:05.4 | | — | — | — |
| High jump | Vladimir Yashchenko (URS) | 2.34 m | | Sara Simeoni (ITA) | 2.01 m | WR |
| Pole vault | Mike Tully (USA) | 5.71 m | WR | — | — | — |
| Long jump | Nenad Stekić (YUG) | 8.32 m | | Vilma Bardauskienė (URS) | 7.09 m | WR |
| Triple jump | João Carlos de Oliveira (BRA) | 17.44 m | | — | — | — |
| Shot put | Udo Beyer (GDR) | 22.15 m | | Ilona Slupianek (GDR) | 22.06 m | |
| Discus throw | Wolfgang Schmidt (GDR) | 71.16 m | WR | Evelin Jahl (GDR) | 70.72 m | WR |
| Hammer throw | Karl-Hans Riehm (FRG) | 80.32 m | WR | — | — | — |
| Javelin throw | Michael Wessing (FRG) | 94.22 m | | Ruth Fuchs (GDR) | 69.16 m | |
| Decathlon | Guido Kratschmer (FRG) | 8493 pts | | — | — | — |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Tobias Striders Guy Abrahams (PAN) Michael Simmons (USA) Don Quarrie (JAM) James Gilkes (GUY) | 38.55 | | East Germany Johanna Klier Monika Hamann Carla Bodendorf Marlies Göhr | 42.27 | WR |
| 4 × 400 metres relay | West Germany Martin Weppler Franz-Peter Hofmeister Bernd Herrmann Harald Schmid | 3:02.03 | | East Germany Christiane Marquardt Barbara Krug Christina Lathan Marita Koch | 3:21.20 | |