# 2023 in the sport of athletics

2023 in athletics is a year of track and field, highlighted by the main event of 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, 40 years after the very first edition in 1983.

## World records
### Indoor

| Event | Perf. | Athlete(s) | Nat. | Date | Meeting | Location | Ctry. |
| Men's 3000 m | 7:23.81 | Lamecha Girma | ETH | 15 Feb 2023 | Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais | Liévin | FRA |
| Women's 400 m | 49.26 | Femke Bol | NED | 19 Feb 2023 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | NED |
| Men's Pole vault | 6.22 m | Armand Duplantis | SWE | 25 Feb 2023 | All Star Perche | Clermont-Ferrand | FRA |
| Women's Pentathlon | 5014 pts | Adrianna Sulek | POL | 3 Mar 2023 | European Athletics Indoor Championships | Istanbul | TUR |
| Women's Pentathlon | 5055 pts | Nafi Thiam | BEL | 3 Mar 2023 | European Athletics Indoor Championships | Istanbul | TUR |

### Outdoor

| Event | Perf. | N | Athlete(s) | Nat. | Date | Meeting | Location | Ctry. |
| Men's 100 km (road) | 6:05:35.00 | | Aleksandr Sorokin | LTU | 14 May 2023 | World's Fastest Run | Vilnius | LTU |
| Women's35 km walk (road) | 2:37:15 | | María Pérez | ESP | 21 May 2023 | European Race Walking Team Championships | Poděbrady | CZE |
| Men's Shot put | 23.56 m | | Ryan Crouser | USA | 27 May 2023 | USATF LA Grand Prix | Los Angeles | USA |
| Women's 1500 m | 3:49.11 | | Faith Kipyegon | KEN | 2 Jun 2023 | Golden Gala | Florence | ITA |
| Women's 5000 m | 14:05.20 | | Faith Kipyegon | KEN | 9 Jun 2023 | Meeting de Paris | Paris | FRA |
| Men's 3000 m steeplechase | 7:52.11 | | Lamecha Girma | ETH | 9 Jun 2023 | Meeting de Paris | Paris | FRA |
| Women's Mile | 4:07.64 | | Faith Kipyegon | KEN | 21 Jul 2023 | Herculis | Monaco | MON |
| Mixed 4 × 400 m relay | 3:08.80 | | Justin Robinson 44.47 Rosey Effiong 50.38 Matthew Boling 45.13 Alexis Holmes 48.82 | USA | 19 August 2023 | World Championships | Budapest | HUN |
| Men's 2000 m | 4:43.13 | | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | NOR | 8 Sep 2023 | Memorial van Damme | Brussels | BEL |
| Men's Pole vault | 6.23 m | | Armand Duplantis | SWE | 17 Sep 2023 | Prefontaine Classic | Eugene | USA |
| Women's 5000 m | 14:00.21 | | Gudaf Tsegay | ETH | 17 Sep 2023 | Prefontaine Classic | Eugene | USA |
| Women's Marathon | 2:11.53 | | Tigst Assefa | ETH | 24 Sep 2023 | Berlin Marathon | Berlin | GER |
| Women's Mile (Road) | 4:20.98 | Wo | Diribe Welteji | ETH | 1 Oct 2023 | World Road Running Championships | Riga | LAT |
| Men's Mile (Road) | 3:56.13 | | Hobbs Kessler | USA | 1 Oct 2023 | World Road Running Championships | Riga | LAT |
| Men's Marathon | 2:00.35 | | Kelvin Kiptum | KEN | 8 Oct 2023 | Chicago Marathon | Chicago | USA |
| Women's 10 km (road) | 29:26.00 | Wo | Agnes Ngetich | KEN | 18 Nov 2023 | Urban Trail de Lille | Lille | FRA |
| Women's 5 km (road) | 14:13.00 | Wo | Beatrice Chebet | KEN | 31 Dec 2023 | Cursa dels Nassos | Barcelona | ESP |

## Main events
### World events

* The nineteenth edition of the World Championships, from 19 August to 27 August at the National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary.
* World Cross Country Championships on 18 February 2023 in Bathurst, Australia.
* The first edition of the World Road Running Championships is scheduled to take place in Riga, Latvia, from 30 September to 1 October 2023.
* World Mountain & Trail Running Championships
* This year, the World Indoor Championships have been cancelled and postponed to 2024.

### Continental events

* Americas:
** Pan Am Cross Country
** Pan Am Games
** South American
* Asia:
** Asian Outdoor
** Asian Indoor
** Southeast Asian Games
* Europe:
** European Indoor
** European Throwing
** European Race Walking Team
** European 10,000 m
** European Team Championships
** European Cross Country
* Oceania:
** Oceania Cup
** Pacific Games
* Africa:
** The 2023 African Games have been rescheduled in March 2024.

### International meetings

* 2023 Diamond League (15 meetings from 5 May to 17 September).
* 2023 World Athletics Continental Tour
* 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour
* 2023 World Athletics Combined Events Tour

### Other events

* 2021 Summer World University Games postponed to July 2023.
* 2023 Jeux de la Francophonie.
* 2023 Arab Athletics Championships.
* 2023 Games of the Small States of Europe.

### Age groups

* African U18 & U20 Championships
* 2023 Arab U23 in Radès, 1st edition
* Asian U20 Championships
* Asian U18 Championships
* Caribbean Games (U23)
* CARIFTA Games
* European U23 Championships
* European U20 Championships
* NACAC U23 & U18 Championships

## Rankings

* 2023 World Athletics Rankings

## Deaths

| Athlete | Nation | Discipline / Occupation | Age | Date |
| Jim Hines | United States | 100m | 76 | 3 June |
| Dick Fosbury | United States | High Jump | 76 | 12 March |
| Bob Richards | United States | Pole Vault | 97 | 26 February |
| Tom Courtney | United States | 800m | 90 | 22 August |
| Greg Foster | United States | 55mH | 64 | 19 February |
| Kéné Ndoye | Senegal | Triple Jump | 44 | 13 February |
| Dean Smith | United States | Sprinter | 91 | 24 June |
| Harvey Glance | United States | 100m | 66 | 12 June |
| Ralph Boston | United States | Long Jump | 83 | 30 April |
| Johnny Lujack | United States | High jump, javelin throw | 98 | 25 July |
| Remigijus Valiulis | Soviet Union | 400m | 64 | 19 July |
| Ellen Tittel | Germany | Middle-distance runner | 75 | 7 October |
| Ken Money | Canada | High jumper | 87 | 6 March |
| Simone Edwards | United States | Sprinter | 49 | 16 February |
| Lázár Lovász | Hungary | Hammer thrower | 80 | 17 April |
| Tim Lobinger | Germany | Pole Vault | 50 | 16 February |
| Șerban Ciochină | Romania | Triple Jump | 83-84 | April |
| Klaus Beer | East Germany | Long Jump | 80 | 8 June |
| Ruth Fuchs | East Germany | Javelin thrower | 76 | 20 September |
| Sabir Ali | India | Decathlete | 67 | 22 January |
| Karoline Käfer | Austria | 400m | 68 | 11 March |
| Russ Francis | United States | Javelin thrower | 70 | 1 October |
| Andrea Barberi | Italy | 400m | 44 | 20 December |
| Marianne Werner | Germany | Shot putter | 99 | 22 July |
| Argentina Menis | Romania | Discus Throw | 74 | 3 March |
| Renate Boy | Germany | Shot putter | 83 | 5 January |
| Vera Krepkina | Soviet Union | 100m | 90 | 25 April |
| Annamária Tóth | Hungary | 200m | 77-78 | 16 July |
| Mariya Pisareva | Soviet Union | High jumper | 90 | 10 December |
| Graham Gipson | Australia | 400m | 90 | 17 May |
| Calvin Davis | United States | 400mH | 51 | 1 May |
| Joseph Chebet | Kenya | Marathon | 52 | 7 July |
| Gérard Fenouil | France | 200m | 78 | 8 October |
| David Jones | Great Britain | Sprinter | 83 | 1 June |
| Mike McFarlane | Great Britain | 200m | 62-63 | 6 June |
| Eddie Southern | United States | 400 metres hurdles | 85 | 17 May |
| Charles White | United States | 300 metres hurdler | 64 | 11 January |
| László Zarándi | Hungary | Sprinter | 94 | 14 August |
| Veniamin Soldatenko | Soviet Union | 50km Walk | 84 | 15 July |
| Helmar Müller | West Germany | 400m | 83 | 9 June |
| Odd Bergh | Norway | Triple jumper | 85 | 12 January |
| Viktor Olsen | Norway | Marathoner | 99 | 21 April |
| Zenon Andrusyshyn | United States | Javelin thrower | 76 | 7 August |
| Ron East | United States | Javelin thrower | 79-80 | 30 September |
| Aurèle Vandendriessche | Belgium | Marathoner | 91 | 17 October |
| Doug Kyle | Canada | 5000m | 91 | 28 August |
| Mike McRae | United States | Long Jump | 68 | 16 December |
| Brad Crawford | United States | Long jumper | 67-68 | 21 May |
| Dick Towers | United States | 400 metres hurdles | 92-93 | 23 April |
| Bertil Norman | Sweden | Orienteer | 93 | 24 March |
| Kjell Lauri | Sweden | Orienteer | 66-67 | 11 August |
| Gregg Tafralis | United States | Shot Put | 65 | 11 August |
| Vilém Mandlík | Czechoslovakia | Sprinter | 87 | 6 October |
| Walter Adams | Germany | 800m | 78 | 30 October |
| Ken Stephens | United States | Hurdler | 91-92 | 28 Aug |
| Pavel Kantorek | Czechoslovakia | Marathoner | 93 | 10 November |
| Emanuil Dyulgerov | Bulgaria | Hammer Throw | 68 | 26 June |
| Eugeniusz Bedeniczuk | Poland | Triple Jump | 61-62 | 2 May |
| Irina Kostyuchenkova | Soviet Union | Javelin thrower | 61 | 31 March |
| Gyula Németh | Hungary | High jumper | 63 | 12 March |
| Robert Holmes Bell | United States | Track and field athlete | 79 | 8 June |
| Jean Pellissier | Italy | Sky runner | 51 | 27 October |
| Niels Holst-Sørensen | Denmark | 800m | 100 | 24 October |
| Erkki Hautamäki | Finland | Decathlete | 93 | 5 September |
| Samuel Kiplimo Kosgei | Kenya | Marathon | 37 | 26 May |
| Heinrich Köberle | Germany | Handcyclist | 76-77 | 15 April |
| Olga Šikovec | Croatia | 200m | 89-90 | 4 April |
| Francis Agbo | France | High Jump | 65 | 11 November |
| Kevin Coombs | Australia | Para-athlete | 82 | 5 October |
| Lyn Coleman | Australia | Para-athlete | 58 | 22 May |
| Zanele Situ | South Africa | Para-athlete | 52 | 1 November |
| Terry Giddy | Australia | Para-athlete | 73 | 18 August |
| Benjamin Kiplagat | Uganda | 3000mSC | 34 | 31 December |
| Jim Savage | New Zealand | Para-athlete | 86 | 20 February |
| Tracey Freeman | Australia | Para-athlete | 75-76 | 4 October |
| Sergio Ottolina | Italy | 200m | 80 | 28 April |
| Jean-Claude Nallet | France | Sprinter | 76 | 20 August |
| Georgi Stoykovski | Bulgaria | Triple Jump | 81 | 4 May |
| Rupert Hoilette | Jamaica | Sprinter | 77 | 6 October |
| Gary Eddy | Australia | Sprinter | 78 | 16 April |
| Tomás Barris | Spain | 1500m | 93 | 29 October |
| Armando Sardi | Italy | Sprinter | 83 | 22 December |
| József Csík | Hungary | Javelin thrower | 77 | 4 October |
| Evelyn Lawler | United States | Hurdler | 93 | 4 January |
| Ernő Béres | Hungary | Long-distance runner | 94 | 21 April |
| Herb Douglas | United States | Long jumper | 101 | 22 April |
| James Parker | United States | Hammer Throw | 47 | 19 August |
| Borislav Dević | Yugoslavia | 1500m | 59 | 8 January |
| Svetlana Laukhova | Soviet Union | 100mH | 50 | 28 October |
| Tori Bowie | United States | 200m | 32 | 23 April |
| Beryl Randle | Great Britain | Racewalker | 94 | 28 November |
| Shaun Pickering | Great Britain | Shot Put | 61 | 11 May |
| Norm Green | United States | Long-distance runner | 90 | 16 May |
| Birger Asplund | Sweden | Hammer thrower | 93 | 1 July |
| Donal Smith | New Zealand | Middle-distance runner | 89 | 27 September |
| Morville Chote | Great Britain | Javelin thrower | 98-99 | 17 March |
| Ronald Mehlich | Poland | 110mH | 54-55 | December |
| Lennart Jonsson | Sweden | Sprinter | 89-90 | 1 September |
| Ulla-Britt Wieslander | Sweden | 50mH | 81 | 29 November |
| Kevin Cunningham | Australia | Para-athlete | 83-84 | 4 January |
| Yvette Monginou | France | Sprinter | 95 | 16 February |
| Noel Clough | Australia | 800m | 86 | 20 May |
| Cyprian Tseriwa | Rhodesia | 10,000m | 86 | 13 March |
| Ray Middleton | Great Britain | 50km Walk | 86 | 8 January |
| John Nuttall | Great Britain | 3000m | 56 | 9 November |
| David Carr | Australia | Middle-distance runner | 91 | 18 July |
| Bengt Nåjde | Sweden | 5000m | 81 | 17 September |
| Ilse Steinegger | Austria | Long Jump | 98 | 19 October |
| Guy Lagorce | France | Sprinter | 86 | 13 July |
| Gerhart Hecker | Hungary | Marathoner | 89 | 1 June |
| Mick Molloy | Ireland | Marathoner | 85 | 4 September |
| Paul Angenvoorth | Germany | Marathoner | 75 | 30 October |
| Mabel Walker | United States | 100m | 94 | 10 September |
| Vittoria Cesarini | Italy | 100m | 91 | 26 September |
| Lynn Eves | Canada | 100m | 81 | 2 October |
| Sitiveni Moceidreke | Fiji | 200m | 86-87 | November |
| Eddy Monsels | Suriname | 100m | 75 | 1 November |
| Della Pascoe | Great Britain | 100m | 74 | 22 June |
| Benedict Majekodunmi | Nigeria | Sprinter | 82-83 | January |
| Carolina Rieuwpassa | Indonesia | Sprinter | 74 | 16 March |
| Marvin Nash | Canada | Sprinter | 69 | 20 January |
| Valentyna Maslovska | Soviet Union | 200m | 86 | 21 May |
| Hadley Hinds | Barbados | Sprinter | 76-77 | 6 May |
| Jerzy Kowalski | Poland | 400m | 86 | 20 September |
| Tambusamy Krishnan | Malaysia | Sprinter | 79 | 20 December |
| Anne Michel | Belgium | 400m | 64 | 21 November |
| Karl Volkmer | Switzerland | Middle-distance runner | 101 | 19 December |
| Ismael Delgado | Puerto Rico | Sprinter | 93 | 9 October |
| Enzo Cavalli | Italy | Triple Jump | 86 | 20 September |
| Alfredo Rizzo | Italy | Steeplechase runner | 89 | 6 February |
| Edmond Roudnitska | France | Hurdler | 91 | 31 January |
| Constance Darnowski | United States | Hurdler | 88 | 2 August |
| Marcel Duriez | France | 110mH | 82 | 2 February |
| João Lima | Portugal | 110mH | 62 | 18 November |
| Lee Yoder | United States | Hurdler | 92 | 17 May |
| Julio Gómez | Spain | 800m | 91 | 10 February |
| Phyllis Perkins | Great Britain | Middle-distance runner | 88-89 | 22 February |
| András Zsinka | Hungary | 800m | 75 | 8 April |
| Gudrun Pflüger | Austria | Mountain runner | 50 | 17 August |
| Fritz Prossinagg | Austria | 1500m | 92 | 16 February |
| Bill McKim | Great Britain | Middle-distance runner | 81-82 | June |
| Ulf Högberg | Sweden | Middle-distance runner | 77 | 16 May |
| José Molíns | Spain | 5000m | 90 | 2 March |
| Nikolay Sviridov | Soviet Union | 10,000m | 85 | 14 June |
| Noël Tijou | France | 10,000m | 81 | 23 September |
| Gail North-Saunders | Bahamas | Sprinter | 78-79 | 30 June |
| John Bicourt | Great Britain | 3000mSC | 77 | 16 January |
| Adolf Weinacker | United States | Racewalker | 94 | 11 September |
| Lorna Lee | Great Britain | Long jumper | 91 | 6 January |
| Marguerite Martel | France | Athletics pentathlete | 98 | 1 March |
| Dawn Josephs | Canada | Long Jump | 91 | 10 October |
| Kari Rahkamo | Finland | Triple Jump | 90 | 11 November |
| Yıldıray Pağda | Turkey | Triple jumper | 85-86 | 20 December |
| Theo Püll | Germany | High Jump | 87-88 | December |
| Edward Czernik | Poland | High jumper | 82-83 | 31 May |
| Milena Usenik | Slovenia | Shot putter | 88 | 31 March |
| Anne-Chatrine Lafrenz | Germany | Shot putter | 86 | 24 July |
| Seiko Obonai | Japan | Shot putter | 83 | 6 March |
| Irene Schuch | Germany | Discus Throw | 87 | 6 September |
| Erika Raue | Germany | Javelin thrower | 85 | 6 May |
| Sándor Eckschmiedt | Hungary | Hammer thrower | 84 | 12 August |
| Oleg Ryakhovskiy | Soviet Union | Triple jumper | 90 | 16 December |
| Bev Watson | Australia | Long jumper | 86-87 | 22 March |
| Major Hazelton | United States | Sprinter | 79 | 3 December |
| Cliff Simpson | New Zealand | Middle-distance runner | 95 | 10 December |
| George Ellis | Great Britain | 200m | 90 | 17 January |
| Adrian Breacker | Great Britain | Sprinter | 88 | 23 February |
| Josephine Cook | Great Britain | Shot putter | 92 | 20 November |
| Mel Fitzgerald | Canada | Wheelchair racer | 70 | 2 October |
| Thomas J. Osler | United States | Long-distance runner | 82 | 26 March |
| Neil Wilson | New Zealand | Middle-distance runner | 93 | 14 August |
| Summa Navaratnam | Sri Lanka | Sprinter | 98 | 19 October |
| Heino Sisask | Estonia | Racewalker | 94 | 21 January |
| Edrissa Marong | Gambia | 800m | 22 | 23 January |
| Ivan Kováč | Czechoslovakia | 1500m | 74 | 11 February |
| Stanislav Štefkovič | Slovakia | Decathlete | 93 | 22 February |
| Doug Fisher | United States | Discus thrower | 75 | 12 February |
| Juhani Orrenmaa | Finland | Hurdler | 84 | 5 August |
| Georges Salmon | Belgium | Long Jump | 90 | 8 November |
| Charlie Allan | Great Britain | Caber tosser | 84-85 | 13 December |
| Raya Bronstein | Israel | Sprinter, high jumper, shot putter, discus thrower, javelin thrower | 93 | 4 May |
| Robert Hersh | United States | Athletics official | 82 | 19 January |
| Ron Roddan | Great Britain | Athletics coach | 91 | 11 February |
| Billy Emory Maxwell | United States | Athletics coach | 80 | 9 October |