# 1987 in the sport of athletics

This article contains an overview of the year 1987 in athletics.

## International Events

* All-Africa Games
* Asian Championships
* Central American and Caribbean Championships
* European Indoor Championships
* Mediterranean Games
* Pan American Games
* World Championships
* World Indoor Championships
* World Cross Country Championships
* World Student Games

## World records
### Men

| EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
| 2,000 metres | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 4:50.81 | 16 July | Paris |
| 5,000 metres | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 12:58.39 | 22 July | Rome, Italy |
| High jump | Patrik Sjöberg (SWE) | 2.42 m | 30 June | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Pole vault | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 6.03 m | 23 June | Prague, Czechoslovakia |
| Shot put | Alessandro Andrei (ITA) | 22.72m | 12 August | Viareggio, Italy |
| Shot put | Alessandro Andrei (ITA) | 22.84m | 12 August | Viareggio, Italy |
| Shot put | Alessandro Andrei (ITA) | 22.91m | 12 August | Viareggio, Italy |
| Javelin (new) | Jan Železný (TCH) | 87.66 m | 31 May | Nitra, Czechoslovakia |
Carl Lewis (USA) equalled the world record in the men's 100 metres held by countryman Calvin Smith since 1983-07-03, clocking 9.93 seconds on 1987-08-30 at the World Championships in Rome, Italy.

### Women

| EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
| 100m hurdles | Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL) | 12.25 s | 8 August | Drama, Greece |
| High Jump | Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) | 2.09 m | 30 August | Rome, Italy |
| Shot put | Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) | 22.60 m | 7 June | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Shot put | Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) | 22.63 m | 7 June | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Javelin (old) | Petra Meier (GDR) | 78.90 m | 29 July | Leipzig, East Germany |
Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) equalled the world record in the women's long jump held by East Germany's Heike Drechsler since 1986-06-21, jumping 7.45 metres on 1987-08-13 at a meet in Indianapolis.

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

    Main race this year: World Championships 100 metres
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 9.931 |
| 2. | Linford Christie (GBR) | 10.03 |
| 3. | Mark Witherspoon (USA) | 10.04 |
| 4. | Andrés Simón (CUB) | 10.06 |
| 5. | Lee McRae (USA) | 10.07 |
| — | Calvin Smith (USA) | 10.07 |

### 200 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 200 metres
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 19.92 |
| 2. | Floyd Heard (USA) | 19.95 |
| 3. | Dwayne Evans (USA) | 20.08 |
| 4. | Calvin Smith (USA) | 20.10 |
| 5. | Attila Kovács (HUN) | 20.11 |

### 400 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 400 metres
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Butch Reynolds (USA) | 44.10 |
| 2. | Innocent Egbunike (NGR) | 44.17 |
| 3. | Thomas Schönlebe (GDR) | 44.33 |
| 4. | Danny Everett (USA) | 44.47 |
| 5. | Derek Redmond (GBR) | 44.50 |

### 800 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 800 metres
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Billy Konchellah (KEN) | 1:43.06 |
| 2. | Peter Elliott (GBR) | 1:43.41 |
| — | José Luíz Barbosa (BRA) | 1:43.76 |
| 4. | Philippe Collard (FRA) | 1:43.95 |
| 5. | Johnny Gray (USA) | 1:44.09 |

### 1,500 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 1.500 metres
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 3:30.69 |
| 2. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:31.43 |
| 3. | Abdi Bile (SOM) | 3:31.71 |
| 4. | José Luis González (ESP) | 3:33.01 |
| 5. | Peter Elliott (GBR) | 3:33.23 |

### Mile

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 3:46.76 |
| 2. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:50.08 |
| 3. | Abdi Bile (SOM) | 3:50.75 |
| 4. | Johan Fourie (RSA) | 3:50.82 |
| 5. | John Gladwin (GBR) | 3:51.02 |

### 3,000 metres

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Dieter Baumann (FRG) | 7:40.25 |
| 2. | Francesco Panetta (ITA) | 7:42.73 |
| 3. | José Luis González (ESP) | 7:42.93 |
| 4. | Frank O'Mara (IRL) | 7:42.99 |
| 5. | Sydney Maree (USA) | 7:43.13 |

### 5,000 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 5.000 metres
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 12:58.39 |
| 2. | Jack Buckner (GBR) | 13:10.48 |
| 3. | José Luis González (ESP) | 13:12.34 |
| 4. | José Manuel Abascal (ESP) | 13:12.49 |
| 5. | Frank O'Mara (IRL) | 13:13.02 |

### 10,000 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 10.000 metres
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Francesco Panetta (ITA) | 27:26.95 |
| 2. | Wodajo Bulti (ETH) | 27:29.41 |
| 3. | Jean-Louis Prianon (FRA) | 27:34.38 |
| 4. | Takeyuki Nakayama (JPN) | 27:35.33 |
| 5. | Paul Kipkoech (KEN) | 27:38.63 |

### Half marathon

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Matthew Temane (RSA) | 1:00:10 |

### Marathon

    Main race this year: World Championships Marathon
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Takeyuki Nakayama (JPN) | 2:08:18 |
| 2. | Hiromi Taniguchi (JPN) | 2:09:50 |
| 3. | El Mostafa Nechchadi (MAR) | 2:10:09 |
| 4. | Hugh Jones (GBR) | 2:10:11 |
| 5. | Gianni Poli (ITA) | 2:10:15 |

### 110m hurdles

    Main race this year: World Championships 110m hurdles
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Greg Foster (USA) | 13.17 |
| 2. | Tonie Campbell (USA) | 13.19 |
| 3. | Mark McKoy (CAN) | 13.23 |
| 4. | Rod Woodson (USA) | 13.29 |
| — | Jon Ridgeon (GBR) | 13.29 |
| — | Arthur Blake (USA) | 13.29 |

### 400m hurdles

    Main race this year: World Championships 400m hurdles
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Edwin Moses (USA) | 47.46 |
| 2. | Danny Harris (USA) | 47.48 |
| — | Harald Schmid (FRG) | 47.48 |
| 4. | Amadou Dia Bâ (SEN) | 48.03 |
| 5. | Kevin Young (USA) | 48.15 |

### 3,000m steeplechase

    Main race this year: World Championships 3.000m steeplechase
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Francesco Panetta (ITA) | 8:08.57 |
| 2. | Hagen Melzer (GDR) | 8:10.32 |
| 3. | William Van Dijck (BEL) | 8:12.18 |
| 4. | Julius Korir (KEN) | 8:12.80 |
| 5. | Raymond Pannier (FRA) | 8:13.88 |

### High jump

    Main competition this year: World Championships High Jump
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Patrik Sjöberg (SWE) | 2.42 |
| 2. | Igor Paklin (URS) | 2.38 |
| — | Hennadiy Avdyeyenko (URS) | 2.38 |
| 4. | Javier Sotomayor (CUB) | 2.37 |
| 5. | Jim Howard (USA) | 2.36 |
| — | Ján Zvara (TCH) | 2.36 |

### Long jump

    Main competition this year: World Championships Long Jump
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Robert Emmiyan (URS) | 8.86 |
| 2. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 8.75 |
| 3. | Larry Myricks (USA) | 8.66 |
| 4. | Jaime Jefferson (CUB) | 8.51 |
| 5. | Giovanni Evangelisti (ITA) | 8.43 |

### Triple jump

    Main competition this year: World Championships Triple Jump
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Khristo Markov (BUL) | 17.92 |
| 2. | Mike Conley (USA) | 17.87 |
| 3. | Aleksandr Kovalenko (URS) | 17.77 |
| 4. | Aleksandr Yakovlev (URS) | 17.65 |
| 5. | Oleg Protsenko (URS) | 17.61 |

### Discus

    Main competition this year: World Championships Discus Throw
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Jürgen Schult (GDR) | 69.52 |
| 2. | Mike Buncic (USA) | 68.98 |
| 3. | Stefan Fernholm (SWE) | 68.30 |
| 4. | Luis Delís (CUB) | 67.92 |
| 5. | Alwin Wagner (FRG) | 67.80 |

### Shot put

    Main competition this year: World Championships Shot Put
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Alessandro Andrei (ITA) | 22.91 |
| 2. | John Brenner (USA) | 22.52 |
| 3. | Werner Günthör (SUI) | 22.47 |
| 4. | Udo Beyer (GDR) | 22.31 |
| 5. | Ulf Timmermann (GDR) | 22.01 |

### Hammer

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Sergey Litvinov (URS) | 83.48 |
| 2. | Igor Astapkovich (URS) | 82.96 |
| 3. | Vyacheslav Korovin (URS) | 82.24 |
| 4. | Jüri Tamm (URS) | 82.02 |
| 5. | Igor Nikulin (URS) | 82.00 |

### Javelin (new design)

    Main competition this year: World Championships Javelin Throw
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Jan Železný (TCH) | 87.66 |
| 2. | Klaus Tafelmeier (FRG) | 86.64 |
| 3. | Mick Hill (GBR) | 85.24 |
| 4. | Viktor Yevsyukov (URS) | 85.16 |
| 5. | Lev Shatilo (URS) | 84.30 |

### Pole vault

    Main competition this year: World Championships Pole Vault
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 6.03 |
| 2. | Joe Dial (USA) | 5.96 |
| 3. | Radion Gataullin (URS) | 5.90 |
| 4. | Thierry Vigneron (FRA) | 5.85 |
| 5. | Mike Tully (USA) | 5.83 |

### Decathlon

    Main competition this year: World Championships Decathlon
| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
| 1. | Torsten Voss (GDR) | 8680 |
| 2. | Siegfried Wentz (FRG) | 8645 |
| 3. | Pavel Tarnavetskiy (URS) | 8375 |
| 4. | Simon Poelman (NZL) | 8359 |
| 5. | Tim Bright (USA) | 8340 |

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

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Anelia Nuneva (BUL) | 10.86 |
| — | Silke Gladisch (GDR) | 10.86 |
| 3. | Merlene Ottey (JAM) | 10.87 |
| 4. | Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 10.93 |
| 5. | Heike Drechsler (GDR) | 10.95 |

### 200 metres

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Silke Gladisch (GDR) | 21.74 |
| 2. | Florence Griffith (USA) | 21.96 |
| 3. | Anelia Nuneva (BUL) | 22.01 |
| 4. | Pam Marshall (USA) | 22.06 |
| — | Merlene Ottey (JAM) | 22.06 |

### 400 metres

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Olga Bryzgina (URS) | 49.38 |
| 2. | Petra Müller (GDR) | 49.64 |
| 3. | Mariya Pinigina (URS) | 49.87 |
| 4. | Lillie Leatherwood (USA) | 49.95 |
| 5. | Olga Nazarova (URS) | 49.96 |

### 800 metres

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Sigrun Wodars (GDR) | 1:55.26 |
| 2. | Christine Wachtel (GDR) | 1:55.32 |
| 3. | Lyubov Gurina (URS) | 1:55.56 |
| 4. | Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB) | 1:55.84 |
| 5. | Slobodanka Čolović (YUG) | 1:56.51 |

### 1,500 metres

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Tatyana Samolenko (URS) | 3:58.56 |
| 2. | Hildegard Körner (GDR) | 3:58.67 |
| 3. | Doina Melinte (ROU) | 3:59.27 |
| 4. | Cornelia Bürki (SUI) | 3:59.90 |
| 5. | Andrea Lange (GDR) | 4:00.07 |

### Mile

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Doina Melinte (ROU) | 4:24.05 |
| 2. | Elly van Hulst (NED) | 4:25.13 |
| 3. | Diana Richburg (USA) | 4:25.77 |
| 4. | Liz Lynch (GBR) | 4:26.11 |
| 5. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 4:26.70 |

### 3,000 metres

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ulrike Bruns (GDR) | 8:38.1 |
| 2. | Yelena Zhupiyeva (URS) | 8:38.5 |
| 3. | Tatyana Samolenko (URS) | 8:38.73 |
| 4. | Paula Ivan (ROU) | 8:39.28 |
| 5. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 8:39.45 |

### 5,000 metres

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Liz Lynch (GBR) | 15:01.08 |
| 2. | Angela Tooby (GBR) | 15:13.22 |
| 3. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 15:19.76 |
| 4. | Wendy Sly (GBR) | 15:21.45 |
| 5. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 15:23.48 |

### 10,000 metres

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 31:05.85 |
| 2. | Yelena Zhupiyeva (URS) | 31:09.40 |
| 3. | Kathrin Ullrich (GDR) | 31:11.34 |
| 4. | Olga Bondarenko (URS) | 31:18.38 |
| 5. | Liz Lynch (GBR) | 31:19.82 |

### Half marathon

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 1:06:40 |

### Marathon

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:22:48 |
| 2. | Rosa Mota (POR) | 2:25:17 |
| 3. | Katrin Dörre (GDR) | 2:25:24 |
| 4. | Carla Beurskens (NED) | 2:26:34 |
| 5. | Priscilla Welch (GBR) | 2:26:51 |

### 100m hurdles

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL) | 12.25 |
| 2. | Yordanka Donkova (BUL) | 12.33 |
| 3. | Gloria Siebert (GDR) | 12.44 |
| 4. | Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR) | 12.45 |

### 400m hurdles

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Sabine Busch (GDR) | 53.24 |
| 2. | Cornelia Ullrich (GDR) | 53.58 |
| 3. | Debbie Flintoff-King (AUS) | 53.95 |
| 4. | Judi Brown-King (USA) | 54.23 |
| 5. | Sandra Farmer (JAM) | 54.38 |

### High Jump

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) | 2.09 m |
| 2. | Tamara Bykova (URS) | 2.04 m |
| 3. | Louise Ritter (USA) | 2.01 m |
| 4. | Desiree du Plessis (RSA) | 2.00 m |
| — | Lyudmila Avdeyenko (URS) | 2.00 m |
| — | Svetlana Leseva (BUL) | 2.00 m |

### Long Jump

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) | 7.45 m |
| 2. | Heike Drechsler (GDR) | 7.40 m |
| 3. | Yelena Belevskaya (URS) | 7.39 m |
| 4. | Galina Chistyakova (URS) | 7.27 m |
| 5. | Irina Valyukevich (URS) | 7.17 m |

### Shot put

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) | 22.63 m |
| 2. | Claudia Losch (FRG) | 22.19 m |
| 3. | Natalya Akhrimenko (URS) | 21.34 m |
| 4. | Kathrin Neimke (GDR) | 21.21 m |
| 5. | Ines Müller (GDR) | 21.20 m |

### Javelin (old design)

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Petra Meier (GDR) | 78.90 |
| 2. | Fatima Whitbread (GBR) | 76.64 |
| 3. | Ingrid Thyssen (GDR) | 69.68 |
| 4. | Susanne Jung (GDR) | 69.60 |
| 5. | Beate Peters (FRG) | 68.84 |

### Heptathlon

| RANK | 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
| 1. | Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) | 7128 |
| 2. | Anke Behmer (GDR) | 6692 |
| 3. | Svetlana Buraga (URS) | 6585 |
| 4. | Larisa Nikitina (URS) | 6564 |
| 5. | Jane Frederick (USA) | 6533 |

## Births

* January 1 — Rytis Sakalauskas, Lithuanian sprinter
* January 17 — Svetlana Radzivil, Uzbekistani high jumper
* January 27 — Liliya Kulyk, Ukrainian triple jumper
* March 5 — Vitalij Kozlov, Lithuanian middle-distance runner
* April 17 — Atsede Baysa, Ethiopian long-distance runner
* April 24 — Franklin Nazareno, Ecuadorian sprinter
* July 14 — Margus Hunt, Estonian discus thrower
* July 22 — Hugo Chila, Ecuadorian long jumper and triple jumper
* August 9 — Marek Niit, Estonian sprinter
* September 1 — Leonel Suárez, Cuban decathlete
* September 13 — Vincent Kipruto, Kenyan long-distance runner
* October 3 — Ancuța Bobocel, Romanian long-distance runner
* November 1 — Jimmy Adar, Ugandan middle-distance runner
* November 17 — Nadiya Dusanova, Uzbekistani high jumper
* December 1 — Tabarie Henry, United States Virgin Islands sprinter
* December 21 — Denis Alekseyev, Russian sprinter

## Deaths

* March 17 — Georg Lammers (81), German athlete (b. 1905)
* October 20 — Jerzy Chromik (56), Polish long-distance runner (b. 1931)