# 1984 in the sport of athletics

This article contains an overview of the year 1984 in the sport of athletics.

## International Events

* African Championships in Rabat, Morocco
* Balkan Games in Athens, Greece
* European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden
* World Cross Country Championships in New York, United States
* Olympic Games in Los Angeles, United States

## World records
### Men

| Event | Athlete | Mark | Date | Venue |
| 10,000 metres | Fernando Mamede (POR) | 27:13.81 | 2 July | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 4 × 100 m Relay | United States (USA) • Sam Graddy • Ron Brown • Calvin Smith • Carl Lewis | 37.83 | August 11 | Los Angeles |
| High Jump | Zhu Jianhua (CHN) | 2.39m | June 10 | Eberstadt, West Germany |
| Pole Vault | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 5.85m | 26 May | Bratislava, Czechoslovakia |
| Pole Vault | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 5.88m | 2 June | Paris, France |
| Pole Vault | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 5.90m | 13 July | London |
| Pole Vault | Thierry Vigneron (FRA) | 5.91m | 31 August | Rome, Italy |
| Pole Vault | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 5.94m | 31 August | Rome, Italy |
| Hammer | Yuriy Syedikh (URS) | 86.34m | 3 July | Cork, Ireland |
| Javelin (old) | Uwe Hohn (GDR) | 104.80m | 20 July | Berlin, East Germany |
| Decathlon | Jürgen Hingsen (FRG) | 8832 | 8-9 June | Mannheim, West Germany |
| Decathlon | Daley Thompson (GBR) | 8847 | 8-9 August | Los Angeles, United States |
| Marathon | Steve Jones (GBR) | 2:08:05 | 21 October | Chicago, United States |

### Women

| EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
| 100 metres | Evelyn Ashford (USA) | 10.76 | 22 August | Zürich |
| Mile | Natalya Artyomova (URS) | 4:15.8 | 5 August | Leningrad |
| 2000 metres | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) | 5:28.72 | 4 August | Moscow |
| 3,000 metres | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) | 8:22.62 | 26 August | Leningrad |
| 5,000 metres | Zola Pieterse (RSA) | 15:01.83 | 5 January | Stellenbosch |
| 5,000 metres | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 14:58.89 | 28 June | Oslo |
| 10,000 metres | Olga Bondarenko (URS) | 31:13.78 | 24 June | Kiev |
| 400m Hurdles | Margarita Ponomaryova (URS) | 53.58 | 22 June | Kiev |
| 4 × 400 m Relay | East Germany (GDR) • Gesine Walther • Sabine Busch • Dagmar Neubauer • Marita Koch | 3:15.92 | 3 June | Erfurt |
| 4 × 800 m Relay | Soviet Union (URS) • Nadiya Olizarenko • Lyubov Gurina • Lyudmila Borisova • Irina Podyalovskaya | 7:50.17 | 5 August | Moscow |
| High Jump | Tamara Bykova (URS) | 2.05m | 22 June | Kiev |
| High Jump | Lyudmila Andonova (BUL) | 2.07m | 20 July | Berlin |
| Shot Put | Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) | 22.53 | 27 May | Sochi |
| Discus Throw | Irina Meszynski (GDR) | 73.36 | 18 August | Prague |
| Discus Throw | Zdenka Silhavá (TCH) | 74.56 | 26 August | Nitra |
| Heptathlon | Sabine John (GDR) | 6946 | 5-6 May | Potsdam |
| Half Marathon | Joan Benoit (USA) | 1:08:34 | 16 September | Philadelphia |
* Marita Koch (GDR) equals her own world record in the women's 200 metres held since 1979-06-10, clocking 21.71 seconds on 1984-07-21 at a meet in Potsdam.

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

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 100 metres
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Mel Lattany (USA) | 9.96 | May 5 | Athens, United States |
| 2. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 9.99 | May 6 | Houston, United States |
| 3. | Marian Woronin (POL) | 10.00 | June 9 | Warsaw, Poland |
| 4. | Sam Graddy (USA) | 10.09 | May 12 | Baton Rouge, United States |
| — | Harvey Glance (USA) | 10.09 | August 22 | Zürich, Switzerland |

### 200 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 200 metres
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 19.80 | August 8 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 2. | Kirk Baptiste (USA) | 19.96 | August 8 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 3. | Albert Robinson (USA) | 20.07 | May 5 | Indianapolis, United States |
| 4 | Pietro Mennea (ITA) | 20.07 | October 3 | Brindisi, Italy |
| 5. | Thomas Jefferson (USA) | 20.26 | August 8 | Los Angeles, United States |

### 400 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 400 metres
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Alonzo Babers (USA) | 44.27 | August 8 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 2. | Gabriel Tiacoh (CIV) | 44.54 | August 8 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 3. | Antonio McKay (USA) | 44.71 | June 21 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 4. | Darren Clark (AUS) | 44.75 | August 8 | Los Angeles, United States |
| — | Sunder Nix (USA) | 44.75 | August 8 | Los Angeles, United States |

### 800 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 800 metres
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Joaquim Cruz (BRA) | 1:41.77 | August 26 | Köln, West Germany |
| 2. | Sammy Koskei (KEN) | 1:42.28 | August 26 | Köln, West Germany |
| 3. | Johnny Gray (USA) | 1:42.96 | August 29 | Koblenz, West Germany |
| 4. | Agberto Guimarães (BRA) | 1:43.63 | August 29 | Koblenz, West Germany |
| 5. | Sebastian Coe (GBR) | 1:43.64 | August 6 | Los Angeles, United States |

### 1,500 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 1,500 metres
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 3:31.54 | July 6 | Hengelo, Netherlands |
| 2. | Sebastian Coe (GBR) | 3:32.39 | August 22 | Zürich, Switzerland |
| 3. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:33.13 | August 20 | Budapest, Hungary |
| 4. | Steve Scott (USA) | 3:33.46 | August 22 | Zürich, Switzerland |
| 5. | Pierre Délèze (SUI) | 3:33.64 | August 22 | Zürich, Switzerland |

### 5,000 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 5,000 metres
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 13:04.78 | June 13 | Florence, Italy |
| 2. | Markus Ryffel (SUI) | 13:07.54 | August 11 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 3. | António Leitão (POR) | 13:09.20 | August 11 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 4. | Wodajo Bulti (ETH) | 13:10.08 | June 13 | Florence, Italy |
| 5. | Tim Hutchings (GBR) | 13:11.50 | August 11 | Los Angeles, United States |

### 10,000 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 10,000 metres
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Fernando Mamede (POR) | 27:13.81 | July 2 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 2. | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 27:17.48 | July 2 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 3. | Hansjörg Kunze (GDR) | 27:33.10 | May 5 | Potsdam, East Germany |
| 4. | Mark Nenow (USA) | 27:40.56 | July 2 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 5. | Martti Vainio (FIN) | 27:41.75 | June 13 | Florence, Italy |

### Half Marathon

| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Alberto Cova (ITA) | 1:01:52 | May 6 | Milan, Italy |

### 110m Hurdles

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 110m Hurdles
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Greg Foster (USA) | 13.15 | August 22 | Zürich, Switzerland |
| 2. | Roger Kingdom (USA) | 13.16 | August 22 | Zürich, Switzerland |
| 3. | Tony Campbell (USA) | 13.23 | May 13 | Westwood, United States |
| 4. | Mark McKoy (CAN) | 13.27 | July 25 | Walnut, United States |
| 5. | Arto Bryggare (FIN) | 13.35 | August 5 | Los Angeles, United States |

### 400m Hurdles

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 400m Hurdles
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Edwin Moses (USA) | 47.32 | August 29 | Koblenz, West Germany |
| 2. | Harald Schmid (FRG) | 47.69 | July 10 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 3. | Danny Harris (USA) | 48.02 | June 17 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 4. | Tony Rambo (USA) | 48.16 | June 17 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 5. | Tranel Hawkins (USA) | 48.28 | June 18 | Los Angeles, United States |

### 3,000m Steeplechase

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 3,000m Steeplechase
| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Joseph Mahmoud (FRA) | 8:07.62 | August 24 | Brussels, Belgium |
| 2. | Bogusław Mamiński (POL) | 8:09.18 | August 24 | Brussels, Belgium |
| 3. | Julius Korir (KEN) | 8:11.80 | August 10 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 4. | Brian Diemer (USA) | 8:13.16 | August 29 | Koblenz, West Germany |
| 5. | Colin Reitz (GBR) | 8:13.78 | July 21 | Oslo, Norway |

### High Jump

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games High Jump
| RANK | ATHLETE | HEIGHT | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Zhu Jianhua (CHN) | 2.39 | June 10 | Eberstadt, West Germany |
| 2. | Carlo Thränhardt (FRG) | 2.37 | February 24 | West Berlin, West Germany |
| 2. | Valeriy Sereda (URS) | 2.37 | September 2 | Rieti, Italy |
| 4. | Igor Paklin (URS) | 2.36 | February 1 | Milan, Italy |
| 4. | Sergey Zasimovich (URS) | 2.36 | May 5 | Tashkent, Soviet Union |
| 4. | Dietmar Mögenburg (FRG) | 2.36 | June 10 | Eberstadt, West Germany |

### Long Jump

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Long Jump
| RANK | ATHLETE | DISTANCE | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 8.79 | January 27 | New York, United States |
| 2. | Larry Myricks (USA) | 8.59 | September 5 | Rhede, United States |
| 3. | Lutz Dombrowski (GDR) | 8.50 | July 27 | Dresden, East Germany |
| 4. | Konstantin Semykin (URS) | 8.38 | August 17 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 5. | Jaime Jefferson (CUB) | 8.37 | August 17 | Moscow, Soviet Union |

### Triple Jump

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Triple Jump
| RANK | ATHLETE | DISTANCE | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Oleg Protsenko (URS) | 17.52 | June 21 | Kiev, Soviet Union |
| 2. | Aleksandr Yakovlyev (URS) | 17.50 | June 10 | Sochi, Soviet Union |
| 2. | Mike Conley (USA) | 17.50 | June 17 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 4. | Gennadiy Valyukevich (URS) | 17.47 | July 19 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 5. | Lázaro Betancourt (CUB) | 17.45 | August 26 | Cologne, West Germany |

### Discus

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Discus Throw
| RANK | ATHLETE | DISTANCE | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | John Powell (USA) | 71.26 | June 9 | San José, United States |
| 1. | Ricky Bruch (SWE) | 71.26 | November 15 | Malmö, Sweden |
| 3. | Art Burns (USA) | 70.98 | July 21 | Eugene, United States |
| 4. | Mac Wilkins (USA) | 70.44 | June 9 | San José, United States |
| 5. | Imrich Bugár (TCH) | 70.26 | September 8 | Cagliari, Italy |

### Hammer

| RANK | ATHLETE | DISTANCE | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Yuriy Syedikh (URS) | 86.34 | July 3 | Cork City, Ireland |
| 2. | Sergey Litvinov (URS) | 85.20 | July 3 | Cork City, Ireland |
| 3. | Jüri Tamm (URS) | 84.40 | September 9 | Banská Bystrica, Slovakia |
| 4. | Igor Nikulin (URS) | 82.56 | August 17 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 5. | Juha Tiainen (FIN) | 81.52 | June 11 | Tampere, Finland |

### Shot Put

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Shot Put
| RANK | ATHLETE | DISTANCE | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Brian Oldfield (USA) | 22.19 | May 26 | San José, United States |
| 2. | Sergey Kasnauskas (URS) | 22.09 | August 23 | Stayki, Soviet Union |
| 3. | Udo Beyer (GDR) | 22.04 | June 11 | Rehlingen, United States |
| 4. | John Brenner (USA) | 21.92 | June 2 | Eugene, United States |
| 5. | Michael Carter (USA) | 21.76 | June 2 | Eugene, United States |

### Javelin

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Javelin Throw
| RANK | ATHLETE | DISTANCE | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Uwe Hohn (GDR) | 104.80 | July 20 | East Berlin, East Germany |
| 2. | Detlef Michel (GDR) | 93.68 | June 2 | Erfurt, East Germany |
| 3. | Duncan Atwood (USA) | 93.44 | June 18 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 4. | Raimo Manninen (FIN) | 93.42 | July 1 | Pihtipudas, Finland |
| 5. | Einar Vilhjálmsson (ISL) | 92.42 | April 6 | Austin, United States |

### Pole Vault

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Pole Vault
| RANK | ATHLETE | HEIGHT | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Sergey Bubka (URS) | 5.94 | August 31 | Rome, Italy |
| 2. | Thierry Vigneron (FRA) | 5.91 | August 31 | Rome, Italy |
| 3. | Konstantin Volkov (URS) | 5.85 | June 22 | Kiev, Soviet Union |
| 4. | Mike Tully (USA) | 5.82 | July 21 | Eugene, United States |
| 4. | Aleksandr Krupskiy (URS) | 5.82 | August 20 | Budapest, Hungary |

### Decathlon

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Decathlon
| RANK | ATHLETE | POINTS | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Jürgen Hingsen (FRG) | 8798 | June 9 | Mannheim, West Germany |
| 1. | Daley Thompson (GBR) | 8798 | August 9 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 3. | Uwe Freimuth (GDR) | 8704 | July 21 | Potsdam, East Germany |
| 4. | Grigoriy Degtyaryev (URS) | 8652 | June 22 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| 5. | Aleksandr Apaychev (URS) | 8642 | June 3 | Neubrandenburg, DDR |

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

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 100 metres
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Evelyn Ashford (USA) | 10.76 |
| 2. | Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 10.84 |
| 3. | Florence Griffith (USA) | 10.99 |
| 4. | Merlene Ottey-Page (JAM) | 11.01 |
| 5. | Lyudmila Kondratyeva (URS) | 11.02 |

### 200 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 200 metres
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 21.71 |
| 2. | Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 21.74 |
| 3. | Valerie Brisco (USA) | 21.81 |
| 4. | Bärbel Wöckel (GDR) | 21.85 |
| 5. | Florence Griffith (USA) | 22.04 |

### 400 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 400 metres
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 48.16 |
| 2. | Tatána Kocembová (TCH) | 48.73 |
| 3. | Valerie Brisco (USA) | 48.83 |
| 4. | Olga Vladykina (URS) | 48.98 |
| 5. | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 49.02 |

### 800 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 800 metres
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Irina Podyalovskaya (URS) | 1:55.69 |
| 2. | Nadiya Olizarenko (URS) | 1:56.09 |
| 3. | Lyubov Gurina (URS) | 1:56.26 |
| 4. | Doina Melinte (ROU) | 1:56.53 |
| 5. | Lyudmila Borisova (URS) | 1:56.78 |

### 1,500 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 1,500 metres
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Nadezhda Ralldugina (URS) | 3:56.63 |
| 2. | Yekaterina Podkopayeva (URS) | 3:56.65 |
| 3. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 3:57.22 |
| 4. | Tatyana Pozdnyakova (URS) | 3:57.70 |
| 5. | Galina Zakharova (URS) | 3:57.72 |

### Mile

| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Natalya Artyomova (URS) | 4:15.8 |
| 2. | Ruth Wysocki (USA) | 4:21.78 |
| 3. | Christina Boxer (GBR) | 4:22.64 |
| 4. | Mary Decker (USA) | 4:22.92 |
| 5. | Christine Benning (GBR) | 4:24.57 |

### 3,000 metres

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 3,000 metres
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) | 8:22.62 |
| 2. | Svetlana Guskova (URS) | 8:29.59 |
| 3. | Tatyana Pozdnyakova (URS) | 8:32.0 |
| 4. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 8:33.57 |
| 5. | Mary Decker (USA) | 8:34.91 |

### 5,000 metres

| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 14:58.89 |
| 2. | Zola Budd (RSA) | 15:01.83 |
| 3. | Aurora Cunha (POR) | 15:09.07 |
| 4. | Angela Tooby (GBR) | 15:22.50 |
| 5. | Brenda Webb (USA) | 15:22.76 |

### 10,000 metres

| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Olga Bondarenko (URS) | 31:13.78 |
| 2. | Galina Zakharova (URS) | 31:15.00 |
| 3. | Zhanna Tursunova (URS) | 31:53.53 |
| 4. | Lyubov Konyukhova (URS) | 31:56.01 |
| 5. | Anna Domoradskaya (URS) | 31:56.02 |

### Half Marathon

| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Joan Benoit (USA) | 1:08:34 |

### 100m Hurdles

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 100m Hurdles
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Lucyna Kalek (POL) | 12.43 |
| 2. | Vera Akimova (URS) | 12.50 |
| 2. | Yordanka Donkova (BUL) | 12.50 |
| 4. | Bettine Jahn (GDR) | 12.53 |
| 5. | Sabine Paetz (GDR) | 12.54 |

### 400m Hurdles

    Main race this year: Olympic Games 400m Hurdles
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Margarita Ponomaryova (URS) | 53.58 |
| 2. | Marina Styepanova (URS) | 53.67 |
| 3. | Yekaterina Fesenko (URS) | 54.34 |
| 4. | Tatyana Pavlova (URS) | 54.43 |
| 5. | Yelena Filipishina (URS) | 54.56 |

### High Jump

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games High Jump
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Lyudmila Andonova (BUL) | 2.07 |
| 2. | Tamara Bykova (URS) | 2.05 |
| 3. | Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG) | 2.02 |
| 4. | Sara Simeoni (ITA) | 2.00 |
| 4. | Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) | 2.00 |

### Long Jump

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Long Jump
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Heike Drechsler (GDR) | 7.40 |
| 2. | Galina Chistyakova (URS) | 7.29 |
| 3. | Anişoara Cuşmir (ROU) | 7.27 |
| 4. | Helga Radtke (GDR) | 7.21 |
| 5. | Sabine Paetz (GDR) | 7.12 |

### Discus

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Discus Throw
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Zdeňka Šilhavá (TCH) | 74.56 |
| 2. | Irina Meszynski (GDR) | 73.36 |
| 3. | Galina Savinkova (URS) | 73.28 |
| 4. | Gisela Beyer (GDR) | 73.10 |
| 5. | Martina Hellmann (GDR) | 72.32 |

### Shot Put

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Shot Put
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) | 22.53 |
| 2. | Ilona Slupianek (GDR) | 21.85 |
| 3. | Helena Fibingerová (TCH) | 21.60 |
| 4. | Nunu Abashidze (URS) | 21.53 |
| 5. | Ines Müller (GDR) | 21.32 |

### Javelin (old design)

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Javelin Throw
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Petra Felke (GDR) | 74.72 |
| 2. | Tiina Lillak (FIN) | 74.24 |
| 3. | Anna Verouli (GRE) | 72.70 |
| 4. | Antje Zöllkau (GDR) | 72.16 |
| 5. | Fatima Whitbread (GBR) | 71.68 |

### Heptathlon

    Main competition this year: Olympic Games Heptathlon
| RANK | 1984 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
| 1. | Sabine Paetz (GDR) | 6946 |
| 2. | Natalya Shubenkova (URS) | 6859 |
| 3. | Jane Frederick (USA) | 6803 |
| 4. | Ramona Neubert (GDR) | 6789 |
| 5. | Anke Vater (GDR) | 6775 |

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

| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Stephen Jones (GBR) | 2:08:05 WR | October 21 | Chicago, United States |
| 2. | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 2:09:06 | October 21 | Chicago, United States |
| 3. | Robert de Castella (AUS) | 2:09:09 | October 21 | Chicago, United States |
| 4. | Jörg Peter (GDR) | 2:09:14 | July 21 | East Berlin, East Germany |
| 5. | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 2:09:21 | August 12 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 6. | Michael Heilmann (GDR) | 2:09:30 | July 21 | East Berlin, East Germany |
| 7. | Ernest Seleke (RSA) | 2:09:41 | March 31 | Port Elizabeth, South Africa |
| 8. | John Treacy (IRL) | 2:09:56 | August 12 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 9. | Charlie Spedding (GBR) | 2:09:57 | May 13 | London, United Kingdom |
| 10. | Charlie Spedding (GBR) | 2:09:58 | August 12 | Los Angeles, United States |

#### Women

| RANK | ATHLETE | TIME | DATE | VENUE |
| 1. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:24:26 WR | May 13 | London, United Kingdom |
| 2. | Joan Benoit (USA) | 2:24:52 | August 5 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 3. | Rosa Mota (POR) | 2:26:01 | October 21 | Chicago, United States |
| 4. | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 2:26:18 | August 5 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 5. | Katrin Dörre (GDR) | 2:26:52 | July 21 | East Berlin, East Germany |
| 6. | Rosa Mota (POR) | 2:26:57 | August 5 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 7. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:27:34 | August 5 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 8. | Lisa Martin (AUS) | 2:27:40 | October 21 | Chicago, United States |
| 9. | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:27:51 | January 15 | Houston, United States |
| 10. | Lorraine Moller (NZL) | 2:28:34 | August 5 | Los Angeles, United States |

### International Races

| DATE | MARATHON | NATION | MEN'S WINNER | TIME | WOMEN'S WINNER | TIME |
| February 19 | Los Angeles Marathon | United States | Gidamis Shahanga | 2:10:19 | Jacqueline Gareau | 2:31:57 |
| April 14 | Rotterdam Marathon | Netherlands | Gidamis Shahanga | 2:11:12 | Carla Beurskens | 2:34:56 |
| April 16 | Boston Marathon | United States | Geoff Smith | 2:10:34 | Lorraine Moller | 2:29:28 |
| May 12 | Amsterdam Marathon | Netherlands | Gerard Nijboer | 2:14:28 | Eefje van Wissen | 2:43:51 |
| May 12 | Paris Marathon | France | Hussein Ahmed Salah | 2:11:58 | Sylviane Geffray | 2:38:20 |
| May 13 | London Marathon | United Kingdom | Charlie Spedding | 2:09:57 | Ingrid Kristiansen | 2:24:26 |
| August 5 | Olympic Marathon | United States | — | — | Joan Benoit | 2:24:52 |
| August 12 | Olympic Marathon | United States | Carlos Lopes | 2:09:58 | — | — |
| September 30 | Berlin Marathon | West Germany | John Skovbjerg | 2:13:35 | Agnes Jakab | 2:39:32 |
| October 21 | Chicago Marathon | United States | Stephen Jones | 2:08:05 | Rosa Mota | 2:26:01 |
| December 2 | Fukuoka Marathon | Japan | Takeyuki Nakayama | 2:10:00 | — | — |

## Births
### January

* January 9 — Firehiwot Dado, Ethiopian long-distance runner
* January 10 — Solomon Busendich, Kenyan long-distance runner
* January 14 — Teemu Wirkkala, Finnish javelin thrower
* January 16 — Yuki Yamazaki, Japanese race walker
* January 19 — Jarkko Kinnunen, Finnish race walker
* January 20 — Andriy Yurin, Ukrainian race walker

### February

* February 13 — Eric Matthias, British Virgin Islands discus thrower
* February 20 — Zhu Xiaolin, Chinese long-distance runner
* February 22 — Yuki Yamaguchi, Japanese sprinter
* February 25 — Xing Huina, Chinese athlete

### March

* March 24 — Lucy Kabuu, Kenyan long distance runner
* March 24 — Jacopo Marin, Italian sprinter
* March 27 — Roman Valiyev, Kazakhstani triple jumper
* March 31 — Anna Pierce, American middle distance runner

### April

* April 2 — Germán Lauro, Argentine shot putter
* April 17 — Pavel Kryvitski, Belarusian hammer thrower
* April 19 — Martin Marić, Croatian discus thrower
* April 26 — Petrina Price, Australian high jumper
* April 30 — Yevhen Vynohradov, Ukrainian hammer thrower

### May

* May 1 — Louis Tristán, Peruvian long jumper
* May 8 — Andreas Mokdasi, Swedish sprinter
* May 10 — Alana Boyd, Australian pole vaulter

### June

* June 17 — Michael Mathieu, Bahamian sprinter
* June 30 — Gretchen Quintana, Cuban heptathlete

### July

* July 7 — Inna Poluškina, Latvian long-distance runner
* July 8 — Mariem Alaoui Selsouli, Moroccan middle/long-distance runner
* July 9 — Olusoji Fasuba, Nigerian sprinter
* July 22 — He Dan, Chinese race walker
* July 25 — Javier Culson, Puerto Rican hurdler
* July 26 — Kyriakos Ioannou, Cypriot high jumper

### August

* August 4 — Xing Shucai, Chinese race walker

### September

* September 3 — David Fiegen, Luxembourgian middle distance runner
* September 9 — Andrey Silnov, Russian high jumper
* September 10 — Ismail Ahmed Ismail, Sudanese runner
* September 26 — Michael Letterlough, Caymanian hammer thrower

### October

* October 6 — Adina Anton, Romanian long jumper
* October 14 — Svetlana Bolshakova, Russian-born Belgian triple jumper
* October 24 — Christian Reif, German long jumper.
* October 24 — Sultana Frizell, Canadian hammer thrower
* October 28 — Anyika Onuora, British sprinter

### November

* November 10 — Andrej Poljanec, Slovenian pole vaulter
* November 12 — Siraj Gena, Ethiopian long-distance runner

### December

* December 15 — Véronique Mang, Cameroon-born French athlete
* December 26 — Alex Schwazer, Italian race walker
* December 28 — Kimberley Mickle, Australian javelin thrower
* December 31 — Mohamed Faraj Al-Kaabi, Qatari hammer thrower

## Deaths

* January 10 — Toivo Loukola (81), Finnish athlete (b. 1902)
* March 15 — Ken Carpenter (70), American discus thrower (b. 1913)
* June 1 — Sten Pettersson (81), Swedish hurdler (b. 1902)