# 2006 in the sport of athletics

The following events in the sport of athletics took place in 2006:

## Championships

* March: 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series)
* March: 2006 Commonwealth Games
* April: 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series)
* May: 2006 IAAF World Race Walking Cup (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series)
* July: 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games
* August: 2006 European Championships in Athletics
* August: 2006 African Championships in Athletics
* August: 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series)
* September: 2006 IAAF World Athletics Final (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series)
* September: 2006 IAAF World Cup (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series)
* October: 2006 Lusophony Games
* October: 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series)

### World Athletics Tour

The World Athletics Tour is a tournament where athletes accumulate points from placing in designated meets throughout the season. The top-ranking athletes in each event are then allowed entry in the IAAF World Athletics Final.
In 2006 the World Athletics Tour consisted of six IAAF Golden League meets (Oslo, Paris, Rome, Zürich, Brussels, Berlin), six Super Grand Prix meets (Doha, Athens, Lausanne, Stockholm, London (Crystal Palace), Monaco), twelve Grand Prix meets (Melbourne, Dakar, Osaka, Belém, Eugene, Hengelo, Ostrava, Gateshead, Madrid, Helsinki, Rieti, Zagreb) as well as 26 Area Permit Meetings all over the world. The World Athletics Final was held in Stuttgart, having been staged in Monaco the three previous years.

### Challenges

In certain events that are not included in the World Athletics Final, currently race walking and combined events (formerly also cross-country running), distinct tournaments, named challenges, are being held. Similarly to the World Athletics Tour, the participating athletes accumulate points in designated meets, however in this case the final ranking is decided by the points table and not a conclusive meet.
See IAAF World Race Walking Challenge and IAAF World Combined Events Challenge for the 2006 results.

## World records
### Senior
#### Outdoor

| Event | Event | Record | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Place |
| 100 m | Men | 9.77 s | Asafa Powell | Jamaica | June 11, 2006 | Gateshead, United Kingdom |
| 100 m | Men | 9.77 s | Asafa Powell | Jamaica | August 18, 2006 | Zürich, Switzerland |
| 100 m | Men | 9.77 | Justin Gatlin | USA | May 12, 2006 | Doha, Qatar |
| 5000 m | Women | 14:24.53 | Meseret Defar | Ethiopia | June 3, 2006 | New York City, USA |
| 15 km (road) | Women | 46:55+ | Kayoko Fukushi | Japan | February 5, 2006 | Marugame, Japan |
| 20 km (road) | Men | 55:48+ | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | January 15, 2006 | Phoenix, United States |
| 20 km (road) | Women | 1:03:21 | Lornah Kiplagat | Netherlands | October 8, 2006 | Debrecen, Hungary |
| Half marathon | Men | 58:55 | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | January 15, 2006 | Phoenix, United States |
| 110 m hurdles | Men | 12.88 s | Liu Xiang | China | July 11, 2006 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 50 km walk (road) | Men | 3:35:47 | Nathan Deakes | Australia | December 6, 2006 | Geelong, Australia |
| 4x800 m relay | Men | 7:02.43 | Joseph Mutua, William Yiampoy, Ismael Kombich, Wilfred Bungei | Kenya | August 25, 2006 | Brussels, Belgium |
| Hammer throw | Women | 77.26 | Gulfiya Khanafeyeva | Russia | June 12, 2006 | Tula, Russia |
| Hammer throw | Women | 77.41 | Tatyana Lysenko | Russia | June 24, 2006 | Zhukovsky, Russia |
| Hammer throw | Women | 77.80 | Tatyana Lysenko | Russia | August 15, 2006 | Tallinn, Estonia |
| NOT RATIFIED: |||||||
| 10 km (road) | Men | 26:54 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya | December 31, 2006 | Madrid, Spain |
| 10 km (road) | Men | 26:54 | Zersenay Tadese | Eritrea | December 31, 2006 | Madrid, Spain |
| 25 km (road) | Men | 1:11:37 | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | March 12, 2006 | Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands |
| 25 km (road) | Women | 1:21:31+ | Constantina Tomescu | Romania | October 22, 2006 | Chicago, United States |
| 30 km (road) | Women | 1:38:30+ | Constantina Tomescu | Romania | October 22, 2006 | Chicago, United States |

#### Indoor

| Event | Event | Record | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Place |
| 1500 m | Women | 3:58.28 | Yelena Soboleva | Russia | February 18, 2006 | Moscow, Russia |
| 3000 m | Women | 8:27.86 | Liliya Shobukhova | Russia | February 17, 2006 | Moscow, Russia |
| High jump | Women | 2.08 m | Kajsa Bergqvist | Sweden | February 4, 2006 | Arnstadt, Germany |
| Pole vault | Women | 4.91 m | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | February 12, 2006 | Donetsk, Ukraine |
| 4x400 m relay | Women | 3:23.37 | Yuliya Gushchina, Olga Kotlyarova, Olga Zaytseva, Olesya Krasnomovets | Russia | January 28, 2006 | Glasgow, United Kingdom |
| NOT RATIFIED: |||||||
| 4x400 m relay | Men | 3:01.96 | Kerron Clement, Wallace Spearmon, Darold Williamson, Jeremy Wariner | United States | February 11, 2006 | Fayetteville, United States |