# 1998 in the sport of athletics

This page shows the main events during the 1998 year in the sport of athletics throughout the world.

## Major events
### World

* Commonwealth Games
* Goodwill Games
* Grand Prix Final
* IAAF World Combined Events Challenge
* World Cross Country Championships
* World Cup
* World Half Marathon Championships
* World Junior Championships

### Regional

* African Championships
* Asian Championships
* Asian Games
* Balkan Games
* CARIFTA Games
* Central American and Caribbean Games
* Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships
* European Championships
* European Cross Country Championships
* European Indoor Championships
* Ibero-American Championships
* South American Junior Championships
* South American Youth Championships

## World records
### Men

| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Place | Date |
| 1500 m | Hicham El Guerrouj | Morocco | 3:26.00 | Rome, Italy | 14 July |
| 5,000 m | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | 12:39.36 | Helsinki, Finland | 13 June |
| 10,000 m | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | 26:22.75 | Hengelo, Netherlands | 1 June |
| Half marathon | Paul Tergat | Kenya | 59.17 | Milan, Italy | 4 April |

### Women

| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Place | Date |
| One hour run | Tegla Loroupe | Kenya | 18,340m | Borgholzhausen, Germany | 7 August |
| Pole vault | Emma George | Australia | 4.57 m | North Shore, NZL | 21 February |
| Pole vault | Emma George | Australia | 4.58 m | Melbourne, Australia | 14 March |
| Pole vault | Emma George | Australia | 4.59 m | Brisbane, Australia | 21 March |
| Hammer throw | Mihaela Melinte | Romania | 73.14 m | Poiana Brasov, Romania | 16 July |

## Awards
### Men

| 1998 TRACK & FIELD AWARDS | ATHLETE |
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) |
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) |
| European Athlete of the Year Award | Jonathan Edwards (GBR) |
| Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award | Wilson Kipketer (DEN) |

### Women

| 1998 TRACK & FIELD AWARDS | ATHLETE |
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | Marion Jones (USA) |
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | Marion Jones (USA) |
| European Athlete of the Year Award | Christine Arron (FRA) |
| Best Female Track Athlete ESPY Award | Marion Jones (USA) |

## Men's Best Year Performances
### 400m Hurdles

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Bryan Bronson (USA) | 47.03 |
| 2. | Angelo Taylor (USA) | 47.90 |
| 3. | Joey Woody (USA) | 47.97 |
| 4. | Stéphane Diagana (FRA) | 48.04 |
| 5. | Ken Harnden (ZIM) | 48.05 |

### 3,000m Steeplechase

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Bernard Barmasai (KEN) | 8:00.67 |
| 2. | Wilson Boit Kipketer (KEN) | 8:01.05 |
| 3. | Moses Kiptanui (KEN) | 8:04.96 |
| 4. | Paul Kosgei (KEN) | 8:07.86 |
| 5. | Patrick Sang (KEN) | 8:08.01 |

### Pole Vault

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Jeff Hartwig (USA) | 6.01 m |
| 2. | Dmitriy Markov (BLR) | 6.00 m |
| 3. | Jean Galfione (FRA) | 5.97 m |
| 4. | Maksim Tarasov (RUS) | 5.95 m |
| 5. | Danny Ecker (GER) | 5.93 m |

### Decathlon
## Women's Best Year Performances
### 60 metres

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marion Jones (USA) | 6.95 |
| 2. | Gail Devers (USA) | 7.00 |
| 3. | Chioma Ajunwa (NGR) | 7.02 |
| 4. | Frédérique Bangué (FRA) | 7.11 |
| 5. | Melanie Paschke (GER) | 7.14 |

### 100 metres

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marion Jones (USA) | 10.65 |
| 2. | Christine Arron (FRA) | 10.73 |
| 3. | Irina Privalova (RUS) | 10.83 |
| 4. | Ekateríni Thánou (GRE) | 10.87 |
| 5. | Chryste Gaines (USA) | 10.89 |

### 200 metres

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marion Jones (USA) | 21.62 |
| 2. | Inger Miller (USA) | 22.20 |
| 3. | Falilat Ogunkoya (NGR) | 22.22 |
| 4. | Beverly McDonald (JAM) | 22.24 |
| 5. | Zhanna Block (UKR) | 22.35 |

### Half Marathon

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Elana Meyer (RSA) | 1:07:29 |

### 60m Hurdles

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Michelle Freeman (JAM) | 7.74 |
| 2. | Melissa Morrison (USA) | 7.83 |
| 3. | Patricia Girard (FRA) | 7.85 |

### 100m Hurdles

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Glory Alozie (NGR) | 12.44 |
| 2. | Michelle Freeman (JAM) | 12.52 |
| 3. | Melissa Morrison (USA) | 12.53 |
| 4. | Svetla Dimitrova (BUL) | 12.56 |
| 5. | Angie Vaughn (USA) | 12.63 |
| 5. | Olga Shishigina (KAZ) | 12.63 |

### 400m Hurdles

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Kim Batten (USA) | 52.74 |
| 2. | Nezha Bidouane (MAR) | 52.96 |
| 3. | Deon Hemmings (JAM) | 53.03 |
| 4. | Ionela Târlea (ROM) | 53.37 |
| 5. | Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova (UKR) | 53.40 |

### 3,000m Steeplechase

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Daniela Petrescu (ROM) | 9:55.28 |
| 2. | Svetlana Rogova (RUS) | 9:57.62 |
| 3. | Luminita Gogârlea (ROM) | 10:00.50 |
| 4. | Lesley Lehane (USA) | 10:08.29 |
| 5. | Alina Cucerzan (ROM) | 10:08.70 |

### High Jump

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Venelina Veneva (BUL) | 2.03 m |
| 2. | Monica Iagăr (ROM) | 2.02 m |
| 3. | Yelena Gulyayeva (RUS) | 2.01 m |
| 4. | Khristina Kalcheva (BUL) | 1.99 m |
| 5. | Zuzana Hlavonová (CZE) | 1.98 m |
| 5. | Tisha Waller (USA) | 1.98 m |

### Shot Put

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Viktoriya Pavlysh (UKR) | 21.69 m |
| 2. | Irina Korzhanenko (RUS) | 20.82 m |
| 3. | Corrie de Bruin (NED) | 18.87 m |
| 4. | Daniela Curovic (FR Yugoslavia) | 18.86 m |

### Pole Vault

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Emma George (AUS) | 4.59 m |
| 2. | Daniela Bártová (CZE) | 4.51 m |
| 3. | Stacy Dragila (USA) | 4.42 m |
| 4. | Anzhela Balakhonova (UKR) | 4.40 m |
| 5. | Yelena Belyakova (RUS) | 4.38 m |

### Heptathlon

| RANK | 1998 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
| 1. | Denise Lewis (GBR) | 6559 |
| 2. | Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) | 6502 |
| 3. | DeDee Nathan (USA) | 6479 |
| 4. | Irina Belova (RUS) | 6466 |
| 5. | Kelly LaBounty (USA) | 6465 |

## Marathon
### Men's Best Year Performances

| RANK | NAME ATHLETE | TIME | EVENT |
| 1. | Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) | 2:06:05 WR | Berlin Marathon |
| 2. | Ondoro Osoro (KEN) | 2:06:53 | Chicago Marathon |
| 3. | Khalid Khannouchi (MAR) | 2:07:19 | Chicago Marathon |
| 4. | Fabián Roncero (ESP) | 2:07:26 | Rotterdam Marathon |
| 5. | Josephat Kiprono (KEN) | 2:07:27 | Berlin Marathon |
| 6. | Moses Tanui (KEN) | 2:07:34 | Boston Marathon |
| 7. | Joseph Chebet (KEN) | 2:07:37 | Boston Marathon |
| 8. | Lee Bong-Ju (KOR) | 2:07:44 | Rotterdam Marathon |
| 9. | Gert Thys (RSA) | 2:07:45 | Chicago Marathon |
| 9. | Gert Thys (RSA) | 2:07:52 | Boston Marathon |

### Women's Best Year Performances

| RANK | NAME ATHLETE | TIME | EVENT |
| 1. | Tegla Loroupe (KEN) | 2:20:47 | Rotterdam Marathon |
| 2. | Naoko Takahashi (JPN) | 2:21:47 | Bangkok Marathon |
| 3. | Catherina McKiernan (IRL) | 2:22:23 | Amsterdam Marathon |
| 4. | Fatuma Roba (ETH) | 2:23:21 | Boston Marathon |
| 5. | Joyce Chepchumba (KEN) | 2:23:57 | Chicago Marathon |
| 6. | Franca Fiacconi (ITA) | 2:25:17 | New York Marathon |
| 7. | Katrin Dörre (GER) | 2:25:21 | Hamburg Marathon |
| 8. | Marleen Renders (BEL) | 2:25:22 | Berlin Marathon |
| 9. | Sun Yingjie (CHN) | 2:25:45 | Tianjin Marathon |
| 10. | Naoko Takahashi (JPN) | 2:25:48 | Nagoya Marathon |

## Deaths

* April 6 — Ed Ablowich (84), American sprinter (b. 1913)
* August 17 — Władysław Komar (58), Polish shot putter (b. 1940)
* September 16 — John Systad (86), Norwegian long-distance runner (b. 1912)
* December 2 — Mikio Oda (93), Japanese athlete (b. 1905)