This article contains an overview of the year 1981 in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

International events

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...

Central American and Caribbean Championships The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships is an international track and field athletics event organised by the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC). Only athletes representing a member nation of the confeder ...

* European Indoor Championships * South American Championships *

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

* World Cross Country Championships

Men's Best Year Performers

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

1,500 metres

Mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

3,000 metres

5,000 metres

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

110m Hurdles

400m Hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic athletics (sport), athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a s ...

3,000m Steeplechase

High Jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

Long Jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

Triple Jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

Discus

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

Shot Put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

Pole Vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

Javelin (old design)

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

Women's Best Year Performers

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

1,500 metres

Mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

3,000 metres

5,000 metres

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

100m Hurdles

400m Hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic athletics (sport), athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a s ...

High Jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

Long Jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

Discus

Shot Put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

Javelin (old design)

Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

Births

January

*January 8 – Mesías Zapata, Ecuadorian race walker *January 14 –

Hyleas Fountain Hyleas Fountain (born January 14, 1981) is an American heptathlete. She was the silver medalist in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Career Early years Fountain was born in Columbus, Georgia, and was a member of the 1992 Harrisburg Parks ...

, American heptathlete *January 18 –

Naoyuki Daigo is a retired male high jumper from Japan. His personal best jump is 2.33 metres, achieved in July 2006 in Kobe. This was the Japanese record until February 2019, when Naoto Tobe broke it by two centimetres. He is part of the Matsuzaka Generati ...

, Japanese high jumper *January 24 – Jong Yong-Ok, North Korean long-distance runner *January 27 –

Fabrizio Schembri Fabrizio Schembri (born 27 January 1981) is an Italian athlete competing in the triple jump and occasionally in the long jump. Biography Fabrizio Schembri won four medals, at senior level, at the International athletics competitions. He began hi ...

, Italian triple jumper *January 29 – Rose Richmond, American long jumper

February

*February 12 – Amarilys Alméstica, Puerto Rican hammer thrower *February 13 – Rosibel García, Colombian middle-distance runner *February 15 –

Rita Jeptoo Rita Jeptoo (born 15 February 1981) is a Kenyan marathon runner. Originally a winner of the Boston Marathon three times, including setting the then course record at 2:18:57 in 2014, she had also won marathons in Chicago, Stockholm, and Milan ...

, Kenyan marathon runner *February 16 – Jessé de Lima, Brazilian high jumper *February 17 – Shi Na, Chinese race walker *February 19 – Shellene Williams, Jamaican sprinter *February 25 – Marek Plawgo, Polish athlete

March

*March 11 – Yelena Konevtseva, Russian hammer thrower *March 13 – Stefan Wenk, German javelin thrower *March 22 –

Aliaksandr Parkhomenka Aliaksandr Parkhomenka ( be, Аляксандар Пархоменка; born 22 March 1981) is a Belarusian decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, i ...

, Belarusian decathlete *March 28 –

Yuniel Hernández Yuniel Hernández Solar (born 28 March 1981) is a Cuban hurdler. His personal best time is 13.26 seconds, achieved in July 2001 in Salamanca when he was still only 20 years old. The result places him sixth (joint with Erik Batte) among Cuban ...

, Cuban hurdler

April

*April 13 –

Moushaumi Robinson Moushaumi Robinson (born April 13, 1981, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American track and field athlete. She represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆνα ...

, American sprinter *April 19 –

Kazuhiro Maeda Kazuhiro Maeda ( ja, 前田和浩; born 19 April 1981) is a Japanese long-distance runner. Born in Shiroishi, Saga, Maeda made his international debut at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where he ran in the heats of the 5000 me ...

, Japanese long-distance runner

May

*May 6 – Rui Pedro Silva, Portuguese distance runner *May 15 –

Merja Korpela Merja Tuulikki Korpela (born 15 May 1981 in Soini) is a female hammer thrower from Finland. Her personal best throw is 69.56 metres, achieved in July 2009 in Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, n ...

, Finnish hammer thrower *May 20 –

Jana Tucholke Jana Tucholke (born May 20, 1981, in Leipzig) is a retired female discus thrower from Germany. She set her personal best (62.31 metres) on May 12, 2007, at a meet in Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the Germ ...

, German discus thrower *May 21 –

Anna Rogowska Anna Rogowska (born 21 May 1981) is a retired Polish athlete who specialised in the pole vault. She became the World Champion in 2009 in Berlin. Career Born in Gdynia, she won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, narrowly beating Monika Pyrek ...

, Polish pole vaulter *May 28 – Kamil Kalka, Polish race walker *May 31 – Eileen O'Keefe, Irish hammer thrower

July

*July 9 –

Rutger Smith Rutger Smith (born 9 July 1981 in Groningen) is a retired Dutch track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw. He is the first athlete to win medals at the World Championships in both events. He represented the Netherlands ...

, Dutch discus thrower and shot putter *July 13 –

Ineta Radēviča Ineta Radēviča (born 13 July 1981 in Krāslava, Soviet Union) is a retired Latvian athlete, competing in the long jump and triple jump. Radēviča won the bronze medal in the 2003 European U-23 championship. She has also won two NCAA champio ...

, Latvian long and triple jumper *July 24 –

Carys Parry Carys Parry (born 24 July 1981) is a Welsh hammer thrower. Parry was born in Church Village, Rhondda Cynon Taf. She finished sixth at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne with a personal best throw of 61.80 metres. Her current personal be ...

, Welsh hammer thrower *July 30 – Daria Onyśko, Polish sprinter

August

*August 15 –

Yoshiko Fujinaga is a female long-distance runner from Japan, who won the 2009 edition of the annual Nagoya Marathon on March 1, 2009, clocking a total time of 2:28:13. She is a one-time national champion in the women's 5,000 metres. Achievements References ...

, Japanese long-distance runner *August 30 – Aleksandr Vashchyla, Belarusian hammer thrower

September

*September 6 –

Brandon Simpson Brandon Simpson (born 6 September 1981 in Florida, U.S.) is a sprinter who represents Bahrain, having previously represented Jamaica. He has won a bronze medal in 4 x 400 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is ...

, Jamaican athlete *September 7 –

Eyerusalem Kuma Eyerusalem Kuma (born 7 September 1981 in Addis Ababa) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who competes in marathons. She has a personal best of 2:24:55 hours for the distance and was the 2009 winner of the Amsterdam Marathon. Early in her care ...

, Ethiopian distance runner *September 12 –

Greg Nixon Greg Nixon (born September 12, 1981) is an American sprinter who specialises in the 400 meters. His success has come mostly in the 400m and 4×400-meter relay, he is a 3x World Champion and a 2x USA Champion. His first major medal cam ...

, American sprinter *September 15 –

Tomas Intas Tomas Intas (born 15 September 1981, in Klaipėda) is a Lithuanian javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a prede ...

, Lithuanian javelin thrower

October

*October 3 – Anna Omarova, Russian shot putter *October 18 – Ji Young-Jun, South Korean long-distance runner

November

*November 8 –

Jéssica Augusto Jéssica de Barros Augusto, (born 8 November 1981) is a Portuguese runner who competes in cross country running, cross country, road running and in middle distance running, middle-distance and long-distance track events. At club level, she rep ...

, Portuguese long-distance runner *November 18 – Kimberly Barrett, Jamaica-Puerto Rican shot putter *November 21 –

Werknesh Kidane Werknesh Kidane (; born November 21, 1981), is an Ethiopian long distance runner from Tigray who competes in both 5000 and 10,000 metres. She has won numerous medals at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and represented Ethiopia at the S ...

, Ethiopian long-distance runner

December

*December 8 – Gabriel Ortiz, Mexican race walker *December 22 – Marina Kuptsova, Russian high jumper

Deaths

*April 25 – Paul Bontemps (76), French long-distance runner (b. 1902) *August 2 –

Delfo Cabrera Delfo Cabrera Gómez (April 2, 1919 – August 2, 1981) was an Argentine athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in one of the most dramatic finishes in athletics history. Biography Born in Armstrong, Santa Fe Pr ...

(62), Argentine long-distance runner (b. 1919)

References

Year Lists

{{DEFAULTSORT:1981 In Athletics (Track And Field) In Athletics (Track And Field), 1981 Athletics (track and field) by year