This article contains an overview of the year 1983 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 ...

Balkan Games The Balkan Athletics Championships or Balkan Games () is a regional athletics competition held between nations from the Balkans and organized by Balkan Athletics. The first games were held in Athens in 1929, and the most recent were being held in ...

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 confede ...

* European Indoor Championships * Mediterranean Games * Pan American Games * South American Championships *

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

* World Cross Country Championships * World Student Games

World records

Men

Women

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 ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 100 metres''

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 ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 200 metres''

400 metres

:''Main race this year: World Championships 400 metres''

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 t ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 800 metres''

1,500 metres

:''Main race this year: World Championships 1,500 metres''

Mile

3,000 metres

5,000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 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 ra ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 10,000 metres''

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 shortcut ...

Marathon

:''Main race this year: World Championships Marathon''

110m Hurdles

:''Main race this year: World Championships 110m Hurdles''

400m Hurdles

:''Main race this year: World Championships 400m Hurdles''

3,000m Steeplechase

:''Main race this year: World Championships 3,000m Steeplechase''

High Jump

:''Main competition this year: World Championships High Jump''

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 ...

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Long Jump''

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 ...

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Triple Jump''

Discus

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Discus Throw''

Hammer

Shot Put

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Shot Put''

Javelin (old design)

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Javelin Throw''

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 ...

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Pole Vault''

Decathlon

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Decathlon''

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 ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 100 metres''

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 ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 200 metres''

400 metres

:''Main race this year: World Championships 400 metres''

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 t ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 800 metres''

1,500 metres

:''Main race this year: World Championships 1,500 metres''

3,000 metres

:''Main race this year: World Championships 3,000 metres''

5,000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

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 ra ...

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 shortcut ...

Marathon

:''Main race this year: World Championships Marathon''

100m Hurdles

:''Main race this year: World Championships 100m Hurdles''

400m Hurdles

:''Main race this year: World Championships 400m Hurdles''

High Jump

:''Main competition this year: World Championships High Jump''

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 ...

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Long Jump''

Discus

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Discus Throw''

Shot Put

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Shot Put''

Javelin (old design)

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Javelin Throw''

Heptathlon

:''Main competition this year: World Championships Heptathlon''

Births

* January 4 — Laura Douglas, Welsh hammer thrower * January 7 —

Marc Burns __NOTOC__ Marc Burns (born 7 January 1983) is an athlete from Trinidad and Tobago specializing in the 100 metres and the 4 x 100 metres relay. Participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics, he was disqualified from his 100 metres heat due to a fals ...

, Trinidad and Tobago athlete * January 7 —

Stéphanie Falzon Stéphanie Falzon (born 7 January 1983 in Bordeaux, France) is a female hammer thrower from France. She competed in major international competitions such as the Olympic Games, the World Championships, and the European Championships. Her persona ...

, French hammer thrower * January 11 — Cui Zhide, Chinese race walker * January 16 — Trevell Quinley, American long jumper * January 26 —

Arturo Casado Arturo Casado Alda (born 26 January 1983 in Madrid) is a Spanish middle distance runner. Achievements Personal bests *800 metres - 1:44.74 - Rieti (ITA) 29.08.2010 *1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fift ...

, Spanish middle distance runner * January 28 — Chiara Rosa, Italian shot putter * February 1 — Alice Timbilili, Kenyan distance runner * February 2 — Athanasia Perra, Greek triple jumper * March 10 — Yelena Bolsun, Russian sprinter * March 14 — Jiang Qiuyan, Chinese race walker * March 21 — Martina Hrašnová, Slovak hammer thrower * March 21 — Jussi Heikkilä, Finnish hurdler * March 22 —

André Pollmächer Frank André Pollmächer (born 22 March 1983 in Riesa) is a German long-distance runner who specializes in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. Biography Pollmächer finished seventh in the 10,000 metres final at the 2006 European Athletics Champions ...

, German long-distance runner * March 23 —

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

, Somali-British distance runner * March 28 —

Jurica Grabušić Jurica Grabušić (born 28 March 1983) is a Croatian athlete who specializes in the 110 metre hurdles. A double Olympic competitor (2004, 2008) in his event, he also participated in bobsleigh at the 2006 Olympic Games. Early ca ...

, Croatian hurdler * April 25 — Nick Willis, New Zealand middle distance runner * May 5 —

Mabel Gay Mabel Gay Tamayo (born 5 May 1983 in Santiago de Cuba) is a Cuban triple jumper. Her personal best jump is 14.67 metres, achieved in September 2011 in Daegu. Personal bests Outdoor *Long jump: 6.28 m – Rio de Janeiro, 17 May 2009 *Trip ...

, Cuban triple jumper * June 4 — Satoshi Osaki, Japanese long-distance runner * July 12 —

Yarelis Barrios Yarelys Barrios Castañeda (also ''Yarelis Barrios Castañeda''; born July 12, 1983, in Pinar del Río) is a discus thrower from Cuba. Career She won the ''Diamond Race'' in the women's discus throw of the IAAF Diamond League both in 2010 an ...

, Cuban discus thrower * July 18 —

Mikk Pahapill Mikk Pahapill (born 18 July 1983) is a retired Estonian decathlete. His personal best score is 8398 points, achieved at the 2011 Hypo-Meeting in Götzis. His coach is Remigija Nazarovienė. He won the 2009 European Indoor Championships in hepta ...

, Estonian decathlete * July 20 —

Ignisious Gaisah Ignisious Gaisah (born July 20, 1983) is a Ghanaian-born athlete competing in the long jump for the Netherlands. Career Gaisah moved to the Netherlands in 2001 and currently lives and trains in Rotterdam. He competes for P.A.C. Rotterdam. In 200 ...

, Ghanaian athlete * August 2 — Zuzana Malíková, Slovak race walker * August 4 — Fábio Gomes da Silva, Brazilian pole vaulter * September 2 — Tatyana Kozlova, Russian race walker * September 11 —

Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning a silver medal at the 5 ...

, Kenyan distance runner * September 14 —

Mestawet Tufa Mestawet Tufa ( Amharic: መስታወት ቱፋ; born 14 September 1983 in Arsi) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She was the winner of the women's 10,000 metres at the 2007 All-Africa Games and the runner up in the senior women's race at th ...

, Ethiopian distance runner * October 2 — Michael Kipyego, Kenyan runner * October 5 —

Hamid Ezzine Hamid Ezzine (born 5 October 1983) is a Moroccan long-distance runner who specialized in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is a younger brother of the Olympic runner Ali Ezzine. He finished twelfth in the 5000 metres at the 2002 World Junior Ch ...

, Moroccan long-distance runner * October 6 —

Leonid Andreev Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (russian: Леони́д Никола́евич Андре́ев, – 12 September 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian litera ...

, Uzbekistani decathlete and pole vaulter * October 8 — Mihkel Kukk, Estonian javelin thrower * October 10 — Dong Jimin, Chinese race walker * October 22 —

Mika Vasara Mika Tapani Vasara (born 22 October 1983 in Pieksämäki, Finland) is a male shot putter from Finland. Vasara won his first medal in the Finnish Championships in 2006 when he won the bronze in the indoors championships and silver in the outdoors. ...

, Finnish shot putter * October 22 — Li Zhuhong, Chinese long-distance runner * November 19 —

Meseret Defar Meseret Defar Tola (Amharic: መሠረት ደፋር; born 19 November 1983) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including O ...

, Ethiopian distance runner * December 2 — Yelena Priyma, Russian hammer thrower * December 6 —

Urszula Piwnicka Urszula Piwnicka, née Jasińska (born 6 December 1983 in Pasłęk) is a javelin thrower from Poland. Her personal best throw is 62.34 metres, achieved in May 2007 in Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of ...

, Polish javelin thrower * December 8 — Aliaksandr Kazulka, Belarusian hammer thrower * December 9 — Diana Pickler, American heptathlete * December 13 — Janeth Jepkosgei, Kenyan middle distance runner * December 22 —

Viola Kibiwot Viola Jelagat Kibiwot (born 22 December 1983 in Keiyo District) is a runner from Kenya who specialises in the 1500 metres. Kibiwot won her first international medal as a junior runner at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where s ...

, Kenyan middle distance runner * December 27 — Tomo Morimoto, Japanese long-distance runner

Deaths

* January 21 — Antonio Siddi (59), Italian athlete (b. 1923) * January 24 — Juan Carlos Zabala (71), Argentine athlete (b. 1911) * February 14 — Lina Radke (79), German athlete (b. 1903) * September 12 — Sabin Carr (79), American pole vaulter (b. 1904)

References

Association of Road Racing Statisticians

{{Years in Athletics 1983 in athletics (track and field), Athletics (track and field) by year