This article contains an overview of the year 1987 in athletics.

International Events

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

* Asian Championships * Central American and Caribbean Championships *

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet courts. Finals Singles Doubles See also * Berlin Open ...

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

* World Championships * World Indoor Championships *

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

World Student Games In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

World records

Men

Carl Lewis (USA) equalled the world record in the men's

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 ...

held by countryman

Calvin Smith Calvin Smith (born January 8, 1961) is a former sprint track and field athlete from the United States. He is a former world record holder in the 100-meter sprint with 9.93 seconds in 1983 and was twice world champion over 200 metres, in 1983 and ...

since 1983-07-03, clocking 9.93 seconds on 1987-08-30 at the World Championships in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

Women

Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) equalled the world record in the women's long jump held by East Germany's Heike Drechsler since 1986-06-21, jumping 7.45 metres on 1987-08-13 at a meet in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

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 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 ...

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

800 metres

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

1,500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics (sport), athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Champi ...

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

:''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 race ...

:''Main race this year: World Championships 10.000 metres''

Half marathon

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 ...

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

110m hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

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

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

3,000m steeplechase

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

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

Long jump

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

Triple jump

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

Discus

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

Javelin (new design)

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

Pole vault

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

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 ...

:''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 ...

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

1,500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics (sport), athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Champi ...

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 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 stand ...

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

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 The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first hurdle is p ...

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

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 1 —

Rytis Sakalauskas Rytis Sakalauskas (born 27 June 1987 in Alytus) is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for Lithuania. In 2010 he broke the world record in the seldom run indoor 150 m running event. On 30 May 2010 at the Lausit ...

, Lithuanian sprinter *January 17 —

Svetlana Radzivil Svetlana Mikhaylovna Radzivil (russian: Светлана Михайловна Радзивил; born 17 January 1987 in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR) is an Uzbekistani high jumper. She is among Asia's top female high jumpers. She won the Asian Games tit ...

, Uzbekistani high jumper *January 27 — Liliya Kulyk, Ukrainian triple jumper *March 5 —

Vitalij Kozlov Vitalij Kozlov (born 5 March 1987) is a Lithuanian runner who specializes in the 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 8 ...

, Lithuanian middle-distance runner *April 17 —

Atsede Baysa Atsede Bayisa Tesema, also known as Atsede ''Bayisa'' (born 16 April 1987), is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. She has won the Chicago Marathon, Boston Marathon and Paris Marathon twice. She has also ...

, Ethiopian long-distance runner *April 24 —

Franklin Nazareno Franklin Andrés Nazareno Macías (born 24 April 1987) is an Ecuadorian sprinter who specializes in the 200 metres. He was born in Portoviejo, Manabí.

, Ecuadorian sprinter *July 14 — Margus Hunt, Estonian discus thrower *July 22 —

Hugo Chila Hugo Dionisio Chila Ayoví (born 22 July 1987 in Santo Domingo de Los Tsáchilas) is an Ecuadorian long jumper and triple jumper. Career He set a personal best and Ecuadorian record of 16.70 m in the triple jump at the 2009 World Champion ...

, Ecuadorian long jumper and triple jumper *August 9 — Marek Niit, Estonian sprinter *September 1 —

Leonel Suárez Leonel Suárez Fajardo (born September 1, 1987) is a decathlete from Cuba. He was bronze medalist in the event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics and silver medalist at the 2009 World Championships. He won a third consecutive ...

, Cuban decathlete *September 13 — Vincent Kipruto, Kenyan long-distance runner *October 3 —

Ancuța Bobocel Ancuța Bobocel (born 3 October 1987, in Drobeta-Turnu Severin) is a Romanian middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She represented Romania at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics and is a three-time participa ...

, Romanian long-distance runner *November 1 — Jimmy Adar, Ugandan middle-distance runner *November 17 —

Nadiya Dusanova Nadiya Dusanova (; born 17 November 1987 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan) is an Uzbekistani high jumper. She competed at the Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's high jump, 2008, Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's high jump, ...

, Uzbekistani high jumper *December 1 —

Tabarie Henry Tabarie Joil Henry (born 1 December 1987, in Saint Thomas) is a United States Virgin Islands sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. His personal best time is 20.71 seconds in the 200 metres and 44.77 in the 400 metres, achieved in April 20 ...

, United States Virgin Islands sprinter *December 21 —

Denis Alekseyev Denis Sergeyevich Alekseyev (russian: Денис Серге́евич Алексеев; born December 21, 1987) is a Russian sprint athlete, born in St. Petersburg. Doping ban Alekseyev tested positive for the anabolic steroid Dehydrochloromet ...

, Russian sprinter

Deaths

*March 17 —

Georg Lammers Georg Lammers (14 April 1905 – 17 March 1987) was a German sprinter who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay, together with Richard Corts, Hubert Houben and Helmut Körnig, and a bronze in the i ...

(81), German athlete (b. 1905) *October 20 —

Jerzy Chromik Jerzy Chromik (15 June 1931 in Mysłowice – 20 October 1987 in Katowice) was a foremost long-distance runner from Poland. Biography Chromik took eight national titles at long distances: 3000 m steeplechase (1952, 1954, 1956, 1960, 1961, 1962 ...

(56), Polish long-distance runner (b. 1931)

References

Year Lists

{{DEFAULTSORT:1987 In Athletics (Track And Field) Athletics (track and field) by year