This article contains an overview of the year 1987 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

* All-Africa Games *

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 confede ...

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

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 Indoor Championships * World Cross Country Championships * World Student Games

World records

Men

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...

(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 since 1983-07-03, clocking 9.93 seconds on 1987-08-30 at the

in Rome, Italy.

Women

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

(USA) equalled the world record in the women's

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 ...

held by East Germany's

Heike Drechsler Heike Gabriela Drechsler (; ; born 16 December 1964) is a German former track and field athlete who represented East Germany and later Germany. One of the most successful long jumpers of all-time, she is a former world record holder and ranks ...

since 1986-06-21, jumping 7.45 metres on 1987-08-13 at a meet in Indianapolis.

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''

Shot put

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

Hammer

Javelin (new 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 ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

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

100m hurdles

400m hurdles

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 ...

Shot put

Javelin (old design)

Heptathlon

Births

*January 1 — Rytis Sakalauskas, Lithuanian sprinter *January 17 — Svetlana Radzivil, Uzbekistani high jumper *January 27 — Liliya Kulyk, Ukrainian triple jumper *March 5 — Vitalij Kozlov, Lithuanian middle-distance runner *April 17 — Atsede Baysa, Ethiopian long-distance runner *April 24 — Franklin Nazareno, Ecuadorian sprinter *July 14 —

Margus Hunt Margus Hunt (born July 14, 1987) is an Estonian professional American football defensive end who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at SMU. He also ...

, Estonian discus thrower *July 22 — Hugo Chila, Ecuadorian long jumper and triple jumper *August 9 —

Marek Niit Marek Niit (born 9 August 1987, in Kuressaare) is a sprinter from Estonia who won gold medal at the 200 metres at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China. He is also the current national record holder in 100 metre ...

, Estonian sprinter *September 1 — Leonel Suárez, Cuban decathlete *September 13 —

Vincent Kipruto Vincent Kipruto Limo (born 13 September 1987) is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He made his debut in the event in 2008 and won the Paris Marathon a year later. He then placed top three at the Chicago Marathon a ...

, Kenyan long-distance runner *October 3 — Ancuța Bobocel, Romanian long-distance runner *November 1 — Jimmy Adar, Ugandan middle-distance runner *November 17 — Nadiya Dusanova, Uzbekistani high jumper *December 1 — Tabarie Henry, 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 (81), German athlete (b. 1905) *October 20 — Jerzy Chromik (56), Polish long-distance runner (b. 1931)

References

Year Lists

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