The

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 ...

competitions at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

were held during the last 10 days of the Games, on 3–12 August. Track and field events took place at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

in east London. The road events, however, started and finished on The Mall in central London. Over 2,000 athletes from 201 nations competed in 47 events in total, with both men and women having a very similar schedule of events. Men competed in 24 events and women in 23, of which 21 were the same for both. The women's schedule lacked the 50 km race walk and included 100 m hurdles and

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 ...

as opposed to the men's 110 m hurdles and

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

. The youngest participant in the athletics competition was Andorran 15-year-old Cristina Llovera while the oldest was 46-year-old Ukrainian Oleksandr Dryhol. South African

Oscar Pistorius Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (; ; born 22 November 1986) is a South African convicted murderer and former professional sprinter. Both of his feet were amputated when he was 11 months old owing to a congenital defect; he was born missing the ...

became the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics.

Competition schedule

The venue for the track and field events was the

while the walks and the marathons started and finished on The Mall. In the tables below, M stands for ''morning'' and A for ''afternoon''.

Medal summary

(WR =

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

, OR =

Olympic Record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

)

Medal table

Note: ''Three competitors tied for silver in the men's high jump event.''

Men

: *Indicates the athlete only competed in the preliminary heats. *

Tyson Gay Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100 m ...

was stripped of his silver medal due to a doping violation. The United States team was disqualified. * On 24 March 2016, the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its ...

has issued decision that all competitive results obtained by

Sergey Kirdyapkin Sergey Alexandrovich Kirdyapkin (russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Кирдя́пкин; born 18 June 1980, in Insar, Mordovia) is a Russian race walker. He was stripped of the 2012 Olympic gold medal in the 50K walk, by de ...

of Russia from 20 August 2009 to 15 October 2012 are disqualified for doping use. Redistribution of the medals in this event occurred on 17 June 2016, with Tallent awarded the gold medal by the IOC at a ceremony in Melbourne, Australia, with Si claiming silver and Heffernan bronze. * Gold medalist

Ivan Ukhov Ivan Sergeyevich Ukhov (russian: Иван Сергеевич Ухов; born 29 March 1986) is a Russian high jumper. He won a gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships and is a two-time European Indoor champion (2009 and 2011). He ...

of Russia was disqualified for doping in 2019. Medals were reallocated in 2021. * Original silver medalist

Oleksandr Pyatnytsya Oleksandr Sergiyovich Pyatnytsya ( uk, Олександр Сергійович П'ятниця; born 14 July 1985 in Dnipropetrovsk) is a male javelin thrower from Ukraine. His personal best is 86.12 metres, achieved in May 2012 in Kiev, whic ...

of Ukraine was stripped of his silver medal and result following a positive finding in a retest of his 2012 anti-doping sample. On 24 February 2017 Antti Ruuskanen received the silver medal in Finland. On 28 June 2017

Vítězslav Veselý Vítězslav Veselý () (born 27 February 1983) is a Czech javelin thrower. He won two bronze medals at the Olympic games, in 2012 and 2020. Career He finished ninth at the 2002 World Junior Championships. He threw a personal best throw of 81.20 ...

received the bronze medal in Czech Republic.

Women

: *Indicates the athlete only competed in the preliminary heats. * On 10 February 2017, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a four-year ban that effectively stripped of the gold medal of

Mariya Savinova Mariya Sergeyevna Savinova (russian: Мария Сергеевна Савинова; born 13 August 1985) is a Russian former athlete who specialized in the 800-metres event. In 2017, she was found guilty of doping and was subsequently suspend ...

of Russia, based upon irregularities in her biological passport and doping.

Caster Semenya Mokgadi Caster Semenya OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women's 800 metres. She first won gold at the World Championships in 2009 ...

of South Africa was advanced to gold,

Ekaterina Poistogova Ekaterina Guliyeva (née Zavyalova, divorced Poistogova; born 1 March 1991) is a Russian-born track and field athlete who specializes in the 800 metres and competes for Turkey. Career In the 800 meters event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Guliyeva ...

of Russia to silver, and Pamela Jelimo of Kenya to bronze. Poistogova herself was later found guilty of doping, but her Olympic results were unaffected, and the IOC decided to upgrade her medal. * On 17 August 2015, the

says it approved a settlement agreed to by Turkish athlete

Aslı Çakır Alptekin Aslı Çakır Alptekin (born 20 August 1985 in Antalya) is a former Turkish female middle-distance runner. A member of the Üsküdar Belediyespor in Istanbul, she is coached by her husband, runner Ihsan Alptekin. She was banned for life for r ...

and the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

. Alptekin has agreed to forfeit her

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

Olympic title and serve an eight-year ban for

blood doping Blood doping is a form of doping in which the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream is boosted in order to enhance athletic performance. Because such blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the muscles, a higher concentration in the blo ...

. On 29 March 2017, Turkish athlete Gamze Bulut was banned for doping and lost her Olympic silver medal.

Maryam Yusuf Jamal Maryam Yusuf Jamal ( ar, مريم يوسف جمال; om, Maryam Yuusuf Jamaal) (born Zenebech Tola) (born 16 September 1984) is an Ethiopian-born Bahraini middle-distance runner. She is the first Bahraini athlete to win an Olympic medal, a gold ...

of Bahrain was advanced to gold, the silver medal was awarded to Tatyana Tomashova of Russia, and the bronze medal was awarded to Abeba Aregawi of Ethiopia. Tomashova was earlier found guilty of doping and missed the 2008 Olympics because of that, and was banned after the Olympics for failing another drug test. * On 30 January 2015, the IOC confirmed that runner

Yuliya Zaripova Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova ( rus, Юлия Михайловна Зарипова, née Ivanova ( rus, Иванова), divorced Zarudneva ( rus, Заруднева); born 26 April 1986 in Svetly Yar, Volgograd Oblast) is a Russian former middl ...

, Russia, will be stripped of her gold medal in the 3,000 metres steeplechase after testing positive for

anabolic steroids Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related and have similar effects t ...

. On 4 June 2016, the gold medal was officially reallocated to second place

Habiba Ghribi Habiba Ghribi () (born 9 April 1984) is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman. She i ...

from

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

by the IOC and IAAF updated the results. * On 1 February 2017, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

stripped the silver medal of the Russian team due to doping of Antonina Krivoshapka Medals were reallocated. * On 24 March 2016, the

has issued decision that all competitive results obtained by Olga Kaniskina from 15 August 2009 to 15 October 2012 are disqualified for doping. Qieyang Shenjie of China was advanced to silver, and Liu Hong of China to bronze. * Bronze medalist

Svetlana Shkolina Svetlana Vladimirovna Shkolina (russian: Светлана Владимировна Школина; born 9 March 1986) is a Russian high jumper. Early career Shkolina was born in Yartsevo. As a teenager she won the silver medals at the 2003 Worl ...

of Russia was disqualified for doping in 2019. The bronze medal was then reallocated to

Ruth Beitia Ruth Beitia Vila (; born 1 April 1979) is a retired high jumper who was the 2016 Olympic champion in the women's high jump. She was also a politician in the Partido Popular and a member of the Parliament of Cantabria. Biography Beitia first ...

of Spain in 2021. * The original winner, Nadzeya Ostapchuk of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, was stripped of her gold medal shortly after the event after failing a doping test. The rest of the competitors were elevated by one position accordingly. On 20 August 2016, Yevgeniya Kolodko of Russia was also stripped of her silver medal after retested samples from the competition returned a positive doping result. Gong Lijiao of China was advanced to silver, and Li Ling of China to bronze. * The original silver medalist, Darya Pishchalnikova of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, was stripped of her silver medal after failing drugs tests. The rest of the competitors were elevated by one position accordingly. * The original gold medalist,

Tatyana Lysenko Tatyana Viktorovna Lysenko (russian: Татьяна Викторовна Лысенко, born 9 October 1983 in Bataysk) is a Russian hammer thrower. Her career has been blighted by repeated doping infractions. In February 2019, the Court of Ar ...

, was stripped of her gold medal after failing drugs tests. Medals were reallocated. * On 29 November 2016, the

has issued decision that all competitive results of original bronze medalist

Tatyana Chernova Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova (russian: Татьяна Серге́евна Чернова; born 29 January 1988 in Krasnodar) is a Russian former heptathlete. She was originally awarded the bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics befor ...

of Russia between 15 August 2011 and 22 July 2013 are annulled due to failed drug tests. The bronze medal was awarded to Austra Skujytė of Lithuania.

Records

World and Olympic records

A total of four

world records in athletics World records in athletics are ratified by World Athletics. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking. Records are kept for all events contested at the Olympic Games and som ...

and eleven Olympic records were broken during the competition. This was fewer than were set at the Beijing Olympics (5 world, 17 Olympic records) but greater than the number set at the 2004 Games in Athens (2 world, 10 Olympic records). China's

Chen Ding Chen Ding (; born August 5, 1992, in Baoshan, Yunnan, China) is a Chinese racewalker who won a gold medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. He finished the race in 1:18:46, a new Olympic record. He also won a gold medal in ...

was the first Olympic record breaker, improving the men's 20 km walk record. All three Olympic walk records were broken in London as

bettered the Olympic 50 km walk time and

Elena Lashmanova Elena Anatolyevna Lashmanova (russian: Елена Анатольевна Лашманова, born 9 April 1992 in Saransk, Mordovia) is a Russian race walker. In March 2022 she accepted a two-year ban, retroactive to March 2021, and all of her re ...

set a new world record in the women's 20 km walk. However, both records from Russian racewalkers were later rescinded due to doping. Usain Bolt was the first track athlete to improve an Olympic record as he defended his 100 m title with a run of 9.63 s. He later joined the Jamaican

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individ ...

team (featuring

Nesta Carter Nesta Carter OD (born October 11, 1985) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres event. Carter was successful as part of the Jamaican 4 x 100 metres relay team, taking gold and setting successive world records at the 20 ...

Michael Frater Michael Frater O.D (born 6 October 1982) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres event. He won a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games for the event. He has als ...

and

Yohan Blake Yohan Blake (born 26 December 1989) is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ever, and a silver m ...

) to set a world record time of 36.84 s. The women's 4 × 100 metres relay event also saw a world record: an American team of

Tianna Madison Tianna Bartoletta née Madison (born August 30, 1985) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the long jump and short sprinting events. She is a two-time Olympian with three gold medals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she placed f ...

Allyson Felix Allyson Michelle Felix (born November 18, 1985) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 mete ...

Bianca Knight Bianca Knight (born January 2, 1989) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 100 and 200 meters. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she won a team event gold medal in the 4x100 metres relay team. In the final, the quartet of ...

and

Carmelita Jeter Carmelita Jeter ( , born November 24, 1979) is a retired American sprinter, who competed in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter held the title as "Fastest woman alive" after running a 100 m personal be ...

ran 40.82 seconds to take half a second off a record which had stood for nearly 27 years. Further women's Olympic records were set by Ethiopia's Tiki Gelana in the

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 ...

and

Sally Pearson Sally Pearson, OAM (née McLellan; born 19 September 1986) is an Australian former athlete. She is the 2011 and 2017 World champion and 2012 Olympic champion in the 100 metres hurdles. She also won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles at t ...

in the

100 metres 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 ...

. David Rudisha improved his own

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 th ...

world record to 1:40.91 minutes, becoming the first man to break that record at the Olympics since

Ralph Doubell Ralph Douglas Doubell AM (born 11 February 1945) is an Australian former athlete, and gold medallist at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Athletic career Doubell was born in Melbourne, was educated at Melbourne High School and graduated from the Univ ...

did so at the 1968 Games.IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009
. IAAF. (pages 546, 548). Retrieved on 13 August 2012.

Renaud Lavillenie Renaud Lavillenie ( or ; born 18 September 1986) is a French pole vaulter. Lavillenie won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London and the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. In addition to his Olympic success, he has won three Wor ...

was the only man to break a field event record, as he cleared an Olympic best of 5.97 m to win the

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 M ...

competition.

Doping

Prior to the Olympic competition, several prominent athletes were ruled out of the competition due to failed tests. World indoor medallists

Dimitrios Chondrokoukis Dimítrios Chondrokoúkis ( el, Δημήτρης Χονδροκούκης, born January 26, 1988) is a Greek- Cypriot high jumper who competes internationally for Cyprus, since 2013. He won the gold medal at the 2012 Word Indoor Championships in ...

Debbie Dunn Debbie Dunn (born 26 March 1978) is an American sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. Originally from Jamaica, she attended Fairmont Heights High School in Maryland, then Norfolk State University, and became an American citizen in 2004 ...

, and

Mariem Alaoui Selsouli Mariem Alaoui Selsouli ( ar, مريم علوي سلسولي, born July 8, 1984) is a Moroccan middle- and long-distance runner. She was born in Marrakech. At the 2009 World Athletics Final in Berlin, Selsouli withdrew from the 1500m final aft ...

were withdrawn from their Olympic teams in July for doping, as was 2004 Olympic medallist

Zoltán Kővágó Zoltán Kővágó (born 10 April 1979 in Szolnok) is a Hungarian discus thrower. At the 2004 Olympic Games he initially won the bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bro ...

. At the Olympic competition,

Tameka Williams Tameka Williams is a sprinter from St Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both lo ...

admitted to taking a banned stimulant and was removed from the games.

Ivan Tsikhan Ivan Ryhoravich Tsikhan (born 24 July 1976) is a Belarusian hammer thrower. He is a two-time world champion and an Olympic medalist. Personal life Tsikhan was born in the village of Hloŭsievičy, Slonim district, Grodno Region, Belarusian SS ...

did not compete in the hammer throw as a re-test of his sample from the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, where he won silver, was positive.

Hassan Hirt Hassan Hirt is a French long-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 ...

Amine Laâlou Amine Laâlou (born 13 May 1982) is a Moroccan track and field athlete, who specializes in middle-distance running. He has represented his country at the Summer Olympics on two occasions; in 2004 and 2008. He began his career as an 800 metres spec ...

Marina Marghieva A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

, Diego Palomeque, and defending 50 km walk champion

Alex Schwazer Alex Schwazer, OMRI (born 26 December 1984), is an Italian race walker. He was the 2008 Olympic 50k walk champion. He retired during the 2012 Olympics after being disqualified for doping offences. Biography Schwazer was born in Sterzing, Sou ...

were also suspended before taking part in their events. Syrian hurdler

Ghfran Almouhamad Ghofrane Mohammad ( ar, غفران محمد; born 6 June 1989) is a Syrian Hurdling, hurdler from Aleppo. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metres hurdles, Women's 400 metres hu ...

became the first track-and-field athlete to be suspended following a positive in-competition doping sample.

Nadzeya Astapchuk Nadzeya Astapchuk ( be, Надзея Мікалаеўна Астапчук, ''Nadzeya Mikalayeuna Astapchuk''; russian: Надежда Остапчук, ''Nadezhda Ostapchuk;'' born October 28, 1980) is a Belarusian shot putter. She briefly was d ...

was stripped of the women's shot put title after her sample came back positive for the banned anabolic agent

metenolone Metenolone, or methenolone, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) which is used in the form of esters such as metenolone acetate (brand name Primobolan, Nibal) and metenolone enanthate (brand name Primobolan Depot, Nibal Injection). Metenol ...

Karin Melis Mey Karin Melis Mey, née Karin Mey, (born 31 May 1983) is a South African-born Turkish female long jumper. She became a naturalised Turkish citizen in June 2008, and took the name Melis in addition to her birth name Karin Mey. The tall athlete ...

was withdrawn before the long jump final when an earlier failed doping test was confirmed.Two Olympians banned over doping
Sky News Australia (19 December 2012) Retrieved on 3 March 2012 Multiple medalists were found guilty of doping after the Olympics. Russia has the most (9) medals stripped.

References

External links

* * * *
IAAF Olympics webpage

BBC Sport Olympic athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2012 Summer Olympics events

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...