The United States has competed at every edition of the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

since its inception in 1983. It has been the most successful nation at the global competition for

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. By the end of the 2023 World Championships, its athletes had won a total of 443 medals, 195 of them gold – more than double that of the next most successful nation

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, as well as more than the combined total of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

. It has been the top nation in the championships medal table at every edition bar 1983 and 1987 (

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

), 2001 (

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

) and 2015 (Kenya). It also ranks number one on points in the national placing tables. As one of the foremost nations in the sport internationally, its delegations for the championships are among the largest. It also won the first title of "World Team Champions" inaugurated for the Oregon 2022. The most decorated athlete of the competition's history is American:

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 meter ...

has won 20 World Championships medals, eleven of them gold, competing across the individual and relay sprint events. Among men, the United States has three of the four most decorated men (after

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

), all of them sprinters;

LaShawn Merritt LaShawn Merritt (born June 27, 1986) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He is a former Summer Olympics, Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 ...

has eleven medals,

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. Lewis was a dominant sprinter and lo ...

won ten and Michael Johnson won eight. All three won eight gold medals. Johnson is the nation's most successful athlete individually (and the third most successful overall), having won six gold medals in the

200-meter dash 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 slight ...

and

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

. American

Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers ( ; born November 19, 1966) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the greatest and most decorated female sprinters of all time, she was ...

is the second most successful woman individually, with four golds and two silver medals from the

100-meter dash 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 contested at ...

and 100-meter hurdles. Felix and

Amy Acuff Amelia Lyn "Amy" Acuff (born July 14, 1975) is a track and field athlete from the United States. A high jump specialist, she competed in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games as a member of USA Track and Field. Her best Olympic perform ...

have made the most appearances for the United States, each having represented their country at eight separate editions. The United States team was affected by doping during the period from 1997 to 2003, principally in sprinting events. The loss of several gold medals in 2001 resulted in the United States dropping to second in the medal rankings for the first time since 1987.

Medal table

Multiple medalists

Best placings

Of the 50 events that have been held over the history of the championships, 30 have been won by American athletes (17 men's events and 13 women's events). A further 4 men's and 5 women's events have featured an American medallist at some point. Americans have topped the podium in all sprint and hurdles events, as well as all the men's jumps. By far the weakest events of the United States are men's and women's

racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

and women's

throws Throwing is a physical action that consists of mechanically accelerating a projectile and then releasing it into a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a distant target. ''Throwing'' typically refers to hand-throwing by ani ...

– only four bronze medals have been won by American athletes in these disciplines, among a total of over 350 medals across events. Americans have featured in the final at some point of every discipline contested at the championships. This table shows the best place finish by an American athlete by event. Where the best position has been achieved multiple times, the first instance is shown.

Doping

References

IAAF Statistics Book – IAAF World Championships London 2017USA at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics
{{United States at the World Championships in Athletics

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...