title: 1982 in the sport of athletics
text: # 1982 in the sport of athletics
  
  This article contains an overview of the year 1982 in athletics.
  
  ## International Events
  
  * African Championships
  * Asian Games
  * Central American and Caribbean Championships
  * Commonwealth Games
  * European Championships
  * European Indoor Championships
  * World Cross Country Championships
  
  ## World records
  
  ### Men
  
  | EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 5000m | David Moorcroft (GBR) | 13:00:41 | July 7 | Oslo, Norway |
  | Half Marathon | Michael Musyoki (KEN) | 1:01:36 | September 19 | Philadelphia, United States |
  | Hammer | Sergey Litvinov (URS) | 83.98m | June 4 | Moscow, Soviet Union |
  | Decathlon | Daley Thompson (GBR) | 8730 | May 23 | Götzis, Austria |
  | Decathlon | Jürgen Hingsen (FRG) | 8741 | August 15 | Athens, Greece |
  | Decathlon | Daley Thompson (GBR) | 8774 | September 8 | Athens, Greece |
  
  ### Women
  
  | EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 400 metres | Marita Koch (GDR) | 48.16 | September 8 | Athens, Greece |
  | Mile | Mary Slaney (USA) | 4:18.08 | July 9 | Paris, France |
  | Mile | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 4:17.44 | September 16 | Rieti, Italy |
  | 3,000 metres | Svetlana Ulmasova (URS) | 8:26.78 | July 25 | Kiev, Soviet Union |
  | 5,000 metres | Anne Audain (NZL) | 15:13.22 | March 17 | Auckland, New Zealand |
  | 5,000 metres | Mary Slaney (USA) | 15:08.26 | June 5 | Eugene, Oregon, United States |
  | 10,000 metres | Mary Slaney (USA) | 31:35.3 | July 16 | Eugene, Oregon, United States |
  | 4 × 400 m Relay | East Germany (GDR) • Kirsten Emmelmann • Sabine Busch • Dagmar Neubauer • Marita Koch | 3:19.04 | September 11 | Athens, Greece |
  | Half Marathon | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 1:09:57 | May 15 | Gothenburg, Sweden |
  | High Jump | Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG) | 2.02 | September 8 | Athens, Greece |
  | Long Jump | Anisoara Cusmir (ROM) | 7.15 | August 1 | Bucharest, Romania |
  | Long Jump | Valeria Ionescu (ROM) | 7.20 | August 1 | Bucharest, Romania |
  | Javelin Throw | Tiina Lillak (FIN) | 72.40 | July 29 | Helsinki, Finland |
  | Javelin Throw | Sofia Sakorafa (GRE) | 74.20 | September 26 | Khania, Greece |
  | Heptathlon | Ramona Neubert (GDR) | 6845 | June 20 | Halle, East Germany |
  
  * Marlies Göhr (GDR) equals her own world record in the women's 100 metres, clocking 10.88 seconds on 1982-07-06 at a meet in Karl-Marx-Stadt.
  
  ## Men's Best Year Performers
  
  ### 100 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 10.00 |
  | 2. | Stanley Floyd (USA) | 10.03 |
  | 3. | Calvin Smith (USA) | 10.05 |
  | 4. | Willie Gault (USA) | 10.10 |
  | 5. | Mike Miller (USA) | 10.11 |
  
  ### 200 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Mike Miller (USA) | 20.15 |
  | 2. | Phil Epps (USA) | 20.19 |
  | 3. | Tony Sharpe (CAN) | 20.22 |
  | 4. | James Butler (USA) | 20.23 |
  | 5= | Carl Lewis (USA) | 20.27 |
  | 5= | Jeff Phillips (USA) | 20.27 |
  
  ### 400 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Sunder Nix (USA) | 44.68 |
  | 2. | Darrell Robinson (USA) | 44.69 |
  | — | Bert Cameron (JAM) | 44.69 |
  | 4. | Hartmut Weber (FRG) | 44.72 |
  | 5. | Hassan El Kashief (SUD) | 44.76 |
  
  ### 800 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 1:44.45 |
  | 2. | Sebastian Coe (GBR) | 1:44.48 |
  | 3. | Rob Druppers (NED) | 1:44.54 |
  | 4. | Garry Cook (GBR) | 1:44.71 |
  | 5. | James Robinson (USA) | 1:44.72 |
  
  ### 1,500 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Sydney Maree (USA) | 3:32.12 |
  | 2. | Steve Scott (USA) | 3:32.33 |
  | 3. | Thomas Wessinghage (FRG) | 3:32.85 |
  | 4. | José Manuel Abascal (ESP) | 3:33.12 |
  | 5. | Ray Flynn (IRL) | 3:33.5 |
  
  ### Mile
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Steve Scott (USA) | 3:47.69 |
  | 2. | Sydney Maree (USA) | 3:48.85 |
  | 3. | John Walker (NZL) | 3:49.08 |
  | 4. | David Moorcroft (GBR) | 3:49.34 |
  | 5. | Ray Flynn (IRL) | 3:49.77 |
  
  ### 3,000 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | David Moorcroft (GBR) | 7:32.79 |
  | 2. | Sydney Maree (USA) | 7:33.37 |
  | 3. | John Walker (NZL) | 7:37.49 |
  | 4. | Peter Koech (KEN) | 7:39.09 |
  | 5. | Thomas Wessinghage (FRG) | 7:39.34 |
  
  ### 5,000 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | David Moorcroft (GBR) | 13:00.41 |
  | 2. | Wodajo Bulti (ETH) | 13:07.29 |
  | 3. | António Leitão (POR) | 13:07.70 |
  | 4. | Henry Rono (KEN) | 13:08.97 |
  | 5. | Peter Koech (KEN) | 13:09.50 |
  
  ### 10,000 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Fernando Mamede (POR) | 27:22.95 |
  | 2. | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 27:24.39 |
  | 3. | Alberto Salazar (USA) | 27:25.61 |
  | 4. | Alex Hagelsteens (BEL) | 27:26.95 |
  | 5. | Henry Rono (KEN) | 27:28.67 |
  
  ### Half Marathon
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Michael Musyoki (KEN) | 1:01:36 WR |
  
  ### 110m Hurdles
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Greg Foster (USA) | 13.22 |
  | 2. | Willie Gault (USA) | 13.26 |
  | 3. | Sam Turner (USA) | 13.31 |
  | 4. | Alejandro Casañas (CUB) | 13.36 |
  | 5. | Mark McKoy (CAN) | 13.37 |
  
  ### 400m Hurdles
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Harald Schmid (FRG) | 47.48 |
  | 2. | David Patrick (USA) | 48.44 |
  | — | David Lee (USA) | 48.44 |
  | 4. | Andre Phillips (USA) | 48.45 |
  | 5. | Larry Cowling (USA) | 48.46 |
  
  ### 3,000m Steeplechase
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Henry Marsh (USA) | 8:16.17 |
  | 2. | Patriz Ilg (FRG) | 8:17.04 |
  | 3. | Wolfgang Konrad (AUT) | 8:17.22 |
  | 4. | Bogusław Mamiński (POL) | 8:17.41 |
  | 5. | Colin Reitz (GBR) | 8:18.80 |
  
  ### High Jump
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Zhu Jianhua (CHN) | 2.33 |
  | 2. | Gennadiy Byelkov (URS) | 2.32 |
  | — | Milton Ottey (CAN) | 2.32 |
  | — | Del Davis (USA) | 2.32 |
  | 5. | Steven Wray (BAH) | 2.31 |
  
  ### Long Jump
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 8.76 |
  | 2. | Larry Myricks (USA) | 8.56 |
  | 3. | Lutz Dombrowski (GDR) | 8.30 |
  | 4. | Vance Johnson (USA) | 8.21 |
  | 5. | László Szalma (HUN) | 8.20 |
  | — | Viktor Belskiy (URS) | 8.20 |
  
  ### Triple Jump
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Keith Connor (GBR) | 17.57 |
  | 2. | Ken Lorraway (AUS) | 17.46 |
  | 3. | Gennadiy Valyukevich (URS) | 17.42 |
  | 4. | Aleksandr Beskrovniy (URS) | 17.37 |
  | 5. | Willie Banks (USA) | 17.36 |
  
  ### Discus
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Luis Delís (CUB) | 70.58 |
  | 2. | Art Burns (USA) | 69.96 |
  | 3. | Georgiy Kolnootchenko (URS) | 69.44 |
  | 4. | Yuriy Dumchev (URS) | 69.16 |
  | 5. | Imrich Bugár (TCH) | 68.60 |
  
  ### Hammer
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Sergey Litvinov (URS) | 83.98 |
  | 2. | Igor Nikulin (URS) | 83.54 |
  | 3. | Yuriy Syedikh (URS) | 81.66 |
  | 4. | Yuriy Tarasyuk (URS) | 80.72 |
  | 5. | Karl-Hans Riehm (FRG) | 79.48 |
  
  ### Shot Put
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Dave Laut (USA) | 22.02 |
  | 2. | Udo Beyer (GDR) | 21.94 |
  | 3. | Remigius Machura (TCH) | 21.74 |
  | 4. | Janis Bojars (URS) | 21.31 |
  | 5. | Kevin Akins (USA) | 21.27 |
  
  ### Pole Vault
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Dave Volz (USA) | 5.75 |
  | — | Jean-Michel Bellot (FRA) | 5.75 |
  | 3. | Billy Olson (USA) | 5.72 |
  | — | Dan Ripley (USA) | 5.72 |
  | 5. | Larry Jessee (USA) | 5.71 |
  
  ### Javelin (old design)
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Bob Roggy (USA) | 95.80 |
  | 2. | Detlef Michel (GDR) | 94.52 |
  | 3. | Uwe Hohn (GDR) | 91.34 |
  | 4. | Dainis Kula (URS) | 90.96 |
  | 5. | Heino Puuste (URS) | 90.72 |
  
  ### Decathlon
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Daley Thompson (GBR) | 8774 |
  | 2. | Jürgen Hingsen (FRG) | 8741 |
  | 3. | Konstantin Akhapkin (URS) | 8485 |
  | 4. | Siegfried Stark (GDR) | 8472 |
  | 5. | Torsten Voss (FRG) | 8397 |
  
  ## Women's Best Year Performers
  
  ### 100 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 10.88 |
  | 2. | Evelyn Ashford (USA) | 10.93 |
  | 3. | Bärbel Wöckel (GDR) | 10.95 |
  | 4. | Angella Taylor (CAN) | 11.00 |
  | 5. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 11.01 |
  
  ### 200 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 21.76 |
  | 2. | Bärbel Wöckel (GDR) | 22.04 |
  | 3. | Evelyn Ashford (USA) | 22.10 |
  | 4. | Kathy Smallwood (GBR) | 22.13 |
  | 5. | Merlene Ottey (JAM) | 22.17 |
  
  ### 400 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 48.16 |
  | 2. | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 48.85 |
  | 3. | Bärbel Wöckel (GDR) | 49.56 |
  | 4. | Tatána Kocembová (TCH) | 50.41 |
  | 5. | Kathy Smallwood (GBR) | 50.46 |
  
  ### 800 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Doina Melinte (ROU) | 1:55.05 |
  | 2. | Olga Mineyeva (URS) | 1:55.41 |
  | 3. | Lyudmila Veselkova (URS) | 1:55.96 |
  | 4. | Ravilya Agletdinova (URS) | 1:56.1 |
  | 5. | Tatyana Mishkel (URS) | 1:56.2 |
  
  ### 1,500 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Olga Dvirna (URS) | 3:54.23 |
  | 2. | Zamira Zaytseva (URS) | 3:56.14 |
  | 3. | Tatyana Pozdnyakova (URS) | 3:56.50 |
  | 4. | Svetlana Guskova (URS) | 3:57.05 |
  | 5. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 3:57.48 |
  
  ### Mile
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 4:17.44 |
  | 2. | Mary Decker-Tabb (USA) | 4:18.08 |
  | 3. | Vesela Yatzinska (BUL) | 4:21.52 |
  | 4. | Vanya Stoyanova (BUL) | 4:21.78 |
  | 5. | Tamara Sorokina (URS) | 4:21.89 |
  
  ### 3,000 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Svetlana Ulmasova (URS) | 8:26.78 |
  | 2. | Svetlana Guskova (URS) | 8:29.36 |
  | 3. | Mary Decker-Tabb (USA) | 8:29.71 |
  | 4. | Maricica Puică (ROU) | 8:31.67 |
  | 5. | Galina Zakharova (URS) | 8:33.40 |
  
  ### 5,000 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Mary Decker-Tabb (USA) | 15:08.26 |
  | 2. | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 15:08.80 |
  | 3. | Irina Bondarchuk (URS) | 15:12.62 |
  | 4. | Anne Audain (NZL) | 15:13.22 |
  | 5. | Charlotte Teske (FRG) | 15:19.54 |
  
  ### 10,000 metres
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Mary Decker-Tabb (USA) | 31:35.3 |
  | 2. | Anna Domoradskaya (URS) | 31:48.23 |
  | 3. | Raysa Sadreydinova (URS) | 31:55.02 |
  | 4. | Galina Zakharova (URS) | 31:57.0 |
  | 5. | Lyudmila Baranova (URS) | 32:04.88 |
  
  ### Half Marathon
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 1:09:57 |
  
  ### 100m Hurdles
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Yordanka Donkova (BUL) | 12.44 |
  | 2. | Lucyna Kalek (POL) | 12.45 |
  | 3. | Kerstin Knabe (GDR) | 12.54 |
  | 4. | Bettine Jahn (GDR) | 12.55 |
  | 5. | Sabine Mobius (GDR) | 12.62 |
  
  ### 400m Hurdles
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Ann-Louise Skoglund (SWE) | 54.57 |
  | 2. | Petra Pfaff (GDR) | 54.89 |
  | 3. | Chantal Réga (FRA) | 54.93 |
  | 4. | Ellen Fiedler (GDR) | 54.96 |
  
  ### High Jump
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG) | 2.02 |
  | 2. | Coleen Sommer (USA) | 1.98 |
  | 2. | Tamara Bykova (URS) | 1.98 |
  | 2. | Sara Simeoni (ITA) | 1.98 |
  | 5. | Jutta Kirst (GDR) | 1.97 |
  | 5. | Yelena Popkova (URS) | 1.97 |
  
  ### Long Jump
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Valy Ionescu (ROU) | 7.20 |
  | 2. | Anişoara Cuşmir (ROU) | 7.15 |
  | 3. | Heike Daute (GDR) | 6.98 |
  | 4. | Tatyana Skachko (URS) | 6.92 |
  | 5. | Jodi Anderson (USA) | 6.91 |
  
  ### Discus
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Irina Meszynski (GDR) | 71.40 |
  | 2. | Mariya Petkova (BUL) | 71.20 |
  | 3. | Tsvetanka Khristova (BUL) | 70.64 |
  | 4. | Galina Savinkova (URS) | 69.90 |
  | 5. | Gisela Beyer (GDR) | 69.76 |
  
  ### Shot Put
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Ilona Slupianek (GDR) | 21.80 |
  | 2. | Verzhinia Veselinova (BUL) | 21.61 |
  | 3. | Helena Fibingerová (TCH) | 21.55 |
  | 4. | Liane Schmuhl (GDR) | 21.27 |
  | 5. | Nunu Abashidze (URS) | 21.23 |
  
  ### Javelin (old design)
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Sofia Sakorafa (GRE) | 74.40 |
  | 2. | Tiina Lillak (FIN) | 74.20 |
  | 3. | Anna Verouli (GRE) | 70.02 |
  | 4. | Petra Rivers (AUS) | 69.28 |
  | 5. | Antje Zöllkau (GDR) | 68.38 |
  
  ### Heptathlon
  
  | RANK | 1982 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1. | Ramona Neubert (GDR) | 6845 |
  | 2. | Natalya Grachova (URS) | 6646 |
  | 3. | Sabine Mobius (GDR) | 6629 |
  | 4. | Natalya Shubenkova (URS) | 6524 |
  | 5. | Sabine Everts (FRG) | 6523 |
  
  ## Births
  
  ### January
  
  * January 2 – Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
  * January 3 – Eşref Apak, Turkish hammer thrower
  * January 5 – Vadims Vasiļevskis, Latvian athlete
  * January 12 – Dimitrios Tsiamis, Greek triple jumper
  * January 24 – Hamdi Dhouibi, Tunisian decathlete
  
  ### February
  
  * February 2 – Dorcus Inzikuru, Ugandan athlete
  * February 7 – Rumyana Karapetrova, Bulgarian javelin thrower
  * February 8 – Iryna Shtanhyeyeva, Ukrainian sprinter
  * February 9 – Zersenay Tadese, Eritrean athlete
  * February 10 – Justin Gatlin, American athlete
  * February 18 – Krisztián Pars, Hungarian hammer thrower
  
  ### March
  
  * March 1 – Leryn Franco, Paraguayan javelin thrower
  * March 14 – Yuleidis Limonta, Cuban heptathlete
  * March 16 – Inga Kožarenoka, Latvian javelin thrower
  * March 25 – Kayoko Fukushi, Japanese long-distance runner
  * March 31 – Janice Josephs, South African heptathlete
  
  ### April
  
  * April 15 – Jean-Jacques Nkouloukidi, Italian race walker
  * April 20 – Arnoud Okken, Dutch middle-distance runner
  * April 20 – Dennis Leyckes, German decathlete
  * April 25 – Victoria Mitchell, Australian long-distance runner
  
  ### May
  
  * May 6 – Dilshod Nazarov, Tajikistani hammer thrower
  * May 10 – Yochai Halevi, Israeli long jumper and triple jumper
  * May 12 – Marvin Anderson, Jamaican sprinter
  * May 15 – Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican athlete
  * May 20 – Mihail Stamatoyiannis, Greek shot putter
  * May 25 – Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan athlete
  * May 30 – Phaustin Baha Sulle, Tanzanian long-distance runner
  
  ### June
  
  * June 3 – Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian pole vaulter
  * June 5 – Fabiano Peçanha, Brazilian middle-distance runner
  * June 11 – Vanessa Boslak, French pole vaulter
  * June 13 – Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopian distance runner
  * June 25 – Esther Dankwah, Ghanaian sprinter
  
  ### July
  
  * July 8 – Park Chil-Sung, South Korean race walker
  * July 14 – Vyacheslav Muravyev, Kazakhstani sprinter
  * July 23 – Thaimara Rivas, Venezuelan heptathlete
  
  ### August
  
  * August 5 – Jo Ankier, British long-distance runner
  * August 9 – Robert Häggblom, Finnish shot putter
  * August 9 – Byron Piedra, Ecuadorian distance runner
  * August 31 – Lien Huyghebaert, Belgian athlete
  
  ### September
  
  * September 11 – Elvan Abeylegesse, Ethiopian-born Turkish track and field athlete
  * September 15 – Matthew Boyles, American race walker
  * September 29 – Salome Chepchumba, Kenyan middle-distance runner
  
  ### October
  
  * October 25 – Aarik Wilson, American long jumper and triple jumper
  
  ### November
  
  * November 4 – Kamila Skolimowska, Polish hammer thrower (d. 2009)
  * November 6 – Loree Smith, American hammer thrower
  * November 9 – Eloise Wellings, Australian long-distance runner
  * November 11 – Ivan Babaryka, Ukrainian long-distance runner
  * November 11 – Asafa Powell, Jamaican sprinter
  * November 29 – Andrei Chubsa, Belarusian high jumper
  
  ### December
  
  * December 2 – Morten Jensen, Danish long jumper
  * December 11 – Darren Gilford, Maltese athlete
  * December 25 – Samson Ramadhani, Tanzanian long-distance runner
  
  ## Deaths
  
  * April 26 – Ville Ritola (86), Finnish Olympic gold medal runner (b. 1896)
  * June 25 – Ed Hamm (76), American athlete (b. 1906)
  * June 28 – Wiesław Maniak (41), Polish sprinter (b. 1938)
  * August 4 – Henk van der Wal (95), Dutch track and field athlete (b. 1886)
  