1980 in the sport of athletics

none 1980 in athletics Olympic Games 1979 1981 1980 the sport of athletics This article contains an overview of the year 1980 in athletics. The major athletics event of the year was the 1980 Moscow Olympics. A boycott of this competition meant many of world's leading athletes did not face each other, with many of the boycotting athletes taking part in the rival Liberty Bell Classic competition. A further global event, the 1980 World Championships in Athletics, was held specifically for women athletes in the 400 metres hurdles and 3000 metres disciplines, as neither event featured on the Olympic programme in spite of IAAF approval. Major events World Olympic Games Paralympic Games World Cross Country Championships World Championships in Athletics Liberty Bell Classic (Olympic Boycott Games) Gymnasiade Regional CARIFTA Games CAC Junior Championships Pan American Junior Championships South American Junior Championships European Indoor Championships European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country European Champion Clubs Cup Islamic Games Balkan Games World records Men Event Athlete Nation Performance Place Date1000 mSebastian CoeUnited Kingdom2:13.40NOR Oslo, Norway1 July1500 mSteve OvettUnited Kingdom3:31.36FRG Koblenz, West Germany17 AugustMileSteve OvettUnited Kingdom3:48.8NOR Oslo, Norway1 July400 m hurdlesEdwin MosesUnited States47.13ITA Milan, Italy3 JulyHigh jumpJacek WszołaPoland2.35FRG Eberstadt, West Germany25 MayHigh jumpDietmar Mögenburg2.35FRG Rehlingen, West Germany26 MayHigh jumpGerd Wessig2.36URS Moscow, Russia1 AugustPole vaultWładysław KozakiewiczPoland5.72ITA Milan, Italy11 MayPole vaultThierry VigneronFrance5.75FRA Colombes, France1 JunePole vaultThierry VigneronFrance5.75FRA Lille, France29 JunePole vaultPhilippe HouvionFrance5.77FRA Paris, France17 JulyPole vaultWładysław KozakiewiczPoland5.78URS Moscow, Soviet Union30 JulyHammer throwYuriy Sedykh80.38URS Leselidze, Soviet Union16 MayHammer throwJüri Tamm80.46URS Leselidze, Soviet Union16 MayHammer throwYuriy Sedykh80.64URS Leselidze, Soviet Union16 MayHammer throwSergey Litvinov81.66URS Sochi, Soviet Union24 MayHammer throwYuriy Sedykh81.80URS Moscow, Soviet Union31 JulyJavelin throwFerenc Paragi96.72HUN Tata, Hungary23 AprilDecathlonDaley ThompsonUnited Kingdom8622AUT Götzis, Austria17-18 MayDecathlonGuido Kratschmer8649FRG Filderstadt-Bernhausen, West Germany14-15 June Women Event Athlete Nation Performance Place Date800 mNadiya Olizarenko1:54.85URS Moscow, Soviet Union12 June800 mNadiya Olizarenko1:53.43URS Moscow, Soviet Union27 July1500 mTatyana Kazankina3:55.0URS Moscow, Soviet Union6 July1500 mTatyana Kazankina3:52.47SWI Zürich, Switzerland13 AugustMileMary DeckerUnited States4:21.7NZ Auckland, New Zealand26 January100 m hurdlesGrażyna RabsztynPoland12.36POL Warsaw, Poland13 June400 m hurdlesKarin Rossley54.28GDR Jena, East Germany13 June4 × 100 metres relayRomy SchneiderBärbel EckertIngrid AuerswaldMarlies Göhr42.09GDR Berlin, East Germany9 July4 × 100 metres relayRomy MüllerBärbel WöckelIngrid AuerswaldMarlies Göhr41.85GDR Potsdam, East Germany13 July4 × 100 metres relayRomy MüllerBärbel WöckelIngrid AuerswaldMarlies Göhr41.60URS Moscow, Soviet Union1 August4 × 200 metres relayMarlies GöhrRomy MüllerBärbel WöckelMarita Koch1:28.15GDR Jena, East Germany9 AugustShot putIlona Slupianek22.36YUG Celje, Yugoslavia2 MayShot putIlona Slupianek22.45GDR Potsdam, East Germany10 MayDiscus throwFaina Melnik71.50URS Sochi, Soviet Union10 MayDiscus throwMariya Petkova71.80BUL Sofia, Bulgaria13 JulyJavelin throwRuth Fuchs69.96YUG Split, Yugoslavia29 AprilJavelin throwTatyana Biryulina70.08URS Podolsk, Soviet Union12 JulyPentathlonOlga Kuragina4856URS Moscow, Soviet Union20 JunePentathlonNadiya Tkachenko5083URS Moscow, Soviet Union24 July Season's bests 100 metres  1980 100 m Year RankingJames Sanford USA 10.02 Marlies Göhr GER 10.93 200 metres  1980 200 m Year RankingPietro Mennea ITA 19.96 Bärbel Wöckel GER 22.01 400 metres  1980 400 m Year RankingViktor Markin URS 44.60 Marita Koch GER 48.88 800 metres  1980 800 m Year RankingDon Paige USA 1:44.53 Nadiya Olizarenko URS 1:53.43 1,500 metres  1980 1.500 m Year RankingSteve Ovett GBR 3:31.36 Tatyana Kazankina URS 3:52.47 Mile run  1980 Mile Run Year RankingSteve Ovett GBR 3:48.8 Mary Slaney USA 4:21.68 3000 metres  1980 3.000 m Year RankingEamonn Coghlan IRL 7:37.60 Yelena Sipatova URS 8:33.53 5000 metres  1980 5.000 m Year RankingMiruts Yifter ETH 1975 13:16.38 Jan Merrill USA 15:30.6 10,000 metres  1980 10.000 m Year RankingCraig Virgin USA 27:29.16 Kathryn Binns GBR 32:57.17 Half marathon  1980 Half Marathon Year RankingStan Mavis USA 1:02:16 Marja Wokke NED 1:13:59 Marathon  1980 Marathon Year RankingGerard Nijboer NED 2:09:01 Joyce Smith GBR 2:30:27 110 m/100 m hurdles  1980 Hurdling Year RankingRenaldo Nehemiah USA 13.21 Grażyna Rabsztyn POL 12.36 400 m hurdles  1980 Hurdling Year RankingEdwin Moses USA 47.13 Karin Roßley GDR 54.28 3000 m steeplechase  1980 Steeplechase Year RankingBronisław Malinowski POL 8:09.70 — —4 × 100 m relay  1980 Relay Race Year RankingVladimir MuravyovNikolay SidorovAleksandr AksininAndrey Prokofyev 38.26 Romy MüllerBärbel WöckelIngrid AuerswaldMarlies Göhr 41.60 4 × 400 m relay  1980 Relay Race Year RankingRemigijus ValiulisMikhail LingeNikolay ChernetskiyViktor Markin 3:01.08 Tatyana ProrochenkoTatyana GoyshchikNina ZyuskovaIrina Nazarova 3:20.12 High jump  1980 High Jump Year RankingGerd Wessig GDR 2.36 m Sara Simeoni ITA 1.98 m Pole vault  1980 Pole Vault Year RankingWładysław Kozakiewicz POL 5.78 m — — Long jump  1980 Long Jump Year RankingLutz Dombrowski GDR 8.54 m Tatyana Kolpakova URS 7.06 m Triple jump  1980 Triple Jump Year RankingJaak Uudmäe URS 17.35 m — — Shot put  1980 Shot Put Year RankingUdo Beyer GDR 21.98 m Ilona Slupianek GDR 22.45 m Discus throw  1980 Discus Throw Year RankingMac Wilkins USA 70.98 m Mariya Petkova BUL 1971 71.80 m Hammer throw  1980 Hammer Throw Year RankingYuriy Syedikh URS 81.80 m — — Javelin (old design)  1980 Javelin Throw Year RankingFerenc Paragi HUN 1957 96.72 m Tatyana Biryulina URS 70.08 m Decathlon  1980 Decathlon Year RankingGuido Kratschmer FRG 8667 pts — — Pentathlon  1980 Heptathlon Year Ranking— — Nadiya Tkachenko URS 5083 pts Marathon winners RaceMen's winnerWomen's winnerAmsterdam MarathonGerard Nijboer NEDMarja Wokke NEDAvon International Marathon–Lorraine Moller NZLBeppu-Ōita MarathonYutaka Taketomi JPN–Berlin MarathonIngo Sensburg FRGGerlinde Püttmann FRGBoston MarathonBill Rodgers USAJacqueline Gareau CANChicago MarathonFrank Richardson USASue Petersen USAFukuoka MarathonToshihiko Seko JPN–Košice MarathonAleksey Lyagushev URSŠárka Balcarová TCHLake Biwa MarathonHiroshi Yuge JPN–New York MarathonAlberto Salazar USAGrete Waitz NORParis MarathonSylvain Cacciatore FRAGillian Adams GBRTokyo Women's Marathon–Joyce Smith GBR Awards AwardMen's winnerWomen's winner Track & Field News Athlete of the Year Edwin Moses USA Ilona Briesenick GDR Births January 1 – Masumi Aya, Japanese hammer thrower January 2 – Yusuke Yachi, Japanese race walker January 7 – Lívia Tóth, Hungarian distance runner January 8 – Mitsuhiro Sato, Japanese sprinter January 11 – Li Xiaoxue, Chinese hammer thrower January 19 – Matic Osovnikar, Slovenian sprinter January 21 – Elva Goulbourne, Jamaican long jumper January 25 – Christian Olsson, Swedish athlete January 27 – Naleya Downer, Jamaican sprinter January 31 – Joel Brown, American hurdler January 31 – Adriana Pirtea, Romanian long-distance runner February 3 – Markus Esser, German hammer thrower February 3 – Sini Pöyry, Finnish hammer thrower February 4 – Yared Asmerom, Eritrean long-distance runner February 4 – Gary Kikaya, Congolese sprinter February 7 – Emma Ania, British sprinter February 11 – Karin Ruckstuhl, Dutch heptathlete February 13 – Tetyana Holovchenko, Ukrainian distance runner February 13 – Irina Naumenko, Kazakhstani heptathlete February 20 – Bram Som, Dutch track and field athlete February 21 – Takayuki Matsumiya, Japanese long-distance runner February 24 – Aki Heikkinen, Finnish decathlete February 25 – Marisa Barros, Portuguese long-distance runner February 26 – Irina Butor, Belarusian heptathlete March 3 – Nikolett Szabó, Hungarian javelin thrower March 7 – Olli-Pekka Karjalainen, Finnish hammer thrower March 12 – California Molefe, Botswanan athlete March 15 – Kim Il-Nam, North Korean long-distance runner March 19 – Justus Koech, Kenyan middle-distance runner March 23 – Teja Melink, Slovenian pole vaulter March 30 – Amélie Perrin, Franch hammer thrower April 6 – Tommi Evilä, Finnish long jumper April 13 – Boštjan Buč, Slovenian track and field athlete April 17 – Igors Kazakevičs, Latvian race walker April 18 – Wojciech Kondratowicz, Polish hammer thrower April 19 – Gudisa Shentema, Ethiopian long-distance runner May 1 – Inês Henriques, Portuguese race walker May 2 – Chris Boyles, American decathlete May 2 – Ronetta Smith, Jamaican sprinter May 10 – Mayumi Kawasaki, Japanese race walker May 14 – Eugène Martineau, Dutch decathlete May 17 – Tatyana Sibileva, Russian race walker May 20 – Chinatsu Mori, Japanese shot putter (d. 2006) May 23 – Ri Kum-Song, North Korean long-distance runner June 2 – Shingo Suetsugu, Japanese track and field athlete June 8 – Vânia Silva, Portuguese hammer thrower June 13 – Alistair Cragg, Irish distance runner June 17 – Shitaye Gemechu, Ethiopian long-distance runner June 19 – Sanjay Ayre, Jamaican athlete July 5 – Park Ju-Young, South Korean long-distance runner July 8 – Noraldo Palacios, Colombian javelin thrower July 9 – Brooke Krueger, Australian hammer thrower July 12 – Mikko Kyyrö, Finnish discus thrower July 17 – Rashid Ramzi, Moroccan athlete July 24 – Wilfred Bungei, Kenyan middle-distance runner July 27 – Alena Neumiarzhitskaya, Belarusian sprinter July 31 – Masato Naito, Japanese hurdler August 11 – Monika Pyrek, Polish pole vaulter August 23 – Bronwyn Eagles, Australian hammer thrower August 23 – Roisin McGettigan, Irish distance runner August 24 – Shani Marks, American triple jumper August 29 – Perdita Felicien, Canadian track and field athlete September 6 – Nailiya Yulamanova, Russian long-distance runner September 6 – Gulnara Vygovskaya, Russian long-distance runner September 8 – Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South African middle-distance runner September 16 – Lukáš Melich, Czech hammer thrower September 25 – Jennifer Joyce, Canadian hammer thrower September 28 – Maurice Smith, Jamaican decathlete October 7 – Clarissa Claretti, Italian hammer thrower October 7 – Olesya Zykina, Russian track and field athlete October 16 – Maureen Griffin, American hammer thrower October 26 – Deriba Merga, Ethiopian long-distance runner November 9 – Tamicka Clarke, Bahamian sprinter November 14 – Naoko Sakamoto, Japanese long-distance runner November 19 – Yipsi Moreno, Cuban hammer thrower November 24 – Zoe Derham, English hammer thrower December 12 – Dejene Berhanu, Ethiopian runner December 13 – Venera Getova, Bulgarian discus thrower December 17 – Alexandra Papageorgiou, Greek hammer thrower Deaths February 11 – Paavo Yrjölä (77), Finnish decathlete (b. 1902) February 21 – Mario Lanzi (63), Italian middle-distance runner (b. 1914) March 31 – Jesse Owens (66), American sprinter (b. 1913) May 9 – Rolf Hansen (73), Norwegian long-distance runner (b. 1906) December 24 – Heikki Liimatainen (86), Finnish long-distance runner (b. 1894) References Year Lists Association of Road Racing StatisticiansJuly 2026 InternetArchiveBot 1980 Year Rankings Year Rankings * Athletics Category:Sport of athletics by year