1987 in the sport of athletics

This article contains an overview of the year 1987 in athletics.

1987 in athletics
Major world eventsWorld Championships
World Indoor Championships
1986
1988

International Events edit

World records edit

Men edit

EVENT ATHLETE MARK DATE VENUE
2,000 metres   Saïd Aouita (MAR) 4:50.81 16 July Paris
5,000 metres   Saïd Aouita (MAR) 12:58.39 22 July Rome, Italy
High jump   Patrik Sjöberg (SWE) 2.42 m 30 June Stockholm, Sweden
Pole vault   Sergey Bubka (URS) 6.03 m 23 June Prague, Czechoslovakia
Shot put   Alessandro Andrei (ITA) 22.72m 12 August Viareggio, Italy
  Alessandro Andrei (ITA) 22.84m 12 August Viareggio, Italy
  Alessandro Andrei (ITA) 22.91m 12 August Viareggio, Italy
Javelin (new)   Jan Železný (TCH) 87.66 m 31 May Nitra, Czechoslovakia


Carl Lewis (USA) equalled the world record in the men's 100 metres held by countryman Calvin Smith since 1983-07-03, clocking 9.93 seconds on 1987-08-30 at the World Championships in Rome, Italy.

Women edit

EVENT ATHLETE MARK DATE VENUE
100m hurdles   Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL) 12.25 s 8 August Drama, Greece
High Jump   Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) 2.09 m 30 August Rome, Italy
Shot put   Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) 22.60 m 7 June Moscow, Soviet Union
  Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) 22.63 m 7 June Moscow, Soviet Union
Javelin (old)   Petra Meier (GDR) 78.90 m 29 July Leipzig, East Germany


Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) equalled the world record in the women's long jump held by East Germany's Heike Drechsler since 1986-06-21, jumping 7.45 metres on 1987-08-13 at a meet in Indianapolis.

Men's Best Year Performers edit

100 metres edit

Main race this year: World Championships 100 metres
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Carl Lewis (USA) 9.931
2.   Linford Christie (GBR) 10.03
3.   Mark Witherspoon (USA) 10.04
4.   Andrés Simón (CUB) 10.06
5.   Lee McRae (USA) 10.07
  Calvin Smith (USA) 10.07

200 metres edit

Main race this year: World Championships 200 metres
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Carl Lewis (USA) 19.92
2.   Floyd Heard (USA) 19.95
3.   Dwayne Evans (USA) 20.08
4.   Calvin Smith (USA) 20.10
5.   Attila Kovács (HUN) 20.11

400 metres edit

Main race this year: World Championships 400 metres
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Butch Reynolds (USA) 44.10
2.   Innocent Egbunike (NGR) 44.17
3.   Thomas Schönlebe (GDR) 44.33
4.   Danny Everett (USA) 44.47
5.   Derek Redmond (GBR) 44.50

800 metres edit

Main race this year: World Championships 800 metres
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Billy Konchellah (KEN) 1:43.06
2.   Peter Elliott (GBR) 1:43.41
  José Luíz Barbosa (BRA) 1:43.76
4.   Philippe Collard (FRA) 1:43.95
5.   Johnny Gray (USA) 1:44.09

1,500 metres edit

Main race this year: World Championships 1.500 metres
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Saïd Aouita (MAR) 3:30.69
2.   Steve Cram (GBR) 3:31.43
3.   Abdi Bile (SOM) 3:31.71
4.   José Luis González (ESP) 3:33.01
5.   Peter Elliott (GBR) 3:33.23

Mile edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Saïd Aouita (MAR) 3:46.76
2.   Steve Cram (GBR) 3:50.08
3.   Abdi Bile (SOM) 3:50.75
4.   Johan Fourie (RSA) 3:50.82
5.   John Gladwin (GBR) 3:51.02

3,000 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Dieter Baumann (FRG) 7:40.25
2.   Francesco Panetta (ITA) 7:42.73
3.   José Luis González (ESP) 7:42.93
4.   Frank O'Mara (IRL) 7:42.99
5.   Sydney Maree (USA) 7:43.13

5,000 metres edit

Main race this year: World Championships 5.000 metres
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Saïd Aouita (MAR) 12:58.39
2.   Jack Buckner (GBR) 13:10.48
3.   José Luis González (ESP) 13:12.34
4.   José Manuel Abascal (ESP) 13:12.49
5.   Frank O'Mara (IRL) 13:13.02

10,000 metres edit

Main race this year: World Championships 10.000 metres
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Francesco Panetta (ITA) 27:26.95
2.   Wodajo Bulti (ETH) 27:29.41
3.   Jean-Louis Prianon (FRA) 27:34.38
4.   Takeyuki Nakayama (JPN) 27:35.33
5.   Paul Kipkoech (KEN) 27:38.63

Half marathon edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Matthew Temane (RSA) 1:00:10

Marathon edit

Main race this year: World Championships Marathon
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Takeyuki Nakayama (JPN) 2:08:18
2.   Hiromi Taniguchi (JPN) 2:09:50
3.   El Mostafa Nechchadi (MAR) 2:10:09
4.   Hugh Jones (GBR) 2:10:11
5.   Gianni Poli (ITA) 2:10:15

110m hurdles edit

Main race this year: World Championships 110m hurdles
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Greg Foster (USA) 13.17
2.   Tonie Campbell (USA) 13.19
3.   Mark McKoy (CAN) 13.23
4.   Rod Woodson (USA) 13.29
  Jon Ridgeon (GBR) 13.29
  Arthur Blake (USA) 13.29

400m hurdles edit

Main race this year: World Championships 400m hurdles
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Edwin Moses (USA) 47.46
2.   Danny Harris (USA) 47.48
  Harald Schmid (FRG) 47.48
4.   Amadou Dia Bâ (SEN) 48.03
5.   Kevin Young (USA) 48.15

3,000m steeplechase edit

Main race this year: World Championships 3.000m steeplechase
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Francesco Panetta (ITA) 8:08.57
2.   Hagen Melzer (GDR) 8:10.32
3.   William Van Dijck (BEL) 8:12.18
4.   Julius Korir (KEN) 8:12.80
5.   Raymond Pannier (FRA) 8:13.88

High jump edit

Main competition this year: World Championships High Jump
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS HEIGHT
1.   Patrik Sjöberg (SWE) 2.42
2.   Igor Paklin (URS) 2.38
  Hennadiy Avdyeyenko (URS) 2.38
4.   Javier Sotomayor (CUB) 2.37
5.   Jim Howard (USA) 2.36
  Ján Zvara (TCH) 2.36

Long jump edit

Main competition this year: World Championships Long Jump
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Robert Emmiyan (URS) 8.86
2.   Carl Lewis (USA) 8.75
3.   Larry Myricks (USA) 8.66
4.   Jaime Jefferson (CUB) 8.51
5.   Giovanni Evangelisti (ITA) 8.43

Triple jump edit

Main competition this year: World Championships Triple Jump
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Khristo Markov (BUL) 17.92
2.   Mike Conley (USA) 17.87
3.   Aleksandr Kovalenko (URS) 17.77
4.   Aleksandr Yakovlev (URS) 17.65
5.   Oleg Protsenko (URS) 17.61

Discus edit

Main competition this year: World Championships Discus Throw
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Jürgen Schult (GDR) 69.52
2.   Mike Buncic (USA) 68.98
3.   Stefan Fernholm (SWE) 68.30
4.   Luis Delís (CUB) 67.92
5.   Alwin Wagner (FRG) 67.80

Shot put edit

Main competition this year: World Championships Shot Put
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Alessandro Andrei (ITA) 22.91
2.   John Brenner (USA) 22.52
3.   Werner Günthör (SUI) 22.47
4.   Udo Beyer (GDR) 22.31
5.   Ulf Timmermann (GDR) 22.01

Hammer edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Sergey Litvinov (URS) 83.48
2.   Igor Astapkovich (URS) 82.96
3.   Vyacheslav Korovin (URS) 82.24
4.   Jüri Tamm (URS) 82.02
5.   Igor Nikulin (URS) 82.00

Javelin (new design) edit

Main competition this year: World Championships Javelin Throw
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Jan Železný (TCH) 87.66
2.   Klaus Tafelmeier (FRG) 86.64
3.   Mick Hill (GBR) 85.24
4.   Viktor Yevsyukov (URS) 85.16
5.   Lev Shatilo (URS) 84.30

Pole vault edit

Main competition this year: World Championships Pole Vault
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS HEIGHT
1.   Sergey Bubka (URS) 6.03
2.   Joe Dial (USA) 5.96
3.   Radion Gataullin (URS) 5.90
4.   Thierry Vigneron (FRA) 5.85
5.   Mike Tully (USA) 5.83

Decathlon edit

Main competition this year: World Championships Decathlon
RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS POINTS
1.   Torsten Voss (GDR) 8680
2.   Siegfried Wentz (FRG) 8645
3.   Pavel Tarnavetskiy (URS) 8375
4.   Simon Poelman (NZL) 8359
5.   Tim Bright (USA) 8340

Women's Best Year Performers edit

100 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Anelia Nuneva (BUL) 10.86
  Silke Gladisch (GDR) 10.86
3.   Merlene Ottey (JAM) 10.87
4.   Marlies Göhr (GDR) 10.93
5.   Heike Drechsler (GDR) 10.95

200 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Silke Gladisch (GDR) 21.74
2.   Florence Griffith (USA) 21.96
3.   Anelia Nuneva (BUL) 22.01
4.   Pam Marshall (USA) 22.06
  Merlene Ottey (JAM) 22.06

400 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Olga Bryzgina (URS) 49.38
2.   Petra Müller (GDR) 49.64
3.   Mariya Pinigina (URS) 49.87
4.   Lillie Leatherwood (USA) 49.95
5.   Olga Nazarova (URS) 49.96

800 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Sigrun Wodars (GDR) 1:55.26
2.   Christine Wachtel (GDR) 1:55.32
3.   Lyubov Gurina (URS) 1:55.56
4.   Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB) 1:55.84
5.   Slobodanka Čolović (YUG) 1:56.51

1,500 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Tatyana Samolenko (URS) 3:58.56
2.   Hildegard Körner (GDR) 3:58.67
3.   Doina Melinte (ROU) 3:59.27
4.   Cornelia Bürki (SUI) 3:59.90
5.   Andrea Lange (GDR) 4:00.07

Mile edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Doina Melinte (ROU) 4:24.05
2.   Elly van Hulst (NED) 4:25.13
3.   Diana Richburg (USA) 4:25.77
4.   Liz Lynch (GBR) 4:26.11
5.   Maricica Puică (ROU) 4:26.70

3,000 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Ulrike Bruns (GDR) 8:38.1
2.   Yelena Zhupiyeva (URS) 8:38.5
3.   Tatyana Samolenko (URS) 8:38.73
4.   Paula Ivan (ROU) 8:39.28
5.   Maricica Puică (ROU) 8:39.45

5,000 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Liz Lynch (GBR) 15:01.08
2.   Angela Tooby (GBR) 15:13.22
3.   Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) 15:19.76
4.   Wendy Sly (GBR) 15:21.45
5.   Maricica Puică (ROU) 15:23.48

10,000 metres edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) 31:05.85
2.   Yelena Zhupiyeva (URS) 31:09.40
3.   Kathrin Ullrich (GDR) 31:11.34
4.   Olga Bondarenko (URS) 31:18.38
5.   Liz Lynch (GBR) 31:19.82

Half marathon edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) 1:06:40

Marathon edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) 2:22:48
2.   Rosa Mota (POR) 2:25:17
3.   Katrin Dörre (GDR) 2:25:24
4.   Carla Beurskens (NED) 2:26:34
5.   Priscilla Welch (GBR) 2:26:51

100m hurdles edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL) 12.25
2.   Yordanka Donkova (BUL) 12.33
3.   Gloria Siebert (GDR) 12.44
4.   Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR) 12.45

400m hurdles edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS TIME
1.   Sabine Busch (GDR) 53.24
2.   Cornelia Ullrich (GDR) 53.58
3.   Debbie Flintoff-King (AUS) 53.95
4.   Judi Brown-King (USA) 54.23
5.   Sandra Farmer (JAM) 54.38

High Jump edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS HEIGHT
1.   Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) 2.09 m
2.   Tamara Bykova (URS) 2.04 m
3.   Louise Ritter (USA) 2.01 m
4.   Desiree du Plessis (RSA) 2.00 m
  Lyudmila Avdeyenko (URS) 2.00 m
  Svetlana Leseva (BUL) 2.00 m

Long Jump edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) 7.45 m
2.   Heike Drechsler (GDR) 7.40 m
3.   Yelena Belevskaya (URS) 7.39 m
4.   Galina Chistyakova (URS) 7.27 m
5.   Irina Valyukevich (URS) 7.17 m

Shot put edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) 22.63 m
2.   Claudia Losch (FRG) 22.19 m
3.   Natalya Akhrimenko (URS) 21.34 m
4.   Kathrin Neimke (GDR) 21.21 m
5.   Ines Müller (GDR) 21.20 m

Javelin (old design) edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS DISTANCE
1.   Petra Meier (GDR) 78.90
2.   Fatima Whitbread (GBR) 76.64
3.   Ingrid Thyssen (GDR) 69.68
4.   Susanne Jung (GDR) 69.60
5.   Beate Peters (FRG) 68.84

Heptathlon edit

RANK 1987 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS POINTS
1.   Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) 7128
2.   Anke Behmer (GDR) 6692
3.   Svetlana Buraga (URS) 6585
4.   Larisa Nikitina (URS) 6564
5.   Jane Frederick (USA) 6533

Births edit

Deaths edit

  • March 17 — Georg Lammers (81), German athlete (b. 1905)
  • October 20 — Jerzy Chromik (56), Polish long-distance runner (b. 1931)

References edit