In 2011, the foremost

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 ...

event was the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

in Daegu. The other major global level competition held in 2011 was the World Cross Country Championships. The 2011 season marked the re-establishment of the

African Cross Country Championships The African Cross Country Championships is a regional cross country running competition for athletes from Africa. History The competition had a one off edition in 1985 in Nairobi, Kenya, and the medallists were mostly from the host nation.

, an event created in response to the change of the World Cross Championships from an annual to a biennial format. It was also the first year since 1992 that the

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It ...

was not held, as that competition also switched to a two-year schedule.

Major events

World

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

* World Cross Country Championships *

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

* World Youth Championships in Athletics *

IPC Athletics World Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

* World Student Games * Military World Games

Regional

* CAC Championships * NACAC Cross Country Championships * Pan American Games * Pan American Junior Championships * South American Championships *

South American Cross Country Championships The South American Cross Country Championships is an annual continental cross country running competition for athletes from South America or, more specifically, member countries of CONSUDATLE. It was first held in 1986, making it the oldest of t ...

* European Indoor Championships *

European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championship ...

* European Team Championships * European U23 Championships * European Junior Championships *

European Youth Olympic Festival The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth (14 to 18 years old) athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the fir ...

Commonwealth Youth Games The Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) is an international multi-sport event organized by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The games were held in the years, mid-way between when the Commonwealth Games are held, until 2008. They continued to be held ...

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Gam ...

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

* All-Africa Games * African Junior Championships *

National

World records

Men

Women

Season's bests

*^† = Russia's Anastasiya Kapachinskaya ran 49.35 in July in at the Russian National Championships in

Cheboksary Cheboksary (; russian: Чебокса́ры, r=Cheboksáry, p=tɕɪbɐˈksarɨ; cv, Шупашкар, ''Şupaşkar'') is the capital city of Chuvashia, Russia and a port on the Volga River. Geography The city is located in the Volga Upland reg ...

, but this was annulled after she later failed a drug test. *^† = Russia's

Mariya Abakumova Mariya Vasiliyevna Abakumova (russian: Мария Васильевна Абакумова; born 15 January 1986) is a Russian former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. Career Abakumova discovered her love for athletics ...

threw 71.99, a championship record, at the

, but this was annulled after she later failed a drug test. *^† = Croatia's Sandra Perković had a throw of 69.99 m in June in

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

, but this was annulled after she later failed a drug test. *^† = Russia's Tatyana Chernova accumulated 6880 points at the

, but this was annulled after she later failed a drug test.

Awards

Men

Women

Deaths

* 3 January – Zbigniew Jaremski (61), 400 m relay silver medallist at the 1976 Olympics * 16 January –

Stefka Yordanova Stefka Yordanova ( bg, Стефка Йорданова; 9 January 1947 – 16 January 2011) was a Bulgarian sprinter and middle-distance runner who specialized in the 400 and 800 metres. Born in Burgas, she ran at the 1971 European Indoor Champ ...

(64), 1973 European indoor champion over 800 m *3 February – Robert Young (95), 400 m relay silver medallist at the 1936 Olympics *5 February –

Albert Yator Albert Kiptoo Yator (6 September 1993 – 5 February 2011) was a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialised in the steeplechase. Born in Iten, he was the brother of a former world junior record holder, Raymond Yator. He won his firs ...

(17), Kenyan world junior steeplechase medalist *13 February – Inese Jaunzeme (78), javelin thrower and Latvia's first Olympic champion *19 February – Ollie Matson (70), 400 m runner and 1952 Olympic medallist *25 February – Peter Hildreth (82), 1950 European Championships medallist in the hurdles *14 March – Eduard Gushchin (60), 1968 Olympic medallist in the shot put *19 April –

Grete Waitz Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz wo ...

(57), distance runner and world champion and record holder in the marathon *16 May –

Samuel Wanjiru Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (10 November 1986 – 15 May 2011) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon in an Olympic record time of 2:06:32; becoming the first Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in the marathon. He beca ...

(24), first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon and a former half marathon world record holder * 28 May – Romuald Klim (78), 1964 Olympic champion and former world record holder in the hammer throw *30 May -

Ricky Bruch Björn Rickard "Ricky" Bruch (; 2 July 1946 – 30 May 2011) was a Swedish discus thrower, poet and actor. Career Bruch was born in Örgryte, Gothenburg, grew up in Skåne, and was later a long-time resident of Malmö. His main discipline was ...

, (64) former world record holder in the discus throw *6 June – Benjamín González (53), World and European indoor medallist over 400 and 800 metres *10 June – Cosimo Caliandro (29), 3000 metres gold medallist at the 2007 European Indoors *10 July –

Ragnar Lundberg Ragnar "Ragge" Torsten Lundberg (22 September 1924 – 10 July 2011) was a Swedish 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 fibergla ...

(86), pole vaulter and 1950 European champion *12 July – Kurt Lundquist (85), 400 m runner and 1948 Olympic relay medallist *17 August – Pierre Quinon (49), 1984 Olympic pole vault champion *2 October – Vera Popkova (68), 1971 European indoor champion over 400 metres *13 October –

Abdoulaye Seye Abdoulaye Seye (30 July 1934 – 13 October 2011) was a Senegalese sprinter. He competed for France at the 1960 Olympics in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay events and won a bronze medal in the 200 m. Although Senegal had received its indepe ...

(77), sprinter and 1960 Olympic medallist over 200 m *12 December – Sunday Bada (42), 1997 World indoor champion over 400 metres and Olympic relay gold medallist1997 World Indoor champion Sunday Bada dies
IAAF (2011-12-13). Retrieved on 2011-12-17.

Major events

World

Regional

National

World records

Men

Women

Season's bests

Awards

Men

Women

Deaths

References

Further reading