Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athletics
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad

Pictogram for athletics at the 2008 Games
VenueBeijing National Stadium
DatesAugust 15–24
Competitors2,057 from 200 nations
Athletics at the
2008 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m   men   women
200 m men women
400 m men women
800 m men women
1500 m men women
5000 m men women
10,000 m men women
100 m hurdles women
110 m hurdles men
400 m hurdles men women
3000 m
steeplechase
men women
4 × 100 m relay men women
4 × 400 m relay men women
Road events
Marathon men women
20 km walk men women
50 km walk men
Field events
Long jump men women
Triple jump men women
High jump men women
Pole vault men women
Shot put men women
Discus throw men women
Javelin throw men women
Hammer throw men women
Combined events
Heptathlon women
Decathlon men
colspan=5 style="text-align: center; |

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.

Both men and women had very similar schedules of events. Men competed in 24 events and women in 23, as their schedule lacked the 50 km race walk. In addition, both the men's 110 m hurdles and decathlon are reflected in the women's schedule by the 100 m hurdles and heptathlon, respectively.

The Olympic record was broken in 17 returning events. In five events, including the inaugural women's 3000 m steeplechase, the world record was broken.

The athletics was, alongside the Olympic cycling events, one of the few large sports programmes in which the host nation fared comparatively poorly in terms of medals won. Despite a haul of 100 medals at the games as a whole, Chinese athletes took home two bronze medals from the athletics events. The country's foremost athlete Liu Xiang, the 2004 Olympic champion in the 110 metres hurdles, had to withdraw after a false start due to injury.

Medal summary

Men

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 metres
 Usain Bolt
Jamaica (JAM)
9.69
(WR)
 Richard Thompson
Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)
9.89  Walter Dix
United States (USA)
9.91
200 metres
 Usain Bolt
Jamaica (JAM)
19.30
(WR)
 Shawn Crawford
United States (USA)
19.96  Walter Dix
United States (USA)
19.98
400 metres
 LaShawn Merritt
United States (USA)
43.75
 Jeremy Wariner
United States (USA)
44.74  David Neville
United States (USA)
44.80
800 metres
 Wilfred Bungei
Kenya (KEN)
1:44.65  Ismail Ahmed Ismail
Sudan (SUD)
1:44.70  Alfred Kirwa Yego
Kenya (KEN)
1:44.82
1500 metres
 Asbel Kipruto Kiprop
Kenya (KEN)
3:33.11  Nicholas Willis
New Zealand (NZL)
3:34.16  Mehdi Baala
France (FRA)
3:34.21
5000 metres
 Kenenisa Bekele
Ethiopia (ETH)
12:57.82
(OR)
 Eliud Kipchoge
Kenya (KEN)
13:02.80  Edwin Cheruiyot Soi
Kenya (KEN)
13:06.22
10,000 metres
 Kenenisa Bekele
Ethiopia (ETH)
27:01.17
(OR)
 Sileshi Sihine
Ethiopia (ETH)
27:02.77  Micah Kogo
Kenya (KEN)
27:04.11
110 metres hurdles
 Dayron Robles
Cuba (CUB)
12.93  David Payne
United States (USA)
13.17  David Oliver
United States (USA)
13.18
400 metres hurdles
 Angelo Taylor
United States (USA)
47.25  Kerron Clement
United States (USA)
47.98  Bershawn Jackson
United States (USA)
48.06
3000 metres steeplechase
 Brimin Kiprop Kipruto
Kenya (KEN)
8:10.34  Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad
France (FRA)
8:10.49  Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong
Kenya (KEN)
8:11.01
4×100 metres relay
 Jamaica (JAM)
Nesta Carter
Michael Frater
Usain Bolt
Asafa Powell
Dwight Thomas*
37.10
(WR)
 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)
Keston Bledman
Marc Burns
Emmanuel Callender
Richard Thompson
Aaron Armstrong*
38.06  Japan (JPN)
Naoki Tsukahara
Shingo Suetsugu
Shinji Takahira
Nobuharu Asahara
38.15
4×400 metres relay
 United States (USA)
LaShawn Merritt
Angelo Taylor
David Neville
Jeremy Wariner
Kerron Clement*
Reggie Witherspoon*
2:55.39
(OR)
 Bahamas (BAH)
Andretti Bain
Michael Mathieu
Andrae Williams
Chris Brown
Avard Moncur*
Ramon Miller*
2:58.03  Russia (RUS)
Maksim Dyldin
Vladislav Frolov
Anton Kokorin
Denis Alexeev
2:58.06
Marathon
 Samuel Wanjiru
Kenya (KEN)
2:06:32
(OR)
 Jaouad Gharib
Morocco (MAR)
2:07:16  Tsegay Kebede
Ethiopia (ETH)
2:10:00
20 kilometres walk
 Valeriy Borchin
Russia (RUS)
1:19:01  Jefferson Pérez
Ecuador (ECU)
1:19:15  Jared Tallent
Australia (AUS)
1:19:42
50 kilometres walk
 Alex Schwazer
Italy (ITA)
3:37:09
(OR)
 Jared Tallent
Australia (AUS)
3:39:27  Denis Nizhegorodov
Russia (RUS)
3:40:14
High jump
 Andrey Silnov
Russia (RUS)
2.36 m  Germaine Mason
Great Britain (GBR)
2.34 m  Yaroslav Rybakov
Russia (RUS)
2.34 m
Pole vault
 Steven Hooker
Australia (AUS)
5.96 m
(OR)
 Evgeny Lukyanenko
Russia (RUS)
5.85 m  Denys Yurchenko
Ukraine (UKR)
5.70 m
Long jump
 Irving Saladino
Panama (PAN)
8.34 m  Khotso Mokoena
South Africa (RSA)
8.24 m  Ibrahim Camejo
Cuba (CUB)
8.20 m
Triple jump
 Nelson Évora
Portugal (POR)
17.67 m  Phillips Idowu
Great Britain (GBR)
17.62 m  Leevan Sands
Bahamas (BAH)
17.59 m
Shot put
[a]
 Tomasz Majewski
Poland (POL)
21.51 m  Christian Cantwell
United States (USA)
21.09 m  Dylan Armstrong
Canada (CAN)
21.04 m
Discus throw
 Gerd Kanter
Estonia (EST)
68.82 m  Piotr Małachowski
Poland (POL)
67.82 m  Virgilijus Alekna
Lithuania (LTU)
67.79 m
Hammer throw
[b]
 Primož Kozmus
Slovenia (SLO)
82.02 m  Vadim Devyatovskiy
Belarus (BLR)
81.61 m  Ivan Tsikhan
Belarus (BLR)
81.51 m
Javelin throw
 Andreas Thorkildsen
Norway (NOR)
90.57 m
(OR)
 Ainārs Kovals
Latvia (LAT)
86.64 m  Tero Pitkämäki
Finland (FIN)
86.16 m
Decathlon
 Bryan Clay
United States (USA)
8791  Andrei Krauchanka
Belarus (BLR)
8551  Leonel Suárez
Cuba (CUB)
8527

Women

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 metres
 Shelly-Ann Fraser
Jamaica (JAM)
10.78  Sherone Simpson
Jamaica (JAM)
 Kerron Stewart
Jamaica (JAM)
10.98 Not awarded
as there was a tie for silver.
200 metres
 Veronica Campbell-Brown
Jamaica (JAM)
21.74  Allyson Felix
United States (USA)
21.93  Kerron Stewart
Jamaica (JAM)
22.00
400 metres
 Christine Ohuruogu
Great Britain (GBR)
49.62  Shericka Williams
Jamaica (JAM)
49.69  Sanya Richards
United States (USA)
49.93
800 metres
 Pamela Jelimo
Kenya (KEN)
1:54.87  Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei
Kenya (KEN)
1:56.07  Hasna Benhassi
Morocco (MAR)
1:56.73
1500 metres
 Nancy Jebet Lagat
Kenya (KEN)
4:00.23  Iryna Lishchynska
Ukraine (UKR)
4:01.63  Nataliya Tobias
Ukraine (UKR)
4:01.78
5000 metres
 Tirunesh Dibaba
Ethiopia (ETH)
15:41.40  Elvan Abeylegesse
Turkey (TUR)
15:42.74  Meseret Defar
Ethiopia (ETH)
15:44.12
10,000 metres
 Tirunesh Dibaba
Ethiopia (ETH)
29:54.66
(OR)
 Elvan Abeylegesse
Turkey (TUR)
29:56.34  Shalane Flanagan
United States (USA)
30:22.22
100 metres hurdles
 Dawn Harper
United States (USA)
12.54  Sally Pearson
Australia (AUS)
12.64  Priscilla Lopes-Schliep
Canada (CAN)
12.64
400 metres hurdles
 Melaine Walker
Jamaica (JAM)
52.64
(OR)
 Sheena Tosta
United States (USA)
53.70  Tasha Danvers
Great Britain (GBR)
53.84
3000 metres steeplechase
 Gulnara Galkina-Samitova
Russia (RUS)
8:58.81
(WR)
 Eunice Jepkorir
Kenya (KEN)
9:07.41  Yekaterina Volkova
Russia (RUS)
9:07.64
4×100 metres relay
 Russia (RUS)
Evgeniya Polyakova
Aleksandra Fedoriva
Yulia Gushchina
Yuliya Chermoshanskaya
42.31  Belgium (BEL)
Olivia Borlée
Hanna Mariën
Élodie Ouédraogo
Kim Gevaert
42.54
(NR)
 Nigeria (NGR)
Franca Idoko
Gloria Kemasuode
Halimat Ismaila
Oludamola Osayomi
Agnes Osazuwa*
43.04
4×400 metres relay
 United States (USA)
Mary Wineberg
Allyson Felix
Monique Henderson
Sanya Richards
Natasha Hastings*
3:18.54  Russia (RUS)
Yulia Gushchina
Lyudmila Litvinova
Tatiana Firova
Anastasia Kapachinskaya
Elena Migunova*
Tatyana Veshkurova*
3:18.82  Jamaica (JAM)
Shericka Williams
Shereefa Lloyd
Rosemarie Whyte
Novelene Williams
Bobby-Gaye Wilkins*
3:20.40
Marathon
 Constantina Diṭă-Tomescu
Romania (ROU)
2:26:44  Catherine Ndereba
Kenya (KEN)
2:27:06  Zhou Chunxiu
China (CHN)
2:27:07
20 kilometres walk
 Olga Kaniskina
Russia (RUS)
1:26:31
(OR)
 Kjersti Tysse Plätzer
Norway (NOR)
1:27:07  Elisa Rigaudo
Italy (ITA)
1:27:12
High jump
 Tia Hellebaut
Belgium (BEL)
2.05 m  Blanka Vlašić
Croatia (CRO)
2.05 m  Anna Chicherova
Russia (RUS)
2.03 m
Pole vault
 Yelena Isinbayeva
Russia (RUS)
5.05 m
(WR)
 Jennifer Stuczynski
United States (USA)
4.80 m  Svetlana Feofanova
Russia (RUS)
4.75 m
Long jump
 Maurren Maggi
Brazil (BRA)
7.04 m  Tatyana Lebedeva
Russia (RUS)
7.03 m  Blessing Okagbare
Nigeria (NGR)
6.91 m
Triple jump
 Françoise Mbango Etone
Cameroon (CMR)
15.39 m
(OR)
 Tatyana Lebedeva
Russia (RUS)
15.32 m  Hrysopiyi Devetzi
Greece (GRE)
15.23 m
Shot put
 Valerie Vili
New Zealand (NZL)
20.56 m  Natallia Mikhnevich
Belarus (BLR)
20.28 m  Nadzeya Astapchuk
Belarus (BLR)
19.86 m
Discus throw
 Stephanie Brown Trafton
United States (USA)
64.74 m  Yarelis Barrios
Cuba (CUB)
63.64 m  Olena Antonova
Ukraine (UKR)
62.59 m
Hammer throw
 Aksana Miankova
Belarus (BLR)
76.31 m
(OR)
 Yipsi Moreno
Cuba (CUB)
75.20 m  Zhang Wenxiu
China (CHN)
74.32 m
Javelin throw
 Barbora Špotáková
Czech Republic (CZE)
71.42 m  Mariya Abakumova
Russia (RUS)
70.78 m  Christina Obergföll
Germany (GER)
66.13 m
Heptathlon
[c]
 Natalya Dobrynska
Ukraine (UKR)
6733  Hyleas Fountain
United States (USA)
6619  Tatyana Chernova
Russia (RUS)
6591

* Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Medal table

Retrieved from Beijing Olympics 2008 Official Website.[3]

      Host nation (China)

The Beijing National Stadium on August 16, 2008, during the Olympics.
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 7 9 7 23
2  Russia (RUS) 6 5 7 18
3  Kenya (KEN) 6 4 4 14
4  Jamaica (JAM) 6 3 2 11
5  Ethiopia (ETH) 4 1 2 7
6  Belarus (BLR) 1 3 3 7
7  Cuba (CUB) 1 2 2 5
8  Australia (AUS) 1 2 1 4
8  Great Britain (GBR) 1 2 1 4
10  Ukraine (UKR) 1 1 3 5
11  Belgium (BEL) 1 1 0 2
11  Norway (NOR) 1 1 0 2
11  New Zealand (NZL) 1 1 0 2
11  Poland (POL) 1 1 0 2
15  Italy (ITA) 1 0 1 2
16  Brazil (BRA) 1 0 0 1
16  Cameroon (CMR) 1 0 0 1
16  Czech Republic (CZE) 1 0 0 1
16  Estonia (EST) 1 0 0 1
16  Panama (PAN) 1 0 0 1
16  Portugal (POR) 1 0 0 1
16  Romania (ROU) 1 0 0 1
16  Slovenia (SLO) 1 0 0 1
24  Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) 0 2 0 2
24  Turkey (TUR) 0 2 0 2
26  Bahamas (BAH) 0 1 1 2
26  France (FRA) 0 1 1 2
26  Morocco (MAR) 0 1 1 2
29  Croatia (CRO) 0 1 0 1
29  Ecuador (ECU) 0 1 0 1
29  Latvia (LAT) 0 1 0 1
29  South Africa (RSA) 0 1 0 1
29  Sudan (SUD) 0 1 0 1
34  China (CHN) 0 0 2 2
34  Nigeria (NGR) 0 0 2 2
36  Canada (CAN) 0 0 1 1
36  Finland (FIN) 0 0 1 1
36  Germany (GER) 0 0 1 1
36  Greece (GRE) 0 0 1 1
36  Japan (JPN) 0 0 1 1
36  Lithuania (LTU) 0 0 1 1
Total 47 48 46 141

Records broken

During these 2008 Summer Olympic Games, 17 new Olympic records and 5 new world records were set in the athletics events.

Men's Olympic and world records

Event Date Round Name Nationality Result OR WR
100 metres August 16 Final Usain Bolt Jamaica 9.69 s OR WR
200 metres August 20 Final Usain Bolt Jamaica 19.30 s OR WR
5000 metres August 23 Final Kenenisa Bekele Ethiopia 12:57.82 OR
10000 metres August 17 Final Kenenisa Bekele Ethiopia 27:01.17 OR
4x100 metre relay August 22 Final Nesta Carter
Michael Frater
Usain Bolt
Asafa Powell
Jamaica 37.10 s OR WR
4x400 metre relay August 23 Final LaShawn Merritt
Angelo Taylor
David Neville
Jeremy Wariner
United States 2:55.39 OR
Marathon August 24 Final Samuel Kamau Wanjiru Kenya 2:06:32 OR
50 kilometre walk August 22 Final Alex Schwazer Italy 3:37:09 OR
Pole vault August 22 Final Steven Hooker Australia 5.96 m OR
Javelin throw August 23 Final Andreas Thorkildsen Norway 90.57 m OR

Women's Olympic and world records

Event Date Round Name Nationality Result OR WR
400 metre hurdles August 20 Final Melaine Walker Jamaica 52.64 OR
3,000 metre steeplechase August 17 Final Gulnara Galkina-Samitova Russia 8:58.81 OR* WR
10,000 metres August 20 Final Tirunesh Dibaba Ethiopia 29:54.66 OR
20km walk August 20 Final Olga Kaniskina Russia 1:26:31 OR
Triple jump August 17 Final Françoise Mbango Etone Cameroon 15.39 m OR
Pole vault August 18 Final Yelena Isinbayeva Russia 5.05 m OR WR
Hammer throw August 20 Final Aksana Miankova Belarus 76.34 m OR

* Inaugural event.

Participating nations of men's events

Participating nations of women's events

See also

References

  1. Engeler, Elaine (June 10, 2010). "CAS Reinstates Medals for Hammer Throwers". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  2. IOC sanctions Liudmyla Blonska for failing Anti-Doping test IOC press release August 22, 2008.
  3. "Athletics Medal Standings". Archived from the original on 18 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-17.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2008 Summer Olympics athletics.