| 2012 in athletics | |
|---|---|
The Olympic Stadium, which hosted the 2012 Olympic athletics
| |
| Major world events | 2012 Olympic Games |
| World records set | 12 |
| IAAF Athletes of the Year | Usain Bolt Allyson Felix |
| World Marathon Majors winners | Geoffrey Mutai Mary Jepkosgei Keitany |
← 2011 2013 → | |
In 2012 the foremost competition in athletics was the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The International Association of Athletics Federations held four other global level competitions in 2012: the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics and the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.[1]
For the first time since 1945, there was no global level championship for cross country running, as the IAAF World Cross Country Championships moved to a biennial format.[2] Three of the major continental championships were held a month prior to the London Olympics: the 2012 African Championships in Athletics, 2012 European Athletics Championships and 2012 Oceania Athletics Championships.
The Diamond League entered its third year as the foremost seasonal track and field series.
| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Meeting | Place | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 m hurdles (indoor) | Felix Sánchez |  Dominican Republic
|
48.78[Note 1] | Meeting National Val-de-Reuil |  Val-de-Reuil, France
|
18 February | [3][4] |
| Heptathlon (Indoor) | Ashton Eaton |  United States
|
6645 pts | World Championships |  Istanbul, Turkey
|
9–10 March 2012 | [5] |
| 800 metres | David Rudisha |  Kenya
|
1:40.91 | Olympic Games |  London, Great Britain
|
9 August 2012 | [6] |
| 25 km (road) | Dennis Kipruto Kimetto | Kenya
|
1:11:18 | BIG 25 |  Berlin, Germany
|
6 May 2012 | [7][8] |
| 110 m hurdles | Aries Merritt | United States
|
12.80 | Memorial Van Damme |  Brussels, Belgium
|
7 September 2012 | [9] |
| 4 × 100 m relay | Nesta Carter Michael Frater Yohan Blake Usain Bolt |
 Jamaica
|
36.84 | Olympic Games | London, Great Britain
|
11 August 2012 | [10] |
| Decathlon | Ashton Eaton | United States
|
9039 pts | United States Olympic Trials | Eugene, United States
|
22–23 June 2012 | [11] |
| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Meeting | Place | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 m steeplechase (Indoor) | Yelena Orlova |  Russia
|
6:06.11[Note 2] | Moscow City Championships | Moscow, Russia
|
12 February 2012 | [12][13] |
| Pole vault (Indoor) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia
|
5.01 m | XL Galan |  Stockholm, Sweden
|
23 February 2012 | [14][15] |
| Pentathlon (Indoor) | Nataliya Dobrynska |  Ukraine
|
5013 pts | World Championships | Istanbul, Turkey
|
9 March 2012 | [16] |
| 4 × 100 m relay | Tianna Madison Allyson Felix Bianca Knight Carmelita Jeter |
United States
|
40.82 | Olympic Games | London, Great Britain
|
10 August 2012 | [17] |
| 20 km walk (road) | Elena Lashmanova | Russia
|
1:25:02 | Olympic Games | London, Great Britain
|
11 August 2012 | [18] |
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | Usain Bolt (JAM)
|
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | David Rudisha (KEN)
|
| European Athlete of the Year | Mo Farah (GBR)
|
| European Athletics Rising Star |  Pavel Maslák (CZE)
|
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Years in the sport of athletics
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