This article contains an overview of the year 1979 in athletics.
| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Meeting | Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 m | Pietro Mennea | 19.72 |  Mexico City, Mexico | 12 September | |||
| 800 m | Sebastian Coe | 1:42.33 |  Oslo, Norway | 5 July | |||
| 1500 m | Sebastian Coe | 3:32.03 | Zürich, Switzerland | 15 August | |||
| Mile | Sebastian Coe | 3:48.95 | Oslo, Norway | 17 July | |||
| 110 m hurdles | Renaldo Nehemiah | 13.16 |  San Jose, United States | 14 April | |||
| 110 m hurdles | Renaldo Nehemiah | 13.00 | Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States | 6 May |
| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Meeting | Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 m | Marita Koch | 22.02 | Leipzig, East Germany | 3 June | |||
| 200 m | Marita Koch | 21.71 | Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany | 10 June | |||
| 400 m | Marita Koch | 48.89 | Potsdam, East Germany | 29 July | |||
| 400 m | Marita Koch | 48.60 |  Turin, Italy | 4 August | |||
| Mile | Natalia Mărășescu | 4:22.1 |  Auckland, New Zealand | 27 January | |||
| 100 m hurdles | Grażyna Rabsztyn | 12.48[1] |  Warsaw, Poland | 18 June | |||
| 400 m hurdles | Marina Styepanova | 54.78 |  Moscow, Russia | 27 July | |||
| Javelin throw | Ruth Fuchs | 69.52 m | Dresden, East Germany | 13 June | |||
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Marita Koch Romy Müller Ingrid Auerswald Marlies Göhr | 42.10 | Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany | 10 June | |||
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Christina Lathan Romy Müller Ingrid Auerswald Marlies Göhr | 42.09 | Turin, Italy | 4 August | |||
| 4 × 200 metres relay | Raisa Makhova Nina Zyuskova Tatyana Prorochenko Maria Kulchunova | 1:30.74[2] | Moscow, Soviet Union | 29 July |
| 100 metres | 10.01 | 10.97 | |||||
| 200 metres | 19.72 | WR | 21.71 | WR | |||
| 400 metres | 44.92 | 48.60 | WR | ||||
| 800 metres | 1:42.33 | WR | 1:56.2 | ||||
| 1500 metres | 3:32.03 | WR | 3:57.4 | ||||
| 3000 metres | 7:37.70 | 8:31.75 | |||||
| 5000 metres | 13:12.29 | align=center colspan=3 | — | ||||
| 10,000 metres | 27:36.8 | align=center colspan=3 | — | ||||
| 100/110 metres hurdles | 13.00 | WR | 12.48 | WR | |||
| 400 metres hurdles | 47.53 | 54.78 | WR | ||||
| 3000 metres steeplechase | 8:17.92 | align=center colspan=3 | — | ||||
| High jump | 2.32 m | 1.99 m | |||||
| Pole vault | 5.65 m | align=center colspan=3 | — | ||||
| Long jump | 8.52 m | 6.90 m | |||||
| Triple jump | 17.27 m | align=center colspan=3 | — | ||||
| Shot put | 21.74 m | 22.04 m | |||||
| Discus throw | 70.66 m | 69.82 m | |||||
| Hammer throw | 79.82 m | align=center colspan=3 | — | ||||
| Javelin throw | 93.84 m | 69.52 m | WR | ||||
| Decathlon | 8476 pts | align=center colspan=3 | — | ||||
| 4 × 100 metres relay | 38.30 | 42.09 | WR | ||||
| 4 × 400 metres relay | 3:00.70 | 3:19.62 |