| 3rd World Championships in Athletics | |
| Host City: | Tokyo, Japan |
| Nations: | 167 |
| Athletes: | 1517 |
| Dates: | 23 August – 1 September 1991 |
| Opened By: | Emperor Akihito |
| Stadium: | Olympic Stadium |
| Previous: | 1987 Rome |
The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.[1] Japan hosted again the championship in 2007 in Osaka and Tokyo will host again the event in 2025 in a new venue building at the same place.
The event is best-remembered for the men's long jump competition, when Carl Lewis made the best six-jump series in history, only to be beaten by Mike Powell, whose 8.952NaN2 jump broke Bob Beamon's long-standing world record from the 1968 Summer Olympics.
1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995
| 100 m | 9.86 (WR) | 9.88 (PB) | 9.91 (PB) | ||||
| 200 m | 20.01 (CR) | 20.34 | 20.49 | ||||
| 400 m | 44.57 | 44.62 | 44.63 | ||||
| 800 m | 1:43.99 | 1:44.24 | 1:44.67 | ||||
| 1500 m | 3:32.84 (CR) | 3:34.84 | 3:35.28 | ||||
| 5000 m | 13:14.45 (CR) | 13:16.64 | 13:22.70 | ||||
| 10,000 m | 27:38.74 | 27:39.41 | 27:41.74 | ||||
| Marathon | 2:14:57 | 2:15:26 | 2:15:36 | ||||
| 110 m hurdles | 13.06 | 13.06 | 13.25 | ||||
| 400 m hurdles | 47.64 | 47.74 (NR) | 47.86 (NR) | ||||
| 3000 m st. | 8:12.59 | 8:13.44 | 8:15.54 | ||||
| 20 km walk | 1:19:37 (CR) | 1:19:46 | 1:20:22 | ||||
| 50 km walk | 3:53:09 | 3:53:09 | 3:55:14 | ||||
| 4 × 100 m relay | Andre Cason Leroy Burrell Dennis Mitchell Carl Lewis Michael Marsh | 37.50 (WR) | Max Morinière Daniel Sangouma Jean-Charles Trouabal Bruno Marie-Rose | 37.87 | Tony Jarrett John Regis Darren Braithwaite Linford Christie | 38.09 | |
| 4 × 400 m relay | Roger Black Derek Redmond John Regis Kriss Akabusi Ade Mafe | 2:57.53 (AR) | Andrew Valmon Quincy Watts Danny Everett Antonio Pettigrew Jeff Reynolds | 2:57.57 | Patrick O'Connor Devon Morris Winthrop Graham Seymour Fagan Howard Burnett | 3:00.10 | |
1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995
| Long jump | 8.95 (WR) | 8.91 | 8.42 | ||||
| Triple jump | 17.78 | 17.75 | 17.62 | ||||
| High jump | 2.38 (CR) | 2.36 | 2.36 | ||||
| Pole vault | 5.95 (CR) | 5.90 | 5.85 | ||||
| Shot put | 21.67 | 20.751 | 20.34 | ||||
| Discus throw | 66.20 | 65.82 | 65.32 | ||||
| Hammer throw | 81.70 | 80.94 | 80.44 | ||||
| Javelin throw | 90.82 | 88.12 | 87.08 | ||||
| Decathlon | 8812 (CR) | 8549 | 8394 | ||||
1 Georg Andersen of Norway originally won the silver medal, but he was disqualified after he tested positive for steroids.[2]
1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995
| 100 m | 10.99 | 11.03 | 11.06 | ||||
| 200 m | 22.09 | 22.16 | 22.21 | ||||
| 400 m | 49.13 | 49.42 | 49.78 | ||||
| 800 m | 1:57.50 | 1:57.55 | 1:57.58 | ||||
| 1500 m | 4:02.21 | 4:02.58 | 4:02.72 | ||||
| 3000 m | 8:35.82 | 8:36.06 | 8:39.41 (AR) | ||||
| 10,000 m | 31:14.31 | 31:35.08 | 31:35.99 | ||||
| Marathon | 2:29:53 | 2:29:57 | 2:30:10 | ||||
| 100 m hurdles | 12.59 | 12.63 | 12.69 | ||||
| 400 m hurdles | 53.11 (CR) | 53.16 NR | 53.47 | ||||
| 10 km walk | 42:57 (CR) | 43:13 | 43:13 | ||||
| 4 × 100 m relay | Dahlia Duhaney Juliet Cuthbert Beverly McDonald Merlene Ottey Merlene Frazer | 41.94 (NR) | Natalya Kovtun Galina Malchugina Yelena Vinogradova Irina Privalova | 42.20 | Grit Breuer Katrin Krabbe Sabine Richter Heike Drechsler | 42.33 | |
| 4 × 400 m relay | Tatyana Ledovskaya Lyudmila Dzhigalova Olga Nazarova Olha Bryzhina Anna Chuprina | 3:18.43 | Rochelle Stevens Diane Dixon Jearl Miles Lillie Leatherwood Natasha Kaiser-Brown | 3:20.15 | Uta Rohländer Katrin Krabbe Christine Wachtel Grit Breuer Annett Hesselbarth | 3:21.25 | |
1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995
| Long jump | 7.32 | 7.29 | 7.11 | ||||
| High jump | 2.05 | 1.98 | 1.96 | ||||
| Shot put | 20.83 | 20.29 | 20.16 | ||||
| Discus throw | 71.02 | 69.12 | 68.26 | ||||
| Javelin throw | 68.78 | 68.68 | 66.80 | ||||
| Heptathlon | 6672 | 6493 | 6448 | ||||