2011 in the sport of athletics explained

2011 in athletics
No. Of World Records:	13
Iaaf Athletes Of The Year:	Usain Bolt Sally Pearson
T&Amp;F News Athletes Of The Year:	David Rudisha Vivian Cheruiyot
World Marathon Majors Winners:	Emmanuel Mutai Liliya Shobukhova
Competitions Introduced:	African XC Championships
Previous:	2010
Next:	2012
Year:	2011 in sports

In 2011, the foremost athletics event was the 2011 World Championships in Athletics 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, 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 was not held, as that competition also switched to a two-year schedule.

Major events

World

• World Championships in Athletics
• World Cross Country Championships
• IAAF Diamond League
• World Youth Championships in Athletics
• IPC Athletics World Championships
• 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
• European Indoor Championships
• European Cross Country Championships
• European Team Championships
• European U23 Championships
• European Junior Championships
• European Youth Olympic Festival
• Commonwealth Youth Games
• Asian Championships
• Pan Arab Games
• Southeast Asian Games
• All-Africa Games
• African Junior Championships
• African Cross Country Championships

National

Dates	Event	City
12–13 February		Linz^[1]
12–13 February		Kuldīga
18–19 February	Lithuanian Indoor Championships	Klaipėda
19–21 April		Nukuʻalofa^[2]
30–31 May		Artashat^[3]
10–12 June		Kumagaya^[4]
23–26 June		Eugene
24–25 June		Freeport^[5]
25–26 June		Turin^[6]
23–24 July		Kassel^[7]
23–24 July		Kaunas^[8]
30–31 July		^[9]
6–7 August		Málaga^[10]
11–13 August		Bydgoszcz^[11]

World records

Men

Event	Athlete	Nation	Performance	Meeting	Place	Date
Triple jump (indoor)	Teddy Tamgho		17.91 m^[12]	French Indoor Championships	Aubière, France	20 February
			17.92 m 17.92 m^[13]	European Indoor Championships	Paris, France	6 March
Indoor heptathlon	Ashton Eaton		6568 pts^[14]	International Indoor Combined Events Meeting	Tallinn, Estonia	5–6 February
25,000 metres (track) 30,000 metres (track)	Moses Mosop		1:12:25.4 1:26:47.4^[15]	Prefontaine Classic	Eugene, Oregon, USA	4 June
30 km (road)	Peter Cheruiyot Kirui		1:27:37	2011 Berlin Marathon	Berlin, Germany	25 September
Marathon	Patrick Makau		2:03:38^[16]
4 × 100 metres relay	Nesta Carter Michael Frater Yohan Blake Usain Bolt	Jamaica	37.04^[17]	World Championships in Athletics	Daegu, South Korea	4 September
50,000 m track walk	Yohann Diniz		3:35:27.20^[18]	N/A	Reims, France	12 March

Women

Event	Athlete	Nation	Performance	Meeting	Place	Date
4 × 800 m relay (indoor)	Team Moscow Aleksandra Bulanova Yekaterina Martynova Yelena Kofanova Anna Balakshina		8:06.24^[19]	Russian Indoor Championships	Moscow, Russia	18 February
20 km road	Mary Keitany		1:02:36^[20]	Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon	Ras Al Khaimah, UAE	18 February
Half marathon			1:05:50
Hammer throw	Betty Heidler		79.42 m^[21]	International Throwing Meeting	Halle, Germany	21 May
20 km road walk	Vera Sokolova		1:25:08^[22]	Russian Race Walking Championships	Sochi, Russia	26 February

Season's bests

60 metres		6.48			7.09
100 metres		9.76			10.70
200 metres		19.26			22.15
400 metres		44.35			49.56	^†
800 metres		1:41.33			1:55.87
1500 metres		3:30.46			4:00.06
Mile run		3:49.09			4:28.60
3000 metres		7:27.26			8:30.26	indoor
5000 metres		12:53.11			14:20.87
10,000 metres		26:43.16			30:38.35
60 metres hurdles		7.37			7.79
100/110 metres hurdles		12.94			12.28
400 metres hurdles		47.66			52.47
3000 metres steeplechase		7:53.64			9:07.03
10 kilometres		27:15			30:38
15 kilometres		41:26			46:40
20 kilometres		56:16			1:02:36	WR
Half marathon		58:30			1:05:50	WR
25 kilometres		1:12:13			1:21:38
30 kilometres		1:27:37	WR		1:38:23	WR
Marathon		2:03:38	WR		2:18:20
20 kilometres race walk		1:18:30			1:25:08	WR
50 kilometres race walk		3:38:46		align=center colspan=3	—
Pole vault		6.03 m	indoor		4.91 m
High jump		2.38 m	indoor		2.07 m	NR
Long jump		8.54 m			7.19 m
Triple jump		17.96 m			14.99 m
Shot put		22.21 m			21.24 m
Discus throw		69.50 m			67.98 m	^†
Javelin throw		90.61 m			71.58 m	^†
Hammer throw		81.89 m			79.42 m	WR
Pentathlon	align=center colspan=3	—		4723 pts
Heptathlon		6568 pts	WR		6790 pts	^†
Decathlon		8729 pts		align=center colspan=3	—
4 × 100 metres relay		37.04	WR		41.56
4 × 400 metres relay		2:58.82				3:18.09

• ^† = Russia's Anastasiya Kapachinskaya ran 49.35 in July in at the Russian National Championships in Cheboksary, but this was annulled after she later failed a drug test.
• ^† = Russia's Mariya Abakumova threw 71.99, a championship record, at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, 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, but this was annulled after she later failed a drug test.^[23]
• ^† = Russia's Tatyana Chernova accumulated 6880 points at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, but this was annulled after she later failed a drug test.

Awards

Men

Award	Winner
IAAF World Athlete of the Year	^[24]
Track & Field Athlete of the Year	^[25]
European Athlete of the Year	^[26]
European Athletics Rising Star	^[27]

Women

Award	Winner
IAAF World Athlete of the Year
Track & Field Athlete of the Year	^[28]
European Athlete of the Year
European Athletics Rising Star

Deaths

• 3 January – Zbigniew Jaremski (61), 400 m relay silver medallist at the 1976 Olympics^[29]
• 16 January – Stefka Yordanova (64), 1973 European indoor champion over 800 m^[30]
• 3 February – Robert Young (95), 400 m relay silver medallist at the 1936 Olympics^[31]
• 5 February – Albert Yator (17), Kenyan world junior steeplechase medalist^[32]
• 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^[33]
• 25 February – Peter Hildreth (82), 1950 European Championships medallist in the hurdles^[34]
• 14 March – Eduard Gushchin (60), 1968 Olympic medallist in the shot put ^[35]
• 19 April – Grete Waitz (57), distance runner and world champion and record holder in the marathon^[36]
• 16 May – Samuel Wanjiru (24), first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon and a former half marathon world record holder^[37]
• 28 May – Romuald Klim (78), 1964 Olympic champion and former world record holder in the hammer throw^[38]
• 30 May – Ricky Bruch, (64) former world record holder in the discus throw^[39]
• 6 June – Benjamín González (53), World and European indoor medallist over 400 and 800 metres^[40]
• 10 June – Cosimo Caliandro (29), 3000 metres gold medallist at the 2007 European Indoors^[41]
• 10 July – Ragnar Lundberg (86), pole vaulter and 1950 European champion^[42]
• 12 July – Kurt Lundquist (85), 400 m runner and 1948 Olympic relay medallist^[43]
• 17 August – Pierre Quinon (49), 1984 Olympic pole vault champion^[44]
• 2 October – Vera Popkova (68), 1971 European indoor champion over 400 metres^[45]
• 13 October – Abdoulaye Seye (77), sprinter and 1960 Olympic medallist over 200 m^[46]
• 12 December – Sunday Bada (42), 1997 World indoor champion over 400 metres and Olympic relay gold medallist^[47]

Further reading

Annual season reviews from IAAF by A. Lennart Julin and Mirko Jalava:

• Sprints
• Middle-distances
• Long-distance (track)

• Road running and race walking
• Hurdles

• Jumps
• Throws
• Combined events

Notes and References

1. Web site: Austrian Indoor Championships . 2011-01-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110125221301/http://oelv.at/competitions/details.php?id=11377 . 2011-01-25 . dead .
2. http://www.athletics-oceania.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Competitions/2011/tga_national_championships_2011_final_resutls.pdf Tonga Championships
3. http://www1.armatletika.am/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=26&Itemid=84 Armenian Championships
4. http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/results.php?Season=2011&CID=12811394&user=5937 Japanese Championships
5. http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/results.php?Season=2011&CID=12812240&user=5937 Bahamian Championships
6. http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/results.php?Season=2011&CID=12812362&user=5937 Italian Championships
7. Web site: 111. Deutsche Leichtathletik-Meisterschaften. Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband. 24 July 2011. German. 27 July 2011. 26 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120326085138/http://www.leichtathletik.de/results/4256_kassel_DM_23040711.pdf. dead.
8. http://www.lengvoji.lt/files/2011kal.xls Lithuanian Championships
9. http://lat-athletics.lv/latvijas_eiropas_pasaules/21112010-latvijas_vieglatletikas_sacensibu_kalenda Latvian Championships
10. http://www.rfea.es/web/competiciones/campeonato.asp?codigo=2011MA004 Spanish Championships
11. http://pzla.pl/index.php?_a=2&_id=1399 87 Mistrzostwa Polski
12. http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=59357.html Tamgho triples to 17.91m World indoor record in Aubiere
13. Ramsak, Bob (2011-03-06). Tamgho twice (!) triples 17.92m World record in Paris as European Indoor Champs conclude. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-09.
14. Lindmae, Maris (2011-02-06). Eaton sets new World record in Tallinn with 6568 points. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-12.
15. Martin, Dave (2011-06-04). Mosop rips apart World records for 25,000 and 30,000m in Eugene – Samsung Diamond League . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-05.
16. Butcher, Pat (2011-09-25). Makau stuns with 2:03:38 Marathon World record in Berlin! - UPDATED. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-10-05.
17. Ramsak, Bob (2011-09-04). Daegu 2011 - Day 9 SUMMARY - 4 September . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-09-14.
18. Warburton, Paul (2011-03-12). Rolling Stones and champagne accompany World 50,000m race walk track record for Diniz . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-13.
19. Nickolai Dolgopolov and Rostislav Orlov (2011-02-19). Women’s World 4x800m Relay record falls in Moscow – Russian indoor champs wrap . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-20.
20. Hutchings, Tim (2011-02-18). Keitany smashes Half Marathon World record in Ras Al Khaimah - UPDATED. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-18.
21. Wenig, Jorg (2011-05-21). 79.42m - Heidler breaks World Hammer Throw record in Halle - UPDATED. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-23.
22. Nickolai Dolgopolov and Rostislav Orlov (2011-02-26). Sokolova heads off Kirdyapkina to clock 1:25:08 World record - UPDATED . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-05.
23. http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2011/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=DT/detail.html Discus Throw 2011
24. http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/gala/2011/newsid=62919.html Bolt and Pearson are World Athletes of the Year – 2011 World Athletics Gala
25. Web site: Track & Field News - the Bible of the Sport Since 1948.
26. http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=62675.html Farah and Savinova named European Athletes of the Year
27. http://www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&catid=374&id=10463&view=article Stars of Europe honoured during the Awards Night in Arona
28. Web site: Track & Field News - the Bible of the Sport Since 1948.
29. https://web.archive.org/web/20200417190851/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ja/zbigniew-jaremski-1.html Zbigniew Jaremski
30. https://archive.today/20120529192750/http://www.european-athletics.org/general-news/former-european-800m-indoor-champion-yordanova-dies.html Former European 800m indoor champion Yordanova dies
31. https://web.archive.org/web/20200418002746/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/yo/bob-young-1.html Bob Young
32. http://www.athleticsweekly.com/news/albert-yator-cause-of-death-confirmed/ Albert Yator cause of death confirmed
33. Pergament, Alan (2011-02-22). Matson obituary: protecting the NFL? Still Talkin' TV (wnymedia.net). Retrieved 2011-12-17.
34. http://www.european-athletics.org/general-news/1950-european-athletics-championships-medallist-peter-hildreth-dies.html 1950 European Athletics Championships medallist Peter Hildreth dies
35. http://www.european-athletics.org/general-news/1968-olympic-medallist-eduard-gushchin-dies.html 1968 Olympic medallist Eduard Gushchin dies
36. http://www.iaaf.org/aboutiaaf/news/newsid=59808.html Distance running legend Grete Waitz passes away, memorial tribute to be held on 11 May
37. Ramsak, Bob (2011-05-16). Samuel Wanjiru, Olympic Marathon champion, dies at 24. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-18.
38. http://www.iaaf.org/aboutiaaf/news/newsid=60192.html Klim, Olympic Hammer Throw champion, passes away
39. http://www.expressen.se/sport/friidrott/1.2454428/ricky-bruch-dod-forlorade-mot-cancer
40. http://www.european-athletics.org/general-news/spains-1982-european-athletics-indoor-championships-medallist-benjamin-gonzalez-dies.html Spain’s 1982 European Athletics Indoor Championships medallist Benjamin Gonzalez dies
41. http://www.european-athletics.org/general-news/italys-2007-european-indoor-championships-cosimo-caliandro-killed.html Italy’s 2007 European indoor championships Cosimo Caliandro killed
42. https://web.archive.org/web/20200417173918/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/lu/ragnar-lundberg-1.html Ragnar Lundberg
43. https://web.archive.org/web/20200417203602/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/lu/kurt-lundquist-1.html Kurt Lundquist
44. http://www.iaaf.org/aboutiaaf/news/newsid=61137.html French Pole Vault ace Pierre Quinon has died
45. http://www.european-athletics.org/general-news/former-european-indoor-400m-champion-vera-popkova-passes-away.html Former European indoor 400m champion Vera Popkova passes away
46. http://www.iaaf.org/aboutiaaf/news/newsid=62737.html Abdoulaye Seye, 1960 Olympic bronze medallist, passes away
47. http://www.iaaf.org/aboutiaaf/news/newsid=63170.html 1997 World Indoor champion Sunday Bada dies