| Iaaf: | USA |
| Fedname: | USA Track & Field |
| Games: | World Athletics Championships |
| Gold: | 195 |
| Silver: | 134 |
| Bronze: | 114 |
| Rank: | 1 |
| Appearances: | auto |
The United States has competed at every edition of the World Athletics Championships since its inception in 1983. It has been the most successful nation at the global competition for track and field. By the end of the 2023 World Championships, its athletes had won a total of 443 medals, 195 of them gold – more than double that of the next most successful nation Kenya, as well as more than the combined total of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states. It has been the top nation in the championships medal table at every edition bar 1983 and 1987 (East Germany), 2001 (Russia) and 2015 (Kenya). It also ranks number one on points in the national placing tables. As one of the foremost nations in the sport internationally, its delegations for the championships are among the largest. It also won the first title of "World Team Champions" inaugurated for the Oregon 2022.
The most decorated athlete of the competition's history is American: Allyson Felix has won 20 World Championships medals, eleven of them gold, competing across the individual and relay sprint events. Among men, the United States has three of the four most decorated men (after Usain Bolt), all of them sprinters; LaShawn Merritt has eleven medals, Carl Lewis won ten and Michael Johnson won eight. All three won eight gold medals. Johnson is the nation's most successful athlete individually (and the third most successful overall), having won six gold medals in the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash. American Gail Devers is the second most successful woman individually, with four golds and two silver medals from the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles. Felix and Amy Acuff have made the most appearances for the United States, each having represented their country at eight separate editions.
The United States team was affected by doping during the period from 1997 to 2003, principally in sprinting events. The loss of several gold medals in 2001 resulted in the United States dropping to second in the medal rankings for the first time since 1987.
| Championships | Men | Women | Mixed | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank | Athletes | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | style="border-left-width: 3px;" colspan=3 | style="border-left-width: 3px;" rowspan=18 colspan=3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unranked | 3 | ||||||
| style="border-left-width: 3px;" colspan=3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unranked | 6 | |||||||
| 6 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 24 | 2 | 101 | |||||
| 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 2 | ||||||
| 9 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 1 | ||||||
| 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 1 | ||||||
| 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 1 | ||||||
| 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 1 | ||||||
| 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 2 | ||||||
| 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 1 | ||||||
| 9 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 25 | 1 | ||||||
| 10 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 1 | ||||||
| 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 1 | 160 | |||||
| 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 28 | 1 | 127 | |||||
| 4 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 26 | 1 | 137 | |||||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 130 | |||||
| 3 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 30 | 1 | 167 | |||||
| 9 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 29 | 1 | 144 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 33 | 1 | 151 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 29 | 1 | 138 | ||
| Total | 119 | 74 | 67 | 74 | 60 | 46 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 195 | 134 | 114 | 443 | 1 | ||
| Athlete | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 2005–2022 | ||
| 8 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 2005–2015 | ||
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1983–1993 | ||
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1991–1999 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2019–2023 | ||
| 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1991–2001 | ||
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2003–2015 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2005–2009 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2007–2017 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2009–2019 | ||
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1997–2001 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 2005–2019 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 1991–2003 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1995–2005 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2003–2011 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2007–2017 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2015–2023 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1987–1993 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2009–2017 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2011–2019 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1991–1995 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2017–2023 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1987–1995 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2007–2013 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2017–2023 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1983–1987 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2005–2007 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2007–2009 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2019–2022 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1997–1999 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2005–2011 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2007–2011 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1983–1991 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1991–1995 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1995–2001 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2019–2023 |
Of the 50 events that have been held over the history of the championships, 30 have been won by American athletes (17 men's events and 13 women's events). A further 4 men's and 5 women's events have featured an American medallist at some point. Americans have topped the podium in all sprint and hurdles events, as well as all the men's jumps. By far the weakest events of the United States are men's and women's racewalking and women's throws – only four bronze medals have been won by American athletes in these disciplines, among a total of over 350 medals across events. Americans have featured in the final at some point of every discipline contested at the championships.
This table shows the best place finish by an American athlete by event. Where the best position has been achieved multiple times, the first instance is shown.
| Event | Men's placing | Male athlete | Women's placing | Female athlete | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | Carl Lewis (1983) | Gail Devers (1993) | |||
| 200 m | Calvin Smith (1983) | Inger Miller (1999) | |||
| 400 m | Antonio Pettigrew (1991) | Jearl Miles (1993) | |||
| 800 m | Donavan Brazier (2019) | Athing Mu (2022) | |||
| 1500 m | Bernard Lagat (2007) | Mary Decker (1983) | |||
| 3000 m | Not contested | Mary Decker (1983) | |||
| 5000 m | Bernard Lagat (2007) | 6th | Molly Huddle (2013) | ||
| 10,000 m | 4th | Galen Rupp (2013) | Kara Goucher (2007) | ||
| Marathon | Mark Plaatjes (1993) | Marianne Dickerson (1983) | |||
| 110/100 m hurdles | Greg Foster (1983) | Gail Devers (1993) | |||
| 400 m hurdles | Edwin Moses (1983) | Kim Batten (1995) | |||
| 3000 m s'chase | Evan Jager (2017) | Emma Coburn (2017) | |||
| 10 km walk | Not contested | 15th | Lynn Weik (1987) | ||
| 20 km walk | 18th | Allen James (1993) | 19th | Debbi Lawrence (2001) | |
| 50 km walk | Curt Clausen (1999) | 4th | Kathleen Burnett (2017) | ||
| 4 × 100 m relay | United States (1987) | United States (1987) | |||
| 4 × 400 m relay | United States (1983) | United States (1993) | |||
| High jump | Charles Austin (1991) | Brigetta Barrett (2013) | |||
| Pole vault | Brad Walker (2007) | Stacy Dragila (1999) | |||
| Long jump | Carl Lewis (1983) | Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1987) | |||
| Triple jump | Kenny Harrison (1991) | Tori Franklin (2022) | |||
| Shot put | John Godina (1995) | Chase Ealey (2022) | |||
| Discus throw | Anthony Washington (1999) | Laulauga Tausaga (2023) | |||
| Javelin throw | Tom Petranoff (1983) | Kara Winger (2022) | |||
| Hammer throw | 5th | Lance Deal (1995) | DeAnna Price (2019) | ||
| Decathlon/heptathlon | Dan O'Brien (1991) | Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1987) |
| Year | Athlete | Event | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Women's 800 m | Semi-finalist | ||
| 1993 | Men's shot put | Stripped of bronze medal | ||
| 1997 | Men's 400 m | 7th individually, stripped of relay gold medal | ||
| 1999 | Men's 400 m | 5th individually, stripped of relay gold medal | ||
| 1999 | Men's 400 m | 4th individually, stripped of relay gold medal | ||
| 2001 | Men's 200 m | Quarter-finalist | ||
| 2001 | Men's 100 m | Stripped of individual silver and relay gold medals | ||
| 2001 | Men's 400 m | 4th individually, stripped of relay gold medal | ||
| 2001 | Men's 400 m | Semi-finalist, stripped of relay gold medal | ||
| 2001 | Women's 100 m, 200 m | Stripped of 100 m silver, 200 m gold and relay gold medals | ||
| 2001 | Women's 100 m, 200 m | 7th in 100 m, stripped of 200 m bronze and relay gold medals | ||
| 2003 | Men's 400 m | 6th individually, stripped of relay gold | ||
| 2003 | Men's 100 m | 5th in final | ||
| 2003 | Men's 110 m hurdles | 5th in final | ||
| 2003 | Men's shot put | 4th in final | ||
| 2003 | Men's 400 m | stripped of individual and relay gold medals | ||
| 2003 | Women's 1500 m | Semi-finalist | ||
| 2003 | Women's hammer throw | 12th in final | ||
| 2003 | Women's 100 m, 200 m | stripped of 100 m and 200 m gold medals |