2021 in the sport of athletics
Open-knowledge reference entry
In 2021, like the previous year, the sport of athletics was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, at both the elite and local level. The main competition was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which had been rescheduled. The rescheduling meant that the World Athletics Championships, originally set for 2021, was postponed given the presence of the Olympics in a World Championships year.
Several other competitions were held in 2021 after being delayed from their usual schedule in 2020, including 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships. However, the severity of the impacts of the pandemic remained high and other major competitions were pushed to a later date (such as the 2021 World Athletics Indoor Championships and 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships), while others were cancelled completely, including the African Championships in Athletics and Asian Athletics Championships.
Smaller-scale meetings generally proceeded where pandemic restrictions allowed, although continued restrictions resulted in the cancellation of the British Indoor Athletics Championships, USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Tokyo Marathon, and both Chinese legs of the 2021 Diamond League.
International competitions
Global championships
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
2021 World Athletics Relays
2021 World Athletics U20 Championships
Regional championships
2021 Arab Athletics Championships
2021 Balkan Athletics Championships
2021 Balkan Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Baltic States Athletics Championships
2021 Central American Championships in Athletics
2021 European Athletics Team Championships
2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships
2021 European Athletics U20 Championships
2021 European Athletics U23 Championships
2021 European Cross Country Championships
2021 European 10,000m Cup
2021 European Race Walking Team Championships
2021 European Throwing Cup
2021 World Para Athletics European Championships
2021 NACAC U18 U20 and U23 Championships in Athletics
2021 NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics – Results
Athletics at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games
2021 Championships of the Small States of Europe
2021 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics – Results
2021 South American Championships in Athletics
2021 South American Championships in Athletics – Results
2021 South American U18 Championships in Athletics
2021 South American U20 Championships in Athletics
2021 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics
Postponed
World Athletics Championships
World Indoor Championships
World Para Athletics Championships
World Cross Country Championships
World Mountain Running Championships
World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships
Universiade
Southeast Asian Games
South Asian Games
Asian U18 Athletics Championships
East Asian Youth Games
European Youth Olympic Festival
Pan American U20
Cancelled
African Championships in Athletics
Asian Athletics Championships
CARIFTA Games
Oceanian Athletics Championships
Games of the Small States of Europe
Island Games
African U18 and U20 Championships in Athletics
CARIFTA Games
Oceania U20 Athletics Championships
Annual competitions
2021 Diamond League
2021 British Grand Prix
2021 Doha Diamond League
2021 Golden Gala
2021 Bislett Games
2021 BAUHAUS-galan
2021 Herculis
2021 Prefontaine Classic
2021 Athletissima
2021 Meeting de Paris
2021 Memorial Van Damme
2021 Weltklasse Zürich
2021 World Athletics Indoor Tour
2021 World Athletics Continental Tour
2021 Hypo-Meeting
2021 Berlin Marathon
2021 Boston Marathon
2021 Chicago Marathon
2021 London Marathon
2021 New York City Marathon
2021 Taipei Marathon
National indoor championships
2021 Belgian Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Czech Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Dutch Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 French Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 German Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships
2021 Polish Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Russian Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Spanish Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Swedish Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Turkish Indoor Athletics Championships
2021 Ukrainian Athletics Indoor Championships
2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
National outdoor championships
2020–21 Australian Athletics Championships
2021 Belgian Athletics Championships
2021 British Athletics Championships
2021 British Athletics Marathon and 20km Walk Trial
2021 Canadian Athletics Championships
2021 Chinese Athletics Championships
2021 Czech Athletics Championships
2021 Dutch Athletics Championships
2021 Estonian Athletics Championships
2021 Finnish Athletics Championships
2021 French Athletics Championships
2021 German Athletics Championships
2021 Hungarian Athletics Championships
2021 Icelandic Athletics Championships
2021 Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships
2021 Iranian Athletics Championships
2021 Italian Athletics Championships
2021 Jamaican Athletics Championships
2021 Japan Championships in Athletics
2021 Lithuanian Athletics Championships
2021 Norwegian Athletics Championships
2021 Polish Athletics Championships
2021 Portuguese Athletics Championships
2021 Russian Athletics Championships
2021 Spanish Athletics Championships
2021 Swedish Athletics Championships
2021 Ukrainian Athletics Championships
2021 USA Cross Country Championships
2020 United States Olympic trials
2021 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships
2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
2021 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships
By event
2020/21 in 60 metres
2021 in 100 metres
World records
Indoor
Outdoor
Deaths
5 January: Mikhail Zhelev, Bulgarian steeplechaser, aged 77.
7 January: Vladimir Kiselyov, Soviet shot putter, aged 64.
8 January: Bill Nankeville, British distance runner, aged 95.
13 January: Bernd Kannenberg, German racewalker, aged 78.
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