Major Events
World
The 1997 IAAF Grand Prix Final was the thirteenth edition of the season-ending competition for the IAAF Grand Prix track and field circuit, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was held on 13 September at the Hakatanomori Athletic Stadium in Fukuoka City, Japan.  The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations. Athens used the successful organization of the World Championships the next month during the IOC Session in Lausanne during its campaign to host the 2004 Summer Olympics as proof positive of Athens' and Greece's ability and readiness to organize large-scale, international sporting events.  The 1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on 23 March 1997. The races were held at the Parco del Valentino in Torino, Italy. A report of the event was given in The New York Times, in the Herald, and for the IAAF. |  The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault. There were a total number of 712 participating athletes from 118 countries.  The 1997 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 19 and 20 April 1997 in the streets of Poděbrady, Czech Republic. The course followed a loop around Lázeňský park.  The athletics at the 1997 Summer Universiade took place in the Stadio Cibali in Catania, Sicily (Italy) at the end of August 1997, shortly after the World Championships in Athens, Greece. New events were the women's hammer throw, pole vault and half marathon competition. The marathon was dropped from the programme in favour of the half distance. A total of 23 men's and 22 women's events were contested. |
Regional
The 26th CARIFTA Games was held at the National Stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados, on April 4–6, 1997. The 1997 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico between 26–28 June.  At the 1997 East Asian Games, the athletics events were held at the Busan Gudeok Stadium in Busan, South Korea between 10 and 19 May. Forty-three events were contested, 23 by male athletes and 20 by females. |
The 1st European Athletics U23 Championships were held in Turku, Finland on 10–13 July 1997. The competition succeeded the European Athletics U23 Cup, which had been held in 1992 and 1994.  At the 1997 Mediterranean Games, the athletics events were held at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, Italy from 15–19 June 1997. A total of forty-three events were contested, of which 23 by male and 20 by female athletes. A total of 24 Games records were broken or equalled during the competition. The 9th Pan American Junior Athletics Championships were held in Havana, Cuba, on July 18–20, 1997. |
