Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earning her the nickname "the Flying Housewife", and was the most successful athlete at the event.
Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson,, better known as Daley Thompson, is an English former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times. He was unbeaten in competition for nine years.
Sport in Ireland plays an important role in Irish society. The many sports played and followed in Ireland include Gaelic games, association football, horse racing, show jumping, greyhound racing, basketball, fishing, motorsport, boxing, tennis, hockey, golf, rowing, cricket, and rugby union.
The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships is a racewalking event organised by World Athletics. It has been held since 1961, and generally on a biennial basis. The first women's edition of the event happened in 1979. It was formerly known as the Lugano Cup after the city that hosted the first event, then became the IAAF World Race Walking Cup until 2016 and then IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships until 2018. In 2004, a junior division was added for athletes between 16 and 20. Since 2008 it has been a constituent meeting of the World Athletics Challenge – Race Walking.
A team representing Ireland as an independent state or polity has competed at the Summer Olympic Games since 1924, and at the Winter Olympic Games since 1992.
Marco De Luca is an Italian race walker. His best results at International level are 7th place at 2009 World Championships and 6th at 2006 European Championships and 2010 European Championships.
Ian Andrew Wright is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Wright won 31 national titles during his career. After his rowing career ended, he became a coach and his Swiss lightweight men's four team won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was announced as Australia's head rowing coach in September 2016. He immediately coached the Australian men's four to a gold medal at the 2017 world rowing championships in Sarasota, Florida.
Robert Heffernan is an Irish race walker.
Athletics in Italy is the 7th most popular participation sport, practiced by 995,000 people.
Brendan Boyce is an Irish race walker. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 50k walk, coming 29th, and the 2013 World Championships in Athletics where he came 25th. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 50k walk where he finished in the top twenty, bettering his performance of the previous Olympiad. In 2021, he represented Ireland at the 2020 Summer Olympics, placing 10th in the men's 50 kilometres walk.
Paul Pollock is an Irish Marathon runner from Holywood, Northern Ireland. He competed at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing the marathon in 32nd position, in a time of 2.16.24. He was the first Irishman home, followed by his teammates Kevin Seaward and Mick Clohisey. His time was the third-fastest by an Irish runner at an Olympic game. He also competed in the men's marathon at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
Didrik Tønseth is a Norwegian cross-country skier and runner.
Thomas Barr is an Irish track and field athlete who competes in the sprints and hurdles. He is probably best known for being a member of the winning European Championship Mixed 4x400 Relay team.
Massimo Stano is a male Italian racewalker. He competed in the 20 kilometres walk event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, finishing in the 19th position, and the same event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, finishing in first place. On 24 July 2022, Stano won the 2022 World Athletics Championships with a championship record.
The 2016 IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships was the 27th edition of the global team racewalking competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was held in Rome, Italy from 7 to 8 May 2016. It was the first edition of the tournament under its new name, having previously been known as the IAAF World Race Walking Cup since 1989.
Alexander Hartmann is an Australian sprinter who competes primarily in the 200 metres and qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Thelma Wright is a Canadian middle-distance runner. She competed in the 1500 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics. In 1970, Wright won a bronze medal at the World Cross Country Championships in France, and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh at 1500 metres.
Leon Reid is a former British-Irish track and field sprinter. He won the bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Northern Ireland's first athletics medal in 28 years, and silver in the event at the 2013 European Under-23 Championships.
Alex Haydock-Wilson is a British athletics athlete. In 2023, he became British 400 metres champion. He achieved a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the mixed 4 x 400 m relay.
Ireland 
