Mikio Oda was a Japanese athlete and the first Japanese Olympic gold medalist. He was the first Asian Olympic champion in an individual event.
Shuhei Nishida was a Japanese Olympic athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault.
The athletics competition at the 1981 Summer Universiade was held at the National Stadium in Bucharest, Romania, in July 1981. The programme featured 23 events for men and 16 for women. A total of fourteen Universiade records were broken during the 1981 Games.
At the 1993 East Asian Games, the athletics events were held at the Yuanshen Sports Centre Stadium in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. A total of 41 events were contested, of which 22 by male and 19 by female athletes. The competition featured only track and field events as there was no marathon race and the 20 km walk was held on the track.
The men's pole vault event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on August 5, 1936. Thirty athletes from 21 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by Earle Meadows of the United States. It was the nation's tenth consecutive victory in the men's pole vault.
In India, the sport of athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed at national level by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946. Despite its large population, few Indian athletes have won a medal in a global or major championship. This began to change in the 21st century, when Indians started taking greater interest in athletics more generally and improved facilities for the sport began to be built at a local level. At a continental level, it has been among the more successful Asian nations, though some distance behind China and Japan.
At the 1995 Summer Universiade, the athletics events were held at the Hakatanomori Athletic Stadium in Fukuoka, Japan from 29 August to 3 September. A total of 43 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 20 by female athletes.
At the 1991 Summer Universiade, the athletics events were held at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield in the United Kingdom from July 19–25. A total of 43 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 20 by female athletes.
Maho Hanaoka is a Japanese former track and field athlete who competed mainly in the long jump and triple jump. She is one of Japan's best female athletes in the horizontal jumps: she holds the Japanese records for the triple jump outdoors with 14.04 m and is also the record holder in both the long and triple jump indoors. Her long jump best of 6.82 m is a former Japanese record, second to Kumiko Ikeda.
At the 1995 Military World Games, the track and field events were held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy in September 1995. A total of thirty events were contested, of which 22 by male and 8 by female athletes.
Athletics was one of the sports at the biennial Far Eastern Championship Games. Athletics competitions were held at every one of the ten editions of the games, which existed between 1913 and 1934. This represented the first time that a regular major international athletics competition occurred between Asian nations. It was later succeeded by athletics at the Asian Games, which began in 1951.
At the 1917 Far Eastern Championship Games, the athletics events were held in Tokyo, Japan in May. A total of eighteen events were contested in the men-only competition. The javelin throw was contested for the first time and a ten mile run was included for the first and only time as the sole long-distance running event. Japan won most of the individual track medals, while China and the Philippines were the most successful in the field events section.
At the 1921 Far Eastern Championship Games, the athletics events were held in Shanghai, China in May and June. A total of 18 athletics events were contested at the competition. The five-mile track race was held for the first time, replacing the road race over the same distance that featured at the previous edition. Lighter implements were adopted for the shot put in comparison to the international standard.
At the 1923 Far Eastern Championship Games, the athletics events were held in Osaka, Japan in May. A total of 19 men's athletics events were contested at the competition. It was the last time that track events were conducted over imperial distances, as the competition aligned with international standards in 1925 and began using metric distances. The triple jump event was contested for the first time.
The athletics events at the May 1925 Far Eastern Championship Games were held in Manila, Philippines. A total of 19 men's athletics events were contested at the competition. It was the first time that track events at this competition were conducted over the international standard metric distances, changing from the imperial distances that previously featured at the competition.
At the 1927 Far Eastern Championship Games, the athletics events were held in Shanghai, China in August. A total of 19 men's athletics events were contested at the competition.
At the 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games, the athletics events were held in Manila, the Philippines in May. A total of 19 men's athletics events were contested at the competition. The 400 metres hurdles and 4×100 metres relay were contested for the first and only time, replacing the 200 m variants and conforming to the standard Olympic standard. This was the last edition of the games.
Fortunato Catalon was a Filipino track and field sprinter.
Genaro Saavedra was a Filipino track and field athlete and four-time Far Eastern Championship Games champion.
Kosaku Sumiyoshi was a Japanese track and field athlete. He represented his country twice at the Summer Olympics and was the first Asian to compete in the Olympic javelin throw. He was a three-time gold medallist at the Far Eastern Championship Games and the only person to win two javelin titles at the competition.
Takayoshi Yoshioka (JPN)
Anselmo Gonzaga (PHI)
China (CHN)