| Athletics at the 1955 Pan American Games | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | 13–19 March |
| Host city | Mexico City, Mexico  |
| Venue | Estadio Universitario |
| Level | Senior |
| Events | 29 |
| Participation | 242 athletes from 20 nations |
The athletics competition at the 1955 Pan American Games was held in Mexico City, Mexico.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres | Rod Richard  United States | 10.3A GR | Mike Agostini  Trinidad and Tobago | 10.4A | Willie Williams United States | 10.4A |
| 200 metres | Rod Richard United States | 20.94A GR | Charles Thomas United States | 21.42A | José Telles da Conceição  Brazil Mike Agostini Trinidad and Tobago | 21.66A 21.67A |
| 400 metres | Lou Jones United States | 45.68A WR | Jim Lea United States | 45.78A | Jesse Mashburn United States | 46.44A |
| 800 metres | Arnie Sowell United States | 1:49.86A GR | Lon Spurrier United States | 1:50.51A | Ramón Sandoval  Chile | 1:52.52A |
| 1500 metres | Juan Miranda  Argentina | 3:53.30A GR | Wes Santee United States | 3:53.44A | Fred Dwyer United States | 3:56.04A |
| 5000 metres | Osvaldo Suárez Argentina | 15:30.6A | Horace Ashenfelter United States | 15:31.4A | Jaime Correa Chile | 15:39.2A |
| 10,000 metres | Osvaldo Suárez Argentina | 32:42.6A | Vicente Sánchez Mexico | 33:00.4A | Jaime Correa Chile | 33:42.6A |
| Marathon | Doroteo Flores  Guatemala | 2:59:10A | Onésimo Rodríguez Mexico | 3:02:22A | Luis Velásquez Guatemala | 3:05:26A |
| 110 metres hurdles (wind: 0.0 m/s) | Jack Davis United States | 14.44A | Keith Gardner  Jamaica | 14.74A | Evaristo Iglesias  Cuba | 14.94A |
| 400 metres hurdles | Josh Culbreath United States | 51.5A GR | Jaime Aparicio  Colombia | 51.8A | Wilson Carneiro Brazil | 53.0A |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Guillermo Solá Chile | 9:46.8A | Santiago Novas Chile | 9:50.4A | Eligio Galicia Mexico | 9:54.2A |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | United States Willie Williams John Bennett Charles Thomas Rod Richard | 40.96A GR |  Venezuela Clive Bonas Apolinar Solórzano Guillermo Gutiérrez Juan Leiva | 41.36A | Mexico Alberto Goya René Ahumada Javier Souza Sergio Higuera | 41.94A |
| 4 × 400 metres relay | United States Jesse Mashburn Lon Spurrier Jim Lea Lou Jones | 3:07.43A GR | Jamaica Keith Gardner Richard Stick Mel Spence Allan Moore | 3:12.63A | Venezuela Guillermo Gutiérrez Apolinar Solórzano Evaristo Edie Juan Leiva | 3:15.93A |
| High jump | Ernie Shelton United States | 2.01A GR | Herman Wyatt United States | 2.01A | José Telles da Conceição Brazil | 1.91A |
| Pole vault | Bob Richards United States | 4.50A =GR | Bobby Smith United States | 4.30A | Don Laz United States | 4.30A |
| Long jump | Rosslyn Range United States | 8.03A GR | John Bennett United States | 8.01A | Ary de Sá Brazil | 7.84A |
| Triple jump | Adhemar da Silva Brazil | 16.56A WR | Asnoldo Devonish Venezuela | 16.13A | Víctor Hernández Cuba | 15.60A |
| Shot put | Parry O'Brien United States | 17.59A GR | Fortune Gordien United States | 15.98A | Marty Engel United States | 14.62A |
| Discus throw | Fortune Gordien United States | 53.10A GR | Parry O'Brien United States | 51.07A | Hernán Haddad Chile | 47.14A |
| Hammer throw | Bob Backus United States | 54.91A GR | Marty Engel United States | 53.36A | Elvio Porta Argentina | 51.45A |
| Javelin throw | Franklin "Bud" Held United States | 69.77A GR | Ricardo Héber Argentina | 66.15A | Reinaldo Oliver  Puerto Rico | 65.56A |
| Decathlon | Rafer Johnson United States | 6994A | Bob Richards United States | 6886A | Hernán Figueroa Chile | 5740A |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 metres | Bertha Díaz Cuba | 7.5A | Isabelle Daniels United States | 7.6A | Mabel Landry United States | 7.6A |
| 100 metres | Barbara Jones United States | 11.90A GR | Mae Faggs United States | 12.07A | María Luisa Castelli Argentina | 12.38A |
| 80 metres hurdles | Eliana Gaete Chile | 11.7A | Bertha Díaz Cuba | 11.8A | Wanda dos Santos Brazil | 11.8A |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | United States Isabelle Daniels Mabel Landry Mae Faggs Barbara Jones | 47.12A GR | Argentina Lilián Heinz Lilián Buglia Gladys Erbetta María Luisa Castelli | 47.27A | Chile Betty Kretschmer Carmen Venegas Eliana Gaete Elda Selamé | 49.49A |
| High jump | Mildred McDaniel United States | 1.685A | Deyse de Castro Brazil | 1.59A | Verneeda Thomas United States | 1.59A |
| Discus throw | Ingeborg Pfüller Argentina | 43.19A GR | Isabel Avellán Argentina | 40.06A | Alejandrina Herrera Cuba | 38.00A |
| Javelin throw | Karen Anderson United States | 49.15A | Estrella Puente  Uruguay | 43.43A | Amelia Wershoven United States | 43.06A |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States | 20 | 14 | 8 | 42 |
| 2 |  Argentina | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | Chile | 2 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| 4 |  Brazil | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| 5 | Cuba | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | Guatemala | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 |  Mexico | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 |  Venezuela | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Jamaica | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | Colombia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Uruguay | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 |  Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (13 entries) | 29 | 29 | 30 | 88 | |
Argentina (17)
Bahamas (2) Brazil (17)
Canada (13) Chile (16) Colombia (9)
Costa Rica (1) Cuba (12)
Dominican Republic (8) Guatemala (8) Jamaica (7) Mexico (47)
Netherlands Antilles (4)
Paraguay (2) Puerto Rico (5)
El Salvador (1) Trinidad and Tobago (2) United States (50) Uruguay (4) Venezuela (17)
