| Athletics at the II Summer Universiade | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 31 August – 3 September |
| Host city | Sofia, Bulgaria  |
| Venue | Vasil Levski National Stadium |
| Events | 29 |
Athletics events were contested at the 1961 Summer Universiade in Sofia, Bulgaria.
| Athletics at the II Summer Universiade | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 31 August – 3 September |
| Host city | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Venue | Vasil Levski National Stadium |
| Events | 29 |
Athletics events were contested at the 1961 Summer Universiade in Sofia, Bulgaria.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 13 | 10 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 |  Hungary (HUN) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 |  Romania (ROM) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 |  West Germany (FRG) | 2 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| 5 |  Poland (POL) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 |  Bulgaria (BUL) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 |  Ireland (IRL) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Italy (ITA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 10 |  Cuba (CUB) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 12 |  Japan (JPN) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 |  Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 |  Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Totals (15 entries) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 87 | |
The 1977 Summer Universiade, also known as the IX Summer Universiade or World University Games, took place in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The athletics competition in the 2005 Summer Universiade was held on the İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu in İzmir, Turkey, between 15 August and 20 August 2005.
The athletics competition at the 2003 Summer Universiade was held on the Daegu World Cup Stadium in Daegu, South Korea, between 25 August and 30 August 2003.
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.
Athletics events were contested at the 1959 Summer Universiade in Turin, Italy.
Athletics events were contested at the 1977 Summer Universiade in Sofia, Bulgaria between 19 and 23 August.
At the 2001 Summer Universiade, the athletics events were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China between 27 August and 1 September. A total of 45 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 22 by female athletes. The host country, China, took the most gold medals (9) and the most medals overall (16). The United States were a close second with a total of 8 golds. Five Universiade records were broken during the course of the athletics competition.
Athletics events were contested at the 1963 Summer Universiade in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Athletics events were contested at the 1965 Summer Universiade in Budapest, Hungary.
Athletics events were contested at the 1967 Summer Universiade in Tokyo, Japan.
At the 1970 Summer Universiade, the Athletics events were held at the Stadio Comunale in Turin, Italy between 2 and 6 September.
Athletics events were contested at the 1973 Summer Universiade in Moscow, Soviet Union, between 16 and 20 August.
With all other disciplines having been cancelled, the 1975 Summer Universiade only featured athletics events and was referred to as the World University Championships in athletics. The competition was held in Rome between 18 and 21 September.
Athletics events were contested at the 1979 Summer Universiade in Mexico City, Mexico between 8 and 13 September.
Athletics events were contested at the 1985 Summer Universiade in Kobe, Japan between 29 August and 4 September. New events were women's 10,000 metres and 5000 metres walk.
Athletics events were contested at the 1987 Summer Universiade in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia between 13 and 19 July 1987.
At the 1993 Summer Universiade, the athletics events were held at the University at Buffalo Stadium in Amherst, New York in the United States from July 14 to 18. 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.
At the 1989 Summer Universiade, the athletics events were held at the Wedaustadion in Duisburg in West Germany from August 22–30. A total of 42 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 19 by female athletes.
The 8th World Festival of Youth and Students featured an athletics competition among its programme of events. Organised under the Union Internationale des Étudiants (UIE), the events were contested in Helsinki, Finland in August 1962. Mainly contested among Eastern European athletes, it served as an alternative to the Universiade. It was the final time that a major international athletics competition was incorporated into the festival, as athletics at the Universiade grew to be the most prominent student athletics venue for both Western and Eastern-aligned countries.
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