The 1st All-Africa Games, also known as Brazzaville 1965, was a multi-sport event played from 18 to 25 July 1965, in Brazzaville, Congo.
The 2nd All-Africa Games, also known as Lagos 1973, were played from 7 to 18 January 1973, in Lagos, Nigeria.
The 3rd All-Africa Games, alson known as Algiers 1978 was a multi-sport event played from 13 to 28 July 1978, in Algiers, Algeria. 45 countries from 49 independent African countries participated in twelve sports.
The second All-Africa Games were held in Lagos, Nigeria in January 1973.
The seventh All-Africa Games were held in September 1999 in Johannesburg, South Africa. As the track is at an altitude of 1748 metres all performances are considered to be set at altitude, this is believed to assist events up to 400 metres and in the long jump and triple jump. However, for events beyond 800 metres the thinner air is believed to have a detrimental effect on performances.
At the 1990 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held in Seattle, Washington, United States between July 22 and 26, 1990. A total of 43 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 20 by female athletes. Athletes from the United States and the Soviet Union dominated the competition as they had done in the inaugural edition, with United States coming out on top this time with 54 medal won, 20 of them gold. The Soviet Union was a clear second place with 14 golds and 43 medals in total. The Greater Antillean island nations of Cuba and Jamaica had the third- and fourth-greatest medal hauls, respectively.
At the 1994 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held in July at the Petrovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 were by male and 22 by female athletes. The marathon event was dropped for the 1994 edition and racewalking events took place on the track, making the entire athletics programme a track-and-field-onlyaffair. The United States won the most gold medals (18) in the athletics competition, but Russia had the greatest total medal haul, winning 41 medals, 10 of which were gold. Cuba, Great Britain and Kenya were the next best achievers in the medal count.
At the 2004 Pan Arab Games, the athletics events were held at the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers, Algeria from 4 to 8 October. A total of 45 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 22 by female athletes. The host country topped the medal table having won a 16 gold medals and 34 medals overall. Second placed Morocco, with seven golds, had the greatest number of medals overall with a total of 35. Tunisia was third with sixteen medals in total, seven of which were gold. Eleven new Games records were set over the course of the five-day competition.
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.
The athletics competition at the 2002 African Military Games was held from 24–26 April 2002 at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
The athletics competition at the 1980 Islamic Games was held at the İzmir Atatürk Stadium in İzmir, Turkey between 28 September and 5 October 1980. This was the second major athletics event to be staged at the stadium, following the athletics at the 1971 Mediterranean Games. A total of thirty athletics events were contested, twenty-one for men and nine for women. While the men's programme was well attended, the women's events attracted very few entries, with Turkish female track athletes composing the bulk of the competitors. Women's athletics in the Arab world particularly was at an early stage of development – only a year earlier had women's events been introduced at the Arab Athletics Championships and the African Championships in Athletics been launched.
The 1977 Arab Athletics Championships was the inaugural edition of the international athletics competition between Arab countries. It took place in Damascus, Syria, coming one year after the city had hosted the 1976 Pan Arab Games. The absence of Egypt, Algeria and Morocco—the three foremost Arab nations in the sport—meant the level of competition was lower than that seen at the games. Iraq was the dominant nation, winning half the gold medals, and Tunisia was a clear second place with five golds. The hosts, Syria, placed third with a medal haul of twelve. Eight of the twelve participating nations reached the medal table.
The 1988 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the third edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Damascus, Syria – the first time the event was staged in West Asia. A total of 41 athletics events were contested, 23 for men and 18 for women. Morocco, a regional power in the sport, did not send a team. Syria entered for the first time.
The 1994 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the sixth edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Tunis, Tunisia. Qatar, after a good performance in 1992, did not send a team to the competition. A total of 42 athletics events were contested, 23 for men and 19 for women.
The 1996 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the seventh edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Latakia, Syria. A total of 41 athletics events were contested, 22 for men and 19 for women. Morocco, a regional power in the sport, did not send a team to the meeting.
The 1998 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the eighth edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Damascus, Syria – the second time the city hosted the tournament, and a fifth hosting for Syria. Damascus also hosted the senior Arab women's championships that year. A total of 41 athletics events were contested, 22 for men and 19 for women. Morocco, a regional power in the sport, did not send a team to the meeting.
The 2000 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the ninth edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Damascus, Syria – the second consecutive time the city hosted the tournament, and a sixth hosting for Syria. A total of 42 athletics events were contested, 22 for men and 20 for women. Neither Morocco, Algeria nor Qatar—all regional powers in the sport—sent a team to the meeting, which impacted the overall quality of performances.
The 2015 African Junior Athletics Championships was the twelfth edition of the biennial, continental athletics tournament for African athletes aged 19 years or younger. It was held at the Addis Ababa Stadium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 5–8 March. It was the first time that Ethiopia hosted the event and followed on from the 2008 African Championships in Athletics, which was hosted at the same venue.
At the 1997 Pan Arab Games, the athletics events were held at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon from 14 to 17 July. The events were poorly attended, with the vast majority of seat in the stadium remaining empty even on the final day. However, the calibre of performances remained high in spite of this.
The 2013 Arab Youth Athletics Championships was the fourth edition of the international athletics competition for under-18 athletes from Arab countries. Organised by the Arab Athletic Federation, it took place in the Egyptian capital Cairo from 21–23 June. A total of forty events were contested, of which 20 by male and 20 by female athletes. The girls' steeplechase was contested for the first time, making the programme match that of the 2013 World Youth Championships in Athletics. The racewalking events were held on roads, rather than the usual track surface.
