| Athletics at the X Summer Universiade | |
|---|---|
 The host stadium for the events | |
| Dates | 8–13 September 1979 |
| Host city | Mexico City, Mexico  |
| Venue | Estadio Olimpico Universitario |
| Level | University |
| Events | 34 |
| Records set | 1 WR , 12 UR |
Athletics events were contested at the 1979 Summer Universiade in Mexico City, Mexico between 8 and 13 September.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres (wind: 0.0 m/s) |  Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 11.00 UR |  Kathy Smallwood (GBR) | 11.27 | Beverley Goddard (GBR) | 11.32 |
| 200 metres (wind: +1.9 m/s) | Marita Koch (GDR) | 21.91 UR | Kathy Smallwood (GBR) | 22.70 | Beverley Goddard (GBR) | 22.76 |
| 400 metres |  Mariya Kulchunova (URS) | 50.35 UR |  Rosalyn Bryant (USA) | 51.35 | Christina Brehmer (GDR) | 51.59 |
| 800 metres | Nadezhda Mushta (URS) | 2:00.50 | Olga Dvirna (URS) | 2:00.77 |  Fiţa Lovin (ROM) | 2:00.81 |
| 1500 metres | Natalia Mărăşescu (ROM) | 4:13.9 | Olga Dvirna (URS) | 4:14.5 | Valentina Ilyinykh (URS) | 4:14.6 |
| 100 metres hurdles (wind: 0.0 m/s) |  Lucyna Langer (POL) | 12.62 UR | Danuta Perka (POL) | 12.66 | Vera Komisova (URS) | 12.90 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Soviet Union (URS) Vera Komisova Vera Anisimova Tatyana Prorochenko Olga Korotkova | 43.14 | Great Britain (GBR) Yvette Wray Kathy Smallwood Ruth Kennedy Bev Goddard | 43.26 |  France (FRA)Odile Madkaud Jacqueline Curtet Marie-Pierre Philippe Chantal Réga | 43.94 |
| High jump |  Andrea Mátay (HUN) | 1.94 |  Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG) | 1.92 |  Sara Simeoni (ITA) | 1.92 |
| Long jump | Anita Stukāne (URS) | 6.80 | Jodi Anderson (USA) | 6.67 | Tatyana Skachko (URS) | 6.57 |
| Shot put | Ilona Slupianek (GDR) | 19.98 | Helma Knorscheidt (GDR) | 19.56 | Mihaela Loghin (ROM) | 19.41 |
| Discus throw | Svetlana Melnikova (URS) | 63.54 | Evelin Jahl (GDR) | 63.00 | Florenţa Ţacu (ROM) | 59.28 |
| Javelin throw | Éva Ráduly-Zörgő (ROM) | 67.20 |  Ivanka Vancheva (BUL) | 63.04 |  Mayra Vila (CUB) | 60.98 |
| Pentathlon | Yekaterina Smirnova (URS) | 4497 |  Sylvia Barlag (NED) | 4306 | Ina Losch (FRG) | 4272 |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union (URS) | 8 | 4 | 6 | 18 |
| 2 | East Germany (GDR) | 5 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Romania (ROM) | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | West Germany (FRG) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 |  United States (USA) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 6 | Poland (POL) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | Italy (ITA) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 9 | Netherlands (NED) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 |  Austria (AUT) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 |  Finland (FIN) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | Mexico (MEX) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 | France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 15 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 |  Ivory Coast (CIV) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Japan (JPN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 19 | Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Kenya (KEN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (21 entries) | 34 | 34 | 34 | 102 | |
| CIE era |
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| UIE era |
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| FISU era |
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