Vera Ivanovna Popkova was a Soviet track and field athlete who competed in the sprints. She had personal bests of 11.3 seconds for the 100 metres and 23.0 seconds for the 200 metres. Over her career, she won eight individual national titles in the sprints.
Silvia Sommaggio is a retired Italian long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres as well as cross-country and road running.
At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the athletics event were held in Victoria, BC, Canada, at the Centennial Stadium on the grounds of the University of Victoria. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 by male 19 by female athletes. Furthermore, 2 men's disability events were held within the programme.
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.
Totka Nikolaeva Petrova is a retired female middle distance runner who represented Bulgaria in the 1970s and the early 1980s. She specialized in the 800 and 1500 metres, and won numerous international medals. She is still the Bulgarian 1500 metres record holder.
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 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.
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 1998 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York, United States from 19 to 22 July. The programme consisted of 44 track and field events, of which 22 were contested by male athletes and 22 by female athletes. With the introduction of the women's hammer throw and mile run, the men's and women's programmes achieved equivalent parity for the first time. The United States topped the athletics medal table for a third consecutive edition winning 17 gold medals and 55 medals in total. Russia were the next best performing nation, with 11 golds and 21 medals. Kenya, Cuba and Jamaica rounded out the top-five countries.
Iulia Olteanu is a Romanian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track and road running events.
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.
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.
Matthew Simson is a male British former shot putter. He was the gold medallist in the event at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, which he won with his career best throw of 19.49 m.
The 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students featured an athletics competition among its programme of events. The events were contested in East Berlin, East Germany, in August 1951. Mainly contested among Eastern European athletes, it served as an alternative to the more Western European-oriented 1951 Summer International University Sports Week held in Luxembourg the same year.
The 4th World Festival of Youth and Students featured an athletics competition among its programme of events. The events were contested in Bucharest, Romania in August 1953. Mainly contested among Eastern European athletes, it served as an alternative to the more Western European-oriented 1953 Summer International University Sports Week held in Dortmund the same year.
At the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, the athletics events were held in Tokyo, Japan in May. A total of 19 men's athletics events were contested at the competition.
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.
Shigeyuki Aikyo is a Japanese former track and field athlete who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was the gold medallist at the 1986 Asian Games and the 1985 Asian Athletics Championships. He was also a two-time Universiade bronze medallist and a two-time national champion.
Viorica Dima Ghican is a Romanian female former distance runner who competed over distances from 1500 metres to 10,000 metres. She competed in track, road and cross country running disciplines. She was the gold medallist in the 10,000 m at the 1989 Summer Universiade, setting a games record in the process. Among her other individual honours were gold medals at the Balkan Athletics Championships and World University Cross Country Championships in 1988, and silver medals at the 1990 Goodwill Games and 1989 European Cup.
