| Athletics at the 2003 Pan American Games | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | men | women |
| 1500 m | men | women |
| 5000 m | men | women |
| 10,000 m | men | women |
| 100 m hurdles | women | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 400 m hurdles | men | women |
| 3000 m steeplechase | men | |
| 4×100 m relay | men | women |
| 4×400 m relay | men | women |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | women |
| 20 km walk | men | women |
| 50 km walk | men | |
| Field events | ||
| High jump | men | women |
| Pole vault | men | women |
| Long jump | men | women |
| Triple jump | men | women |
| Shot put | men | women |
| Discus throw | men | women |
| Hammer throw | men | women |
| Javelin throw | men | women |
| Combined events | ||
| Heptathlon | women | |
| Decathlon | men | |
The women's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 2003 Pan American Games was held on August 9.
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race. A relay baton is carried by each runner. Prior to 2018, the baton had to be passed within a 20 m changeover box, preceded by a 10-metre acceleration zone. With a rule change effective November 1, 2017 that zone was modified to include the acceleration zone as part of the passing zone, making the entire zone 30 metres in length. The outgoing runner cannot touch the baton until it has entered the zone, the incoming runner cannot touch the baton after it has left the zone. The zone is usually marked in yellow, frequently using lines, triangles or chevrons. While the rule book specifies the exact positioning of the marks, the colors and style are only "recommended". While most legacy tracks will still have the older markings, the rule change still uses existing marks. Not all governing body jurisdictions have adopted the rule change.
The athletics competition at the 2003 Pan American Games was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from Tuesday, August 5, to Saturday, August 9, 2003. The competition comprised track and field events plus marathon races and three racewalking events, with a total of 46 contests taking place.
