Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and racewalking.
The World Athletics Championships are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics. The World Championships were started in 1976 in response to the International Olympic Committee dropping the men's 50 km walk from the Olympic programme for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, despite its constant presence at the games since 1932. The IAAF chose to host its own world championship event instead, a month and a half after the Olympics. It was the first World Championships that the IAAF had hosted separate from the Olympic Games. A second limited event was held in 1980, and the inaugural championships in 1983, with all the events, is considered the official start of the competition. Until 1980, the Olympic champions were considered as reigning World Champions. At their debut, these championships were then held every four years, until 1991, when they switched to a two-year cycle since.
World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics, it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships. It was an annual competition until 2011, when World Athletics changed it to a biennial event.
The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It was renamed the IAAF World Road Running Championships in 2006 and reduced in distance to a 20K run, but reverted to the half marathon distance the following year and to the original competition name the year after that. The competition was renamed to its current title in 2020 after the governing body rebranded itself moving away from the long-standing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) moniker.
The women's marathon was one of the road events at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland. It took place on 7 August 1983, starting and finishing at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The race was won by Norway's Grete Waitz in 2:28:09, ahead of Marianne Dickerson of the United States in second and the Soviet Union's Raisa Smekhnova in third.
The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake.
Jacqueline Hansen is a former long-distance runner from the United States who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the marathon on two occasions.
Iulia Olteanu is a Romanian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track and road running events.
Elena Fidatov, sometimes known as Elena Fidatof, is a former Romanian middle- and long-distance runner who competed in track, road, and cross country running competitions. In a period spanning 1984 to 2002, she competed at IAAF World Cross Country Championships on thirteen occasions, making her one of the most frequent participants at the event. She is a two-time Olympian for Romania, having represented her country at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.
Annette Sergent is a French former long-distance runner. She represented her country three times at the Summer Olympics, but it was in cross country running that she had her greatest success. She became the first Frenchwoman to win a world title in the sport at the 1987 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won for a second time in 1989. In addition to these victories, she made eleven appearances at the competition and placed third in both 1986 and 1988.
The 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was the 41st edition of the global championships in cross country running, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was held in Guiyang, China on 28 March. It was the first time that the event was held in China, and the third occasion it took place in Asia. Senior and junior races were held for men and women, with the four races having both a team and individual element.
Deborah Dawn "Debbie" Scott-Bowker is a Canadian former middle- and long-distance runner. A three-time Olympian for Canada, she reached the 1500 m final in 1984, and both the 1500 m and 3000 m finals in 1988. She was also a three-time World Championship finalist, reaching the 1500 m and 3000 m finals in 1987, and the 1500 m final in 1991.
Siv Gustavsson is a Swedish former racewalking athlete. She was the gold medallist at the 1981 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, making her the second ever female world champion in the sport.
The 1983 IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships was the inaugural edition of the annual international road running competition organised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). The competition was hosted by the United States on December 3, 1983 in San Diego, California and featured one race only: a 10k run for women. There were individual and team awards available, with the national team rankings being decided by the combined score of a team's three best athletes. Countries with fewer than three finishers were not ranked.
The 1984 IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships was the second edition of the annual international road running competition organised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). The competition was hosted by Spain on 11 November 1984 in Madrid and featured one race only: a 10K run for women. There were individual and team awards available, with the national team rankings being decided by the combined times of a team's three best athletes. Countries with fewer than three finishers were not ranked.
The 1986 IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships was the fourth edition of the annual international road running competition organised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). The competition was hosted by Portugal on 9 November 1986 in Lisbon and featured one race only: a 15K run for women. There were individual and team awards available, with the national team rankings being decided by the combined finishing positions of a team's top three runners. Countries with fewer than three finishers were not ranked.
The 1991 IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships was the ninth and final edition of the annual international road running competition organised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). The competition was hosted by the Netherlands on 13 October 1991 in Nieuwegein and featured one race only: a 15K run for women. There were individual and team awards available, with the national team rankings being decided by the combined finishing positions of a team's top three runners. Countries with fewer than three finishers were not ranked.
The women's marathon was one of the road events at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. Due to the heat in Doha, the race was scheduled to begin at 23:59 on 27 September 2019, which made it the first midnight marathon in the history of the World Championships. Even with the unusual timing, the temperature was above 30 °C (86 °F) and the humidity over 70 per cent, making conditions difficult for running. Only 40 of the 68 entrants finished the race, which was won by Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya in 2:32.43; the slowest winning time at the World Championships. Bahrain's Rose Chelimo was second in 2:33.46, with Helalia Johannes of Namibia third in 2:34.15.
Martine Fays is a French distance runner who competed mainly in the 3000 metres and cross country running events. She made eight appearances for France at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships between 1982 and 1991. She came away with three women's team medals, running alongside compatriots Annette Sergent, Anne Viallix, Jacqueline Lefeuvre, Maria Lelut and Marie-Pierre Duros. Her best individual finish at the competition was fourth at the 1986 race, where she was pipped to the bronze by teammate Sergent.
The 1992 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the first edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It marked the formal establishment of an ekiden as a world championship event, following on from the non-championship 1986 IAAF World Challenge Road Relay. The event took place on 9–10 May in Funchal, Portugal with the participation of 138 athletes from 16 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 9 May and the men's race took place on Sunday 10 April.
Wendy Sly (GBR)
Betty Springs (USA)
Aurora Cunha (POR)
Carla Beurskens (NED)
Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)
Nancy Tinari (CAN)
Maria Curatolo (ITA)
Wang Xiuting (CHN)
Zoya Ivanova (URS)
Iulia Negura (ROM)
Uta Pippig (GER)
Ireland 
