The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic Games, the championship represents the highest level of senior international outdoor athletics competition for track and field athletics globally, including marathon running and race walking. Separate World Championships are held by World Athletics for certain other outdoor events, including cross-country running and half-marathon, as well as indoor and age-group championship.
The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10 to 18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 2001. It was also the first time ever the host nation took the top of the medal table. However, following the disqualification of Russian sprinter Antonina Krivoshapka for doping and after the redistribution of medals in the Women's 4 × 400 metres relay, the United States moved to the top of the medal table with eight golds. In the overall medal count, the United States won 26 medals in total, followed by Kenya with 12. With 1,784 athletes from 203 countries it was the biggest single sports event of the year. The number of spectators for the evening sessions was 268,548 surpassing Daegu 2011.
Italy was represented by 36 athletes at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics.
Italy competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, held from August 15 to August 23. On August 3, the Italian national athletics federation (FIDAL) revealed the final team composed of 40 athletes, but on 8 August, after a last test competition in Grosseto, Andrew Howe, in accordance with FIDAL, decided not to compete in Berlin. Just before publishing the team, Faloci, a discus thrower, also decided not to compete.
Italy competed at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics from August 27 to September 4 in Daegu, South Korea.
The Italy national athletics team represents Italy at the international athletics competitions such as Olympic Games or world athletics championships.
Athletics in Italy is the 7th most popular participation sport, practiced by 995,000 people.
Italy has participated in all editions of the World Athletics Championships, held since the first edition of 1983 World Athletics Championships, winning 51 podiums, including 13 world titles, 18 silver medals and 20 bronze medals.
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the Games. They were due to be held from 31 July – 9 August 2020, at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021, with the track and field events set for 30 July – 8 August. The sport of athletics at these Games was split into three distinct sets of events: track and field events, remaining in Tokyo, and road running events and racewalking events, moved to Sapporo. A total of 48 events were held, one more than in 2016, with the addition of a mixed relay event.
The sports under the umbrella of athletics, particularly track and field, use a variety of statistics. In order to report that information efficiently, numerous abbreviations have grown to be common in the sport. Starting in 1948 by Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, Track & Field News became the leader in creating and defining abbreviations in this field. These abbreviations have also been adopted by, among others, World Athletics; the world governing body, various domestic governing bodies, the Association of Track and Field Statisticians, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, the Associated Press, and the individual media outlets who receive their reports. These abbreviations also appear in Wikipedia.
For the athletics competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the following qualification systems were in place. Qualification ended on 11 July 2016.
Ayomide Temilade Oluwatoyosi Folorunso is an Italian athlete specialising in the 400 metres hurdles. She competed in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.
Massimo Stano is a male Italian racewalker. He competed in the 20 kilometres walk event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, finishing in the 19th position, and the same event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, finishing in first place. On 24 July 2022, Stano won the 2022 World Athletics Championships with a championship record.
Italy has participated in all the World Athletics Indoor Championships since the beginning in 1985 IAAF World Indoor Games. Italy won a total of 24 medals. Italy is 21st on the all time medal table.
Italy competed at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018.
The men's 50 kilometres walk event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 6 August 2021 in Sapporo. 59 athletes competed; the exact number was dependent on how many nations use universality places to enter athletes in addition to the number qualifying through time.
Italy competed at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from 27 September to 6 October 2019.
