A number of athletics competitors have died during their careers. Sometimes, the deaths came during competition or practice, while other times deaths occurred due to road accidents or other non-sports-related reasons.
The list does not include athletes who died during World War I or during World War II, when international athletics competitions were largely put on pause.
The following is an incomplete list of athletics competitors who died or disappeared during their professional or amateur careers.
Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an opponent. Human physiology dictates that a runner's near-top speed cannot be maintained for more than 30–35 seconds due to the depletion of phosphocreatine stores in muscles, and perhaps secondarily to excessive metabolic acidosis as a result of anaerobic glycolysis.
The 800 metres, or meters, is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the first modern games in 1896. During the winter track season the event is usually run by completing four laps of an indoor 200-metre track.
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440-yard dash (402.336 m)—which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the "quarter-mile"—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately 15⁄16 miles. The event is closely associated with its slightly longer cousin, the mile race, from which it derives its nickname "the metric mile".
The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The race consists of 25 laps around an Olympic-sized track. It is less commonly held at track and field meetings due to its duration. The 10,000-metre track race is usually distinguished from its road running counterpart, the 10K run, by referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres.
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to 3 miles 188 yards or 16,404 feet 2 inches. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over 12+1⁄2 laps of a standard track. The same distance in road running is called a 5K run; referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres serves to disambiguate the two events. The 5000 m has been present on the Olympic programme since 1912 for men and since 1996 for women. Prior to 1996, women had competed in an Olympic 3000 metres race since 1984. The 5000 m has been held at each of the World Championships in Athletics in men's competition and since 1995 in women's.
Daniel Batman was an Australian sprinter. He was the Australian national men's 200-metres champion in 2005 and 2008. He competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics and his best international achievement was a sixth place at the 2003 World Indoor Championships.
The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less important since the late 1990s, as an increasing number of runners have surpassed the ten seconds mark. The current men's world record holder is Usain Bolt, who ran a 9.58 at the 2009 IAAF World Championship competition.
In 2010 there was no obvious, primary athletics championship, as neither the Summer Olympics nor the World Championships in Athletics occurred in the year. The foremost championships to be held in 2010 included: the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2010 European Athletics Championships, 2010 African Championships in Athletics, and Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Sifan Hassan is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world-leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second of three women to complete an Olympic distance double. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Hassan secured a bronze medal in both the women's 5,000 m and 10,000 m events and gold in the women's marathon, becoming the only woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres and Marathon races.
Zane Robertson is a New Zealand middle and long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 5000 metres at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Robertson is the Oceanian record holder for the 10 kilometres and half marathon, and New Zealand record holder for the marathon. He also holds the area best in the road 10 miles. He is currently serving an eight-year ban for breaching two World Athletics anti-doping rules.
Aron Kifle Teklu is an Eritrean long-distance runner. He is the bronze medallist from the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia. Aron is also the silver medallist in the 10000m from both the 2016 World U20 Championships and the 2019 All-African Games.
Emily Sisson is an American long-distance runner. She set the North American record in the marathon on October 9, 2022, when she ran 2:18:29 to finish second at the Chicago Marathon. Sisson also held the American record in the half marathon from May 2022 until July 2023. She represented the United States in the 10000 metres at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships, finishing 9th and 10th. In June 2021, she won the 10000m at the 2020 US Olympic Trials and placed 10th in the 10000m final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2024, she placed second in the marathon at the US Olympic Trials, qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics. She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics Women's marathon on 11 August 2024, where she finished 23rd.
Lonah Korlima Chemtai Salpeter is an Israeli Olympic runner. Born in Kenya, she represents Israel internationally. She won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. At the European Athletics Championships in the 10,000 metres, Salpeter won the gold medal in 2018, and earned a bronze medal in 2022. She won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, won the silver medal at the 2022 New York City Marathon, and finished third at the 2023 Boston Marathon.
Lawrence Cherono is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is currently the 8th fastest marathon performer of all time with his 2:03:04 clocking at the 2020 Valencia Marathon. Cherono is a past winner of both the Boston and Chicago marathons.
Hobbs Kessler is an American middle-distance runner. He competes professionally for Adidas, having turned professional directly after high school. He holds the North American U20 record in the 1500 meters, having run 3:34.36 in 2021 during his senior year in high school.
Kelvin Kiptum Cheruiyot was a Kenyan long-distance runner who currently holds the marathon world record. As of 2024, he ran three of the seven fastest marathons in history and was ranked first among the world's men's marathon runners.
Rebecca Cheptegei was a Ugandan cross country, long-distance and marathon runner, who was the national record holder in the latter discipline and a former world champion in mountain running.
The men's marathon at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in Paris, France, on 10 August 2024. This was the 30th time that the men's marathon was contested at the Summer Olympics.
Twice fastest man of South Asia Shah Alam lost his life in a motorbike accident on the Kushtia highway in 1989 ...
