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.
Inga Eduardovna Abitova is a Russian long-distance runner, who specializes in the 10,000 metres and the marathon. She was the 2006 European Champion in the 10,000 m and reached the final at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Kara Goucher is an American long-distance runner. She was the 10,000 meters silver medalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and represented the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. She made her marathon debut in 2008 and finished third the following year at the Boston Marathon.
Jéssica de Barros Augusto, ComM is a Portuguese runner who competes in cross country, road running and in middle-distance and long-distance track events. At club level, she represents Sporting CP.
Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego is a Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 10,000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the silver medalist in the same race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has a personal record of 30:38.35 minutes for that event and her 5000 metres best of 14:30.42 minutes makes her the second fastest Kenyan woman for the distance.
Helalia Lukeiko Johannes, also known as Hilaria Johannes, is a Namibian long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon. She holds the Namibian records in the 10 km, 20 km, half marathon and marathon events.
Samukeliso Moyo is a female long-distance runner from Zimbabwe. She represented her country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain.
Inês Alexandra das Neves Monteiro is a Portuguese athlete who competes in middle and long-distance track running, as well as road running and cross country. She started out as a cross country runner, winning a silver and a gold medal at the 1998 and 1999 European junior race. She has represented Portugal at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, and has competed twice at the World Championships in Athletics. She is a regular performer at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, generally finishing around 30th place.
Lisa Jane Weightman is an Australian long distance runner and four time Olympian who specializes in the marathon event. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics she came 26th in the Women's marathon with a time of 2:34.19, 7 minutes behind the eventual winner, Peres Jepchirchir.
Chung Yun-hee is a South Korean long-distance runner and marathon race specialist.
Hitomi Niiya is a Japanese professional long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country running and marathon races. Niiya competed for Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She is a two-time silver medallist at the Asian Athletics Championships and has represented Japan three times at the World Athletics Championships. She represents Team Toyota Industries in national competition.
Amela Terzić is a Serbian middle-distance runner. She won two gold medals at 2011 European Athletics Junior Championships in Tallinn and was the junior champion at the 2012 European Cross Country Championships. She has also been a medallist in the 1500 metres at the World Junior and World Youth Championships and a gold medalist at the 2013 European U23 Championship.
Diana Lobačevskė is a Lithuanian long-distance runner who specialises in marathon and half marathon races.
In India, the sport of athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed at national level by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946. Despite its large population, few Indian athletes have won a medal in a global or major championship. This began to change in the 21st century, when Indians started taking greater interest in athletics more generally and improved facilities for the sport began to be built at a local level. At a continental level, it has been among the more successful Asian nations, though some distance behind China and Japan.
Jessica Stenson is an Australian athlete who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. As a long-distance runner, she competes in distances from 5000 metres up to the marathon. She represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the marathon.
Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born 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 5000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1500 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 woman to complete an Olympic distance double.
Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa is a Kenyan-born Bahraini long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running. Having switched countries in 2013, she is the Bahraini record holder with 2:21:17 hours for the distance, set in 2017 at Nagoya Women's Marathon. She was the silver medallist in the marathon at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
The African Southern Region Athletics Championships is a biennial international outdoor track and field competition between Southern African nations, organised by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA). Typically held over two days in June or July, it was established in 1995 and replaced the African Zone VI Championships. It is one of four regional championships organised by the CAA, alongside the North, East and West African Athletics Championships.
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 Chepng'etich 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.
Namibia competed at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from 27 September to 6 October 2019. The country's participation there marked its fifteenth appearance in the World Championships since its debut at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics. Namibia sent two athletes to the Championships, both of whom competed in the marathon events. Helalia Johannes became Namibia's first female medallist, and their first medallist in 26 years, when she won a bronze medal in the women's marathon. Tomas Hilifa Rainhold finished in 17th in the men's marathon.
Zimbabwe 