2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Ian Stewart MBE is a Scottish former long-distance running athlete. Ian Stewart was one of the world's leading distance runners between the late 1960s and mid-1970s. Stewart won the bronze medal in the Men's 5000 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Stewart also won the following championships: European 5,000 metres (1969), Commonwealth 5,000 metres (1970), European Indoor and World Cross Country (1975).
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically 3–12 kilometres (1.9–7.5 mi) long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road and minor obstacles. It is both an individual and a team sport; runners are judged on individual times and teams by a points-scoring method. Both men and women of all ages compete in cross country, which usually takes place during autumn and winter, and can include weather conditions of rain, sleet, snow or hail, and a wide range of temperatures.
Steve Scott is an American former track athlete and one of the greatest mile runners in American history. The silver medalist in the 1500 meters at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki in 1983, Scott owns the U.S. indoor record in the 2000 meters (4:58.6-1981). He held the American outdoor mile record for more than 26 years and also is the former American indoor record holder in the same event. Track & Field News ranked Scott #1 in the U.S. on 10 occasions, and 11 times during his career he was ranked in the top ten in the world by T&FN. Additionally, he participated for the US team at the 1984 Olympics. He finished 5th in the 1500 meter run at the 1988 Olympics held in Korea. Scott was also an Olympian on the 1980 Olympics team which was not allowed to go to Moscow. He ran the sub four-minute mile on 136 occasions in his career, more than any other runner in history.
Mercy Cherono Koech is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 5000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.
Stephanie April "Steph" Twell is a British middle- and long-distance runner who competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and trains at Aldershot, Farnham & District AC. She won the 1500 metres at the 2008 World Junior Championships, and is a three-time winner of the European Junior Cross Country Championships (2006–2008), as well as being part of four winning Great Britain teams. Representing Scotland, she won a bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Paralympic powerlifting, also known as para powerlifting and para-lifting, is an adaptation of the sport of powerlifting for athletes with disabilities. The only discipline in Paralympic powerlifting is the bench press. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee and is open to anyone with a minimum level of disability who can extend their arms within 20° of full extension during a lift. Powerlifting has been competed at the Summer Paralympics since 1984.
Charlotte Purdue is a British long-distance runner who competes in the Marathon and Half Marathon, as well as cross country running for Aldershot, Farnham and District Athletics Club. After winning a number of youth titles at national level, she had her first international success at the European Cross Country Championships, winning medals in the junior races of 2007 and 2008. She was also the best European junior at the World Cross Country Championships those years.
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.
This article contains an overview of the year 1995 in athletics.
This article contains an overview of the year 1997 in athletics.
This article contains an overview of the year 1979 in athletics.
In 2012 the foremost competition in athletics was the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The International Association of Athletics Federations held four other global level competitions in 2012: the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics and the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.
Niusha Carmen Mancilla Heredia is a Bolivian former middle and long-distance runner. She holds the Bolivian records from 800 metres up to the 15 km road distance, as well as for the 3000 metres steeplechase.
In 2013, the foremost competition in athletics was the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow. The International Association of Athletics Federations will hold two other global level competitions this year: the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2013 World Youth Championships in Athletics. The IAAF World Cross Country Championships will return after its move to a biennial format.
Inés Melchor is a Peruvian long-distance runner. She competed in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, placing 25th with a time of 2:28:54. In September 2014 she placed 8th at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:26.48, new Peruvian national record and the South America area record. Melchor also holds Peruvian records for the 5000 and 10,000 metres on the track.
Conseslus Kipruto is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the event. At the World Athletics Championships, Kipruto won gold medals in 2017 and 2019, silver medals in 2013 and 2015, and a bronze in 2022. In 2018, he captured gold medals at the African Championships and Commonwealth Games. He is a four-time Diamond League winner.
In 2015, the foremost athletics event was the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing. The two other major global level competitions in 2015 are the World Cross Country Championships and the IAAF World Relays.
Molly Seidel is an American long distance runner. Seidel represented the United States at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country in 2012, 2013, and 2018. In her first-ever marathon, Seidel placed second at the 2020 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials. Later, she went on to win the bronze medal in her third career marathon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. At the University of Notre Dame, Seidel was a 4-time NCAA champion, 6-time NCAA All-American, 6-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion and 2016 female ACC Athlete of the Year.
In 1978, the foremost international competitions in the sport of athletics were the 1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 1978 European Athletics Championships. High-profile athletics competitions were also held at the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1978 All-Africa Games and the 1978 Asian Games.
Canada
Atlanta, United States
Kenya 
Rieti, Italy
Morocco 
Brussels, Belgium
Czech Republic 
Jena, Germany
Russia
Zürich, Switzerland
Australia
Reims, France
Sapporo, Japan
