1999 in the sport of athletics

This page shows the main events during the 1999 year in the sport of athletics throughout the world.

1999 in athletics
Major world events	World Championships World Indoor Championships
IAAF Athletes of the Year	Michael Johnson Gabriela Szabo
← 1998 2000 →

International Events

• All-Africa Games
• Balkan Games
• Central American and Caribbean Championships
• Pan American Games
• Pan Arab Games
• South American Championships
• World Championships
• World Cross Country Championships
• World Indoor Championships
• World Student Games

World records

Men

Event	Athlete	Nation	Performance	Meeting	Place	Date
100 metres	Maurice Greene	United States	9.79		Athens, Greece	16 June
400 metres	Michael Johnson	United States	43.18		Seville, Spain	26 August
1000 metres	Noah Ngeny	Kenya	2:11.96		Rieti, Italy	5 September
Mile	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	3:43.13		Rome, Italy	7 July
2,000 metres	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	4:44.79		Berlin, Germany	7 September
Decathlon	Tomáš Dvořák	Czech Republic	8,994		Prague, Czech republic	3-4 July

Women

Event	Athlete	Nation	Performance	Meeting	Place	Date
3000 m steeplechase	Yelena Motalova	Russia	9:48.88		Tula, Russia	31 July
Pole vault	Emma George	Australia	4.60 m		Sydney, AUS	20 February
Pole vault	Stacy Dragila	United States	4.60 m		Seville, Spain	21 August

Awards

Men

1999 TRACK & FIELD AWARDS	ATHLETE
IAAF World Athlete of the Year	Michael Johnson (USA)
Track & Field Athlete of the Year	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
European Athlete of the Year Award	Tomáš Dvořák (CZE)
Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award	Maurice Greene (USA)

Women

1999 TRACK & FIELD AWARDS	ATHLETE
IAAF World Athlete of the Year	Gabriela Szabo (ROM)
Track & Field Athlete of the Year	Gabriela Szabo (ROM)
European Athlete of the Year Award	Gabriela Szabo (ROM)
Best Female Track Athlete ESPY Award	Marion Jones (USA)

Men's Best Year Performances

400m hurdles

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Fabrizio Mori (ITA)	47.72
2.	Llewellyn Herbert (RSA)	47.83
3.	Samuel Matete (ZAM)	47.91
4.	Stéphane Diagana (FRA)	48.12
5.	Marcel Schelbert (SUI)	48.13
	Eronilde de Araújo (BRA)

3,000m steeplechase

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Bernard Barmasai (KEN)	7:58.98
2.	Christopher Kosgei (KEN)	8:05.43
3.	Ali Ezzine (MAR)	8:06.70
4.	Wilson Boit Kipketer (KEN)	8:07.10
5.	Paul Kosgei (KEN)	8:07.13

Pole vault

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.	Maksim Tarasov (RUS)	6.05 m
2.	Jeff Hartwig (USA)	6.02 m
3.	Tim Lobinger (GER)	6.00 m
4.	Jean Galfione (FRA)	5.98 m
5.	Dmitriy Markov (AUS)	5.95 m

Hammer throw

Main article: 1999 Hammer Throw Year Ranking

Decathlon

Main article: 1999 Decathlon Year Ranking

Women's Best Year Performances

60 metres

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Ekateríni Thánou (GRE)	6.96
2.	Gail Devers (USA)	6.98
3.	Merlene Ottey (JAM)	7.01
4.	Savatheda Fynes (BAH)	7.01
5.	Philomena Mensah (CAN)	7.02

100 metres

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Marion Jones (USA)	10.70
2.	Inger Miller (USA)	10.79
3.	Ekateríni Thánou (GRE)	10.83
4.	Glory Alozie (NGR)	10.90
5.	Savatheda Fynes (BAH)	10.91

200 metres

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Inger Miller (USA)	21.77
2.	Marion Jones (USA)	21.81
3.	Merlene Frazer (JAM)	22.18
4.	Debbie Ferguson (BAH)	22.19
5.	Beverly McDonald (JAM)	22.22

Half marathon

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Elana Meyer (RSA)	1:06:44

60 metres

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Brigita Bukovec (SVN)	7.78
2.	Glory Alozie (NGR)	7,82
3.	Olga Shishigina (KAZ)	7.82
4.	Melissa Morrison (USA)	7.85
5.	Katie Anderson (CAN)	7.90

100m hurdles

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Gail Devers (USA)	12.37
2.	Glory Alozie (NGR)	12.44
3.	Olga Shishigina (KAZ)	12.47
—	Ludmila Engquist (SWE)	12.47
5.	Katie Anderson (CAN)	12.61

400m hurdles

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Daimí Pernía (CUB)	52.89
2.	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	52.90
3.	Deon Hemmings (JAM)	53.16
4.	Ionela Târlea (ROM)	53.25
5.	Andrea Blackett (BAR)	53.36

3,000m steeplechase

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Yelena Motalova (RUS)	9:48.88
2.	Laurence Duquénoy (FRA)	9:55.69
3.	Daniela Petrescu (ROM)	9:58.44
4.	Justyna Bąk (POL)	9:58.77
5.	Alina Cucerzan (ROM)	10:03.68

High jump

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.	Hestrie Cloete (RSA)	2.04 m
2.	Monica Iagăr (ROM)	2.01 m
	Yelena Yelesina (RUS)
	Inga Babakova (UKR)
5.	Tisha Waller (USA)	2.00 m

Shot put

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.	Svetlana Krivelyova (RUS)	20.26 m
2.	Yelena Ivanenko (BLR)	19.13 m
3.	Yuliya Zaginay (RUS)	19.06 m
4.	Tressa Thompson (USA)	18.88 m

Pole vault

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.	Emma George (AUS)	4.60 m
	Stacy Dragila (USA)
3.	Anzhela Balakhonova (UKR)	4.55 m
4.	Tatiana Grigorieva (AUS)	4.50 m
5.	Yelena Belyakova (RUS)	4.46 m

Hammer throw

Main article: 1999 Hammer Throw Year Ranking

Heptathlon

RANK	1999 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	POINTS
1.	Eunice Barber (FRA)	6861
2.	Denise Lewis (GBR)	6724
3.	DeDee Nathan (USA)	6577
4.	Ghada Shouaa (SYR)	6500
5.	Sabine Braun (GER)	6497

Marathon

Men's competition

Pan American Games

RANK	ATHLETE	TIME
	Vanderlei de Lima (BRA)	2:17:20
	Raúl Maza (VEN)	2:19:56
	Éder Fialho (BRA)	2:20:09

Best Year Performances

RANK	NAME ATHLETE	TIME	EVENT
1.	Khalid Khannouchi (MAR)	2:05:42	Chicago Marathon
2.	Moses Tanui (KEN)	2:06:16	Chicago Marathon
3.	Gert Thys (RSA)	2:06:33	Tokyo Marathon
4.	Josephat Kiprono (KEN)	2:06:44	Berlin Marathon
5.	Fred Kiprop (KEN)	2:06:46	Amsterdam Marathon
6.	Tesfaye Jifar (ETH)	2:06:48	Amsterdam Marathon
7.	William Kiplagat (KEN)	2:06:49	Amsterdam Marathon
8.	Tesfaye Tola (ETH)	2:06:56	Amsterdam Marathon
9.	Takayuki Inubushi (JPN)	2:06:57	Berlin Marathon
10.	Japhet Kosgei (KEN)	2:07:09	Rotterdam Marathon

Women's competition

Pan American Games

RANK	ATHLETE	TIME
	Érika Olivera (CHI)	2:37:41
	Iglandini González (COL)	2:40:06
	Viviany Anderson (BRA)	2:40:55

Best Year Performances

RANK	NAME ATHLETE	TIME	EVENT
1.	Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	2:20:43	Berlin Marathon
2.	Eri Yamaguchi (JPN)	2:22:12	Tokyo Marathon
3.	Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	2:22:48	Rotterdam Marathon
4.	Joyce Chepchumba (KEN)	2:23:22	London Marathon
5.	Lidia Șimon (ROM)	2:23:24	Osaka International Ladies Marathon
6.	Fatuma Roba (ETH)	2:23:25	Boston Marathon
7.	Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	2:23:46	Osaka International Ladies Marathon
8.	Marleen Renders (BEL)	2:23:58	Berlin Marathon
9.	Adriana Fernández (MEX)	2:24:06	London Marathon
10.	Katrin Dörre (GER)	2:24:35	Hamburg Marathon

Deaths

• January 5 — Jarmila Nygrýnová (45), Czech long jumper (b. 1953)
• January 9 — James Peters (80), English long-distance runner (b. 1918)
• January 28 — Josef Doležal (78), Czechoslovak race walker (b. 1920)
• February 3 — Mikko Hietanen (87),Finnish long-distance runner (b. 1911)
• May 17 — João Carlos de Oliveira (44), Brazilian athlete (b. 1954)
• May 18 — Betty Robinson (87), American athlete (b. 1911)
• June 30 — Bob Backus (72), American hammer thrower (b. 1926)
• August 26 — Elena Murgoci (39), Romanian long-distance runner (b. 1960)