1990 in the sport of athletics

1990 in athletics

Major world events| World Championships
World Indoor Championships

<- 1989

1991 ->

Overview of the events of 1990 in the sport of athletics

Years in the sport of athletics

* ← 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993 →

* * *

1990 in sports

* Air sports
* American football
* Aquatic sports
* Association football
* Athletics
* Australian rules football
* Badminton
* Baseball
* Basketball
* Canadian football
* Chess
* Climbing
* Combat sports
* Sumo
* Cricket
* 1989–90
* 1990
* 1990–91
* Cycling
* Dance sports
* Darts
* Equestrianism
* Esports
* Field hockey
* Flying disc
* Golf
* Gymnastics
* Handball
* Ice hockey
* Ice sports
* Korfball
* Lumberjack sports
* Mind sports
* Modern pentathlon
* Motorsport
* Orienteering
* Paralympic sports
* Precision sports
* Shooting
* Racquetball
* Roller sports
* Sailing
* Skiing
* Speedway
* Rugby league‎
* Rugby union
* Snooker
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* Strength sports
* Weightlifting
* Squash
* Table tennis
* Tennis
* Triathlon
* Volleyball

This article contains an overview of the year 1990 in athletics.

## International Events

[edit]

* African Championships
* Asian Games
* Balkan Games
* Central American and Caribbean Championships
* Commonwealth Games
* European Championships
* European Indoor Championships
* Goodwill Games
* World Cross Country Championships
* World Junior Championships

## World records

[edit]

### Men

[edit]

EVENT  | ATHLETE  | MARK  | DATE  | VENUE

|
|
|
|

20,000 metres |  Dionísio Castro (POR) | 57:18.4 | 31 March  | La Flèche, France
4 × 100 m relay |  France (FRA)
• Max Morinière
• Daniel Sangouma
• Jean-Charles Trouabal
• Bruno Marie-Rose | 37.79 | 1 September  | Split, Yugoslavia
Shot put |  Randy Barnes (USA) | 23.12m | 20 May  | Westwood, United States
Javelin (new) |  Patrik Bodén (SWE) | 89.10m | 24 March  | Austin, United States
Steve Backley (GBR) | 89.58m | 2 July  | Stockholm, Sweden
Half marathon |  Dionicio Cerón (MEX) | 1:00:46 | 16 September  | Philadelphia, United States

### Women

[edit]

EVENT  | ATHLETE  | MARK  | DATE  | VENUE

|
|
|
|

1,000 metres |  Christine Wachtel (GER) | 2:30.67 | 17 August  | Berlin, Germany
Triple jump |  Li Huirong (CHN) | 14.54m | 25 August  | Sapporo, Japan

## Men's Best Year Performers

[edit]

### 100 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Leroy Burrell (USA) | 9.96
2\.  |  Linford Christie (GBR) | 10.02
3\.  |  Calvin Smith (USA) | 10.04
4\.  |  Davidson Ezinwa (NGR) | 10.05
Mark Witherspoon (USA)
Carl Lewis (USA)

### 200 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Michael Johnson (USA) | 19.85
2\.  |  Danny Everett (USA) | 20.08
3\.  |  John Regis (GBR) | 20.11
4\.  |  Leroy Burrell (USA) | 20.14
5\.  |  Robson da Silva (BRA) | 20.23

### 400 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Danny Everett (USA) | 44.06
2\.  |  Roberto Hernández (CUB) | 44.14
3\.  |  Michael Johnson (USA) | 44.21
4\.  |  Andrew Valmon (USA) | 44.35
5\.  |  Darren Clark (AUS) | 44.60

### 800 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Peter Elliott (GBR) | 1:42.97
2\.  |  William Tanui (KEN) | 1:43.39
3\.  |  Johnny Gray (USA) | 1:43.72
4\.  |  Paul Ereng (KEN) | 1:43.78
5\.  |  Robert Kibet (KEN) | 1:44.29

### 1,500 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Noureddine Morceli (ALG) | 3:32.60
2\.  |  Peter Elliott (GBR) | 3:32.69
3\.  |  Gennaro Di Napoli (ITA) | 3:32.78
4\.  |  Wilfred Kirochi (KEN) | 3:32.90
5\.  |  Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:33.03

### Mile

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Joe Falcon (USA) | 3:49.31
2\.  |  Peter Elliott (GBR) | 3:49.76
3\.  |  Jens-Peter Herold (GDR) | 3:50.59
4\.  |  Tony Morrell (GBR) | 3:51.31
5\.  |  Abdi Bile (SOM) | 3:52.01

### 3,000 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Khalid Skah (MAR) | 7:37.09
2\.  |  Cyrille Laventure (FRA) | 7:37.74
3\.  |  Yobes Ondieki (KEN) | 7:38.15
4\.  |  Mohamed Issangar (MAR) | 7:39.40
5\.  |  Brahim Boutayeb (MAR) | 7:40.79

### 5,000 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Salvatore Antibo (ITA) | 13:05.59
2\.  |  Yobes Ondieki (KEN) | 13:05.60
3\.  |  Mohamed Issangar (MAR) | 13:08.51
4\.  |  Arturo Barrios (MEX) | 13:08.52
5\.  |  Khalid Skah (MAR) | 13:09.55

### 10,000 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Arturo Barrios (MEX) | 27:18.22
2\.  |  John Ngugi (KEN) | 27:19.15
3\.  |  Salvatore Antibo (ITA) | 27:25.16
4\.  |  Hammou Boutayeb (MAR) | 27:25.48
5\.  |  Khalid Skah (MAR) | 27:29.27

### Half marathon

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Steve Moneghetti (AUS) | 1:00:34

### Marathon

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Steve Moneghetti (AUS) | 2:08:16
2\.  |  Gelindo Bordin (ITA) | 2:08:19
3\.  |  Gidamis Shahanga (TAN) | 2:08:32
4\.  |  Jörg Peter (GDR) | 2:09:23
5\.  |  Martín Pitayo (MEX) | 2:09:41

### 110m hurdles

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Colin Jackson (GBR) | 13.08
2\.  |  Greg Foster (USA) | 13.15
3\.  |  Roger Kingdom (USA) | 13.21
Tony Jarrett (GBR)
5\.  |  Renaldo Nehemiah (USA) | 13.22

### 400m hurdles

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Danny Harris (USA) | 47.49
2\.  |  Samuel Matete (ZAM) | 47.91
3\.  |  Kriss Akabusi (GBR) | 47.92
4\.  |  Winthrop Graham (JAM) | 48.03
5\.  |  David Patrick (USA) | 48.22

### 3,000m steeplechase

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Peter Koech (KEN) | 8:10.95
2\.  |  Francesco Panetta (ITA) | 8:12.66
3\.  |  William Mutwol (KEN) | 8:12.75
4\.  |  Mark Rowland (GBR) | 8:13.27
5\.  |  Julius Kariuki (KEN) | 8:13.28

### High jump

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | HEIGHT

|
|

1\.  |  Sorin Matei (ROU) | 2.40
2\.  |  Hollis Conway (USA) | 2.38
3\.  |  Dragutin Topić (YUG) | 2.37
Sergey Dymchenko (URS)
4\.  |  Clarence Saunders (BER) | 2.36
Javier Sotomayor (CUB)
Doug Nordquist (USA)
Georgi Dakov (BUL)

### Long jump

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Mike Powell (USA) | 8.66
2\.  |  Jaime Jefferson (CUB) | 8.53
3\.  |  Carl Lewis (USA) | 8.51
4\.  |  Robert Emmiyan (URS) | 8.32
5\.  |  Sergey Podgainiy (URS) | 8.25
Dietmar Haaf (FRG)

### Triple jump

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Kenny Harrison (USA) | 17.93
2\.  |  Volodymyr Inozemtsev (URS) | 17.90
3\.  |  Oleg Protsenko (URS) | 17.75
4\.  |  Leonid Voloshin (URS) | 17.74
5\.  |  Mike Conley (USA) | 17.56

### Discus

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Romas Ubartas (URS) | 68.94
2\.  |  Wolfgang Schmidt (GDR) | 68.30
3\.  |  Mike Buncic (USA) | 67.72
4\.  |  Juan Martínez Brito (CUB) | 67.50
5\.  |  Jürgen Schult (GDR) | 67.08

### Shot put

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Randy Barnes (USA) | 23.12 WR
2\.  |  Ulf Timmermann (GER) | 21.64
3\.  |  Pétur Guðmundsson (ISL) | 21.26
4\.  |  Jim Doehring (USA) | 21.20
5\.  |  Oliver-Sven Buder (GER) | 21.06

### Hammer

[edit]

Main article: 1990 Hammer Throw Year Ranking

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Igor Nikulin (URS) | 84.48
2\.  |  Igor Astapkovich (URS) | 84.14
3\.  |  Andrey Abduvaliyev (URS) | 83.46
4\.  |  Yuriy Sedykh (URS) | 82.80
5\.  |  Sergey Litvinov (URS) | 81.74

### Javelin (new design)

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Steve Backley (GBR) | 89.58
2\.  |  Patrik Bodén (SWE) | 89.10
3\.  |  Seppo Räty (FIN) | 86.92
4\.  |  Jan Železný (TCH) | 86.52
5\.  |  Tom Petranoff (USA) | 86.46

### Pole vault

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | HEIGHT

|
|

1\.  |  Radion Gataullin (URS) | 5.92
2\.  |  Sergey Bubka (URS) | 5.90
3\.  |  Grigoriy Yegorov (URS) | 5.87
4\.  |  Maksim Tarasov (URS) | 5.85
Igor Potapovich (URS)

### Decathlon

[edit]

Main article: 1990 Decathlon Year Ranking

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | POINTS

|
|

1\.  |  Christian Plaziat (FRA) | 8574
2\.  |  Michael Smith (CAN) | 8525
3\.  |  Christian Schenk (GDR) | 8481
4\.  |  Dezső Szabó (HUN) | 8436
5\.  |  Dave Johnson (USA) | 8403

## Women's Best Year Performers

[edit]

### 60 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Merlene Ottey (JAM) | 7.08
2\.  |  Ulrike Sarvari (FRG) | 7.10
3\.  |  Irina Sergeyeva (URS) | 7.13
Laurence Bily (FRA)
5\.  |  Nelli Cooman (NLD) | 7.14

### 100 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Merlene Ottey (JAM) | 10.78
2\.  |  Katrin Krabbe (GDR) | 10.89
3\.  |  Carlette Guidry (USA) | 11.03
4\.  |  Sheila Echols (USA) | 11.05
Michelle Finn (USA)

### 200 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Merlene Ottey (JAM) | 21.66
2\.  |  Katrin Krabbe (GDR) | 21.95
3\.  |  Heike Drechsler (GDR) | 22.19
4\.  |  Galina Malchugina (URS) | 22.23
5\.  |  Mary Onyali (NGR) | 22.31

### 400 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Grit Breuer (GDR) | 49.50
2\.  |  Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB) | 50.03
3\.  |  Paulien Davis (BAH) | 50.05
4\.  |  Petra Schersing (GDR) | 50.31
5\.  |  Lyudmila Dzhigalova (URS) | 50.33

### 800 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Sigrun Wodars (GDR) | 1:55.87
2\.  |  Christine Wachtel (GDR) | 1:56.11
3\.  |  Nadezhda Loboyko (URS) | 1:56.64
4\.  |  Lyudmila Rogachova (URS) | 1:57.1
5\.  |  Liliya Nurutdinova (URS) | 1:57.25

### 1,500 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Doina Melinte (ROU) | 3:58.69
2\.  |  Natalya Artyomova (URS) | 4:02.53
3\.  |  Yvonne Mai (GDR) | 4:02.69
4\.  |  Lyudmila Rogachova (URS) | 4:03.07
5\.  |  Violeta Beclea (ROM) | 4:03.14

### Mile

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Doina Melinte (ROU) | 4:18.13
2\.  |  Natalya Artyomova (URS) | 4:22.20
3\.  |  Yvonne Mai (GDR) | 4:22.97
4\.  |  Lynn Jennings (USA) | 4:24.14
5\.  |  Svetlana Kitova (URS) | 4:24.63

### 3,000 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Angela Chalmers (CAN) | 8:38.38
2\.  |  Yvonne Murray (GBR) | 8:39.46
3\.  |  Liz McColgan (GBR) | 8:43.14
4\.  |  Yelena Romanova (URS) | 8:43.68
5\.  |  PattiSue Plumer (USA) | 8:44.07

### 5,000 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Yelena Romanova (URS) | 15:02.23
2\.  |  Lynn Jennings (USA) | 15:07.92
3\.  |  PattiSue Plumer (USA) | 15:07.97
4\.  |  Viorica Ghican (ROU) | 15:09.90
5\.  |  Nadia Dandolo (ITA) | 15:11.64

### 10,000 metres

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Viorica Ghican (ROU) | 31:18.18
2\.  |  Uta Pippig (GDR) | 31:40.92
3\.  |  Maria Conceição Ferreira (POR) | 31:45.75
4\.  |  Yelena Romanova (URS) | 31:46.83
5\.  |  Kathrin Ullrich (GDR) | 31:47.70

### Half marathon

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Rosa Mota (POR) | 1:09:33

### Marathon

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Rosa Mota (POR) | 2:25:24
2\.  |  Lisa Martin (AUS) | 2:25:28
3\.  |  Wanda Panfil (POL) | 2:26:31
4\.  |  Frith van der Merwe (RSA) | 2:27:36
5\.  |  Francie Larrieu Smith (USA) | 2:28:01

### 60m hurdles

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Ludmila Narozhilenko (URS) | 7.69
2\.  |  Monique Éwanjé-Épée (FRA) | 7.84
3\.  |  Nataliya Grygoryeva (URS) | 7.85
4\.  |  Lidiya Yurkova (URS) | 7.86
5\.  |  Anne Piquereau (FRA) | 7.88

### 100m hurdles

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Nataliya Grygoryeva (URS) | 12.53
2\.  |  Monique Éwanjé-Épée (FRA) | 12.56
3\.  |  Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL) | 12.61
4\.  |  Mihaela Pogacian (ROU) | 12.62
5\.  |  Ludmila Narozhilenko (URS) | 12.64

### 400m hurdles

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | TIME

|
|

1\.  |  Tatyana Ledovskaya (URS) | 53.62
2\.  |  Myrtle Bothma (RSA) | 54.07
3\.  |  Anita Protti (SUI) | 54.36
4\.  |  Sandra Farmer-Patrick (USA) | 54.46
5\.  |  Monica Westén (SWE) | 54.69

### High Jump

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | HEIGHT

|
|

1\.  |  Yelena Yelesina (URS) | 2.02 m
2\.  |  Yolanda Henry (USA) | 2.00 m
Biljana Petrović (YUG)
Heike Henkel (FRG)
5\.  |  Alina Astafei (ROU) | 1.98 m

### Long Jump

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Galina Chistyakova (URS) | 7.35 m
2\.  |  Heike Drechsler (GDR) | 7.30 m
3\.  |  Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) | 7.12 m
4\.  |  Inessa Kravets (URS) | 7.10 m
Larisa Berezhnaya (URS)

### Triple Jump

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Li Huirong (CHN) | 14.54 m

### Shot put

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Sui Xinmei (CHN) | 21.66 m
2\.  |  Huang Zhihong (CHN) | 21.52 m
3\.  |  Astrid Kumbernuss (GER) | 20.77 m

### Javelin (old design)

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | DISTANCE

|
|

1\.  |  Petra Felke (GDR) | 73.08
2\.  |  Zhang Li (CHN) | 70.42
3\.  |  Karen Forkel (GER) | 69.38
4\.  |  Xu Demei (CHN) | 68.30
5\.  |  Natalya Cherniyenko (URS) | 67.88

### Heptathlon

[edit]

RANK  | 1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS  | POINTS

|
|

1\.  |  Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) | 6783
2\.  |  Jane Flemming (AUS) | 6695
3\.  |  Sabine Braun (GER) | 6688
4\.  |  Heike Tischler (GER) | 6572
5\.  |  Peggy Beer (GER) | 6531

## Births

[edit]

* February 1 -- Feyisa Lilesa, Ethiopian long-distance runner
* August 29 -- Marin Premeru, Croatian discus thrower and shot putter
* October 24 -- Vicky Parnov, Australian pole vaulter
* November 23 -- Stanislav Emelyanov, Russian race walker

## Deaths

[edit]

* March 27 — Percy Beard (82), American hurdler (b. 1908)
* April 10 — Fortune Gordien (67), American athlete (b. 1922)
* August 29 — Luigi Beccali (82), Italian athlete (b. 1907)
* December 31 — Robina Higgins (75), Canadian athlete (b.1915)

## References

[edit]

* 1990 Year Lists
* 1990 Year Rankings
* Association of Road Racing Statisticians

* v
* t
* e

1990 in the sport of athletics

« 1989

1991 »

World|

* World Cross Country Championships
* World Mountain Running Championships
* World Women's Road Race Championships
* World Junior Championships
* Gymnasiade
* Grand Prix
* Final

Regional|

| Championships|

* African
* Balkan
* European
* Outdoor
* Indoor
* Ibero-American
* Maghreb
* Oceanian

|

Games|

* Asian Games
* Central American Games
* Central American and Caribbean Games
* Commonwealth Games
* Goodwill Games
* Micronesian Games
* South American Games

Other|

* Arab Cross Country
* Balkan Cross Country
* Pan American Race Walking Cup
* South American
* Cross Country
* Race Walking

Age group|

* Arab U20
* Asian U20
* CARIFTA Games
* Central American and Caribbean U20
* European O35
* South American
* U20
* U18

National|

| Indoor|

* Belgian
* Czechoslovak
* Dutch
* English
* French
* German
* Italian
* Polish
* Soviet
* Spanish
* Swedish
* United States
* NCAA

|

Outdoor|

* Australian
* Belgian
* Canadian
* Chinese
* Czechoslovak
* Dutch
* English
* Finnish
* French
* German
* Hungarian
* Icelandic
* Italian
* Jamaican
* Japanese
* Norwegian
* Polish
* Portuguese
* Soviet
* Spanish
* Swedish
* United Kingdom
* United States
* NCAA XC
* NCAA Track

* v
* t
* e

Years in the sport of athletics

* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

* 1980
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* 2018
* 2019

* 2020
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* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

*[POR]: Portugal
*[USA]: United States
*[SWE]: Sweden
*[GBR]: Great Britain
*[MEX]: Mexico
*[GER]: Germany
*[CHN]: China
*[NGR]: Nigeria
*[BRA]: Brazil
*[CUB]: Cuba
*[AUS]: Australia
*[KEN]: Kenya
*[ALG]: Algeria
*[ITA]: Italy
*[GDR]: East Germany
*[SOM]: Somalia
*[MAR]: Morocco
*[FRA]: France
*[TAN]: Tanzania
*[ZAM]: Zambia
*[JAM]: Jamaica
*[ROU]: Romania
*[YUG]: Yugoslavia
*[URS]: Soviet Union
*[BER]: Bermuda
*[BUL]: Bulgaria
*[FRG]: West Germany
*[ISL]: Iceland
*[FIN]: Finland
*[TCH]: Czechoslovakia
*[CAN]: Canada
*[HUN]: Hungary
*[NLD]: Netherlands
*[BAH]: Bahamas
*[ROM]: Romania
*[POL]: Poland
*[RSA]: South Africa
*[SUI]: Switzerland
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