1990 in the sport of athletics

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

International Events

• 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

Men

EVENT	ATHLETE	MARK	DATE	VENUE
Half Marathon	Dionicio Cerón (MEX)	1:00:46	September 16	Philadelphia, USA
4x100m Relay	France (FRA) • Max Morinière • Daniel Sangouma • Jean-Charles Trouabal • Bruno Marie-Rose	37.79	September 1	Split
Shot Put	Randy Barnes (USA)	23.12m	May 20	Westwood USA
Javelin (new)	Patrik Bodén (SWE)	89.10m	March 24	Austin, USA
	Steve Backley (GBR)	89.58m	July 2	Stockholm, Sweden

Men's Best Year Performers

100 metres

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Steve Moneghetti (AUS)	1:00:34

Marathon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Syedikh (URS)	82.80
5.	Sergey Litvinov (URS)	81.74

Javelin (new design)

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

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.	Rodion 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

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

60 metres

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Ulrike Sarvari (FRG)	7.10
2.	Laurence Bily (FRA)	7.13
3.	Nelly Cooman (NLD)	7.14
4.	Sisko Hanhijoki (FIN)	7.20

100 metres

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 Burrell (USA)

200 metres

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

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Grit Breuer (GDR)	49.50
2.	Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB)	50.03
3.	Pauline Davis-Thompson (BAH)	50.05
4.	Petra Schersing (GDR)	50.31
5.	Lyudmila Dzhigalova (URS)	50.33

800 metres

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.	Lilia Nurutdinova (URS)	1:57.25

1,500 metres

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Doina Melinte (ROU)	3:58.69
2.	Natalya Artyomova (URS)	4:02.53
3.	Yvonne Mai-Graham (GER)	4:02.69
4.	Lyudmila Rogachova (URS)	4:02.3

Mile

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Doina Melinte (ROU)	4:18.13
2.	Natalya Artyomova (URS)	4:22.20
3.	Yvonne Mai-Graham (GDR)	4:22.97
4.	Lynn Jennings (USA)	4:24.14
5.	Svetlana Kitova (URS)	4:24.63

3,000 metres

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Angela Chalmers (CAN)	8:38.38
2.	Yvonne Murray (GBR)	8:39.46
3.	Elizabeth McColgan (GBR)	8:43.14
4.	Yelena Romanova (URS)	8:43.68
5.	PattiSue Plumer (USA)	8:44.07

5,000 metres

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

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 Weßel (GDR)	31:47.70

Half Marathon

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Rosa Mota (POR)	1:09:33

Marathon

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Rosa Mota (POR)	2:25:24
2.	Lisa Ondieki (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

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Ludmila Enquist (URS)	7.69
2.	Monique Tourret (FRA)	7.84
3.	Nataliya Grygoryeva (URS)	7.85
4.	Mihaela Pogacian (ROU)	7.99

100m Hurdles

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Nataliya Grygoryeva (URS)	12.53
2.	Monique Tourret (FRA)	12.56
3.	Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL)	12.61
4.	Mihaela Pogacian (ROU)	12.62
5.	Ludmila Engquist (URS)	12.64

400m Hurdles

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 Rydén (SWE)	54.69

High Jump

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

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

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.	Li Huirong (CHN)	14.54 m

Shot Put

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)

RANK	1990 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.	Petra Meier (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

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

• 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

• March 27 — Percy Beard (82), American hurdler (b. 1908)
• April 10 — Fortune Gordien (77), American athlete (b. 1922)
• August 29 — Luigi Beccali (82), Italian athlete (b. 1907)
• December 31 — Robina Higgins (75), Canadian athlete (b.1915)

References

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