At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992 to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders (eight men and six women) were among the contenders. There were also a good thirty former Olympic champions competing, and a total number of 1725 athletes from 156 countries.

Of the 39 current individual world champions, only three won the gold in their events, and they were three women: Marie-José Pérec of France in the 400 m, Heike Henkel of Germany in the high jump and Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria in the 1500 m. Three of the "unquestioned" favourites failed: the Ukrainian Sergey Bubka (EUN) did not make a valid vault, Michael Johnson of the USA was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 200 m and Noureddine Morceli of Algeria came seventh in the final of the 1500 m.

A total number of three world records were set in the competition. On August 6 in the 400 m hurdles, Kevin Young (46.78 s) shattered a legendary barrier, the 47 seconds, which had stood up even to the finest specialist of all time, Edwin Moses, since 1983, with 47.02 s. On August 8, within the space of about two hours, the other records were broken, both in the relays. In the 4x100 m, the US team of Michael Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell and Carl Lewis, with a time of 37.40 s, knocked ten hundredths off the previous best, run in the 1991 IAAF World Championships in Tokyo by the same team, except for the first (Cason instead of Marsh). In the 4x400 m, Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Michael Johnson and Steve Lewis ran 2 min 55.74 s.

Medal summary

Men's events

100 metres Details		9.96		10.02		10.04
200 metres Details		20.01		20.13		20.38
400 metres Details		43.50		44.21		44.24
800 metres Details		1:43.66		1:43.70		1:43.97
1.500 metres Details		3:40.12		3:40.62		3:40.69
5.000 metres Details		13:12.52		13:12.71		13:13.03
10.000 metres Details		27:46.70		27:47.72		28:00.07
110 m Hurdles Details		13.12		13.24		13.26
400 m Hurdles Details		46.78 (WR)		47.66		47.82
3.000 m Steeple Details		8:08.84		8:09.55		8:10.74
4x100 m Relay Details	Michael Marsh Leroy Burrell Dennis Mitchell Carl Lewis James Jett*	37.40 (WR)	Oluyemi Kayode Chidi Imoh Olapade Adeniken Davidson Ezinwa Osmond Ezinwa*	37.98	Andrés Simón Joel Lamela Joel Isasi Jorge Aguilera	38.00
4x400 m Relay Details	Andrew Valmon Quincy Watts Michael Johnson Steve Lewis Darnell Hall* Charles Jenkins*	2:55.74 (WR)	Lázaro Martínez Héctor Herrera Norberto Téllez Roberto Hernández	2:59.51	Roger Black David Grindley Kriss Akabusi John Regis Du'aine Ladejo* Mark Richardson*	2:59.73
Marathon Details		2:13:23		2:13:45		2:14:00
20 km Walk Details		1:21.25		1:22.25		1:23.11
50 km Walk Details		3:50.13		3:52.09		3:53.45
High Jump Details		2.34 m (at 1st try)		2.34 m (at 2nd try)		2.34 m (at 3rd try)
Long Jump Details		8.67 m		8.64 m		8.34 m
Triple Jump Details		18.17  mw		17.60 m		17.36 m
Pole Vault Details		5.80 m		5.80 m		5.75 m
Shot Put Details		21.70 m		20.96 m		20.94 m
Discus Throw Details		65.12 m		64.94 m		64.12 m
Javelin Throw Details		89.66 m		86.60 m		83.38 m
Hammer Throw Details		82.54 m		81.96 m		81.38 m
Decathlon Details		8611		8412		8309

* Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Women's events

100 metres Details		10.82		10.83		10.84
200 metres Details		21.81		22.02		22.09
400 metres Details		48.83		49.05		49.64
800 metres Details		1:55:54		1:55:99		1:56.80
1.500 metres Details		3:55.30		3:56.91		3:57.08
3.000 metres Details		8:46.04		8:46.85		8:47.22
10.000 metres Details		31:06.02		31:11.75		31:19.89
100 m Hurdles Details		12.64		12.69		12.70
400 m Hurdles Details		53.23		53.69		54.31
4x100 m Relay Details	Evelyn Ashford Esther Jones Carlette Guidry Gwen Torrence Michelle Finn*	42.11	Olga Bogoslovskaya Galina Malchugina Marina Trandenkova Irina Privalova	42.16	Beatrice Utondu Faith Idehen Christy Opara-Thompson Mary Onyali	42.81
4x400 m Relay Details	Yelena Ruzina Lyudmila Dzhigalova Olga Nazarova Olga Bryzgina Liliya Nurutdinova* Marina Shmonina*	3:20.20	Natasha Kaiser Gwen Torrence Jearl Miles Rochelle Stevens Denean Hill* Dannette Young*	3:20.92	Phylis Smith Sandra Douglas Jennifer Stoute Sally Gunnell	3:24.23
Marathon Details		2:32:41		2:32:49		2:33:59
10 km Walk Details		44:32		44:33		44:41
High Jump Details		2.02 m		2.00 m		1.97 m
Long Jump Details		7.14 m		7.12 m		7.07 m
Shot put Details		21.06 m		20.47 m		19.78 m
Discus Throw Details		70.06 m		67.78 m		66.24 m
Javelin Throw Details		68.34 m		68.26 m		66.86 m
Heptathlon Details		7044		6845		6649

* Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Medal Table

1		12	8	10	30
2		7	11	3	21
3		4	1	5	10
4		2	4	2	8
5		2	1	4	7
6		2	1	1	4
7		2	0	4	6
8		2	0	0	2
9		1	1	2	4
10		1	1	1	3
11		1	1	0	2
12		1	0	2	3
13		1	0	0	1
		1	0	0	1
		1	0	0	1
		1	0	0	1
		1	0	0	1
		1	0	0	1
19		0	3	1	4
20		0	2	0	2
		0	2	0	2
22		0	1	1	2
		0	1	1	2
24		0	1	0	1
		0	1	0	1
		0	1	0	1
		0	1	0	1
		0	1	0	1
29		0	0	2	2
30		0	0	1	1
		0	0	1	1
		0	0	1	1
		0	0	1	1
		0	0	1	1
		0	0	1	1

See also

• 1992 in athletics (track and field)

References

• Athletics Australia