This page contains an overview of the year 2007 in athletics (track and field).

International Events

World Records

Men

EVENT	ATHLETE	MARK/DISTANCE	DATE	VENUE
Half marathon (road)	Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (KEN)	58:53	February 9	Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
2000 metres (indoor)	Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)	4:49.99	February 17	Birmingham, UK
20 kilometres (road)	Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (KEN)	55:31	March 17	The Hague, Netherlands
Half marathon (road)	Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (KEN)	58:33	March 17	The Hague, Netherlands
20,000 m	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	56:26.0	June 27	Ostrava, Czech Republic
Hour run	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	21.285 km	June 27	Ostrava, Czech Republic
100 metres	Asafa Powell (JAM)	9.74	September 9	Rieti, Italy
20 kilometres walking (road)	Vladimir Kanaykin (RUS)	1:17:16	September 29	Saransk, Russia
Marathon	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	2:04:26	September 30	Berlin, Germany

Women

EVENT	ATHLETE	MARK	DATE	VENUE
5000 m (indoor)	Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)	14:27.42	January 27	Boston, Massachusetts, USA
3000 m (indoor)	Meseret Defar (ETH)	8:23.72	February 3	Stuttgart, Germany
4x800 m relay	Moskovskaya Region (RUS) Anna Balakshina, Natalya Pantelyeva, Anna Yemashova, Oleysa Chumakova	8:18.54	February 11	Volgograd, Russia
Pole vault	Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)	4.93 m	February 16	Donetsk, Ukraine
Two miles (world best time)	Meseret Defar (ETH)	9:10.47	May 20	Carson, California, USA
Hammer throw	Tatyana Lysenko (RUS)	78.61 m	May 26	Sochi, Russia
5000 m	Meseret Defar (ETH)	14:16.63	June 15	Oslo, Norway
Two miles (world best time)	Meseret Defar (ETH)	8:58.58	September 14	Brussels, Belgium
20 kilometres (road)	Lornah Kiplagat (NED)	1:02:57	October 14	Udine, Italy
Half marathon	Lornah Kiplagat (NED)	1:06:25	October 14	Udine, Italy

• Records for 2 miles are not official world records, they are called world best times

Awards

Men

2007 TRACK & FIELD AWARDS	WINNER
IAAF World Athlete of the Year	Tyson Gay (USA)
Track & Field Athlete of the Year	Tyson Gay (USA)
European Athlete of the Year Award	Tero Pitkämäki (FIN)
Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award	Jeremy Wariner (USA)

Women

2007 TRACK & FIELD AWARDS	WINNER
IAAF World Athlete of the Year	Meseret Defar (ETH)
Track & Field Athlete of the Year	Meseret Defar (ETH)
European Athlete of the Year Award	Blanka Vlašić (CRO)
Best Female Track Athlete ESPY Award	Not Rewarded

Men's Best Year Performers

100 metres

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Asafa Powell (JAM)	9.74 WR
2.	Tyson Gay (USA)	9.84
3.	Derrick Atkins (BAH)	9.91
4.	Walter Dix (USA)	9.93
5.	Wallace Spearmon (USA)	9.96

Half Marathon

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Samuel Wanjiru (KEN)	58:35 WR
2.	Patrick Makau (KEN)	58:56
3.	Zersenay Tadese (ERI)	58:59
4.	Evans Cheruiyot (KEN)	59:05
5.	Deribe Mergia (ETH)	59:16

Marathon

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	2:04:26 WR
2.	Emanuel Mutai (KEN)	2:06:28
3.	Samuel Wanjiru (KEN)	2:06:39
4.	Richard Limo (KEN)	2:06:44
5.	Deribe Mergia (ETH)	2:06:50

400m Hurdles

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Kerron Clement (USA)	47.61
2.	James Carter (USA)	47.72
3.	Felix Sánchez (DOM)	48.01
4.	Michael Tinsley (USA)	48.02
5.	Marek Plawgo (POL)	48.12

3,000m Steeplechase

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Paul Kipsiele Koech (KEN)	7:58.80
2.	Brimin Kipruto (KEN)	8:02.89
3.	Ezekiel Kemboi (KEN)	8:05.50
4.	Mustafa Mohamed (SWE)	8:05.75
5.	Richard Matelong (KEN)	8:06.66

Pole Vault

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.	Brad Walker (USA)	5.95 m
2.	Steven Hooker (AUS)	5.91 m
	Paul Burgess (AUS)	5.91 m
4.	Björn Otto (GER)	5.90 m
5.	Danny Ecker (GER)	5.87 m

Decathlon

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	POINTS
1.	Roman Šebrle (CZE)	8697
2.	Maurice Smith (JAM)	8644
3.	Andrey Kravchenko (BLR)	8617
4.	Dmitriy Karpov (KAZ)	8586
5.	Bryan Clay (USA)	8493

Women's Best Year Performers

100 metres

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Veronica Campbell (JAM)	10.89
2.	Torri Edwards (USA)	10.90
3.	Me'Lisa Barber (USA)	10.95
4.	Sanya Richards (USA)	10.97
5.	Allyson Felix (USA)	11.01
	Lauryn Williams (USA)	11.01

200 metres

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Allyson Felix (USA)	21.81
2.	Rachelle Smith (USA)	22.31
	Sanya Richards (USA)	22.31
4.	Ebonie Floyd (USA)	22.32
5.	Veronica Campbell (JAM)	22.34

400 metres

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Sanya Richards (USA)	49.27
2.	Christine Ohuruogu (GBR)	49.61
3.	DeeDee Trotter (USA)	49.64
4.	Nicola Sanders (GBR)	49.65
5.	Novlene Williams (JAM)	49.66

800 metres

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Janeth Jepkosgei (KEN)	1:56.04
2.	Hasna Benhassi (MAR)	1:56.84
3.	Maria de Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)	1:56.98
4.	Mayte Martínez (ESP)	1:57.62
5.	Yuliya Krevsun (UKR)	1:57.63

1,500 metres

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Yelena Soboleva (RUS)	3:57.30
2.	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	3:58.75
3.	Gelete Burka (ETH)	4:00.48
4.	Irina Lishchinskaya (UKR)	4:00.69
5.	Yuliya Fomenko (RUS)	4:00.7

Mile

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Yelena Soboleva (RUS)	4:15.63
2.	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)	4:17.75
3.	Olga Yegorova (RUS)	4:20.10
4.	Gulnara Samitova-Galkina (RUS)	4:20.23
5.	Anna Alminova (RUS)	4:20.86

Half Marathon

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Lornah Kiplagat (NED)	1:06:25 WR
2.	Mary Keitany (KEN)	1:06:48
3.	Kara Goucher (USA)	1:06:57
4.	Rita Cheptoo (KEN)	1:07:05
5.	Paula Radcliffe (GBR)	1:07:53

Marathon

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Zhou Chunxiu (CHN)	2:20:38
2.	Mizuki Noguchi (JPN)	2:21:37
3.	Getenesh Wami (ETH)	2:21:45
4.	Paula Radcliffe (GBR)	2:23:09
5.	Wei Yanan (CHN)	2:23:12

100m Hurdles

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Michelle Perry (USA)	12.44
2.	Virginia Powell (USA)	12.45
3.	Perdita Felicien (CAN)	12.49
	Susanna Kallur (SWE)	12.49
5.	Delloreen Ennis-London (JAM)	12.50

400m Hurdles

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Tiffany Williams (USA)	53.28
2.	Sheena Johnson (USA)	53.29
3.	Jana Rawlinson (AUS)	53.31
4.	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)	53.50
5.	Anna Jesien (POL)	53.86

3,000m Steeplechase

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.	Yekaterina Volkova (RUS)	9:06.57
2.	Tatyana Petrova (RUS)	9:09.19
3.	Gulnara Samitova-Galkina (RUS)	9:11.68
4.	Eunice Jepkorir (KEN)	9:14.52
5.	Ruth Bisibori (KEN)	9:24.51

High Jump

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.	Blanka Vlašić (CRO)	2.07 m
2.	Antonietta di Martino (ITA)	2.03 m
	Anna Chicherova (RUS)	2.03 m
4.	Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE)	2.02 m
	Yelena Slesarenko (RUS)	2.02 m
	Ruth Beitia (ESP)	2.02 m

Pole Vault

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.	Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)	4.91 m
2.	Jennifer Stuczynski (USA)	4.88 m
3.	Monika Pyrek (POL)	4.82 m
	Svetlana Feofanova (RUS)	4.82 m
5.	Katerina Badurová (CZE)	4.75 m

Heptathlon

RANK	2007 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	POINTS
1.	Carolina Klüft (SWE)	7032
2.	Lyudmila Blonska (UKR)	6832
3.	Kelly Sotherton (GBR)	6510
4.	Jessica Ennis (GBR)	6469
5.	Lilli Schwarzkopf (GER)	6439

Deaths

• January 21 — Maria Cioncan (29), Romanian runner (b. 1977)
• January 27 — Yang Chuan-kwang (73), Taiwanese decathlete (b. 1933)
• January 27 — Yelena Romanova (43), Russian runner (b. 1963)
• April 2 — Satymkul Dzhumanazarov (56), Kyrgyzstani long-distance runner (b. 1951)
• August 1 — Veikko Karvonen (81), Finnish long-distance runner (b. 1926)
• October 1 — Al Oerter (71), American discus thrower (b. 1936)
• November 3 — Ryan Shay (28), American long-distances runner (b. 1979)
• November 13 — Robert Taylor (59), American sprinter (b. 1948)
• November 26 — Herb McKenley (85), Jamaican sprinter (b. 1922)

References

• Year Lists

v • d • e Years in Athletics (track and field) 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1956 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008