The following events in the sport of athletics took place in 2006:
Championships March: 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series) March: 2006 Commonwealth Games April: 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series) May: 2006 IAAF World Race Walking Cup (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series) July: 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games August: 2006 European Championships in Athletics August: 2006 African Championships in Athletics August: 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series) September: 2006 IAAF World Athletics Final (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series) September: 2006 IAAF World Cup (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series) October: 2006 Lusophony Games October: 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships (part of the IAAF World Athletics Series)
World Athletics Tour The World Athletics Tour is a tournament where athletes accumulate points from placing in designated meets throughout the season. The top-ranking athletes in each event are then allowed entry in the IAAF World Athletics Final.
In 2006 the World Athletics Tour consisted of six IAAF Golden League meets (Oslo, Paris, Rome, Zürich, Brussels, Berlin), six Super Grand Prix meets (Doha, Athens, Lausanne, Stockholm, London (Crystal Palace), Monaco), twelve Grand Prix meets (Melbourne, Dakar, Osaka, Belém, Eugene, Hengelo, Ostrava, Gateshead, Madrid, Helsinki, Rieti, Zagreb) as well as 26 Area Permit Meetings all over the world. The World Athletics Final was held in Stuttgart, having been staged in Monaco the three previous years.
Challenges In certain events that are not included in the World Athletics Final, currently race walking and combined events (formerly also cross-country running), distinct tournaments, named challenges, are being held. Similarly to the World Athletics Tour, the participating athletes accumulate points in designated meets, however in this case the final ranking is decided by the points table and not a conclusive meet.
See IAAF World Race Walking Challenge and IAAF World Combined Events Challenge for the 2006 results.
World records Senior Outdoor EventRecordAthleteNationalityDatePlace 100 m Men 9.77 s Asafa Powell June 11, 2006Gateshead, United KingdomAugust 18, 2006Zürich, Switzerland100 mMen9.77Ratified as a record but later nullified due to Gatlin's failed drug testJustin Gatlin May 12, 2006Doha, Qatar5000 mWomen14:24.53Meseret Defar June 3, 2006New York City, USA15 km (road)Women46:55Kayoko Fukushi February 5, 2006Marugame, Japan20 km (road)Men55:48Haile Gebrselassie January 15, 2006Phoenix, United States20 km (road)Women1:03:21Lornah Kiplagat October 8, 2006Debrecen, HungaryHalf marathonMen58:55Haile Gebrselassie January 15, 2006Phoenix, United States110 m hurdlesMen12.88 sLiu Xiang July 11, 2006Lausanne, Switzerland50 km walk (road)Men3:35:47Nathan Deakes December 6, 2006Geelong, Australia4 × 800 mrelayMen7:02.43Joseph Mutua,William Yiampoy,Ismael Kombich,Wilfred BungeiAugust 25, 2006Brussels, Belgium Hammer throw Women77.26Gulfiya KhanafeyevaJune 12, 2006Tula, Russia77.41Tatyana LysenkoJune 24, 2006Zhukovsky, Russia77.80Tatyana LysenkoAugust 15, 2006Tallinn, EstoniaNOT RATIFIED: 10 km (road) Men 26:54Not ratified due to excessive downhill slopeEliud KipchogeDecember 31, 2006Madrid, SpainZersenay TadeseDecember 31, 2006Madrid, Spain25 km (road)Men1:11:37Not ratified due to inadequate drug testingHaile Gebrselassie March 12, 2006Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands25 km (road)Women1:21:31Not ratified due to inadequate drug testingConstantina Tomescu October 22, 2006Chicago, United States30 km (road)Women1:38:30Not ratified due to inadequate drug testingConstantina Tomescu October 22, 2006Chicago, United States
Indoor EventRecordAthleteNationalityDatePlace1500 mWomen3:58.28Yelena Soboleva February 18, 2006Moscow, Russia3000 mWomen8:27.86Liliya Shobukhova February 17, 2006Moscow, RussiaHigh jumpWomen2.08 mKajsa Bergqvist February 4, 2006Arnstadt, GermanyPole vaultWomen4.91 mYelena Isinbayeva February 12, 2006Donetsk, Ukraine4 × 400 mrelayWomen3:23.37Yuliya Gushchina,Olga Kotlyarova,Olga Zaytseva,Olesya KrasnomovetsJanuary 28, 2006Glasgow, United KingdomNOT RATIFIED:4 × 400 mrelayMen3:01.96Not ratified due to inadequate drug testingKerron Clement,Wallace Spearmon,Darold Williamson,Jeremy WarinerFebruary 11, 2006Fayetteville, United States
Notes
Junior Outdoor EventRecordAthleteNationalityDatePlace4 × 100 mrelayWomen43.29Bianca Knight,Jeneba Tarmoh,Elizabeth Olear,Gabrielle MayoUSAAugust 8, 2006Eugene, United States Discus throw Men66.35Margus HuntAugust 15, 2006Beijing, China66.68Margus HuntAugust 16, 2006Beijing, China67.32Margus HuntAugust 16, 2006Beijing, ChinaHammer throwMen82.62Yevgeniy Aydamirov July 22, 2006Tula, RussiaNOT RATIFIED:10 km walkMen39:45Sergey Morozov February 19, 2006Adler, Russia39:00Chu Yafei October 21, 2006Xi'an, China
Awards Men 2006 TRACK & FIELD AWARDSWINNERIAAF World Athlete of the YearTrack & Field Athlete of the YearEuropean Athlete of the Year AwardBest Male Track Athlete ESPY Award
Women 2006 TRACK & FIELD AWARDSWINNERIAAF World Athlete of the YearTrack & Field Athlete of the YearEuropean Athlete of the Year AwardBest Female Track Athlete ESPY Award
Awards At the 2006 World Athletics Gala in Monaco Asafa Powell and Sanya Richards were given the IAAF World Athlete of the Year awards for men and women respectively.
At the same time Liu Xiang and Meseret Defar were recognized with the Performance of the Year awards for men and women, for their new world records (see above). The Rising Star Award was given to Margus Hunt for his world junior records, and the Coaches’ Award was given to Woldemeskel Kostre of Ethiopia. Hicham El Guerrouj, Stefka Kostadinova and Jan Železný were presented Distinguished Career Awards.
Transfers of eligibility See list of eligibility transfers in athletics
Men's Best Year Performances 100 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.9.772.9.843.9.854.9.915.9.99
200 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.19.632.19.653.19.684.19.885.19.90
400 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.43.622.44.103.44.144.44.455.44.53
800 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.1:43.092.1:43.253.1:43.314.1:43.425.1:43.45
1500 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.3:29.022.3:29.143.3:29.684.3:31.085.3:31.10
Mile RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.3:50.322.3:50.893.3:51.534.3:52.395.3:52.41
3000 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.7:28.722.7:29.113.7:29.744.7:30.485.7:31.33
5000 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.12:48.092.12:48.663.12:51.984.12:52.405.12:53.81
10,000 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.26:35.632.26:37.253.26:41.954.27:02.815.27:03.20
Race walking
110 m Hurdles RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.12.882.12.903.12.964.13.005.13.02
400 m Hurdles RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.47.392.47.483.47.824.47.935.48.05
3000 m Steeplechase RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.7:56.322.7:59.943.8:07.504.8:08.325.8:08.78
Pole Vault RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSHEIGHT1.6.00 m2.5.96 m3.5.92 m4.5.90 m5.5.86 m
Hammer Throw
Decathlon
Women's Best Year Performances 100 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.10.822.10.993.11.03
200 metres RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.22.002.22.113.22.174.22.205.22.23
Half Marathon RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.1:07:162.1:07:263.1:07:344.1:07:435.1:08:07
Race walking
100 m Hurdles RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.12.432.12.443.12.484.12.495.12.52
400 m Hurdles RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.53.022.53.143.53.714.53.795.53.82
3000 m Steeplechase RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSTIME1.9:17.152.9:19.513.9:20.164.9:21.945.9:22.82
High Jump RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSHEIGHT1.2.05 m2.2.04 m3.2.03 m5.2.01 m
Pole Vault RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSHEIGHT1.4.91 m2.4.75 m3.4.70 m
Hammer Throw
Heptathlon RANK2006 WORLD BEST PERFORMERSPOINTS1.67402.64633.64484.64235.6420
Marathon Men's competition Commonwealth Games
RANK ATHLETETIME2:11:292:12:032:14:504.2:16:325.2:17:106.2:17:317.2:19:158.2:19:399.2:19:4010.2:19:57
European championships
RANK ATHLETETIME2:11:322:11:502:12:374.2:12:445.2:13:046.2:13:097.2:13:108.2:13:149.2:13:4610.2:14:15
Asian Games
RANK ATHLETETIME2:12:442:15:362:15:364.2:17:245.2:17:436.2:18:557.2:19:358.2:20:199.2:23:4610.2:23:50
Best Year Performances RANK ATHLETETIMEEVENT1.2:05:56Berlin Marathon2.2:06:37Rotterdam Marathon3.2:06:39London Marathon4.2:06:41London Marathon5.2:06:43Rotterdam Marathon6.2:06:51London Marathon7.2:06:52Hamburg Marathon—2:06:52Fukuoka Marathon9.2:06:55London Marathon10.2:07:04London Marathon
Women's competition Commonwealth Games
RANK ATHLETETIME2:30:542:30:562:32:194.2:33:135.2:36:276.2:36:437.2:38:318.2:39:139.2:39:3910.2:39:54
European championships
RANK ATHLETETIME2:30:012:30:272:30:534.2:31:015.2:31:156.2:31:237.2:31:318.2:32:049.2:32:5310.2:32:56
Asian Games
RANK ATHLETETIME2:27:032:30:342:30:384.2:42:345.2:44:206.2:48:497.2:54:338.2:59:559.3:08:10—DNF
Best Year Performances RANK ATHLETETIMEEVENT1.2:19:36London Marathon2.2:19:51Seoul International Marathon3.2:20:42Chicago Marathon4.2:20:47Chicago Marathon5.2:21:29London Marathon6.2:21:34Berlin Marathon7.2:21:46Chicago Marathon8.2:21:52London Marathon9.2:21:58London Marathon10.2:22:36Chicago Marathon
Deaths March 9 – Erik Elmsäter (86), Swedish long-distance runner (b. 1919) August 9 – Chinatsu Mori (26), Japanese shot putter (b. 1980)
References World Athletics Tour 2006 – official IAAF site World Combined Events Challenge 2006 – official IAAF site
World records. ARRS Marathon results.