| Athletics at the XIX Commonwealth Games | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6–12, 14 October 2010 |
| Host city | Delhi,India |
| Venue | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| Events | 46 (+6 disabled) |
| Participation | 845 athletes from 61 nations |
| Records set | - |
Theathletics competition at the2010 Commonwealth Games was held inNew Delhi, India between 6 and 14 October. Thetrack and field events took place between 6–12 October at theJawaharlal Nehru Stadium while themarathon contests were held on a street course running through the city on 14 October.[1]
A total of 46athletics events were contested, which made it the sport with the second greatest number of medals on offer after theaquatics competition. The programme was almost identical to that of the2006 edition, with the sole exception being the men's 50 kmrace walk, which was dropped. As in 2006, three men's and three women'sdisability athletics events were contested alongside theopen competition.[2]
Each of the Commonwealth Games Associations could send a maximum of three participants per event and a team of six for relay events.[3]Kenya topped the medal table, with elevengold medals and 29 medals in total. This was the first time that the nation achieved the feat, beating the typically dominant nationsAustralia (eleven golds, but 20 overall) andEngland (seven golds, 26 medals).[4]Canada andJamaica rounded out the top five while hosts India enjoyed their greatest ever haul at the Games, taking home two golds and twelve medals altogether.
Four faileddoping tests have so far been announced: NigerianOludamola Osayomi was stripped of the women's 100 m title, and her compatriotSamuel Okon, a 110 m hurdler, was also disqualified. Both athletes tested positive formethylhexanamine.Rani Yadav, India's representative in the women's 20 km walk, was the third athlete to fail a test as19-Norandrosterone was detected in her sample.[5] Osayomi's 100 m stripped gold initially went toSally Pearson of Australia but a delay in the appeals process saw Pearson disqualified for a false start some time after the race.[6]Folashade Abugan of Nigeria tested positive forTestosteroneprohormone following the final of the women's 400 metres. She was disqualified from the 400 metres and the Nigerian team, of which she was a member, were disqualified from the women's 4 × 400 metres relay where they had originally placed second.[7]
A test event for the competition was scheduled in late July: the Asian All-Star Athletics Meet featured a number of prominent Asian athletes and demonstrated the stadium's readiness for games usage.[8][9]
Many of the most prominent athletes from the Commonwealth were absent from the competition.Caster Semenya, Commonwealth championChristine Ohuruogu, and Olympic medallistLisa Dobriskey were among the athletes missing due to injury, but others includingUsain Bolt,David Rudisha andShelly-Ann Fraser opted to miss the competition out of choice – all ten of the year's fastest Commonwealth men's 100 m runners (including defending championAsafa Powell) were not present.[10] Further to this, two reigningworld champions (English jumperPhillips Idowu and Australian throwerDani Samuels) declared themselves out of the running on grounds of the security and accommodation conditions in Delhi. The competition's late scheduling within thetrack and field season was a primary factor in many athlete withdrawals.[11]
In spite of this, a number of Olympic champions and other prominent names were selected to compete, including Australian Olympic/World championSteve Hooker and New Zealand's Olympic/World ChampionValerie Adams, top Kenyan runnersNancy Langat,Vivian Cheruiyot andEzekiel Kemboi, Bahamian high jumperDonald Thomas, and South Africa's Commonwealth championsL.J. van Zyl andSunette Viljoen.[10] Formerworld record holderSteve Cram emphasised the Games' role in developing younger athletes: "That's what it was for me, at 17 years old I went to theCommonwealth Games becauseCoe andOvett didn't go. Nobody at the time was telling me it was bad that Coe and Ovett weren't there."[11]
The stadium's track and field was damaged during theopening ceremony and major works – including the re-laying of the tarmac on the track and grass on the infield – took place in the 24 hours leading up to the first day ofathletics events at the stadium.[12] Three training venues were allocated for the athletics events: theCommonwealth Games Village 2010,Thyagaraj Sports Complex and theDelhi University sports complex.





* Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres (T46) details | Simon Patmore | 11.14 | Samkelo Radebe | 11.25 | Ayuba Abdullahi | 11.37 |
| 1500 metres (T54) details | Kurt Fearnley | 3:19.86 | Richard Colman | 3:20.90 | Josh Cassidy | 3:21.14 |
| Shot put (F32/34/52) details | Kyle Pettey | 1021 (11.44 m) | Dan West | 969 (10.78 m) | Hamish MacDonald | 889 (9.92 m) |





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

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres (T37) details | Katrina Hart | 14.36 | Jenny McLoughlin | 14.68 | Johanna Benson | 14.81 |
| 1500 metres (T54) details | Diane Roy | 3:53.95 | Chineme Obeta | 4:09.29 | Anita Fordjour | 4:18.83 |
| Shot put (F32–34/52/53) details | Louise Ellery | 1110 (6.17 m) | Jess Hamill | 979 (7.17 m) | Gemma Prescott | 952 (5.54 m) |
At the competitionAmantle Montsho (Botswana) andCydonie Mothersill (Cayman Islands) all won the first ever Commonwealth gold medals for their respective countries.Natasha Mayers (St. Vincent and Grenadines), won the first gold medal ever by a female for her country. The number of medal sweeps in the athletics (6) was at an all-time high for the competition: Kenya took all top three spaces in four events, England beat all in the men's hurdles while hosts India completed a 1–2–3 in the women's discus.[13]
* Host nation (India)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 29 | |
| 2 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 20 | |
| 3 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 26 | |
| 4 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 17 | |
| 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 | |
| 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
| 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | |
| 11 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 17 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Totals (24 entries) | 52 | 53 | 54 | 159 | |
61 Nations competed leaving 11 that did not.