| 9th European Athletics Championships | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | 16–21 September |
| Host city | Piraeus,Greece |
| Venue | Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium |
| Level | Senior |
| Type | Outdoor |
| Events | 38 |
| Participation | 674 athletes from 30 nations |
The1969European Athletics Championships were the ninthEuropean Athletics Championships which were held from 16–21 September 1969 at theGeorgios Karaiskakis Stadium inPiraeus,Greece. New at these championships were the women's1500 metres and the women's4×400 metres relay event. Moreover, women's80 metres hurdles was replaced by women's100 metres hurdles.Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in theGlasgow Herald.[clarification needed][1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Former East German runnerJürgen May, who had defected, was not allowed to compete for his new country, West Germany, due toIAAF rules requiring him to live there for at least three years; he had competed for East Germany in the1966 championships.[2] West German officials promptly withdrew their athletes from all individual events in protest, but decided to compete in the relay races as a symbolic gesture to show their respect for the Greek organisers.[3]
The Dutch decathleteEdward de Noorlander was disqualified for the use ofamphetamine, the first disqualification for doping in athletics.[8][9]
Complete results were published.[10]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  East Germany (GDR) | 11 | 7 | 7 | 25 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 9 | 7 | 8 | 24 |
| 3 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 6 | 4 | 7 | 17 |
| 4 |  France (FRA) | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 |  Poland (POL) | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| 7 |  Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 |  Switzerland (SUI) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 |  Italy (ITA) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 |  Austria (AUT) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 |  Bulgaria (BUL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 |  Finland (FIN) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
 Romania (ROU) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
 Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 16 |  West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 17 |  Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Denmark (DEN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Ireland (IRL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 20 |  Norway (NOR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Yugoslavia (SFR Yugoslavia) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (21 entries) | 38 | 38 | 38 | 114 | |
According to an unofficial count, 675 athletes from 30 countries participated in the event, one athlete more than the official number of 674 as published.[11]
Austria (9) Belgium (18) Bulgaria (19) Czechoslovakia (27) Denmark (8) East Germany (60) Finland (24) France (57)
Gibraltar (1)
Greece (24)
Hungary (32)
Iceland (3) Ireland (4) Italy (36)
Liechtenstein (1)
Luxembourg (4)
Malta (1) Netherlands (9) Norway (18) Poland (51)
Portugal (4) Romania (17) Soviet Union (79)
Spain (6) Sweden (29) Switzerland (19)
Turkey (10) Great Britain (71) West Germany (16) Yugoslavia (18)