Medal summary
Men
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres |  Ben Johnson (CAN) |
10.02 |  Chidi Imoh (NGR) |
10.08 |  Linford Christie (GBR) |
10.15 |
| 800 metres | Peter Elliott (GBR) |
1:46.91 |  William Wuycke (VEN) |
1:47.03 |  Earl Jones (USA) |
1:47.16 |
| One mile | Steve Scott (USA) |
3:50.28 |  José Manuel Abascal (ESP) |
3:50.54 |  John Walker (NZL) |
3:50.93 |
| 5000 metres |  Saïd Aouita (MAR) |
13:13.13 |  Stefano Mei (ITA) |
13:14.29 | Sydney Maree (USA) |
13:14.62 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase |  William Van Dijck (BEL) |
8:25.34 |  Hagen Melzer (GDR) |
8:25.65 | Henry Marsh (USA) |
8:25.85 |
| 400 m hurdles | Andre Phillips (USA) |
48.14 |  Amadou Dia Bâ (SEN) |
48.47 | Danny Harris (USA) |
49.28 |
| High jump |  Igor Paklin (URS) |
2.34 m | Jim Howard (USA) |
2.31 m | Doug Nordquist (USA) |
2.28 m |
| Triple jump | Mike Conley, Sr. (USA) |
17.16 m | Dario Badinelli (ITA) |
16.82 m | Joseph Taiwo (NGR) |
16.79 m |
| Shot put | Ulf Timmermann (GDR) |
21.67 m |  Werner Günthör (SUI) |
21.61 m | Alessandro Andrei (ITA) |
21.20 m |
| Hammer throw | Sergey Litvinov (URS) |
84.88 m | Yuriy Sedykh (URS) |
81.98 m | Igor Nikulin (URS) |
79.84 m |
Women
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 metres | Valerie Brisco-Hooks (USA) |
22.30 | Evelyn Ashford (USA) |
22.31 |  Ewa Kasprzyk (POL) |
22.58 |
| 400 metres | Marita Koch (GDR) |
49.17 | Valerie Brisco-Hooks (USA) |
50.21 | Diane Dixon (USA) |
50.64 |
| 1500 metres | Tatyana Samolenko (URS) |
4:02.71 |  Maricica Puică (ROM) |
4:03.55 | Kirsty Wade (GBR) |
4:03.74 |
| 5000 metres | Olga Bondarenko (URS) |
15:16.84 | Svetlana Guskova (URS) |
15:17.95 | Mary Knisely (USA) |
15:22.33 |
| 100 m hurdles |  Yordanka Donkova (BUL) |
12.47 | Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL) |
12.49 | Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR) |
12.71 |
| Discus throw | Tsvetanka Khristova (BUL) |
68.90 m | Svetla Mitkova (BUL) |
58.98 m |  Márta Kripli (HUN) |
58.52 m |
| Javelin throw | Petra Felke (GDR) |
70.64 m | Fatima Whitbread (GBR) |
69.40 m |  Tiina Lillak (FIN) |
65.46 m |
