| Athletics at the Games of the IX Olympiad | |
|---|---|
 Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics on a stamp of the Netherlands | |
| Venue | Olympic Stadium |
| Dates | 29 July–5 August |
| Competitors | 706 (611 men, 95 women) from 40 nations |
| Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | |
| 400 m | men | |
| 800 m | men | women |
| 1500 m | men | |
| 5000 m | men | |
| 10,000 m | men | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 400 m hurdles | men | |
| 3000 m steeplechase | men | |
| 4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 400 m relay | men | |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | |
| Triple jump | men | |
| High jump | men | women |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Shot put | men | |
| Discus throw | men | women |
| Javelin throw | men | |
| Hammer throw | men | |
| Combined events | ||
| Decathlon | men | |
At the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, 27 athletics events were contested. The competition was held on a 400-meter track and would become the standard for athletics tracks in the future. For the first time, women's events in athletics were included in the Olympic Games program. There was a total of 706 participants from 40 countries competing.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 |
| 2 |  Finland (FIN) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
| 3 |  Canada (CAN) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 |  Germany (GER) | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
| 6 |  Sweden (SWE) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 7 |  France (FRA) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 |  Japan (JPN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 |  Ireland (IRL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Poland (POL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 South Africa (RSA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 |  Chile (CHI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Haiti (HAI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 |  Norway (NOR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (16 entries) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 81 | |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres |
Betty Robinson United States
|
Bobbie Rosenfeld Canada
|
Ethel Smith Canada
|
| 800 metres |
Lina Radke Germany
|
Kinue Hitomi Japan
|
Inga Gentzel Sweden
|
| 4 × 100 metres relay |
 Canada (CAN)Myrtle Cook Ethel Smith Bobbie Rosenfeld Jane Bell |
 United States (USA)Jessie Cross Loretta McNeil Betty Robinson Mary Washburn |
 Germany (GER)Anni Holdmann Leni Junker Rosa Kellner Leni Schmidt |
| High jump |
Ethel Catherwood Canada
|
Lien Gisolf Netherlands
|
Mildred Wiley United States
|
| Discus throw |
Halina Konopacka Poland
|
Lillian Copeland United States
|
Ruth Svedberg Sweden
|
During the 1928 Summer Olympic Games 9 new world records were set in the athletics events. New Olympic records were set in 16 of the 27 events.
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 metres hurdles | July 31 | Semifinal | George Weightman-Smith |  South Africa |
14.6 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | August 4 | Final | Toivo Loukola |  Finland |
9:21.8 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay | August 5 | Final | George Baird Fred Alderman Emerson Spencer Ray Barbuti |
United States |
3:14.2 |
| Shot put | July 29 | Final | John Kuck | United States |
15.87 m |
| Decathlon | August 5 | Final | Paavo Yrjölä | Finland |
8,053.290 |
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 800 metres | August 2 | Final | Lina Radke | Germany |
2:16.8 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | August 5 | Final | Myrtle Cook Ethel Smith Bobbie Rosenfeld Jane Bell |
Canada |
48.4 |
| High jump | August 5 | Final | Ethel Catherwood | Canada |
1.595 m |
| Discus throw | July 31 | Final | Halina Konopacka |  Poland |
39.62 m |
706 athletes from 40 nations competed. Lithuania and Romania competed in athletics for the first time. Bulgaria, Egypt, Malta, Panama, Rhodesia, and Uruguay were the only six nations not to compete in athletics.
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