The athletics at the 1997 Summer Universiade took place in the Stadio Cibali in Catania, Sicily (Italy) at the end of August 1997, shortly after the World Championships in Athens, Greece. New events were the women's hammer throw, pole vault and half marathon competition. The marathon was dropped from the programme in favour of the half distance. A total of 23 men's and 22 women's events were contested (the difference being that steeplechase was held for men only).
The United States topped the athletics medal table (as it had in 1995) with a total of 21 medals, eight of them gold. Russia was the next most successful nation, with six golds among its haul of 16 medals. Ukraine won five gold medals, while Cuba won four events and had the third highest medal total at twelve. The host nation, Italy, won eight medals. A total of 34 nations reached the medal table.
Among the 1995 men's champions, Ukrainian shot putter Yuriy Bilonoh and hammer thrower Balázs Kiss of Hungary successfully defended their titles. On the women's side, double distance champion Gabriela Szabo won the 1500 metres again and Russia's Natalya Sadova repeated as discus throw winner. Student-athletes Szabo, Iván Pedroso (long jump) Yoelbi Quesada (triple jump) and Marius Corbett (javelin) won both Universiade and World Championships gold medals that year, though there was an upset in the Universiade racewalking events, as world champion and world leader Annarita Sidoti only managed third place.
Medal summary
Men (Wind: -0.5) 10.22 10.39 10.42(Wind: -0.3) 20.48 20.64 20.72 44.81 45.30 45.54 1:47.63 1:47.77 1:48.43 3:43.57 3:43.97 3:44.14 13:57.54 13:58.35 14:00.94 28:22.11 28:27.64 28:30.05(Wind: -0.7) 13.44 13.51 13.53 48.99 49.36 49.48 8:25.83 8:27.91 8:28.92Vincent HendersonBryan HowardJonathan CarterTony McCall 38.48Anier GarcíaMisael OrtizIván GarcíaLuis Alberto Pérez Rionda 38.52Dan MoneyJamie HenthornRoss BaillieDouglas Walker 39.23Octavius TerryTony WheelerJerome DavisBryan Woodward 3:02.53Ian WeakleyLinval LairdGarth RobinsonDennis Blake 3:02.68Richard KnowlesSean BaldockMark SesayJared Deacon 3:02.74 1:03:32 1:03:51 1:04:05 1:25:36 1:26:00 1:26:12 2.32 2.32 2.28 5.70 5.60 5.55 8.40 8.35 8.11 17.35 17.11 17.08 20.34 20.01 19.72 66.40 63.12 62.76 79.42 77.16 76.16 86.50 83.48 81.12 8380 8072 7899
Women (Wind: +1.5) 11.20 11.34 11.35(Wind: -0.6) 23.18 23.31 23.60 50.84 51.35 51.72 2:00.21 2:00.84 2:01.38 4:10.31 4:10.40 4:12.38 15:47.61 15:48.68 15:49.96 33:45.31 33:54.22 34:10.28(Wind: -1.1) 13.16 13.19 13.22 54.91 55.91 56.13Juan BallMelinda SergentShani AndersonPassion Richardson 44.04Yekaterina LeshchevaIrina KorotyaOlga PovtoryovaNatalya Ignatova 44.37Sonia PaquetteTara PerryLaDonna AntoineKaren Clarke 44.59Natalya SharovaSvetlana GoncharenkoYekaterina BakhvalovaOlga Kotlyarova 3:27.93Nancy McLeónJulia DuportyDaimí PerníaIdalmis Bonne 3:29.00Vicki JamisonMichelle PierreMichelle ThomasAllison Curbishley 3:30.57 1:11:49 1:13:06 1:13:20 44:01 44:31 44:38 1.98 1.96 1.94 4.40 4.30 4.10 6.78 6.44 6.40 14.23 14.12 13.93 19.39 18.65 18.26 67.02 61.00 60.08 69.84 65.96 65.02 64.30 63.46 60.70 6546 6175 6143
Medal table
References World Student Games (Universiade - Men) - GBR Athletics World Student Games (Universiade - Women) - GBR Athletics
External links FISU