Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
# Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

The athletics competition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held in New Delhi, India between 6 and 14 October. The track and field events took place between 6–12 October at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium while the marathon contests were held on a street course running through the city on 14 October.

A total of 46 athletics events were contested, which made it the sport with the second greatest number of medals on offer after the aquatics competition. The programme was almost identical to that of the 2006 edition, with the sole exception being the men's 50 km race walk, which was dropped. As in 2006, three men's and three women's disability athletics events were contested alongside the open competition.

Each of the Commonwealth Games Associations could send a maximum of three participants per event and a team of six for relay events. Kenya topped the medal table, with eleven gold medals and 29 medals in total. This was the first time that the nation achieved the feat, beating the typically dominant nations Australia (eleven golds, but 20 overall) and England (seven golds, 26 medals). Canada and Jamaica 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 failed doping tests have so far been announced: Nigerian Oludamola Osayomi was stripped of the women's 100 m title, and her compatriot Samuel Okon, a 110 m hurdler, was also disqualified. Both athletes tested positive for methylhexanamine. Rani Yadav, India's representative in the women's 20 km walk, was the third athlete to fail a test as 19-Norandrosterone was detected in her sample. Osayomi's 100 m stripped gold initially went to Sally Pearson of Australia but a delay in the appeals process saw Pearson disqualified for a false start some time after the race. Folashade Abugan of Nigeria tested positive for Testosterone prohormone 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 x 400 metres relay where they had originally placed second.

## Preparation

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.

Many of the most prominent athletes from the Commonwealth were absent from the competition. Caster Semenya, Commonwealth champion Christine Ohuruogu, and Olympic medallist Lisa Dobriskey were among the athletes missing due to injury, but others including Usain Bolt, David Rudisha and Shelly-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 champion Asafa Powell) were not present. Further to this, two reigning world champions (English jumper Phillips Idowu and Australian thrower Dani Samuels) declared themselves out of the running on grounds of the security and accommodation conditions in Delhi. The competition's late scheduling within the track and field season was a primary factor in many athlete withdrawals.

In spite of this, a number of Olympic champions and other prominent names were selected to compete, including Australian Olympic/World champion Steve Hooker and New Zealand's Olympic/World Champion Valerie Adams, top Kenyan runners Nancy Langat, Vivian Cheruiyot and Ezekiel Kemboi, Bahamian high jumper Donald Thomas, and South Africa's Commonwealth champions L.J. van Zyl and Sunette Viljoen. Former world record holder Steve Cram emphasised the Games' role in developing younger athletes: "That's what it was for me, at 17 years old I went to the Commonwealth Games because Coe and Ovett didn't go. Nobody at the time was telling me it was bad that Coe and Ovett weren't there."

The stadium's track and field was damaged during the opening 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 of athletics events at the stadium. Three training venues were allocated for the athletics events: the Commonwealth Games Village 2010, Thyagaraj Sports Complex and the Delhi University sports complex.

## Medal summary

### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 100 metres details | Lerone Clarke Jamaica | 10.12 | Mark Lewis-Francis England | 10.20 | Aaron Armstrong Trinidad and Tobago | 10.24 |
| 200 metres details | Leon Baptiste England | 20.45 | Lansford Spence Jamaica | 20.49 | Christian Malcolm Wales | 20.52 |
| 400 metres details | Mark Mutai Kenya | 45.44 | Sean Wroe Australia | 45.46 | Ramon Miller Bahamas | 45.55 |
| 800 metres details | Boaz Kiplagat Lalang Kenya | 1:46.60 | Richard Kiplagat Kenya | 1:46.95 | Abraham Kiplagat Kenya | 1:47.37 |
| 1500 metres details | Silas Kiplagat Kenya | 3:41:78 | James Magut Kenya | 3:42:27 | Nick Willis New Zealand | 3:42:38 |
| 5000 metres details | Moses Ndiema Kipsiro Uganda | 13:31.25 | Eliud Kipchoge Kenya | 13:31.32 | Mark Kiptoo Kenya | 13:32.58 |
| 10,000 metres details | Moses Ndiema Kipsiro Uganda | 27:57.39 | Daniel Lemashon Salel Kenya | 27:57.57 | Joseph Kiptoo Birech Kenya | 27:58.58 |
| 110 metres hurdles details | Andy Turner England | 13.38 | William Sharman England | 13.50 | Lawrence Clarke England | 13.70 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Dai Greene Wales | 48.52 | L. J. van Zyl South Africa | 48.63 | Rhys Williams Wales | 49.19 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase details | Richard Mateelong Kenya | 8:16.39 | Ezekiel Kemboi Kenya | 8:18.47 | Brimin Kipruto Kenya | 8:19.65 |
| 4×100 metres relay details | England (ENG) Ryan Scott Leon Baptiste Marlon Devonish Mark Lewis-Francis | 38.74 | Jamaica (JAM) Lerone Clarke Lansford Spence Rasheed Dwyer Remaldo Rose Steve Slowly* | 38.79 | India (IND) Rahamatulla Molla Suresh Sathya Shameer Naseema Manzile Md Abdul Najeeb Qureshi | 38.89 |
| 4×400 metres relay details | Australia (AUS) Joel Milburn Kevin Moore Brendan Cole Sean Wroe Ben Offereins* | 3:03.30 | Kenya (KEN) Vincent Koskei Vincent Kiilo Anderson Mutegi Mark Mutai | 3:03.84 | England (ENG) Conrad Williams Nick Leavey Richard Yates Robert Tobin David Hughes* Graham Hedman* | 3:03.97 |
| Marathon details | John Kelai Kenya | 2:14:35 | Michael Shelley Australia | 2:15:28 | Amos Tirop Matui Kenya | 2:15:58 |
| 20 kilometres walk details | Jared Tallent Australia | 1:22:18 | Luke Adams Australia | 1:22:41 | Harminder Singh India | 1:23:27 |
| High jump details | Donald Thomas Bahamas | 2.32 m | Trevor Barry Bahamas | 2.29 m | Kabelo Kgosiemang Botswana | 2.26 m |
| Pole vault details | Steven Hooker Australia | 5.60 m | Steven Lewis England | 5.60 m | Max Eaves England | 5.40 m |
| Long jump details | Fabrice Lapierre Australia | 8.30 m | Greg Rutherford England | 8.22 m | Ignisious Gaisah Ghana | 8.12 m |
| Triple jump details | Tosin Oke Nigeria | 17.16 m | Hugo Mamba Cameroon | 17.14 m | Renjith Maheswary India | 17.07 m |
| Shot put details | Dylan Armstrong Canada | 21.02 m GR | Dorian Scott Jamaica | 20.19 m | Dale Stevenson Australia | 19.99 m |
| Discus throw details | Benn Harradine Australia | 65.45 m | Vikas Gowda India | 63.69 m | Carl Myerscough England | 60.64 m |
| Hammer throw details | Chris Harmse South Africa | 73.12 m | Alex Smith England | 72.95 m | Mike Floyd England | 69.34 m |
| Javelin throw details | Jarrod Bannister Australia | 81.71 m | Stuart Farquhar New Zealand | 78.15 m | Kashinath Naik India | 74.29 m |
| Decathlon details | Jamie Adjetey-Nelson Canada | 8070 | Brent Newdick New Zealand | 7899 | Martin Brockman England | 7712 |

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

**Men's para-sport**

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 100 metres (T46) details | Simon Patmore Australia | 11.14 | Samkelo Radebe South Africa | 11.25 | Ayuba Abdullahi Nigeria | 11.37 |
| 1500 metres (T54) details | Kurt Fearnley Australia | 3:19.86 | Richard Colman Australia | 3:20.90 | Josh Cassidy Canada | 3:21.14 |
| Shot put (F32/34/52) details | Kyle Pettey Canada | 1021 (11.44 m) | Dan West England | 969 (10.78 m) | Hamish MacDonald Australia | 889 (9.92 m) |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 100 metres details | Natasha Mayers Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 11.37 | Katherine Endacott England | 11.44 | Delphine Atangana Cameroon | 11.48 |
| 200 metres details | Cydonie Mothersille Cayman Islands | 22.89 | Abiodun Oyepitan England | 23.26 | Adrienne Power Canada | 23.52 |
| 400 metres details | Amantle Montsho Botswana | 50.10 GR | Aliann Pompey Guyana | 51.65 | Christine Amertil Bahamas | 51.96 |
| 800 metres details | Nancy Langat Kenya | 2:00.01 | Nikki Hamblin New Zealand | 2:00.05 | Diane Cummins Canada | 2:00.13 |
| 1500 metres details | Nancy Langat Kenya | 4:05.26 GR | Nikki Hamblin New Zealand | 4:05.97 | Stephanie Twell Scotland | 4:06.15 |
| 5000 metres details | Vivian Cheruiyot Kenya | 15:55.12 | Sylvia Kibet Kenya | 15:55.61 | Ines Chenonge Kenya | 16:02.47 |
| 10,000 metres details | Grace Momanyi Kenya | 32:34.11 | Doris Changeywo Kenya | 32:36.97 | Kavita Raut India | 33:05.28 |
| 100 metres hurdles details | Sally Pearson Australia | 12.67 | Angela Whyte Canada | 12.98 | Andrea Miller New Zealand | 13.25 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Muizat Ajoke Odumosu Nigeria | 55.28 | Eilidh Child Scotland | 55.62 | Nickiesha Wilson Jamaica | 56.06 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase details | Milcah Chemos Cheywa Kenya | 9:40.96 | Mercy Wanjiru Njoroge Kenya | 9:41.54 | Gladys Jerotich Kipkemoi Kenya | 9:52.51 |
| 4×100 metres relay details | England (ENG) Katherine Endacott Montell Douglas Laura Turner Abiodun Oyepitan | 44.19 | Ghana (GHA) Rosina Amenebede Elizabeth Amolofo Beatrice Gyaman Janet Amponsah | 45.24 | India (IND) Geetha Saati Srabani Nanda P. K. Priya H. M. Jyothi | 45.25 |
| 4×400 metres relay details | India (IND) Manjeet Kaur Sini Jose Ashwini Akkunji Mandeep Kaur Jauna Murmu* Chitra Soman* | 3:27.77 | England (ENG) Kelly Massey Vicki Barr Meghan Beesley Nadine Okyere Joice Maduaka* | 3:29.51 | Canada (CAN) Amonn Nelson Adrienne Power Vicki Tolton Carline Muir Ruky Abdulai*, | 3:30.20 |
| Marathon details | Irene Jerotich Kenya | 2:34:32 | Irene Mogake Kenya | 2:34:43 | Lisa Weightman Australia | 2:35:25 |
| 20 kilometres walk details | Johanna Jackson England | 1:34:22 | Claire Tallent Australia | 1:36:55 | Grace Njue Kenya | 1:37:49 |
| High jump details | Nicole Forrester Canada | 1.91 m | Sheree Francis Jamaica | 1.88 m | Levern Spencer Saint Lucia | 1.88 m |
| Pole vault details | Alana Boyd Australia | 4.40 m | Marianna Zachariadi Cyprus | 4.40 m | Kate Dennison England Carly Dockendorf Canada Kelsie Hendry Canada | 4.25 m |
| Long jump details | Alice Falaiye Canada | 6.50 m | Prajusha Maliakkal India | 6.47 m | Tabia Charles Canada | 6.44 m |
| Triple jump details | Trecia-Kaye Smith Jamaica | 14.19 m | Ayanna Alexander Trinidad and Tobago | 13.91 m | Tabia Charles Canada | 13.84 m |
| Shot put details | Valerie Adams New Zealand | 20.47 m GR | Cleopatra Borel-Brown Trinidad and Tobago | 19.03 m | Margaret Satupai Samoa | 16.43 m |
| Discus throw details | Krishna Poonia India | 61.51 m | Harwant Kaur India | 60.16 m | Seema Antil India | 58.46 m |
| Hammer throw details | Sultana Frizell Canada | 68.57 m GR | Carys Parry Wales | 64.93 m | Zoe Derham England | 64.04 m |
| Javelin throw details | Sunette Viljoen South Africa | 62.34 m GR | Kim Mickle Australia | 60.90 m | Justine Robbeson South Africa | 60.03 m |
| Heptathlon details | Louise Hazel England | 6156 | Jessica Zelinka Canada | 6100 | Grace Clements England | 5819 |

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

**Women's para-sport**

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 100 metres (T37) details | Katrina Hart England | 14.36 | Jenny McLoughlin Wales | 14.68 | Johanna Benson Namibia | 14.81 |
| 1500 metres (T54) details | Diane Roy Canada | 3:53.95 | Chineme Obeta Nigeria | 4:09.29 | Anita Fordjour Ghana | 4:18.83 |
| Shot put (F32–34/52/53) details | Louise Ellery Australia | 1110 (6.17 m) | Jess Hamill New Zealand | 979 (7.17 m) | Gemma Prescott England | 952 (5.54 m) |

## Games statistics

At the competition Amantle Montsho (Botswana) and Cydonie 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.

## Medal table

* Host nation (India)

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kenya | 11 | 10 | 8 | 29 |
| 2 | Australia | 11 | 6 | 3 | 20 |
| 3 | England | 7 | 9 | 10 | 26 |
| 4 | Canada | 7 | 2 | 8 | 17 |
| 5 | Jamaica | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | India* | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| 7 | Nigeria | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 8 | South Africa | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | Uganda | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | New Zealand | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 11 | Wales | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 12 | Bahamas | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | Botswana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | Cayman Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 17 | Ghana | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 18 | Cameroon | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | Scotland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | Cyprus | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Guyana | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Namibia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Saint Lucia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Samoa | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (24 entries) | Totals (24 entries) | 52 | 53 | 54 | 159 |

## Participating nations

61 Nations competed leaving 11 that did not.

* Anguilla (7)
* Antigua and Barbuda (6)
* Australia (61)
* Bahamas (14)
* Bangladesh (4)
* Barbados (2)
* Belize (3)
* Bermuda (2)
* Botswana (11)
* British Virgin Islands (1)
* Brunei (1)
* Cameroon (10)
* Canada (40)
* Cayman Islands (8)
* Cook Islands (1)
* Cyprus (15)
* Dominica (4)
* England (92)
* Ghana (19)
* Grenada (6)
* Guernsey (7)
* Guyana (4)
* India (116)
* Jamaica (46)
* Jersey (2)
* Kenya (70)
* Kiribati (3)
* Lesotho (9)
* Malawi (6)
* Malaysia (8)
* Malta (1)
* Mauritius (12)
* Montserrat (5)
* Mozambique (5)
* Namibia (3)
* New Zealand (13)
* Nigeria (40)
* Niue (5)
* Northern Ireland (9)
* Pakistan (2)
* Papua New Guinea (18)
* Rwanda (14)
* Saint Kitts and Nevis (6)
* Saint Lucia (2)
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2)
* Samoa (2)
* Scotland (19)
* Seychelles (5)
* Sierra Leone (12)
* Singapore (7)
* Solomon Islands (4)
* South Africa (8)
* Sri Lanka (15)
* Swaziland (2)
* Tanzania (9)
* Trinidad and Tobago (10)
* Turks and Caicos Islands (6)
* Tuvalu (6)
* Uganda (14)
* Wales (24)
* Zambia (4)
