Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Athletics at the XIX Commonwealth Games
Dates6–12, 14 October 2010
Host cityDelhi, India India
VenueJawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Events46 (+6 disabled)
Participation845 athletes from
61 nations
Records set-

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.[1]

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.[2]

Each of the Commonwealth Games Associations could send a maximum of three participants per event and a team of six for relay events.[3] 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).[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

  1. ^ 2010 CWG - Athletics. 2010 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved on 2010-10-05.
  2. ^ CWG - Para-sport. 2010 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved on 2010-10-05.
  3. ^ 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletics events. 2010 Commonwealth Games (2010-07-24).
  4. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (2010-10-14) Double marathon triumph for Kenya ends athletics programme at Commonwealth Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-10-15.
  5. ^ Bull, Andy (2010-10-13). Commonwealth Games 2010: Indian athlete tests positive for drugs. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2010-10-15.
  6. ^ 'Communication blunder' sees Pearson stripped of gold. BBC Sport (2010-08-04). Retrieved on 2010-10-09.
  7. ^ "Third Nigerian fails drugs test". 15 October 2010.