This article contains an overview of the year 1985 in the sport of athletics.
International Events
World records
Men
| EVENT
 | 
ATHLETE
 | 
MARK
 | 
DATE
 | 
VENUE
 | 
| 1,500 metres
 | 
  Steve Cram (GBR)
 | 
3:29.67
 | 
16 July
 | 
Nice, France
 | 
  Said Aouita (MAR)
 | 
3:29.46
 | 
23 August
 | 
Berlin, West Germany
 | 
| Mile
 | 
  Steve Cram (GBR)
 | 
3:46.32
 | 
27 July
 | 
Oslo, Norway
 | 
| 2,000 metres
 | 
  Steve Cram (GBR)
 | 
4:51.39
 | 
4 August
 | 
Budapest, Hungary
 | 
| 5,000 metres
 | 
  Said Aouita (MAR)
 | 
13:00.40
 | 
27 July
 | 
Oslo, Norway
 | 
| High Jump
 | 
  Rudolf Povarnitsyn (URS)
 | 
2.40m
 | 
11 August
 | 
Donetsk, Soviet Union
 | 
  Igor Paklin (URS)
 | 
2.41m
 | 
4 September
 | 
Kobe, Japan
 | 
| Pole Vault
 | 
  Sergey Bubka (URS)
 | 
6.00m
 | 
13 July
 | 
Paris, France
 | 
| Triple Jump
 | 
  Willie Banks (USA)
 | 
17.97m
 | 
16 June
 | 
Indianapolis, USA
 | 
| Shot Put
 | 
  Ulf Timmermann (GDR)
 | 
22.62m
 | 
22 September
 | 
Berlin, Germany
 | 
| Half Marathon
 | 
  Steve Jones (GBR)
 | 
1:01:14
 | 
11 August
 | 
Birmingham, UK
 | 
  Mark Curp (USA)
 | 
1:00:55
 | 
15 September
 | 
Philadelphia, United States
 | 
| Marathon
 | 
  Carlos Lopes (POR)
 | 
2:07:12
 | 
20 April
 | 
Rotterdam, Netherlands
 | 
Women
| EVENT
 | 
ATHLETE
 | 
MARK
 | 
DATE
 | 
VENUE
 | 
| 400 metres
 | 
  Marita Koch (GDR)
 | 
47.60
 | 
6 October
 | 
Canberra, Australia
 | 
| Mile
 | 
  Mary Slaney (USA)
 | 
4:16.71
 | 
21 August
 | 
Zürich, Switzerland
 | 
| 5,000 metres
 | 
  Zola Budd (GBR)
 | 
14:48.07
 | 
26 August
 | 
London, Great Britain
 | 
| 10,000 metres
 | 
  Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)
 | 
30:59.42
 | 
27 July
 | 
Oslo, Norway
 | 
| 400m Hurdles
 | 
  Sabine Busch (GDR)
 | 
53.55
 | 
22 September
 | 
East Berlin, East Germany
 | 
| 4 × 100 m Relay
 | 
  East Germany (GDR) • Silke Möller • Sabine Günther • Ingrid Auerswald • Marlies Göhr
 | 
41.37
 | 
6 October
 | 
Canberra, Australia
 | 
| Long Jump
 | 
  Heike Drechsler (GDR)
 | 
7.44
 | 
22 September
 | 
East Berlin, East Germany
 | 
| Javelin Throw
 | 
  Petra Felke (GDR)
 | 
75.26
 | 
4 June
 | 
Schwerin, East Germany
 | 
  Petra Felke (GDR)
 | 
75.40
 | 
4 June
 | 
Schwerin, East Germany
 | 
| RANK
 | 
1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS
 | 
TIME
 | 
| 1.
 | 
  Mark Curp (USA)
 | 
1:00:55
 | 
| RANK
 | 
1985 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS
 | 
TIME
 | 
| 1.
 | 
  Joan Benoit (USA)
 | 
1:09:44
 | 
Marathon
Year Rankings
Men
| RANK
 | 
ATHLETE
 | 
TIME
 | 
DATE
 | 
EVENT
 | 
| 1.
 | 
  Carlos Lopes (POR)
 | 
2:07.12 WR
 | 
April 20
 | 
Rotterdam, Netherlands
 | 
| 2.
 | 
  Steve Jones (WAL)
 | 
2:07.13
 | 
October 20
 | 
Chicago, United States
 | 
| 3.
 | 
  Djama Robleh (DJI)
 | 
2:08.08
 | 
October 20
 | 
Chicago, United States
 | 
| 4.
 | 
  Hussein Ahmed Salah (DJI)
 | 
2:08.09
 | 
April 14
 | 
Hiroshima, Japan
 | 
| 5.
 | 
  Takeyuki Nakayama (JPN)
 | 
2:08.15
 | 
April 14
 | 
Hiroshima, Japan
 | 
| 6.
 | 
  Steve Jones (WAL)
 | 
2:08.16
 | 
April 21
 | 
London, United Kingdom
 | 
| 7.
 | 
  Djama Robleh (DJI)
 | 
2:08.26
 | 
April 14
 | 
Hiroshima, Japan
 | 
| 8.
 | 
  Charlie Spedding (ENG)
 | 
2:08.33
 | 
April 21
 | 
London, United Kingdom
 | 
| 9.
 | 
  Robert de Castella (AUS)
 | 
2:08.48
 | 
October 20
 | 
Chicago, United States
 | 
| 10.
 | 
  Mark Plaatjes (RSA)
 | 
2:08.58
 | 
May 4
 | 
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
 | 
Women
| RANK
 | 
ATHLETE
 | 
TIME
 | 
DATE
 | 
EVENT
 | 
| 1.
 | 
  Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)
 | 
2:21:06 WR
 | 
April 21
 | 
London, United Kingdom
 | 
| 2.
 | 
  Joan Samuelson (USA)
 | 
2:21:21
 | 
October 20
 | 
Chicago, United States
 | 
| 3.
 | 
  Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)
 | 
2:23:05
 | 
October 20
 | 
Chicago, United States
 | 
| 4.
 | 
  Rosa Mota (POR)
 | 
2:23:29
 | 
October 20
 | 
Chicago, United States
 | 
| 5.
 | 
  Carla Beurskens (NED)
 | 
2:27:50
 | 
October 20
 | 
Chicago, United States
 | 
| 6.
 | 
  Veronique Marot (ENG)
 | 
2:28:04
 | 
October 20
 | 
Chicago, United States
 | 
| 7.
 | 
  Sarah Rowell (ENG)
 | 
2:28:06
 | 
April 21
 | 
London, United Kingdom
 | 
| 8.
 | 
  Carey May (IRL)
 | 
2:28:07
 | 
January 27
 | 
Osaka, Japan
 | 
| 9.
 | 
  Grete Waitz (NOR)
 | 
2:28:34
 | 
April 21
 | 
New York, United States
 | 
| 10.
 | 
  Silvia Ruegger (CAN)
 | 
2:28:36
 | 
January 6
 | 
Houston, United States
 | 
National Champions
Road races
Births
- January 4 — Antar Zerguelaïne, Algerian middle distance runner
 
- January 4 — Nataliya Zolotukhina, Ukrainian hammer thrower
 
- January 6 — Nick Owens, American hammer thrower
 
- February 10 — Mariya Smolyachkova, Belarusian hammer thrower
 
- March 2 — Patrick Makau Musyoki, Kenyan distance runner
 
- March 16 — Olexiy Sokyrskiyy, Ukrainian hammer thrower
 
- March 19 — Sean Wroe, Australian sprinter
 
- March 21 — Vladimir Kanaykin, Russian race walker
 
- March 25 — Wilfried Bingangoye, Gabonese sprinter
 
- April 6 — Anna Avdeyeva, Russian shot putter
 
- April 7 — James Rendón, Colombian race walker
 
- April 18 — Musa Amer Obaid, Kenyan-Qatari middle distance runner
 
- May 4 — Henry Sugut, Kenyan long-distance runner
 
- May 5 — Gu Junjie, Chinese triple jumper
 
- May 21 — Mohsen El Anany, Egyptian hammer thrower
 
- May 26 — Irina Petrova, Russian race walker
 
- May 27 — Karina Vnukova, Lithuanian high jumper
 
- May 31 — Kim Hyun-Sub, South Korean race walker
 
- June 1 — Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopian long-distance runner
 
- June 3 — Samwel Mwera, Tanzanian middle distance runner
 
- June 15 — Susan McKelvie, Scottish hammer thrower
 
- June 17 — Ozge Gurler, Turkish athlete
 
- June 21 — Ryoko Kizaki, Japanese long-distance runner
 
- July 29 — Anja Pollmächer, German sprinter
 
- July 31 — Brimin Kipruto, Kenyan middle distance runner
 
- August 26 — Oleksiy Kasyanov, Ukrainian decathlete
 
- September 17 — Tracy-Ann Rowe, Jamaican sprinter
 
- October 12 — Boniface Kiprop Toroitich, Ugandan athlete
 
- November 14 — Andrey Krivov, Russian race walker
 
- November 16 — Rogério Bispo, Brazilian long jumper
 
- November 18 — Allyson Felix, American sprinter
 
- December 1 — Andretti Bain, Bahamian sprinter
 
- December 8 — Kim Deok-Hyeon, South Korean triple jumper
 
- December 20 — Gilbert Kirwa, Kenyan marathon runner
 
- December 26 — Carol Rodríguez, Puerto Rican sprinter
 
Deaths
References
 | 
|---|
 | 
| World |  | 
|---|
| Regional | | Championships |  | 
|---|
 | Games |  | 
|---|
 | Other | 
- Balkan Cross Country
 
- European
  
  | 
|---|
 | Age group |  | 
|---|
 
  | 
|---|
| National | | Indoor | 
- Czechoslovak
 
- Dutch
 
- English
 
- French
 
- German
 
- Italian
 
- Polish
 
- Soviet
 
- Spanish
 
- Swedish
 
- United States
  
  | 
|---|
 | Outdoor | 
- Australian
 
- Belgian
 
- British
 
- Canada
 
- Chinese
 
- Czechoslovak
 
- Dutch
 
- English
 
- Finnish
 
- French
 
- German
 
- Hungarian
 
- Icelandic
 
- Italian
 
- Jamaican
 
- Japanese
 
- Norwegian
 
- Polish
 
- Portuguese
 
- Soviet
 
- Spanish
 
- Swedish
 
- United Kingdom
 
- United States
  
  | 
|---|
 
  | 
|---|