| 100 Metres |
| Men's 100 Metres | Carl Lewis | M | | USA | 9.93 | Results |
| Women's 100 Metres | Silke Gladisch-Möller | F | | GDR | 10.90 | Results |
| 200 Metres |
| Men's 200 Metres | Calvin Smith | M | | USA | 20.16 | Results |
| Women's 200 Metres | Silke Gladisch-Möller | F | | GDR | 21.74 | Results |
| 400 Metres |
| Men's 400 Metres | Thomas Schönlebe | M | | GER | 44.33 | Results |
| Women's 400 Metres | Olga Vladykina-Bryzgina | F | | UKR | 49.38 | Results |
| 800 Metres |
| Men's 800 Metres | Billy Konchellah | M | | KEN | 1:43.06 | Results |
| Women's 800 Metres | Sigrun Grau | F | | GER | 1:55.26 | Results |
| 1500 Metres |
| Men's 1500 Metres | Abdi Bile | M | | SOM | 3:36.80 | Results |
| Women's 1500 Metres | Tatyana Samolenko-Dorovskikh | F | | UKR | 3:58.56 | Results |
| 3000 Metres |
| Women's 3000 Metres | Tatyana Samolenko-Dorovskikh | F | | UKR | 8:38.73 | Results |
| 5000 Metres |
| Men's 5000 Metres | Saïd Aouita | M | | MAR | 13:26.44 | Results |
| 10,000 Metres |
| Men's 10,000 Metres | Paul Kipkoech | M | | KEN | 27:38.63 | Results |
| Women's 10,000 Metres | Ingrid Kristiansen | F | | NOR | 31:05.85 | Results |
| Marathon |
| Men's Marathon | Douglas Wakiihuri | M | | KEN | 2:11:48 | Results |
| Women's Marathon | Rosa Mota | F | | POR | 2:25:17 | Results |
| 3000 Metres Steeplechase |
| Men's 3000 Metres Steeplechase | Francesco Panetta | M | | ITA | 8:08.57 | Results |
| 100 Metres Hurdles |
| Women's 100 Metres Hurdles | Ginka Zagorcheva | F | | BUL | 12.34 | Results |
| 110 Metres Hurdles |
| Men's 110 Metres Hurdles | Greg Foster | M | | USA | 13.21 | Results |
| 400 Metres Hurdles |
| Men's 400 Metres Hurdles | Edwin Moses | M | | USA | 47.46 | Results |
| Women's 400 Metres Hurdles | Sabine Busch | F | | GER | 53.62 | Results |
| High Jump |
| Men's High Jump | Patrik Sjöberg | M | | SWE | 2.38 | Results |
| Women's High Jump | Stefka Kostadinova | F | | BUL | 2.09 | Results |
| Pole Vault |
| Men's Pole Vault | Sergey Bubka | M | | UKR | 5.85 | Results |
| Long Jump |
| Men's Long Jump | Carl Lewis | M | | USA | 8.67 | Results |
| Women's Long Jump | Jackie Joyner-Kersee | F | | USA | 7.36 | Results |
| Triple Jump |
| Men's Triple Jump | Khristo Markov | M | | BUL | 17.92 | Results |
| Shot Put |
| Men's Shot Put | Werner Günthör | M | | SUI | 22.23 | Results |
| Women's Shot Put | Natalya Lisovskaya | F | | FRA | 21.24 | Results |
| Discus Throw |
| Men's Discus Throw | Jürgen Schult | M | | GER | 68.74 | Results |
| Women's Discus Throw | Martina Hellmann | F | | GER | 71.62 | Results |
| Hammer Throw |
| Men's Hammer Throw | Sergey Litvinov | M | | RUS | 83.06 | Results |
| Javelin Throw |
| Men's Javelin Throw | Seppo Räty | M | | FIN | 83.54 | Results |
| Women's Javelin Throw | Fatima Whitbread | F | | GBR | 76.64 | Results |
| 10 Kilometres Race Walk |
| Women's 10 Kilometres Race Walk | Irina Strakhova | F | | URS | 44:12 | Results |
| 20 Kilometres Race Walk |
| Men's 20 Kilometres Race Walk | Maurizio Damilano | M | | ITA | 1:20:45 | Results |
| 50 Kilometres Race Walk |
| Men's 50 Kilometres Race Walk | Hartwig Gauder | M | | GER | 3:40:53 | Results |
| 4x100 Metres Relay |
| Men's 4x100 Metres Relay | United States | M | | USA | 37.90 | Results |
| Women's 4x100 Metres Relay | United States | F | | USA | 41.58 | Results |
| 4x400 Metres Relay |
| Men's 4x400 Metres Relay | United States | M | | USA | 2:57.29 | Results |
| Women's 4x400 Metres Relay | German Democratic Republic | F | | GDR | 3:18.63 | Results |
