| 100 Metres |
| Men's 100 Metres | Linford Christie | M | | GBR | 9.87 | Results |
| Women's 100 Metres | Gail Devers | F | | USA | 10.82 | Results |
| 200 Metres |
| Men's 200 Metres | Frank Fredericks | M | | NAM | 19.85 | Results |
| Women's 200 Metres | Merlene Ottey | F | | SLO | 21.98 | Results |
| 400 Metres |
| Men's 400 Metres | Michael Johnson | M | | USA | 43.65 | Results |
| Women's 400 Metres | Jearl Miles Clark | F | | USA | 49.82 | Results |
| 800 Metres |
| Men's 800 Metres | Paul Ruto | M | | KEN | 1:44.71 | Results |
| Women's 800 Metres | Maria de Lurdes Mutola | F | | MOZ | 1:55.43 | Results |
| 1500 Metres |
| Men's 1500 Metres | Noureddine Morceli | M | | ALG | 3:34.24 | Results |
| Women's 1500 Metres | Dong Liu | F | | CHN | 4:00.50 | Results |
| 3000 Metres |
| Women's 3000 Metres | Yunxia Qu | F | | CHN | 8:28.71 | Results |
| 5000 Metres |
| Men's 5000 Metres | Ismael Kirui | M | | KEN | 13:02.75 | Results |
| 10,000 Metres |
| Men's 10,000 Metres | Haile Gebrselassie | M | | ETH | 27:46.02 | Results |
| Women's 10,000 Metres | Junxia Wang | F | | CHN | 30:49.30 | Results |
| Marathon |
| Men's Marathon | Mark Plaatjes | M | | USA | 2:13:57 | Results |
| Women's Marathon | Junko Asari | F | | JPN | 2:30:03 | Results |
| 3000 Metres Steeplechase |
| Men's 3000 Metres Steeplechase | Moses Kiptanui | M | | KEN | 8:06.36 | Results |
| 100 Metres Hurdles |
| Women's 100 Metres Hurdles | Gail Devers | F | | USA | 12.46 | Results |
| 110 Metres Hurdles |
| Men's 110 Metres Hurdles | Colin Jackson | M | | GBR | 12.91 | Results |
| 400 Metres Hurdles |
| Men's 400 Metres Hurdles | Kevin Young | M | | USA | 47.18 | Results |
| Women's 400 Metres Hurdles | Sally Gunnell | F | | GBR | 52.74 | Results |
| Heptathlon |
| Women's Heptathlon | Jackie Joyner-Kersee | F | | USA | 6837 | Results |
| Decathlon |
| Men's Decathlon | Dan O'Brien | M | | USA | 959 | Results |
| High Jump |
| Men's High Jump | Javier Sotomayor | M | | CUB | 2.40 | Results |
| Women's High Jump | Ioamnet Quintero | F | | CUB | 1.99 | Results |
| Pole Vault |
| Men's Pole Vault | Sergey Bubka | M | | UKR | 6.00 | Results |
| Long Jump |
| Men's Long Jump | Mike Powell | M | | USA | 8.59 | Results |
| Women's Long Jump | Heike Drechsler | F | | GER | 7.11 | Results |
| Triple Jump |
| Men's Triple Jump | Mike Conley | M | | USA | 17.86 | Results |
| Women's Triple Jump | Anna Biryukova | F | | RUS | 15.09 | Results |
| Shot Put |
| Men's Shot Put | Werner Günthör | M | | SUI | 21.97 | Results |
| Women's Shot Put | Zhihong Huang | F | | CHN | 20.57 | Results |
| Discus Throw |
| Men's Discus Throw | Lars Riedel | M | | GER | 67.72 | Results |
| Women's Discus Throw | Olga Chernyavskaya | F | | RUS | 67.40 | Results |
| Hammer Throw |
| Men's Hammer Throw | Andrey Abduvaliyev | M | | UZB | 81.64 | Results |
| Javelin Throw |
| Men's Javelin Throw | Jan Zelezný | M | | CZE | 85.98 | Results |
| Women's Javelin Throw | Trine Hattestad | F | | NOR | 69.18 | Results |
| 10 Kilometres Race Walk |
| Women's 10 Kilometres Race Walk | Sari Essayah | F | | FIN | 42:59 | Results |
| 20 Kilometres Race Walk |
| Men's 20 Kilometres Race Walk | Valentín Massana | M | | ESP | 1:22:31 | Results |
| 50 Kilometres Race Walk |
| Men's 50 Kilometres Race Walk | Jesús Ángel García | M | | ESP | 3:41:41 | Results |
| 4x100 Metres Relay |
| Men's 4x100 Metres Relay | United States | M | | USA | 37.48 | Results |
| Women's 4x100 Metres Relay | Russia | F | | RUS | 41.49 | Results |
| 4x400 Metres Relay |
| Men's 4x400 Metres Relay | United States | M | | USA | 2:54.29 | Results |
| Women's 4x400 Metres Relay | United States | F | | USA | 3:16.71 | Results |
