| 60 Metres |
| Men's 60 Metres | Ben Johnson | M | | CAN | 6.62 | Results |
| Women's 60 Metres | Silke Gladisch-Möller | F | | GDR | 7.20 | Results |
| 200 Metres |
| Men's 200 Metres | Aleksandr Yevgenyev | M | | URS | 20.95 | Results |
| Women's 200 Metres | Marita Koch | F | | GDR | 23.09 | Results |
| 400 Metres |
| Men's 400 Metres | Thomas Schönlebe | M | | GER | 45.60 | Results |
| Women's 400 Metres | Diane Dixon | F | | USA | 53.35 | Results |
| 800 Metres |
| Men's 800 Metres | Coloman Trabado | M | | ESP | 1:47.42 | Results |
| Women's 800 Metres | Cristieana Cojocaru-Matei | F | | ROU | 2:04.22 | Results |
| 1500 Metres |
| Men's 1500 Metres | Michael Hillardt | M | | AUS | 3:40.27 | Results |
| Women's 1500 Metres | Elly van Hulst | F | | NED | 4:11.41 | Results |
| 3000 Metres |
| Men's 3000 Metres | Joao Campos | M | | POR | 7:57.63 | Results |
| Women's 3000 Metres | Debbie Scott-Bowker | F | | CAN | 9:04.99 | Results |
| 60 Metres Hurdles |
| Men's 60 Metres Hurdles | Stéphane Caristan | M | | FRA | 7.67 | Results |
| Women's 60 Metres Hurdles | Xénia Siska | F | | HUN | 8.03 | Results |
| High Jump |
| Men's High Jump | Patrik Sjöberg | M | | SWE | 2.32 | Results |
| Women's High Jump | Stefka Kostadinova | F | | BUL | 1.97 | Results |
| Pole Vault |
| Men's Pole Vault | Sergey Bubka | M | | UKR | 5.75 | Results |
| Long Jump |
| Men's Long Jump | Jan Leitner | M | | TCH | 7.96 | Results |
| Women's Long Jump | Helga Radtke | F | | GER | 6.88 | Results |
| Triple Jump |
| Men's Triple Jump | Khristo Markov | M | | BUL | 17.22 | Results |
| Shot Put |
| Men's Shot Put | Remigius Machura | M | | CZE | 21.22 | Results |
| Women's Shot Put | Natalya Lisovskaya | F | | FRA | 20.07 | Results |
| 3000 Metres Race Walk |
| Women's 3000 Metres Race Walk | Giuliana Salce | F | | ITA | 12:53.42 | Results |
| 5000 Metres Race Walk |
| Men's 5000 Metres Race Walk | Gérard Leliévre | M | | FRA | 19:06.22 | Results |
