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
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| Other | - Balkan Cross Country
- European
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| National | | Indoor | - Czechoslovak
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| Outdoor | - Australian
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