Athletics in Pakistan is overseen by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) which organizes athletic tournaments in Pakistan. Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking.
Many Pakistani athletes have excelled in various events including the Olympic Games, the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games among others.[1]
The 1950s and 1960s are often regarded as the Golden Age of Pakistani athletics, with Abdul Khaliq, Ghulam Raziq, Mubarak Shah, Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Nawaz, Jalal Khan, Allah Ditta and Muhammad Ramzan Ali achieving various milestones. In the early decades, Pakistanis held many Asian records including the Asian 100 m and 200 m record held by Abdul Khaliq.
Other notable athletes include Mirza Khan, Ghulam Abbas, Nadir Khan, Aqarab Abbas, Muhammad Sharif Butt, Khwaja Muhammad Aslam, among others, who got prominence at either Asian or International levels, winning gold medals for Pakistan.[2] Pakistani female athletes have also represented Pakistan at the international level, such as Shabana Akhtar, who was the first Pakistani female athlete to participate at the Olympics. International events such as the Lahore Marathon take place in the country. In recent times, Arshad Nadeem is the reigning Olympic champion in Men's javelin throw with an Olympic record throw of at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[3] He also created a Commonwealth Games record with a throw of 90.18 m and became the first ever athlete from South Asia to breach the 90m mark.[4]
National Athletics Championships is held annually by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan.[5]
| Competition | Athlete | Medal | Event | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | Arshad Nadeem | Javelin throw | 2024 | |
| World Championships | Javelin throw | 2023 | ||
| Commonwealth Games < | -- update rowspan count when adding more medallists --> | |||
| Javelin throw | 2022 | |||
| Javelin throw | 1966 | |||
| Hammer throw | 1966 | |||
| Ghulam Raziq | 120 yards hurdles | 1966 | ||
| Ghulam Raziq | 120 yards hurdles | 1962 | ||
| Javelin throw | 1958 | |||
| Hammer throw | 1958 | |||
| Muhammad Ramzan Ali | Long jump | 1958 | ||
| Ghulam Raziq | 120 yards hurdles | 1958 | ||
| Hammer throw | 1954 | |||
| Javelin throw | 1954 | |||
| Javelin throw | 1954 |
| width=150 | Athlete(s) | width=150 | Event | width=100 | Games | width=100 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arshad Nadeem | Men's Javelin Throw | 1st place (92.97m) | |||||
| Arshad Nadeem | Men's Javelin Throw | Final (5th place - 84.62m) | |||||
| Bashir Ahmed, Mohammad Sadaqat, Mohammad Afzal, Muhammad Fayyaz | Men's 4 × 400 metres relay | Semi-Final | |||||
| Abdul Malik, Muhammad Ramzan Ali, Ghulam Raziq, Abdul Khaliq | Men's 4 x 100 metres relay | Semi-Final | |||||
| Ghulam Raziq | Men's 110 metres hurdles | 4th in Semi-Final heat | |||||
| Abdul Aziz, Muhammad Sharif Butt, Abdul Khaliq, Ghulam Raziq | Men's 4 x 100 metres relay | Semi-Final | |||||
| Ghulam Raziq | Men's 110 metres hurdles | Semi-Final | |||||
| Abdul Khaliq | Men's 200 metres | 4th in Semi-Final heat – Stands in top seven athletes | |||||
| Abdul Khaliq | Men's 100 metres | 4th in Semi-Final heat | |||||
| Muhammad Aslam, Abdul Aziz, Muhammad Shariff Butt, Muhammad Fazil | Men's 4 x 100 metres relay | Semi-Final |
| Competition | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympics | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| World Championships | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Commonwealth Games | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Asian Games | 14 | 13 | 13 | 40 |
| Asian Championships | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Asian Indoor Championships | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Asian Cross Country Championships | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 20 | 22 | 24 | 66 |