2016 in athletics (track and field)
| 2016 in athletics | |
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| Major world events | 2016 Olympic Games |
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← 2015
2017 →
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In 2016, the foremost athletics events will be staged at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The two other major global level competitions in 2016 are the World Indoor Championships and World Half Marathon Championships.
A new addition to the continental tournament schedule came in the form of the 2016 European Athletics Youth Championships. Two long-running competitions were renamed and held under new titles in 2016. The World Junior Championships in Athletics became the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships and the IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held as the 2016 IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships.
The hosting of the two above events had to be reopened as they were affected by the suspension of the All-Russia Athletic Federation as a result of contraventions of the World Anti-Doping Code. As a major nation in athletics, Russia's ban meant the absence of many world class athletes from competition. Kenya – another prominent country – was subject to a World Anti-Doping Agency plan to improve its own anti-doping infrastructure, on pain of exclusion from international events.
Among the first doping suspensions of the year was Kazakhstan hurdler Anastasiya Soprunova, who had won the Asian indoor title. Retests of samples taken at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics using new methods revealed several high-profile track athletes had given positive results, including major medallists for Russia.
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