Athletics at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games

Athletics at the XXII Southeast Asian Games
The host stadium for the athletics competition
Host city	Hanoi, Vietnam
Date(s)	7 – 12 December 2003
Main stadium	My Dinh National Stadium
Events	45
Records set	? Games records
← 2001 Kuala Lumpur 2005 Manila → 2003 Southeast Asian Games

At the 2003 Southeast Asian Games, the athletics events were held at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam from 7 to 12 December 2003. A total of 45 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 22 by female athletes.

Thailand easily topped the medal table, winning thirteen gold medals and 39 in total, while the host nation Vietnam came in second with eight golds and 31 altogether. The next best performing nations, the Philippines and Malaysia, were almost dead equal as each won eight events and sixteen medals overall. Singapore and Indonesia both won four golds each. Seven of the eleven nations present at the games won medals in athletics.

The quality of the performances in the events was highly variable: some competitions were closely contested at a level expected of the region, while others were far from an international standard – only one medal was awarded in the men's pole vault as only one athlete managed to clear the bar successfully.