| Track Events - MEN |
| Event | Gold | Time | Silver | Time | Bronze | Time |
| 100 metres | Valery Borzov
USSR | 10.14s |
Robert Taylor
USA | 10.24s | Lennox Miller
Jamaica | 10.33s |
| 200 metres | Valery Borzov
USSR | 20.00s | Larry Black
USA | 20.19s | Pietro Mennea
Italy | 20.30s |
| 400 metres | Vince Matthews
USA | 44.66s | Wayne Collett
USA | 44.80s | Julius Sang
Kenya | 44.92s |
| 800 metres | Dave Wottle
USA | 1m 45.9s | Yevgeny Arzhanov
USSR | 1m 45.9s | Mike Boit
Kenya | 1m 46.0s |
| 1500 metres | Pekka Vasala
Finland | 3m 36.3s | Kip Keino
Kenya | 3m 36.8s | Rod Dixon
New Zealand | 3m 37.5s |
| 5000 metres | Lasse Viren
Finland | 13m 26.4s | Mohamed Gammoudi
Tunisia | 13m 27.4s | Ian Stewart
GB | 13m 27.6s |
| 10000 metres | Lasse Viren
Finland | 27m 38.4s | Emiel Puttemans
Belgium | 27m 39.6s | Miruts Yifter
Ethiopia | 27m 41.0s |
Marathon
(42,195 metres) | Frank Shorter
USA | 2h 12m 20s | Karel Lismont
Belgium | 2h 14m 32s | Mamo Wolde
Ethiopia | 2h 15m 8s |
Steeplechase
(3000 metres) | Kipchoge Keino
Kenya | 8m 23.6s | Benjamin Jipcho
Kenya | 8m 24.6s | Tapio Kantanen
Finland | 8m 24.8s |
| Field Events - MEN |
| | | Ht/Dist | | Ht/Dist | | Ht/Dist |
| High Jump | Yuriy Tarmak
USSR | 2.23 m | Stefan Junge
German Dem. Rep. | 2.21 m | Dwight Stones
USA | 2.21 m |
| Long Jump | Randy Williams
USA | 8.24 m | Hans Baumgartner
Germany | 8.18 m | Arnie Robinson
USA | 8.03 m |
| Pole Vault | Wolfgang Nordwig
German Dem. Rep. | 5.50 m | Bob Seagren
USA | 5.40 m | Jan Johnson
USA | 5.35 m |
| Shot | Wladyslaw Komar
Poland | 21.18 m | George Woods
USA | 21.17 m | Helmut Briesernick
German Dem. Rep. | 21.14 m |
| Discus | Ludwig Danek
Czechoslovakia | 64.40 m | Jay Silvester
USA | 63.50 m | Ricky Bruch
Sweden | 63.40 m |
| Javelin | Klaus Wolfermann
Germany | 90.48 m | Janis Lusis
USSR | 90.46 m | Bill Schmidt
USA | 84.42 m |
| Track Events - WOMEN |
| Event | Gold | Time | Silver | Time | Bronze | Time |
| 100 metres | Renate Stecher
German Dem. Rep. | 11.07s |
Raelene Boyle
Australia | 11.23s | Silvia Chivas
Cuba | 11.24s |
| 200 metres | Renate Stecher
German Dem. Rep. | 22.40s |
Raelene Boyle
Australia | 22.45s | Irene Szewinska
Poland | 22.74s |
| 400 metres | Monika Zehrt
German Dem. Rep. | 51.08s |
Rita Wilden
Germany | 51.21s | Kathy Hammond
USA | 51.64s |
| 800 metres | Hildegard Falck
Germany | 1m 58.6s |
Niole Sabaite
USSR | 1m 58.7s | Gunhild Hoffmeister
German Dem. Rep. | 1m 59.2s |
| 1500 metres | Lyudmila Bragina
USSR | 4m 1.4s |
Gunhild Hoffmeister
German Dem. Rep. | 4m 2.8s | Paola Cacchi
Italy | 4m 2.9s |
| Field Events - WOMEN |
| | | Ht/Dist | | Ht/Dist | | Ht/Dist |
| High Jump | Ulrike Meyfarth
Germany | 1.92 m | Yordanka Blagoyeva
Bulgaria | 1.88 m | Ilona Gusenbauer
Austria | 1.88 m |
| Long Jump | Heidemarie Rosendahl
Germany | 6.78 m | Dana Yorgova
Bulgaria | 6.77 m | Eva Suranova
Czechoslovakia | 6.67 m |
| Shot | Nadezyda Chizhova
USSR | 21.03 m | Margitta Gummel
German Dem. Rep. | 20.22 m | Ivanka Khristova
Bulgaria | 19.35 m |
| Discus | Faina Melnik
USSR | 66.62 m | Argentina Menis
Romania | 65.06 m | Vasilka Stoyeva
Bulgaria | 64.34 m |
| Javelin | Ruth Fuchs
German Dem. Rep. | 63.88 m | Jacqueline Todten
German Dem. Rep. | 62.54 m | Kathy Schmidt
USA | 59.94 m |