2021 in the sport of athletics

In 2021, like the previous year, the sport of athletics was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, at both the elite and local level. The main competition was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which had been rescheduled. The rescheduling meant that the World Athletics Championships, originally set for 2021, was postponed given the presence of the Olympics in a World Championships year.

Several other competitions were held in 2021 after being delayed from their usual schedule in 2020, including 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships. However, the severity of the impacts of the pandemic remained high and other major competitions were pushed to a later date (such as the 2021 World Athletics Indoor Championships and 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships), while others were cancelled completely, including the African Championships in Athletics and Asian Athletics Championships.

Smaller-scale meetings generally proceeded where pandemic restrictions allowed, although continued restrictions resulted in the cancellation of the British Indoor Athletics Championships, USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Tokyo Marathon, and both Chinese legs of the 2021 Diamond League.