At the 22nd 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 category. 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.