The athletics competition at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games took place at the Estadio Pedro de Heredia in Cartagena, Colombia and lasted from July 25 to July 29. There were 23 events for men and 21 for women. A total of ten Games records were broken at the competition, in addition to a number of national records.

The athletics competition at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games was held at the Mayagüez Athletics Stadium in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico from July 24–30. A total of 47 events were contested, 24 by men and 23 by women, and 12 Games records were set. Also, 3 national records were set. Of the twenty-three nations that won a medal in the competition, Jamaica was the most successful, topping the table with ten golds and an overall haul of 25 medals. Mexico and Colombia were the next best performers, with seven and six golds, respectively. The hosts were fourth in the rankings with four golds and sixteen medals in all.