Athletics was one of the core sports that was held at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. As a founding sport, athletics had appeared consistently since its introduction at the 1911 Inter-Empire Games, the recognized precursor to the Commonwealth Games.

Akani Simbine is a South African sprinter specialising in the 100 metres event. He was fifth at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 metres and was the 100 metres African record holder with a time of 9.84 seconds set in July 2021 until broken by Ferdinand Omanyala in September 2021.