At the 2001 Jeux de la Francophonie, the athletics events were held at Terry Fox Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada between 19 and 23 July 2001.

[1] The competition attracted higher level performances and participation than in previous editions, in part due to the 2001 World Championships in Athletics which was also held in Canada some two weeks later.

Surin decided not to compete in the 200 metres as a result – a move which attracted criticism as he had reportedly been paid 250,000 Canadian dollars to act as a Games ambassador.

[3] Of the winners in Ottawa, Perdita Felicien, Szymon Ziółkowski, Amy Mbacké Thiam and Nezha Bidouane also went on to become gold medallists in their respective events at the World Championships.

[4] A number of other athletes went on to win minor medals on the world stage soon after – Paweł Czapiewski, Dudley Dorival, Monika Pyrek, Françoise Mbango-Etone and Nicoleta Grasu.