Italy competed at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, France from 6 to 14 August 2005. The nation sent a delegation of 49 athletes (27 men and 22 women) and won one medal at the competition. Alex Schwazer was the bronze medallist in the men's 50 kilometres race walk and he achieved a national record of 3:41:54 hours in the process. It was an unexpected medal, as Schwazer knocked nearly twenty minutes off his previous best that year. Among other Italian performances, three athletes finished fifth in field event finals: Nicola Ciotti (men's high jump), Giuseppe Gibilisco (men's pole vault) and Zahra Bani (women's javelin throw). Excluding the straight finals in the marathon and walks, six Italians reached the final of their track and field event.