| 1939 South American Championships in Athletics | |
| Host City: | Lima, Peru |
| Dates: | 25–28 May |
| Previous: | São Paulo 1935 |
| Next: | Buenos Aires 1941 |
The 1939 South American Championships in Athletics were held in Lima, Peru. This edition marked the introduction of athletic events for women competitors between 25 and 28 May.
| 100 metres | José de Assis | 10.6 =CR | Roberto Valenzuela | 10.8 | Eulogio Higueras | 10.9 | |
| 200 metres | José de Assis | 21.4 CR | Roberto Valenzuela | 21.9 | Jaime Slullitel | 22.0 | |
| 400 metres | Sylvio Padilha | 49.1 | Antonio Cuba | 49.4 | Raúl Muñoz | 49.6 | |
| 800 metres | Luis Espinoza | 1:55.6 | Luis Elorga | 1:56.3 | Guillermo García | 1:56.3 | |
| 1500 metres | Miguel Castro | 3:57.6 CR | Guillermo García | 3:58.6 | Juan Herrera | 4:01.8 | |
| 3000 metres | Miguel Castro | 8:42.4 CR | Ubaldo Ibarra | 8:44.0 | Guillermo García | 8:48.2 | |
| 5000 metres | Miguel Castro | 15:06.0 | Roger Ceballos | 15:09.8 | Ubaldo Ibarra | 15:12.2 | |
| 10,000 metres | Roger Ceballos | 31:48.0 | Raúl Ibarra | 31:53.6 | Ezequiel Bustamente | 31:57.4 | |
| Road race | Manuel Ramírez | 1:58:59 | Julio Montecinos | 1:59:46 | Segundo Rosas | 2:01:10 | |
| 110 metres hurdles | Alfredo Mendes | 15.0 | Mário da Cunha | 15.6 | Hélio Pereira | 15.6 | |
| 400 metres hurdles | Sylvio Padilha | 53.6 CR | Marcelo Julca | 55.0 | Roberto González | 55.5 | |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Guilherme Puschnik Márcio de Oliveira Sylvio Padilha José de Assis | 42.1 CR | Alejandro González Roberto Valenzuela Alfonso Hoelzel John Sutton | 42.4 | Jaime Slullitel Raúl Chane Antonio Fondevilla José Ferraz | 42.4 | |
| 4 × 400 metres relay | Emilio Antonio Elias Sylvio Padilha José de Assis Antonio Damaso | 3:19.0 CR | Alberto Montana Marino Cid Roberto González José López | 3:19.8 | Felipe Gamez Roberto Yokota Reyes Raúl Muñoz | 3:20.2 | |
| 3000 metres team race | | 10 | | 11 | | 33 | |
| Cross country | Manuel Carreño | 49:56.0 | Raúl Ibarra | 50:16.6 | Domingo Ticona | 50:23.4 | |
| High jump | Julio Mera | 1.85 | Icaro Mello | 1.85 | Carlos Pinto | 1.85 | |
| Pole vault | Erwin Reimer | 3.85 | Luís Taliberti | 3.80 | Fernando Montero | 3.80 | |
| Long jump | Márcio de Oliveira | 7.29 | Guillermo Dyer | 7.25 | Carlos Iturri | 6.97 | |
| Triple jump | Oscar Bringas | 15.22 CR | Néstor Tenorio | 15.19 | Carlos Pinto | 14.40 | |
| Shot put | Francisco Scabello | 13.88 | Karsten Brödersen | 13.59 | Carmine Di Giorgio | 13.55 | |
| Discus throw | Bento Barros | 44.47 CR | Karsten Brödersen | 41.55 | Antônio Giusfredi | 41.39 | |
| Hammer throw | Juan Fusé | 49.77 | Assis Naban | 49.05 | Antonio Barticevic | 47.74 | |
| Javelin throw | Egon Falkenberg | 62.84 CR | Luís Pagliari | 60.14 | Oswaldo Wenzel | 58.85 | |
| Decathlon | Juan Colín | 5932 | João Rehder Netto | 5887 | Karsten Brödersen | 5862 |
| 100 metres | Carola Castro | 12.6 | Lelia Spuhr | 12.7 | Julia Druskus | 12.7 | |
| 200 metres | Lelia Spuhr | 25.9 | Carola Castro | 26.2 | Lily Warch | 27.1 | |
| 80 metres hurdles | Sofía Dreyer | 12.5 | Rosa Marticorena | 13.1 | Olga Tassi | 13.1 | |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Elsa Irigoyen Olga Tassi Lelia Spuhr Julia Druskus[1] | 49.5 | Raquel Martínez Ilse Karlsruher María Boecke Lily Warch | 50.8 | Ivonne Abdala Julia Yáñez Zoila Garces Flor Benvenuto | 50.9 | |
| High jump | Ilse Barends | 1.45 | Gabriela Sprenger | 1.45 | Lelia Spuhr | 1.45 | |
| Long jump | Raquel Martínez | 5.13 | Olga Tassi | 5.12 | Zoila Garcés | 4.80 | |
| Shot put | Ruth Caro | 11.22 | Edith Klempau | 10.96 | Kate Fastner | 10.71 | |
| Discus throw | María Boecke | 32.61 | Ernestina Casaverde | 30.61 | Edith Klempau | 28.98 | |
| Javelin throw | Ruth Caro | 36.85 | Olga Merino | 31.91 | Kate Fastner | 30.28 |