# 1997 British Athletics Championships

The 1997 BAF British Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for the United Kingdom held at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham. The 10,000 metres event was hosted separately at the Sheffield Hallam UCA Stadium.
Organised by the British Athletics Federation (BAF), the competition was limited to British athletes only and marked a replacement to the UK Athletics Championships, which had last been held in 1993. The BAF British Championships overshadowed that year's AAA Championships, which was open to foreign competitors and typically the most prominent meet on the domestic calendar. This has led some statisticians, such as the National Union of Track Statisticians (NUTS), to judge the British Championships event as the main national championships for the country for 1997. Many of the athletes below also competed at the 1997 AAA Championships.
The bankruptcy of the British Athletics Federation that same year effectively rendered the competition defunct. The British Athletics Championships returned ten years later in 2007, organised by UK Athletics – the government-led successor organisation to the British Athletics Federation.
The main international track and field competition for the United Kingdom that year was the 1997 World Championships in Athletics. British javelin champion Steve Backley claimed world silver in Athens. UK runners-up Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis were also both runners-up at the global level.

## Medal summary
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Ian Mackie | 10.28 | Darren Campbell | 10.29 | Dwain Chambers | 10.42 |
| 200 metres (wind: +2.3 m/s) | Dougie Walker | 20.63 w | Owusu Dako | 20.70 w | Douglas Turner | 20.87 w |
| 400 metres | Iwan Thomas | 44.36 | Mark Richardson | 44.84 | Jamie Baulch | 45.02 |
| 800 metres | Andy Hart | 1:46.36 | Mark Sesay | 1:47.36 | Paul Walker | 1:47.82 |
| 1500 metres | John Mayock | 3:39.69 | Kevin McKay | 3:39.93 | Matthew Yates | 3:40.66 |
| 5000 metres | Adrian Passey | 13:38.21 | Robert Denmark | 13:39.29 | Ian Gillespie | 13:39.72 |
| 10,000 metres | Ian Hudspith | 28:35.11 | Glynn Tromans | 28:35.32 | Dermot Donnelly | 28:38.56 |
| 110 m hurdles | Tony Jarrett | 13.33 | Colin Jackson | 13.39 | Andrew Tulloch | 13.85 |
| 400 m hurdles | Chris Rawlinson | 49.69 | Gary Jennings | 50.02 | Paul Gray | 50.38 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Rob Hough | 8:41.44 | Spencer Duval | 8:46.17 | Matt O'Dowd | 8:47.99 |
| 10,000 m walk | Andrew Penn | 42:21.89 | Martin Bell | 42:31.19 | Mark Easton | 42:37.98 |
| High jump | Brendan Reilly | 2.28 m | Dalton Grant | 2.20 m | David Barnetson | 2.17 m |
| Pole vault | Paul Williamson | 5.40 m | Kevin Hughes | 5.40 m | Nick Buckfield | 5.30 m |
| Long jump | Steve Phillips | 7.58 m | Chris Davidson | 7.52 m | Oni Onuorah | 7.45 m |
| Triple jump | Francis Agyepong | 16.48 m | Julian Golley | 16.34 m | Larry Achike | 15.77 m |
| Shot put | Shaun Pickering | 19.25 m | Matt Simson | 19.11 m | Steph Hayward | 18.19 m |
| Discus throw | Robert Weir | 63.74 m | Kevin Brown | 59.44 m | Glen Smith | 58.62 m |
| Hammer throw | Paul Head | 71.58 m | David Smith | 70.92 m | Mick Jones | 69.68 m |
| Javelin throw | Steve Backley | 86.20 m | Mick Hill | 81.02 m | Nick Nieland | 78.64 m |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Simmone Jacobs | 11.50 | Marcia Richardson | 11.58 | Beverly Kinch | 11.62 |
| 200 metres | Katharine Merry | 23.19 | Simmone Jacobs | 23.49 | Donna Fraser | 23.61 |
| 400 metres | Donna Fraser | 51.82 | Michelle Pierre | 53.13 | Lorraine Hanson | 53.73 |
| 800 metres | Kelly Holmes | 1:58.59 | Hayley Parry | 2:02.20 | Claire Raven | 2:03.15 |
| 1500 metres | Joanne Pavey | 4:18.57 | Angela Davies | 4:20.86 | Lynn Gibson | 4:21.29 |
| 5000 metres | Paula Radcliffe | 15:30.36 | Yvonne Murray | 15:39.08 | Lynne MacDougall | 16:04.01 |
| 10,000 metres | Vikki McPherson | 33:30.81 | Joanne Thompson | 33:38.36 | Lucy Wright | 33:41.16 |
| 100 m hurdles | Angie Thorp | 13.34 | Jacqui Agyepong | 13.38 | Clova Court | 13.46 |
| 400 m hurdles | Sally Gunnell | 55.33 | Alyson Layzell | 57.44 | Keri Maddox | 58.52 |
| 5000 m walk | Sylvia Black | 23:56.72 | Catherine Charnock | 25:26.25 | Lynn Bradley | 26:47.67 |
| High jump | Debbie Marti | 1.91 m | Susan Jones | 1.88 m | Joanne Jennings | 1.85 m |
| Pole vault | Janine Whitlock | 4.00 m | Louise Schramm | 3.70 m | Paula Wilson | 3.60 m |
| Long jump | Joanne Wise | 6.47 m | Denise Lewis | 6.41 m | Tracy Joseph | 6.24 m |
| Triple jump | Ashia Hansen | 14.10 m | Michelle Griffith | 13.11 m | Connie Henry | 12.48 m |
| Shot put | Judy Oakes | 18.42 m | Myrtle Augee | 16.74 m | Tracy Axten | 14.71 m |
| Discus throw | Shelley Drew | 58.16 m | Tracy Axten | 53.86 m | Jackie McKernan | 53.28 m |
| Hammer throw | Sarah Moore | 56.60 m | Ann Gardner | 54.00 m | Liz Pidgeon | 52.10 m |
| Javelin throw | Tessa Sanderson | 58.30 m | Shelley Holroyd | 55.20 m | Karen Martin | 54.66 m |