# Athletics at the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games

The athletics competition at the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games was held at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellín, Colombia.
It was the first time that women's 1500 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay events were held at the Games. It was also the last appearance of women's pentathlon before being replaced by the heptathlon from the next edition on.

## Medal summary
### Men's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Silvio Leonard Cuba | 10.10 GR | Osvaldo Lara Cuba | 10.11 | Guy Abrahams Panama | 10.20 |
| 200 metres | Silvio Leonard Cuba | 20.49 GR | Anthony Husbands Trinidad and Tobago | 21.00 | Guy Abrahams Panama | 21.15 |
| 400 metres | Alberto Juantorena Cuba | 44.27 GR | Joseph Coombs Trinidad and Tobago | 45.41 | Seymour Newman Jamaica | 46.11 |
| 800 metres | Alberto Juantorena Cuba | 1:47.23 GR | Gerold Pawirodikromo Suriname | 1:47.46 | Leandro Civil Cuba | 1:47.66 |
| 1500 metres | Luis Medina Cuba | 3:44.47 | Eduardo Castro Mexico | 3:45.14 | Osmán Escobar Venezuela | 3:45.89 |
| 5000 metres | Rodolfo Gómez Mexico | 13:55.08 | Domingo Tibaduiza Colombia | 13:56.88 | José Gómez Mexico | 14:27.33 |
| 10,000 metres | Rodolfo Gómez Mexico | 29:34.64 GR | Domingo Tibaduiza Colombia | 29:38.66 | Luis Hernández Mexico | 30:23.84 |
| Marathon | Radamés Vega Puerto Rico | 2:22:34 GR | Mario Cuevas Mexico | 2:23:07 | José Granajo Guatemala | 2:26:04 |
| 110 metres hurdles | Alejandro Casañas Cuba | 13.67 GR | Mariano Reyes Dominican Republic | 14.68 | Karl Smith Jamaica | 14.71 |
| 400 metres hurdles | Clive Barriffe Jamaica | 50.16 GR | Julio Ferrer Puerto Rico | 50.86 | Alexis Misignak Cuba | 50.97 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | José Cobo Cuba | 8:46.39 GR | Carlos Martínez Mexico | 8:52.13 | Jaime Villate Colombia | 8:56.29 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Trinidad and Tobago Eldwin Noel Hasely Crawford Anthony Husbands Ephraim Serrette | 39.13 GR | Cuba Juan Saborit Alejandro Casañas Silvio Leonard Osvaldo Lara | 39.44 | Dominican Republic Juan Contreras Gregorio García Enrique Almarante Rafael Félix | 39.62 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay | Jamaica Clive Barriffe Oliver Heywood Floyd Brown Bert Cameron | 3:03.76 GR | Trinidad and Tobago Anthony Myers Michael Paul Mike Solomon Joseph Coombs | 3:05.01 | Cuba Alexis Misignak Ernesto Vinent Carlos Álvarez Alberto Juantorena | 3:05.57 |
| 20 kilometre road walk | Daniel Bautista Mexico | 1:29:10 GR | Raúl González Mexico | 1:31:58 | Jorge Quiñones Colombia | 1:39:31 |
| High jump | Richard Spencer Cuba | 2.12 GR | Rodolfo Madrigal Costa Rica | 2.12 =GR | Jamil Justiniano Puerto Rico | 2.09 |
| Pole vault | Augusto Perdomo Cuba | 5.00 GR | Elberto Pratt Mexico | 4.80 | Rubén Camino Cuba | 4.80 |
| Long jump | David Giralt Cuba | 7.82 GR | Milán Matos Cuba | 7.77 | Ron Chambers Jamaica | 7.77 |
| Triple jump | Steve Hanna Bahamas | 16.60 GR | Juan Velázquez Cuba | 16.43 | Alejandro Herrera Cuba | 16.10 |
| Shot put | Humberto Calvario Cuba | 17.51 GR | Nicolás Hernández Cuba | 17.36 | Jesús Ramos Venezuela | 16.83 |
| Discus throw | Luis Delís Cuba | 58.62 GR | Julián Morrinson Cuba | 58.56 | Brad Cooper Bahamas | 54.24 |
| Hammer throw | Armando Orozco Cuba | 69.86 GR | Genovevo Morejón Cuba | 69.14 | Luis Martínez Puerto Rico | 56.22 |
| Javelin throw | Antonio González Cuba | 78.74 GR | Amado Morales Puerto Rico | 70.54 | Reinaldo Patterson Cuba | 63.64 |
| Decathlon | Rigoberto Salazar Cuba | 7483 GR | Miguel Subarnaba Cuba | 6954 | José Montezuma Venezuela | 6842 |

### Women's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Silvia Chivás Cuba | 11.47 | Lelieth Hodges Jamaica | 11.63 | Isabel Taylor Cuba | 11.74 |
| 200 metres | Silvia Chivás Cuba | 23.01 GR | Janice Bernard Trinidad and Tobago | 24.01 | Maureen Gottshalk Jamaica | 24.42 |
| 400 metres | Aurelia Pentón Cuba | 50.56 GR | Beatriz Castillo Cuba | 51.27 | Helen Blake Jamaica | 53.40 |
| 800 metres | Aurelia Pentón Cuba | 2:01.38 GR | Charlotte Bradley Mexico | 2:03.58 | Nery McKeen Cuba | 2:04.48 |
| 1500 metres | Charlotte Bradley Mexico | 4:30.78 GR | Ileana Hocking Puerto Rico | 4:35.88 | Susana Herrera Mexico | 4:39.62 |
| 100 metres hurdles | Grisel Machado Cuba | 13.31 GR | Marisela Peralta Dominican Republic | 14.23 | Carmen Zamora Cuba | 14.29 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Cuba Grisel Machado Silvia Chivás Carmen Valdés Isabel Taylor | 44.37 GR | Jamaica Leleith Hodges Dorothy Scott Maureen Gottschalk Jacqueline Pusey | 44.41 | Trinidad and Tobago Rebeca Roberts Joane Gardner Janice Bernard Esther Hope | 45.13 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay | Cuba Ana Guibert Ana Fidelia Quirot Beatriz Castillo Aurelia Pentón | 3:31.34 GR | Jamaica Ruth Williams-Simpson Norma Lee Maureen Gottschalk Helen Blake | 3:41.69 | Puerto Rico Angelita Lind Ileana Hocking Madeline de Jesús Vilma Paris | 3:46.58 |
| High jump | Angela Carbonell Cuba | 1.75 GR | Grace Jackson Jamaica | 1.70 | Elisa Ávila Mexico | 1.65 |
| Long jump | Shonel Ferguson Bahamas | 6.41 | Ana Alexander Cuba | 6.25 | Eloína Echevarría Cuba | 6.12 |
| Shot put | Hilda Ramírez Cuba | 17.00 GR | Marcelina Rodríguez Cuba | 14.97 | Vicky López Puerto Rico | 13.42 |
| Discus throw | Carmen Romero Cuba | 60.54 GR | María Cristina Betancourt Cuba | 57.58 | Selene Saldarriaga Colombia | 41.28 |
| Javelin throw | María Caridad Colón Cuba | 63.40 GR | María Beltrán Cuba | 54.86 | Guadalupe López Mexico | 49.80 |
| Pentathlon | Elida Aveillé Cuba | 3636 | Alix Castillo Venezuela | 3625 | Laura Vázquez Mexico | 3511 |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Cuba (CUB) | 27 | 13 | 9 | 49 |
| 2 | Mexico (MEX) | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| 3 | Jamaica (JAM) | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | Bahamas (BAH) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Puerto Rico (PUR) | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | Colombia (COL) | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 8 | Dominican Republic (DOM) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Venezuela (VEN) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | Costa Rica (CRC) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Suriname (SUR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Panama (PAN) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 13 | Guatemala (GUA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (13 entries) | Totals (13 entries) | 37 | 37 | 37 | 111 |