# Athletics at the 1986 Commonwealth Games

At the 1986 Commonwealth Games, the athletics events were held at the Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. A total of 41 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 18 by female athletes.
The majority of African, Asian and Caribbean countries boycotted the event due to the United Kingdom's sporting links with apartheid-era South Africa. As a result, the medallists came from only seven nations, comprising the four constituent countries of the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. England easily topped the medal table with eighteen gold medals and 48 medals in total. Canada was second, with ten golds and 28 medals overall, while Australia took third place with nine golds and a total of 26 medals. The hosts Scotland won one gold and six medals while Northern Ireland (typically weak in the sport) had one of their best games, with one gold and four medals overall.

## Medal summary
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres details | Ben Johnson (CAN) | 10.07 | Linford Christie (ENG) | 10.28 | Mike McFarlane (ENG) | 10.35 |
| 200 metres details | Atlee Mahorn (CAN) | 20.31 | Todd Bennett (ENG) | 20.54 | Ben Johnson (CAN) | 20.64 |
| 400 metres details | Roger Black (ENG) | 45.57 | Darren Clark (AUS) | 45.98 | Phil Brown (ENG) | 46.80 |
| 800 metres details | Steve Cram (ENG) | 1:43.22 GR | Tom McKean (SCO) | 1:44.80 | Peter Elliott (ENG) | 1:45.42 |
| 1500 metres details | Steve Cram (ENG) | 3:50.87 | John Gladwin (ENG) | 3:52.17 | David Campbell (CAN) | 3:54.06 |
| 5000 metres details | Steve Ovett (ENG) | 13:24.11 | Jack Buckner (ENG) | 13:25.87 | Tim Hutchings (ENG) | 13:26.84 |
| 10,000 metres details | Jon Solly (ENG) | 27:57.42 | Steve Binns (ENG) | 27:58.01 | Steve Jones (WAL) | 28:02.48 |
| Marathon details | Rob de Castella (AUS) | 2:10:15 | Dave Edge (CAN) | 2:11:08 | Steve Moneghetti (AUS) | 2:11:18 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase details | Graeme Fell (CAN) | 8:24.49 | Roger Hackney (WAL) | 8:25.15 | Colin Reitz (ENG) | 8:26.14 |
| 110 metres hurdles (wind: +4.5 m/s) details | Mark McKoy (CAN) | 13.31 (w) | Colin Jackson (WAL) | 13.42 (w) | Don Wright (AUS) | 13.64 (w) |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Phil Beattie (NIR) | 49.60 | Max Robertson (ENG) | 49.77 | John Graham (CAN) | 50.25 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | Canada Mark McKoy Atlee Mahorn Desai Williams Ben Johnson | 39.15 | England Lincoln Asquith Daley Thompson Mike McFarlane Clarence Callender | 39.19 | Scotland Jamie Henderson Cameron Sharp George McCallum Elliot Bunney | 40.41 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | England Kriss Akabusi Roger Black Todd Bennett Phil Brown | 3:07.19 | Australia Bruce Frayne Miles Murphy David Johnston Darren Clark | 3:07.81 | Canada Anton Skerritt Andre Smith John Graham Atlee Mahorn | 3:08.69 |
| 30 kilometres walk details | Simon Baker (AUS) | 2:07:47 GR | Guillaume Leblanc (CAN) | 2:08:38 | Ian McCombie (ENG) | 2:10:36 |
| High jump details | Milton Ottey (CAN) | 2.30 m | Geoff Parsons (SCO) | 2.28 m | Alain Metellus (CAN) Henderson Pierre (ENG) | 2.14 m |
| Pole vault details | Andy Ashurst (ENG) | 5.30 m | Bob Ferguson (CAN) | 5.20 m | Neil Honey (AUS) | 5.20 m |
| Long jump details | Gary Honey (AUS) | 8.08 m | Fred Salle (ENG) | 7.83 m | Kyle McDuffie (CAN) | 7.79 m |
| Triple jump details | John Herbert (ENG) | 17.27 m | Mike Makin (ENG) | 16.87 m | Peter Beames (AUS) | 16.42 m |
| Shot put details | Billy Cole (ENG) | 18.16 m | Joe Quigley (AUS) | 17.97 m | Stuart Gyngell (AUS) | 17.70 m |
| Discus throw details | Ray Lazdins (CAN) | 58.86 m | Paul Nandapi (AUS) | 57.74 m | Werner Reiterer (AUS) | 57.34 m |
| Hammer throw details | Dave Smith (ENG) | 74.06 m | Martin Girvan (NIR) | 70.48 m | Phil Spivey (AUS) | 70.30 m |
| Javelin throw details | David Ottley (ENG) | 80.62 m GR | Mick Hill (ENG) | 78.56 m | Gavin Lovegrove (NZL) | 76.22 m |
| Decathlon details | Daley Thompson (ENG) | 8663 pts GR | Dave Steen (CAN) | 8173 pts | Simon Poelman (NZL) | 8015 pts |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres details | Heather Oakes (ENG) | 11.20 | Paula Dunn (ENG) | 11.21 | Angella Issajenko (CAN) | 11.21 |
| 200 metres details | Angella Issajenko (CAN) | 22.91 | Kathy Cook (ENG) | 23.18 | Sandra Whittaker (SCO) | 23.46 |
| 400 metres details | Debbie Flintoff (AUS) | 51.29 | Jillian Richardson (CAN) | 51.62 | Kathy Cook (ENG) | 51.88 |
| 800 metres details | Kirsty Wade (WAL) | 2:00.94 | Diane Edwards (ENG) | 2:01.12 | Lorraine Baker (ENG) | 2:01.79 |
| 1500 metres details | Kirsty Wade (WAL) | 4:10.91 | Debbie Bowker (CAN) | 4:11.94 | Lynn Williams (CAN) | 4:12.66 |
| 3000 metres details | Lynn Williams (CAN) | 8:54.29 | Debbie Bowker (CAN) | 8:54.83 | Yvonne Murray (SCO) | 8:55.32 |
| 10,000 metres details | Liz Lynch (SCO) | 31:41.42 | Anne Audain (NZL) | 31:53.31 | Angela Tooby (WAL) | 32:25.38 |
| Marathon details | Lisa Martin (AUS) | 2:26:07 | Lorraine Moller (NZL) | 2:28:17 | Odette Lapierre (CAN) | 2:31:48 |
| 100 metres hurdles details | Sally Gunnell (ENG) | 13.29 | Wendy Jeal (ENG) | 13.41 | Glynis Nunn (AUS) | 13.44 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Debbie Flintoff (AUS) | 54.94 | Donalda Duprey (CAN) | 56.55 | Jenny Laurendet (AUS) | 56.57 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | England Paula Dunn Kathy Cook Joan Baptiste Heather Oakes | 43.39 | Canada Angela Bailey Esmie Lawrence Angela Phipps Angella Issajenko | 43.83 | Wales Helen Miles Sian Morris Sallyanne Short Carmen Smart | 45.37 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | Canada Charmaine Crooks Marita Payne Molly Killingbeck Jillian Richardson | 3:28.92 | England Jane Parry Linda Keough Angela Piggford Kathy Cook | 3:32.82 | Australia Maree Chapman Sharon Stewart Julie Schwass Debbie Flintoff | 3:32.86 |
| High jump details | Christine Stanton (AUS) | 1.92 m | Sharon McPeake (NIR) | 1.90 m | Janet Boyle (NIR) | 1.90 m |
| Long jump details | Joyce Oladapo (ENG) | 6.43 m | Mary Berkeley (ENG) | 6.40 m | Robyn Lorraway (AUS) | 6.35 m |
| Shot put details | Gael Martin (AUS) | 19.00 m | Judy Oakes (ENG) | 18.75 m | Myrtle Augee (ENG) | 17.52 m |
| Discus throw details | Gael Martin (AUS) | 56.42 m | Venissa Head (WAL) | 56.20 m | Karen Pugh (ENG) | 54.72 m |
| Javelin throw details | Tessa Sanderson (ENG) | 69.80 m GR | Fatima Whitbread (ENG) | 68.54 m | Sue Howland (AUS) | 64.74 m |
| Heptathlon details | Judy Simpson (ENG) | 6282 pts | Jane Flemming (AUS) | 6278 pts | Kim Hagger (ENG) | 5823 pts |

## Medal table

* Host nation (Scotland)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | England | 18 | 18 | 12 | 48 |
| 2 | Canada | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 |
| 3 | Australia | 9 | 5 | 12 | 26 |
| 4 | Wales | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Scotland* | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | Northern Ireland | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Totals (7 entries) | Totals (7 entries) | 41 | 41 | 42 | 124 |

## Participation

* Australia (60)
* Botswana (8)
* Canada (79)
* Cook Islands (1)
* England (109)
* Fiji (6)
* Gibraltar (3)
* Hong Kong (1)
* Guernsey (4)
* Isle of Man (5)
* Jersey (2)
* Lesotho (5)
* Malawi (3)
* New Zealand (25)
* Northern Ireland (17)
* Scotland (56)
* Swaziland (3)
* Vanuatu (4)
* Wales (26)