# 1983 UK Athletics Championships

The 1983 UK Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for the United Kingdom held at Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh. It was the second time the event was held in the Scottish city, following on from the 1978 UK Athletics Championships. The women's 5000 metres race walk was restored to the programme after an absence at the 1982 event.
It was the seventh edition of the competition limited to British athletes only, launched as an alternative to the AAA Championships, which was open to foreign competitors. However, because the calibre of national competition remained greater at the AAA event, the UK Championships this year were not considered the principal national championship event by some statisticians, such as the National Union of Track Statisticians (NUTS). Many of the athletes below also competed at the 1983 AAA Championships.
Three athletes, Steve Barry (men's racewalk), Martin Girvan (men's hammer throw) and Fatima Whitbread (women's javelin throw) took their third straight UK titles. Aston Moore defended his men's triple jump title, as did women's long jumper Beverly Kinch and hurdler Susan Morley. Kathy Smallwood-Cook and Buster Watson achieved short sprint doubles and Venissa Head won both the women's shot put and discus throw.
The main international track and field competition for the United Kingdom that year was the inaugural 1983 World Championships in Athletics. Women's UK champions Fatima Whitbread and Kathy Smallwood-Cook went on to reach the world podium.

## Medal summary
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Buster Watson | 10.43 | Drew McMaster | 10.49 | Linford Christie | 10.60 |
| 200 metres | Buster Watson | 20.88 | Todd Bennett | 21.02 | Donovan Reid | 21.40 |
| 400 metres | Alan Slack | 46.67 | Kriss Akabusi | 46.85 | Steve Heard | 46.98 |
| 800 metres | Peter Elliott | 1:45.5 | Rob Harrison | 1:46.6 | Steve Caldwell | 1:47.0 |
| 1500 metres | John Gladwin | 3:45.09 | Geoff Turnbull | 3:45.69 | Ian Archibald | 3:45.95 |
| 5000 metres | Nat Muir | 13:35.21 | Dick Callan | 13:36.89 | Steve Harris | 13:37.31 |
| 10,000 metres | Steve Binns | 28:02.42 | Lawrie Spence | 28:11.85 | Gerry Helme | 28:13.04 |
| 110 m hurdles | Nigel Walker | 14.48 | Lloyd Cowan | 14.62 | Gary Myles | 14.69 |
| 400 m hurdles | Phil Beattie | 51.05 | Stan Devine | 51.16 | Wilbert Greaves | 51.39 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | David Lewis | 8:29.72 | Keith Irvine | 8:41.37 | Peter Barratt | 8:41.45 |
| 10,000 m walk | Steve Barry | 41:14.38 | Ian McCombie | 42:24.61 | Martin Rush | 43:42.75 |
| High jump | Mark Lakey | 2.10 m | Rupert Charles | 2.05 m | Alex Kruger | 2.05 m |
| Pole vault | Keith Stock | 5.30 m | Jeff Gutteridge | 5.30 m | Billy Davey | 4.80 m |
| Long jump | Derrick Brown | 7.21 m | John Scott | 7.19 m | Denis Costello | 7.16 m |
| Triple jump | Aston Moore | 16.40 m | John Herbert | 16.36w m | Eric McCalla | 15.64w m |
| Shot put | Nick Tabor | 17.20 m | Billy Cole | 17.05 m | Ian Lindley | 16.47 m |
| Discus throw | Pete Tancred | 55.22 m | Paul Mardle | 54.86 m | Peter Gordon | 54.36 m |
| Hammer throw | Martin Girvan | 72.38 m | Chris Black | 71.80 m | Dave Smith | 69.20 m |
| Javelin throw | Peter Yates | 80.84 m | Marcus Humphries | 72.78 m | Mick Hill | 69.94 m |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Kathy Smallwood-Cook | 11.33 | Kaye Jeffrey | 11.51 | Shirley Thomas | 11.59 |
| 200 metres | Kathy Smallwood-Cook | 23.08 | Sandra Whittaker | 23.51 | Kaye Jeffrey | 23.55 |
| 400 metres | Joslyn Hoyte-Smith | 53.02 | Sian Morris | 53.27 | Alison Reid | 53.47 |
| 800 metres | Shireen Bailey | 2:01.36 | Lorraine Baker | 2:01.71 | Jane Finch | 2:02.14 |
| 1500 metres | Kathy Carter | 4:16.03 | Katie Fairbrass | 4:16.10 | Ruth Smeeth | 4:17.30 |
| 3000 metres | Wendy Sly | 8:56.28 | Christine Benning | 8:56.99 | Yvonne Murray | 9:04.14 |
| 5000 metres | Yvonne Murray | 15:52.55 | Paula Fudge | 15:54.13 | Julie Asgill | 16:38.03 |
| 100 m hurdles | Shirley Strong | 13.15 | Pat Rollo | 13.51 | Sharon Danville | 13.66 |
| 400 m hurdles | Susan Morley | 56.67 | Gladys Taylor | 57.51 | Verona Elder | 58.05 |
| 5000 m walk | Irene Bateman | 23:42.2 | Jill Barrett | 24:08.4 | Ginney Birch | 24:18.6 |
| High jump | Gillian Evans | 1.87 m | Janet Boyle | 1.80 m | Ann-Marie Cording | 1.75 m |
| Long jump | Beverly Kinch | 6.42 m | Joyce Oladapo | 6.40 m | Carol Earlington | 6.16 m |
| Shot put | Venissa Head | 17.69 m | Caroline Savory | 14.69 m | Myrtle Augee | 14.63 m |
| Discus throw | Venissa Head | 60.62 m | Lynda Whiteley | 52.60 m | Julia Avis | 51.40 m |
| Javelin throw | Fatima Whitbread | 62.14 m | Tessa Sanderson | 61.44 m | Sharon Gibson | 55.42 m |