# 1983 IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships

The 1983 IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships was the inaugural edition of the annual international road running competition organised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). The competition was hosted by the United States on December 3, 1983 in San Diego, California and featured one race only: a 10k run for women. There were individual and team awards available, with the national team rankings being decided by the combined score of a team's three best athletes. Countries with fewer than three finishers were not ranked.
Wendy Sly of Great Britain was the winner of the race in a time of 32:23 minutes. She was followed by two Americans, Betty Springs and Lesley Welch. The United States won the team competition, with the third American runner Ellen Hart Peña also placing in the top ten. Canada, led by fourth-placer Nancy Tinari, was second in the team competition and Monica Joyce led the Irish women to the team bronze medal. A total of 66 women from 18 countries entered the race and 62 finished the distance. Nine nations entered more than three athletes and eight of these reached the team rankings with three finishing athletes (England being the exception). The United States had the largest contingent, with 16 entrants. The Soviet Union's Raisa Sadreydinova was a prominent entrant, having set a 10,000 metres world record earlier that year, but she failed to finish.
The competition proved a development in global level competitions for women in long-distance running: the launch of this race was a push by the IAAF to the International Olympic Committee to gain Olympic recognition of this distance for women. A women's race was subsequently added for the 10,000 metres at the Olympics in 1988, following on from the first Olympic marathon for women in 1984.

## Results
### Individual

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time (m:s) |
| | Wendy Sly | Great Britain (GBR) | 32:23 |
| | Betty Springs | United States (USA) | 32:23 |
| | Lesley Lehane | United States (USA) | 32:41 |
| 4 | Nancy Tinari | Canada (CAN) | 32:57 |
| 5 | Dorthe Rasmussen | Denmark (DEN) | 33:03 |
| 6 | Midde Hamrin | Sweden (SWE) | 33:06 |
| 7 | Silvia Ruegger | Canada (CAN) | 33:06 |
| 8 | Monica Joyce | Ireland (IRL) | 33:14 |
| 9 | Ellen Hart Peña | United States (USA) | 33:15 |
| 10 | Lisa Martin | Australia (AUS) | 33:19 |
| 11 | Debbie Peel | Great Britain (GBR) | 33:25 |
| 12 | Suzanne Girard | United States (USA) | 33:25 |
| 13 | Anna Marie Malone | Canada (CAN) | 33:38 |
| 14 | Alba Milana | Italy (ITA) | 33:40 |
| 15 | Carey Edge | Ireland (IRL) | 33:47 |
| 16 | Jan Merrill | United States (USA) | 33:51 |
| 17 | Monika Schäfer | West Germany (FRG) | 33:51 |
| 18 | Carol McLatchie | United States (USA) | 33:56 |
| 19 | Regina Joyce | Ireland (IRL) | 33:57 |
| 20 | Lizanne Bussières | Canada (CAN) | 33:58 |
| 21 | Jacqueline Gareau | Canada (CAN) | 33:58 |
| 22 | Michele Bush | United States (USA) | 34:01 |
| 23 | Glenys Quick | New Zealand (NZL) | 34:05 |
| 24 | Francine Peeters | Belgium (BEL) | 34:07 |
| 25 | Lisa Brady | United States (USA) | 34:11 |
| 26 | Raisa Smekhnova | Soviet Union (URS) | 34:12 |
| 27 | Christina Mai | West Germany (FRG) | 34:13 |
| 28 | Sara Harnett | New Zealand (NZL) | 34:18 |
| 29 | Mary Knisely | United States (USA) | 34:19 |
| 30 | Elly van Hulst | Netherlands (NED) | 34:31 |
| 31 | Magda Ilands | Belgium (BEL) | 34:33 |
| 32 | Anna-Maria Tweedie | New Zealand (NZL) | 34:38 |
| 33 | Nancy Conz | United States (USA) | 34:45 |
| 34 | Rhonda Mallinder | Australia (AUS) | 34:54 |
| 35 | Rita Marchisio | Italy (ITA) | 34:59 |
| 36 | Gabriela Górzyńska | Poland (POL) | 35:00 |
| 37 | Eryn Forbes | United States (USA) | 35:07 |
| 38 | Nancy Ditz | United States (USA) | 35:10 |
| 39 | Laura Fogli | Italy (ITA) | 35:15 |
| 41 | Elvira Hofmann | West Germany (FRG) | 35:23 |
| 42 | Winnie Ng | Hong Kong (HKG) | 35:24 |
| 44 | Noriko Yamada | Japan (JPN) | 35:27 |
| 45 | Patricia English | United States (USA) | 35:30 |
| 46 | Marica Mrsic | Yugoslavia (YUG) | 35:34 |
| 49 | Joke van Gerwen | Netherlands (NED) | 35:43 |
| 50 | Maria Curatolo | Italy (ITA) | 35:49 |
| 51 | Melinda Ireland | United States (USA) | 35:53 |
| 52 | Kimberly Griffin | United States (USA) | 36:02 |
| 53 | Eefje van Wissen | Netherlands (NED) | 36:05 |
| 54 | Bonnie Tamis | United States (USA) | 36:24 |
| 55 | Anna Krol | Poland (POL) | 36:43 |
| 57 | Wilma Rusman | Netherlands (NED) | 37:05 |
| 58 | Eleonora de Mendonça | Brazil (BRA) | 37:18 |
| 59 | Ewa Wrzosek | Poland (POL) | 37:38 |
| 60 | Renata Walendziak | Poland (POL) | 37:40 |
| 61 | Susanne Riermeier | West Germany (FRG) | 37:43 |
| 62 | Yvonne Murray | Great Britain (GBR) | 38:28 |
| — | Cynthia Hamilton | Canada (CAN) | DNF |
| — | Raisa Sadreydinova | Soviet Union (URS) | DNF |
| — | Ruth Partridge | Great Britain (GBR) | DNF |
| — | Heather Thomson | New Zealand (NZL) | DNF |

### Team

| Rank | Team | Points |
| | United States Betty Springs, Lesley Welch, Ellen Hart Peña | 14 |
| | Canada , | 24 |
| | Ireland , | 42 |
| 4 | Great Britain , | 74 |
| 5 | New Zealand , | 83 |
| 6 | West Germany , | 85 |
| 7 | Italy , | 88 |
| 8 | Netherlands , | 132 |
| 9 | Poland , | 150 |