# 1979 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior women's race

The Senior women's race at the 1979 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Limerick, Ireland, at the Greenpark Racecourse on 25 March 1979. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald.
Complete results, medallists, and the results of British athletes were published.

## Race results
### Senior women's race (5.04 km)
#### Individual

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| | Grete Waitz | Norway | 16:48 |
| | Raisa Smekhnova | Soviet Union | 17:14 |
| | Ellison Goodall | United States | 17:18 |
| 4 | Ellen Wessinghage | West Germany | 17:23 |
| 5 | Svetlana Ulmasova | Soviet Union | 17:25 |
| 6 | Mary Purcell | Ireland | 17:26 |
| 7 | Jan Merrill | United States | 17:33 |
| 8 | Julie Shea | United States | 17:41 |
| 9 | Ann Ford | England | 17:42 |
| 10 | Cristina Tomasini | Italy | 17:46 |
| 11 | Margaret Groos | United States | 17:47 |
| 12 | Giana Romanova | Soviet Union | 17:48 |
| 13 | Debbie Scott | Canada | 17:48 |
| 14 | Anne Audain | New Zealand | 17:49 |
| 15 | Penny Yule | England | 17:50 |
| 16 | Sabine Ladurner | Italy | 17:57 |
| 17 | Paula Fudge | England | 17:58 |
| 18 | Dorthe Rasmussen | Denmark | 18:02 |
| 19 | Jennifer White | United States | 18:02 |
| 20 | Heather Thomson | New Zealand | 18:05 |
| 21 | Marleen Mols | Belgium | 18:06 |
| 22 | Joëlle De Brouwer | France | 18:08 |
| 23 | Ingrid Kristiansen | Norway | 18:10 |
| 24 | Véronique Renties | France | 18:11 |
| 25 | Pilar Fernandez | Spain | 18:12 |
| 26 | Elvira Hofmann | West Germany | 18:14 |
| 27 | Regina Joyce | England | 18:15 |
| 28 | Charlotte Teske | West Germany | 18:16 |
| 29 | Raisa Belusova | Soviet Union | 18:17 |
| 30 | Deirdre Nagle | Ireland | 18:18 |
| 31 | Carla Beurskens | Netherlands | 18:23 |
| 32 | Glynis Penny | England | 18:24 |
| 33 | Iciar Martinez | Spain | 18:26 |
| 34 | Mary O'Connor | New Zealand | 18:27 |
| 35 | Connie Olsen | Denmark | 18:28 |
| 36 | Julie Brown | United States | 18:31 |
| 37 | Kersti Jakobsen | Denmark | 18:31 |
| 38 | Diane Cameron | Canada | 18:32 |
| 39 | Lorraine Moller | New Zealand | 18:34 |
| 40 | Lynne Williams | Australia | 18:35 |
| 41 | Mona Kleppe | Norway | 18:38 |
| 42 | Ruth Smeeth | England | 18:39 |
| 43 | Heide Brenner | West Germany | 18:41 |
| 44 | Judith Shepherd | Scotland | 18:43 |
| 45 | Shauna Miller | Canada | 18:44 |
| 46 | Chantal Navarro | France | 18:45 |
| 47 | Magda Ilands | Belgium | 18:46 |
| 48 | Fionnuala Morrish | Ireland | 18:47 |
| 49 | Jacqueline Lefeuvre | France | 18:48 |
| 50 | Encarnación Escudero | Spain | 18:49 |
| 51 | Gaylene Clews | Australia | 18:50 |
| 52 | Christine Ward | Ireland | 18:51 |
| 53 | Raisa Sadreydinova | Soviet Union | 18:52 |
| 54 | Zehava Shmueli | Israel | 18:53 |
| 55 | Veronica Duffy | Ireland | 18:54 |
| 56 | Barbara Moore | New Zealand | 18:55 |
| 57 | Fiona McQueen | Scotland | 18:56 |
| 58 | Asuncion Sinobas | Spain | 18:56 |
| 59 | Brigit de Nijs | Netherlands | 18:58 |
| 60 | Francine Peeters | Belgium | 18:59 |
| 61 | Margherita Gargano | Italy | 19:01 |
| 62 | Elena Rastello | Italy | 19:02 |
| 63 | Marie-Christine Christiaens | Belgium | 19:03 |
| 64 | Ann-Marie Keown | New Zealand | 19:04 |
| 65 | Christine Seeman | France | 19:05 |
| 66 | Maureen Crowley | Canada | 19:06 |
| 67 | Kerry Robinson | Scotland | 19:07 |
| 68 | Denise Verhaert | Belgium | 19:08 |
| 69 | Heidi Meier | Norway | 19:11 |
| 70 | Karin de Nijs | Netherlands | 19:14 |
| 71 | Birgit Friedmann | West Germany | 19:18 |
| 72 | Nadine Claes | Belgium | 19:20 |
| 73 | Susan Olsen | Denmark | 19:21 |
| 74 | Amelia Lorza Lopez | Spain | 19:22 |
| 75 | Kathy d'Arcy | Canada | 19:27 |
| 76 | Hilary Hollick | Wales | 19:32 |
| 77 | Anette Hansen | Denmark | 19:38 |
| 78 | Mercedes Calleja | Spain | 19:40 |
| 79 | Kate Davis | Ireland | 19:43 |
| 80 | Anat Meiri | Israel | 19:45 |
| 81 | Kim Lock | Wales | 19:46 |
| 82 | Margaret Coomber | Scotland | 19:49 |
| 83 | Jean Lochhead | Wales | 19:50 |
| 84 | Bronwen Smith | Wales | 19:52 |
| 85 | May-Britt Stange | Norway | 19:53 |
| 86 | Anna James | Wales | 19:54 |
| 87 | Christine Iceaga | France | 20:06 |
| 88 | Joyce Mehaffey | Northern Ireland | 20:11 |
| 89 | Angela McCullagh | Northern Ireland | 20:12 |
| 90 | Lynn Kanuka | Canada | 20:19 |
| 91 | Violet Hope | Scotland | 20:20 |
| 92 | Carol Nicholas | Wales | 20:31 |
| 93 | Elizabeth Trotter | Scotland | 20:47 |
| 94 | Charlotte Kaagh | Denmark | 21:11 |
| 95 | Susan Beattie | Northern Ireland | 21:20 |
| 96 | Roberta Brown | Northern Ireland | 21:21 |
| 97 | Avril McClung | Northern Ireland | 21:31 |
| 98 | Margaret Gallen | Northern Ireland | 22:19 |
| — | Gabriella Dorio | Italy | DNF |
| — | Agnese Possamai | Italy | DNF |

#### Teams

| Rank | Team | Points |
| | United States Ellison Goodall3 Jan Merrill7 Julie Shea8 Margaret Groos11 (Jennifer White)(19) (Julie Brown)(36) | 29 |
| | Soviet Union Raisa Smekhnova2 Svetlana Ulmasova5 Giana Romanova12 Raisa Belusova29 (Raisa Sadreydinova)(53) | 48 |
| | England Ann Ford9 Penny Yule15 Paula Fudge17 Regina Joyce27 (Glynis Penny)(32) (Ruth Smeeth)(42) | 68 |
| 4 | West Germany Ellen Wessinghage4 Elvira Hofmann26 Charlotte Teske28 Heide Brenner43 (Birgit Friedmann)(71) | 101 |
| 5 | New Zealand Anne Audain14 Heather Thomson20 Mary O'Connor34 Lorraine Moller39 (Barbara Moore)(56) (Ann-Marie Keown)(64) | 107 |
| 6 | Norway Grete Waitz1 Ingrid Christensen23 Mona Kleppe41 Heidi Meier69 (May-Britt Stange)(85) | 134 |
| 7 | Ireland Mary Purcell6 Deirdre Nagle30 Fionnuala Morrish48 Christine Ward52 (Veronica Duffy)(55) (Kate Davis)(79) | 136 |
| 8 | France Joëlle De Brouwer22 Véronique Renties24 Chantal Navarro46 Jacqueline Lefeuvre49 (Christine Seeman)(65) (Christine Iceaga)(87) | 141 |
| 9 | Italy Cristina Tomasini10 Sabine Ladurner16 Margherita Gargano61 Elena Rastello62 (Gabriella Dorio)(DNF) (Agnese Possamai)(DNF) | 149 |
| 10 | Canada Debbie Scott13 Jean Cameron38 Shauna Miller45 Maureen Crowley66 (Kathy d'Arcy)(75) (Lynn Kanuka)(90) | 162 |
| 11 | Denmark Dorthe Rasmussen18 Connie Olsen35 Kersti Jakobsen37 Susan Olsen73 (Anette Hansen)(77) (Charlotte Kaagh)(94) | 163 |
| 12 | Spain Pilar Fernandez25 Iciar Martinez33 Encarnación Escudero50 Asuncion Sinobas58 (Amelia Lorza Lopez)(74) (Mercedes Calleja)(78) | 166 |
| 13 | Belgium Marleen Mols21 Magda Ilands47 Francine Peeters60 Marie-Christine Christiaens63 (Denise Verhaert)(68) (Nadine Claes)(72) | 191 |
| 14 | Scotland Judith Shepherd44 Fiona McQueen57 Kerry Robinson67 Margaret Coomber82 (Violet Hope)(91) (Elizabeth Trotter)(93) | 250 |
| 15 | Wales Hilary Hollick76 Kim Lock81 Jean Lochhead83 Bronwen Smith84 (Anna James)(86) (Carol Nicholas)(92) | 324 |
| 16 | Northern Ireland Joyce Mehaffey88 Angela McCullagh89 Susan Beattie95 Roberta Brown96 (Avril McClung)(97) (Margaret Gallen)(98) | 368 |
* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

## Participation

An unofficial count yields the participation of 100 athletes from 19 countries in the Senior women's race. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published.
* Australia (2)
* Belgium (6)
* Canada (6)
* Denmark (6)
* England (6)
* France (6)
* Ireland (6)
* Israel (2)
* Italy (6)
* Netherlands (3)
* New Zealand (6)
* Northern Ireland (6)
* Norway (5)
* Scotland (6)
* Soviet Union (5)
* Spain (6)
* United States (6)
* Wales (6)
* West Germany (5)