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

The Senior men'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 men's race (12 km)
#### Individual

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| | John Treacy | Ireland | 37:20 |
| | Bronisław Malinowski | Poland | 37:29 |
| | Aleksandr Antipov | Soviet Union | 37:30 |
| 4 | Tony Simmons | Wales | 37:38 |
| 5 | Léon Schots | Belgium | 37:42 |
| 6 | Vlastimil Zwiefelhofer | Czechoslovakia | 37:45 |
| 7 | Steve Jones | Wales | 37:46 |
| 8 | Frank Zimmermann | West Germany | 37:48 |
| 9 | Julian Goater | England | 37:53 |
| 10 | Nat Muir | Scotland | 38:01 |
| 11 | Danny McDaid | Ireland | 38:02 |
| 12 | Bogusław Mamiński | Poland | 38:04 |
| 13 | Craig Virgin | United States | 38:05 |
| 14 | Mike McLeod | England | 38:07 |
| 15 | José Luis González | Spain | 38:08 |
| 16 | Christoph Herle | West Germany | 38:09 |
| 17 | Euan Robertson | New Zealand | 38:10 |
| 18 | Leonid Moseyev | Soviet Union | 38:11 |
| 19 | Frank Grillaert | Belgium | 38:15 |
| 20 | Andy Holden | England | 38:20 |
| 21 | Nick Rose | England | 38:29 |
| 22 | Bernie Ford | England | 38:29 |
| 23 | Maciej Kunicki | Poland | 38:30 |
| 24 | Hans-Jürgen Orthmann | West Germany | 38:30 |
| 25 | Alex Gonzalez | France | 38:32 |
| 26 | Eric De Beck | Belgium | 38:33 |
| 27 | Franco Fava | Italy | 38:34 |
| 28 | Klaas Lok | Netherlands | 38:35 |
| 29 | Steve Austin | Australia | 38:36 |
| 30 | Gerard Tebroke | Netherlands | 38:37 |
| 31 | Greg Hannon | Northern Ireland | 38:38 |
| 32 | Gerard Barrett | Australia | 38:39 |
| 33 | Nick Lees | England | 38:42 |
| 34 | Michael Karst | West Germany | 38:43 |
| 35 | Yuriy Mikhailov | Soviet Union | 38:44 |
| 36 | Bill Scott | Australia | 38:45 |
| 37 | Roy Bailey | England | 38:46 |
| 38 | Enn Sellik | Soviet Union | 38:47 |
| 39 | Santiago de la Parte | Spain | 38:48 |
| 40 | James Langford | Australia | 38:49 |
| 41 | Fernando Mamede | Portugal | 38:51 |
| 42 | Jean-Paul Gomez | France | 38:52 |
| 43 | Gerry Deegan | Ireland | 38:58 |
| 44 | Daniel Dillon | United States | 38:59 |
| 45 | Brian Lewry | Australia | 39:01 |
| 46 | Mick O'Shea | Ireland | 39:02 |
| 47 | Donal Walsh | Ireland | 39:03 |
| 48 | Aleksandr Fedotkin | Soviet Union | 39:04 |
| 49 | Marc Hunter | United States | 39:05 |
| 50 | Tony Brien | Ireland | 39:06 |
| 51 | Robert McDonald | Australia | 39:07 |
| 52 | John Robson | Scotland | 39:08 |
| 53 | Eddy Van Mullem | Belgium | 39:09 |
| 54 | Francis Gonzalez | France | 39:10 |
| 55 | Kevin Ryan | New Zealand | 39:11 |
| 56 | Peter Butler | Canada | 39:12 |
| 57 | Inge Simonsen | Norway | 39:13 |
| 58 | Howard Healey | New Zealand | 39:14 |
| 59 | Willy Polleunis | Belgium | 39:15 |
| 60 | Giuseppe Gerbi | Italy | 39:15 |
| 61 | Ryszard Kopijasz | Poland | 39:20 |
| 62 | Rob de Castella | Australia | 39:20 |
| 63 | Klaus-Peter Hildenbrand | West Germany | 39:21 |
| 64 | Bill Donakowski | United States | 39:22 |
| 65 | Claudio Solone | Italy | 39:23 |
| 66 | Manfred Schoeneberg | West Germany | 39:24 |
| 67 | Luigi Zarcone | Italy | 39:25 |
| 68 | Vladimir Merkushin | Soviet Union | 39:26 |
| 69 | Hendrik Schoofs | Belgium | 39:27 |
| 70 | Eamonn Coghlan | Ireland | 39:28 |
| 71 | Pierre Délèze | Switzerland | 39:29 |
| 72 | Chris Wardlaw | Australia | 39:30 |
| 73 | Ken Newton | England | 39:31 |
| 74 | Lawrie Spence | Scotland | 39:32 |
| 75 | Valeriy Abramov | Soviet Union | 39:33 |
| 76 | Roger De Vogel | Belgium | 39:34 |
| 77 | Zbigniew Pierzynka | Poland | 39:35 |
| 78 | Antonio Prieto | Spain | 39:36 |
| 79 | Ray Treacy | Ireland | 39:37 |
| 80 | Constantino Esparcia | Spain | 39:38 |
| 81 | Robbie Perkins | United States | 39:39 |
| 82 | Henk Mentink | Netherlands | 39:40 |
| 83 | Fredi Griner | Switzerland | 39:41 |
| 84 | Tonni Luttikhold | Netherlands | 39:42 |
| 85 | Reinhard Leibold | West Germany | 39:43 |
| 86 | Ron Vanderkraats | Canada | 39:44 |
| 87 | John Dixon | New Zealand | 39:45 |
| 88 | Jean-Luc Paugam | France | 39:46 |
| 89 | Barry Smith | England | 39:47 |
| 90 | Greg Meyer | United States | 39:48 |
| 91 | Øyvind Dahl | Norway | 39:51 |
| 92 | Elie Aubertin | Belgium | 39:52 |
| 93 | Gelindo Bordin | Italy | 39:53 |
| 94 | Aniceto Simoes | Portugal | 39:54 |
| 95 | José Luis Ruiz | Spain | 39:55 |
| 96 | Larry Brown | Canada | 39:56 |
| 97 | Mike Dixon | Canada | 39:57 |
| 98 | Hugo Wey | Switzerland | 39:58 |
| 99 | Joseph Patton | Scotland | 39:59 |
| 100 | Estanislao Duran | Spain | 40:00 |
| 101 | Steve Flanagan | United States | 40:01 |
| 102 | Guido Rhyn | Switzerland | 40:02 |
| 103 | Guy Bourban | France | 40:03 |
| 104 | Jean-Pierre Berset | Switzerland | 40:04 |
| 105 | Allister Hutton | Scotland | 40:05 |
| 106 | Ennio Panetti | Italy | 40:06 |
| 107 | Peter Baker | Wales | 40:07 |
| 108 | Greg Duhaime | Canada | 40:08 |
| 109 | Art Boileau | Canada | 40:09 |
| 110 | Jim Johansen | Norway | 40:10 |
| 111 | Alan Thurlow | New Zealand | 40:11 |
| 112 | Adam Shoemaker | Canada | 40:12 |
| 113 | Jean-Marie Conrath | France | 40:13 |
| 114 | Clive Thomas | Wales | 40:14 |
| 115 | Peder Arne Sylte | Norway | 40:15 |
| 116 | Piet Vonck | Netherlands | 40:16 |
| 117 | Blaise Schull | Switzerland | 40:17 |
| 118 | Joost Borm | Netherlands | 40:18 |
| 119 | Peter Moore | Canada | 40:19 |
| 120 | David Chettle | Australia | 40:20 |
| 121 | Detlef Uhlemann | West Germany | 40:21 |
| 122 | Manuel Paiva | Portugal | 40:22 |
| 123 | Karsten Hald Nielsen | Denmark | 40:23 |
| 124 | Bjarte Sleire | Norway | 40:24 |
| 125 | Peter Lindtner | Austria | 40:25 |
| 126 | Rod Stone | Northern Ireland | 40:26 |
| 127 | Eddie Leddy | Ireland | 40:27 |
| 128 | Josef Steiner | Austria | 40:28 |
| 129 | Gerard Nijboer | Netherlands | 40:29 |
| 130 | Edmund Turner | Wales | 40:30 |
| 131 | Christian Cairoche | France | 40:31 |
| 132 | José Sena | Portugal | 40:32 |
| 133 | Bruce Jones | New Zealand | 40:33 |
| 134 | Rob Lonergan | Canada | 40:34 |
| 135 | Philippe Legrand | France | 40:35 |
| 136 | José Haro | Spain | 40:36 |
| 137 | Bobb Thomas | United States | 40:45 |
| 138 | Jørn Lauenborg | Denmark | 40:50 |
| 139 | David Gillanders | Sweden | 40:51 |
| 140 | Philippe Daniel | France | 40:52 |
| 141 | John Davies | Wales | 40:53 |
| 142 | Gösta Johansson | Sweden | 40:54 |
| 143 | Martin Couldwell | New Zealand | 40:55 |
| 144 | Cameron Spence | Northern Ireland | 40:56 |
| 145 | Eugeniusz Stacha | Poland | 41:02 |
| 146 | Laurence Reilly | Scotland | 41:03 |
| 147 | José Simoes | Portugal | 41:04 |
| 148 | Wolfgang Konrad | Austria | 41:05 |
| 149 | Paul Lawther | Northern Ireland | 41:06 |
| 150 | Daniel O'Connell | New Zealand | 41:07 |
| 151 | Piero Selvaggio | Italy | 41:09 |
| 152 | José Manuel Abascal | Spain | 41:10 |
| 153 | Roger Hackney | Wales | 41:17 |
| 154 | Luigi Lauro | Italy | 41:19 |
| 155 | Jack Foster | New Zealand | 41:22 |
| 156 | Niels Kim Hjorth | Denmark | 41:23 |
| 157 | Henning Rasmussen | Denmark | 41:24 |
| 158 | Gordon Rimmer | Scotland | 41:31 |
| 159 | Johan Geirnaert | Belgium | 41:34 |
| 160 | Helder de Jesús | Portugal | 41:37 |
| 161 | Dic Evans | Wales | 41:39 |
| 162 | Hans Koeleman | Netherlands | 41:40 |
| 163 | Keld Johnsen | Denmark | 41:41 |
| 164 | Jim Dingwall | Scotland | 41:42 |
| 165 | Werner Meier | Switzerland | 41:45 |
| 166 | Thomas Wessinghage | West Germany | 41:47 |
| 167 | Per Hoffmann | Denmark | 41:49 |
| 168 | Carlos Cabral | Portugal | 41:50 |
| 169 | Mick Morris | Wales | 41:52 |
| 170 | Kjell-Erik Ståhl | Sweden | 42:01 |
| 171 | Peter Pfeifenberger | Austria | 42:02 |
| 172 | Knut Kvalheim | Norway | 42:03 |
| 173 | Jim McGuinness | Northern Ireland | 42:09 |
| 174 | Allan Zachariasen | Denmark | 42:17 |
| 175 | Mauro Pappacena | Italy | 42:21 |
| 176 | Brian McSloy | Scotland | 42:35 |
| 177 | Ernie Cunningham | Northern Ireland | 42:48 |
| 178 | Palle Vestergaard | Denmark | 42:49 |
| 179 | Bo Nytofle | Denmark | 42:50 |
| 180 | Tom Annett | Northern Ireland | 42:54 |
| 181 | Arye Gamliel | Israel | 42:58 |
| 182 | Christer Hanell | Sweden | 43:00 |
| 183 | Samuel Doherty | Northern Ireland | 43:06 |
| 184 | Rudolf Altersberger | Austria | 43:13 |
| 185 | Jeffrey Matthews | Sweden | 43:27 |
| 186 | Peter Irvine | Northern Ireland | 43:32 |
| 187 | Nabil Choueiry | Lebanon | 43:48 |
| — | Gerhard Hartmann | Austria | DNF |
| — | Dietmar Millonig | Austria | DNF |
| — | Yehuda Zadok | Israel | DNF |
| — | Cándido Alario | Spain | DNF |

#### Teams

| Rank | Team | Points |
| | England Julian Goater9 Mike McLeod14 Andy Holden20 Nick Rose21 Bernie Ford22 Nick Lees33 (Roy Bailey)(37) (Ken Newton)(73) (Barry Smith)(89) | 119 |
| | Ireland John Treacy1 Danny McDaid11 Gerry Deegan43 Mick O'Shea46 Donal Walsh47 Tony Brien50 (Eamonn Coghlan)(70) (Ray Treacy)(79) (Eddie Leddy)(127) | 198 |
| | Soviet Union Aleksandr Antipov3 Leonid Moseyev18 Yuriy Mikhailov35 Enn Sellik38 Aleksandr Fedotkin48 Vladimir Merkushin68 (Valeriy Abramov)(75) | 210 |
| 4 | West Germany Frank Zimmermann8 Christoph Herle16 Hans-Jürgen Orthmann24 Michael Karst34 Klaus Hildenbrand63 Manfred Schoeneberg66 (Reinhard Leibold)(85) (Detlef Uhlemann)(121) (Thomas Wessinghage)(166) | 211 |
| 5 | Belgium Léon Schots5 Frank Grillaert19 Eric De Beck26 Eddy Van Mullem53 Willy Polleunis59 Hendrik Schoofs69 (Roger De Vogel)(76) (Elie Aubertin)(92) (Johan Geirnaert)(159) | 231 |
| 6 | Australia Steve Austin29 Gerard Barrett32 Bill Scott36 James Langford40 Brian Lewry45 Robert McDonald51 (Rob de Castella)(62) (Chris Wardlaw)(72) (David Chettle)(120) | 233 |
| 7 | Poland Bronisław Malinowski2 Bogusław Mamiński12 Maciej Kunicki23 Ryszard Kopijasz61 Zbigniew Pierzynka77 Eugeniusz Stacha145 | 320 |
| 8 | United States Craig Virgin13 Daniel Dillon44 Marc Hunter49 Bill Donakowski64 Robbie Perkins81 Greg Meyer90 (Steve Flanagan)(101) (Bobb Thomas)(137) | 341 |
| 9 | Spain José Luis González15 Santiago de la Parte39 Antonio Prieto78 Constantino Esparcia80 José Luis Ruiz95 Estanislao Duran100 (José Haro)(136) (José Manuel Abascal)(152) (Cándido Alario)(DNF) | 407 |
| 10 | Italy Franco Fava27 Giuseppe Gerbi60 Claudio Solone65 Luigi Zarcone67 Gelindo Bordin93 Ennio Panetti106 (Piero Selvaggio)(151) (Luigi Lauro)(154) (Mauro Pappacena)(175) | 418 |
| 11 | France Alex Gonzalez25 Jean-Paul Gomez42 Francis Gonzalez54 Jean-Luc Paugam88 Guy Bourban103 Jean-Marie Conrath113 (Christian Cairoche)(131) (Philippe Legrand)(135) (Philippe Daniel)(140) | 425 |
| 12 | Netherlands Klaas Lok28 Gerard Tebroke30 Henk Mentink82 Tonni Luttikhold84 Piet Vonck116 Joost Borm118 (Gerard Nijboer)(129) (Hans Koeleman)(162) | 458 |
| 13 | New Zealand Euan Robertson17 Kevin Ryan55 Howard Healey58 John Dixon87 Alan Thurlow111 Bruce Jones133 (Martin Couldwell)(143) (Daniel O'Connell)(150) (Jack Foster)(155) | 461 |
| 14 | Scotland Nat Muir10 John Robson52 Lawrie Spence74 Joseph Patton99 Allister Hutton105 Laurence Reilly146 (Gordon Rimmer)(158) (Jim Dingwall)(164) (Brian McSloy)(176) | 486 |
| 15 | Wales Tony Simmons4 Steve Jones7 Peter Baker107 Clive Thomas114 Edmund Turner130 John Davies141 (Roger Hackney)(153) (Dic Evans)(161) (Mick Morris)(169) | 503 |
| 16 | Canada Peter Butler56 Ron Vanderkraats86 Larry Brown96 Mike Dixon97 Greg Duhaime108 Art Boileau109 (Adam Shoemaker)(112) (Peter Moore)(119) (Rob Lonergan)(134) | 552 |
| 17 | Switzerland Pierre Délèze71 Fredi Griner83 Hugo Wey98 Guido Rhyn102 Jean-Pierre Berset104 Blaise Schull117 (Werner Meier)(165) | 575 |
| 18 | Norway Inge Simonsen57 Øyvind Dahl91 Jim Johansen110 Peder Arne Sylte115 Bjarte Sleire124 Knut Kvalheim172 | 669 |
| 19 | Portugal Fernando Mamede41 Aniceto Simoes94 Manuel Paiva122 José Sena132 José Simoes147 Helder de Jesús160 (Carlos Cabral)(168) | 696 |
| 20 | Northern Ireland Greg Hannon31 Rod Stone126 Cameron Spence144 Paul Lawther149 Jim McGuinness173 Ernie Cunningham177 (Tom Annett)(180) (Samuel Doherty)(183) (Peter Irvine)(186) | 800 |
| 21 | Denmark Karsten Hald Nielsen123 Jørn Lauenborg138 Niels Kim Hjorth156 Henning Rasmussen157 Keld Johnsen163 Per Hoffmann167 (Allan Zachariasen)(174) (Palle Vestergaard)(178) (Bo Nytofle)(179) | 904 |
| DNF | Austria (Peter Lindtner)(125) (Josef Steiner)(128) (Wolfgang Konrad)(148) (Peter Pfeifenberger)(171) (Rudolf Altersberger)(184) (Gerhard Hartmann)(DNF) (Dietmar Millonig)(DNF) | DNF |
* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

## Participation

An unofficial count yields the participation of 191 athletes from 26 countries in the Senior men's race. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published.
* Australia (9)
* Austria (7)
* Belgium (9)
* Canada (9)
* Czechoslovakia (1)
* Denmark (9)
* England (9)
* France (9)
* Ireland (9)
* Israel (2)
* Italy (9)
* Lebanon (1)
* Netherlands (8)
* New Zealand (9)
* Northern Ireland (9)
* Norway (6)
* Poland (6)
* Portugal (7)
* Scotland (9)
* Soviet Union (7)
* Spain (9)
* Sweden (5)
* Switzerland (7)
* United States (8)
* Wales (9)
* West Germany (9)