# 1986 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior women's race

The Senior women's race at the 1986 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Colombier, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, at the Planeyse Colombier on March 23, 1986. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald and in the Evening Times.
Complete results, medallists, and the results of British athletes were published.

## Race results
### Senior women's race (4.65 km)
#### Individual

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| | Zola Budd | England | 14:49.6 |
| | Lynn Jennings | United States | 15:07.8 |
| | Annette Sergent | France | 15:12.2 |
| 4 | Martine Fays | France | 15:14.3 |
| 5 | Rosa Mota | Portugal | 15:18.5 |
| 6 | Nan Doak | United States | 15:22.8 |
| 7 | Christine McMiken | New Zealand | 15:23.6 |
| 8 | Albertina Machado | Portugal | 15:24.4 |
| 9 | Elena Fidatof | Romania | 15:25.3 |
| 10 | Carole Bradford | England | 15:27.5 |
| 11 | Liève Slegers | Belgium | 15:28.3 |
| 12 | Lyudmila Matveyeva | Soviet Union | 15:28.6 |
| 13 | Renata Kokowska | Poland | 15:30.9 |
| 14 | Cornelia Bürki | Switzerland | 15:32 |
| 15 | Grete Kirkeberg | Norway | 15:32.4 |
| 16 | Marina Rodchenkova | Soviet Union | 15:32.7 |
| 17 | Elizabeth Franzis | West Germany | 15:33.1 |
| 18 | Gail Rear | New Zealand | 15:33.3 |
| 19 | Mary O'Connor | New Zealand | 15:33.6 |
| 20 | Ruth Partridge | England | 15:34 |
| 21 | Christine Sørum | Norway | 15:34.7 |
| 22 | Aurora Cunha | Portugal | 15:35 |
| 23 | Wendy Renner | New Zealand | 15:35.4 |
| 24 | Susi Riermeier | West Germany | 15:35.8 |
| 25 | Marcella Robertson | Scotland | 15:36.8 |
| 26 | Anne Viallix | France | 15:37.7 |
| 27 | Dorthe Rasmussen | Denmark | 15:38.1 |
| 28 | Paula Ivan | Romania | 15:38.5 |
| 29 | Eva Ernström | Sweden | 15:39.1 |
| 30 | Anita Håkenstad | Norway | 15:39.6 |
| 31 | Mariana Stanescu | Romania | 15:40.3 |
| 32 | Sue Bruce | New Zealand | 15:40.6 |
| 33 | Debbie Elsmore | New Zealand | 15:41.2 |
| 34 | Jane Shields | England | 15:43.4 |
| 35 | Betty Springs | United States | 15:45.5 |
| 36 | Krishna Wood | Australia | 15:46.7 |
| 37 | Mercedes Calleja | Spain | 15:48 |
| 38 | Yvonne Murray | Scotland | 15:48.7 |
| 39 | Sabrina Dornhoefer | United States | 15:50 |
| 40 | Julie Laughton | England | 15:50.8 |
| 41 | Charlotte Teske | West Germany | 15:51.9 |
| 42 | Sirkku Kumpulainen | Finland | 15:52.3 |
| 43 | Jacqueline Lefeuvre | France | 15:52.7 |
| 44 | Maria Lelut | France | 15:53.2 |
| 45 | Teresa Recio | Spain | 15:53.5 |
| 46 | Betty van Steenbroeck | Belgium | 15:53.8 |
| 47 | Christina Mai | West Germany | 15:54 |
| 48 | Agnese Possamai | Italy | 15:54.6 |
| 49 | Yelena Sipatova | Soviet Union | 15:54.9 |
| 50 | Susan Berenda | Canada | 15:55.7 |
| 51 | Sandra Gasser | Switzerland | 15:56.6 |
| 52 | Carmem de Oliveira | Brazil | 15:57.1 |
| 53 | Anne Lord | Australia | 15:57.3 |
| 54 | Leslie Seymour | United States | 15:57.6 |
| 55 | Montserrat Abello | Spain | 15:57.9 |
| 56 | Hassania Darami | Morocco | 15:58.2 |
| 57 | Christine Price | Scotland | 15:58.5 |
| 58 | Asuncion Sinobas | Spain | 15:59.5 |
| 59 | Tigist Moreda | Ethiopia | 15:59.8 |
| 60 | Maria van Gestel | Belgium | 16:00.4 |
| 61 | Mary Donohoe | Ireland | 16:00.9 |
| 62 | Martine Oppliger | Switzerland | 16:01.2 |
| 63 | Irina Mozharova | Soviet Union | 16:01.4 |
| 64 | Debbie Bowker | Canada | 16:03 |
| 65 | Ingrid Delagrange | Belgium | 16:03.8 |
| 66 | Jenny Lund | Australia | 16:04.1 |
| 67 | Brenda Webb | United States | 16:04.5 |
| 68 | Francine Peeters | Belgium | 16:06 |
| 69 | Astrid Schmidt | West Germany | 16:06.3 |
| 70 | Isabelle Matthys | France | 16:06.5 |
| 71 | Adanech Workula | Ethiopia | 16:06.8 |
| 72 | Ilinca Mitrea | Romania | 16:07.1 |
| 73 | Viorica Ghican | Romania | 16:07.4 |
| 74 | Tania Turney | Australia | 16:07.6 |
| 75 | Anne Jorun Flaten | Norway | 16:07.9 |
| 76 | Rita Marchisio | Italy | 16:08.2 |
| 77 | Susan Tooby | Wales | 16:08.4 |
| 78 | Kumi Araki | Japan | 16:09.1 |
| 79 | Carole Rouillard | Canada | 16:09.7 |
| 80 | Hassiba Boulmerka | Algeria | 16:10.6 |
| 81 | Fatima Paz | Spain | 16:11.6 |
| 82 | Margreet Verbeek | Netherlands | 16:12.8 |
| 83 | Fernanda Marques | Portugal | 16:13.3 |
| 84 | Asselefech Adera | Ethiopia | 16:13.6 |
| 85 | Fantaye Sirak | Ethiopia | 16:14.2 |
| 86 | Lidia Camberg | Poland | 16:14.9 |
| 87 | Anna Rybicka | Poland | 16:15.1 |
| 88 | Rosanna Munerotto | Italy | 16:16.1 |
| 89 | Marina Vasilyuk | Soviet Union | 16:16.7 |
| 90 | Marie Granberg | Sweden | 16:17 |
| 91 | Anna Busko | Poland | 16:17.4 |
| 92 | Betty Molteni | Italy | 16:17.9 |
| 93 | Eriko Asai | Japan | 16:18.2 |
| 94 | Mébarka El Hadj Abdellah | Algeria | 16:19.1 |
| 95 | Linda Milo | Belgium | 16:19.5 |
| 96 | Penny Just | Australia | 16:19.8 |
| 97 | Mami Fukao | Japan | 16:20.1 |
| 98 | Leanor Costa | Portugal | 16:22.2 |
| 99 | Lucilia Soares | Portugal | 16:22.3 |
| 100 | Angélica de Almeida | Brazil | 16:22.4 |
| 101 | Karen MacLeod | Scotland | 16:22.5 |
| 102 | Sinikka Keskitalo | Finland | 16:22.8 |
| 103 | Yuki Tamura | Japan | 16:22.9 |
| 104 | Brenda Shackleton | Canada | 16:23 |
| 105 | Gaylene Clews | Australia | 16:23.1 |
| 106 | Małgorzata Birbach | Poland | 16:23.4 |
| 107 | Jean Lorden | Scotland | 16:24.4 |
| 108 | Maureen de St. Croix | Canada | 16:27 |
| 109 | Melissa Watson | Wales | 16:27.2 |
| 110 | Ann Hilliard | Ireland | 16:30.3 |
| 111 | Helen Comsa | Switzerland | 16:31.8 |
| 112 | Estela Estévez | Spain | 16:32.7 |
| 113 | Danièle Kaber | Luxembourg | 16:41.4 |
| 114 | Alessandra Corti | Italy | 16:41.9 |
| 115 | Kersti Jakobsen | Denmark | 16:42.4 |
| 116 | Genoveva Eichenmann | Switzerland | 16:43 |
| 117 | Ann Roblin | Wales | 16:43.5 |
| 118 | Mette Holm Hansen | Denmark | 16:44.1 |
| 119 | Valerie O'Mahoney | Ireland | 16:44.8 |
| 120 | Angela Chalmers | Canada | 16:45.8 |
| 121 | Mary Friel | Ireland | 16:46.7 |
| 122 | Ann-Marie Fox | Wales | 16:47.2 |
| 123 | Izabella Zatorska | Poland | 16:48 |
| 124 | Daria Nauer | Switzerland | 17:02.4 |
| 125 | Gitte Karlshøj | Denmark | 17:03.8 |
| 126 | Fatima Maama | Morocco | 17:04.8 |
| 127 | Yoshiko Hidaka | Japan | 17:09.1 |
| 128 | Greta Hickey | Ireland | 17:19.7 |
| 129 | Lynne Maddison | Wales | 17:23.3 |
| 130 | Patricia Griffin | Ireland | 17:24.4 |
| 131 | Wilma Rusman | Netherlands | 17:25.6 |
| 132 | Suman Rawat | India | 17:26.9 |
| 133 | Hanne Kjärsgaard | Denmark | 17:27.9 |
| 134 | Cássia Pegado | Brazil | 17:28.6 |
| 135 | Sally James | Wales | 17:29 |
| 136 | Maryse Justin | Mauritius | 17:29.7 |
| 137 | Dalvirene de Paiva | Brazil | 17:30.5 |
| 138 | Rakiya Maraoui | Morocco | 17:32 |
| 139 | June Standing | Scotland | 17:33 |
| 140 | Marjan Freriks | Netherlands | 17:34.3 |
| 141 | Ilse Riedeman | Netherlands | 17:35.2 |
| 142 | Saadia Bendenoune | Morocco | 17:35.7 |
| 143 | Teresa Duffy | Northern Ireland | 17:37 |
| 144 | Surjit Kaur | India | 17:38 |
| 145 | Krista Aukema | Netherlands | 17:40.1 |
| 146 | Saida Hamama | Morocco | 17:42.6 |
| 147 | Ileana Arroyo | Puerto Rico | 17:45.6 |
| 148 | Barbara Harkness | Northern Ireland | 17:56.8 |
| 149 | Carmen Martinez | Puerto Rico | 18:02.7 |
| 150 | Vijay Nilman Khalko | India | 18:10.4 |
| 151 | Jana Kuceriková | Czechoslovakia | 18:13.2 |
| 152 | Paula Hawtin | Northern Ireland | 18:15.9 |
| 153 | Noelle Harron | Northern Ireland | 18:24 |
| 154 | Carmen Vega | Puerto Rico | 18:28 |
| 155 | Ita Speight | Northern Ireland | 18:30 |
| 156 | M. Permanik | India | 18:37.5 |
| 157 | Betty Sarmiyati | Indonesia | 18:53.7 |
| 158 | Rosita Ocasio | Puerto Rico | 18:59.7 |
| 159 | Nirmala Nair | India | 19:04 |
| 160 | Purabi Daas | India | 19:18 |
| 161 | Elizabeth Gladfelter | U.S. Virgin Islands | 21:23.3 |

#### Teams

| Rank | Team | Points |
| | England Zola Budd1 Carole Bradford10 Ruth Partridge20 Jane Shields34 (Julie Laughton)(40) | 65 |
| | New Zealand Christine McMiken7 Gail Rear18 Mary O'Connor19 Wendy Renner23 (Sue Bruce)(32) (Debbie Elsmore)(33) | 67 |
| | France Annette Sergent3 Martine Fays4 Anne Viallix26 Jacqueline Lefeuvre43 (Maria Lelut)(44) (Isabelle Matthys)(70) | 76 |
| 4 | United States Lynn Jennings2 Nan Doak6 Betty Springs35 Sabrina Dornhoefer39 (Leslie Seymour)(54) (Brenda Webb)(67) | 82 |
| 5 | Portugal Rosa Mota5 Albertina Machado8 Aurora Cunha22 Fernanda Marques83 (Leanor Costa)(98) (Lucilia Soares)(99) | 118 |
| 6 | West Germany Elizabeth Franzis17 Susi Riermeier24 Charlotte Teske41 Christina Mai47 (Astrid Schmidt)(69) | 129 |
| 7 | Soviet Union Lyudmila Matveyeva12 Marina Rodchenkova16 Yelena Sipatova49 Irina Mozharova63 (Marina Vasilyuk)(89) | 140 |
| 8 | Romania Elena Fidatof9 Paula Ivan28 Mariana Stanescu31 Ilinca Mitrea72 (Viorica Ghican)(73) | 140 |
| 9 | Norway Grete Kirkeberg15 Christine Sørum21 Anita Håkenstad30 Anne Jorun Flaten75 | 141 |
| 10 | Belgium Liève Slegers11 Betty van Steenbroeck46 Maria van Gestel60 Ingrid Delagrange65 (Francine Peeters)(68) (Linda Milo)(95) | 182 |
| 11 | Spain Mercedes Calleja37 Teresa Recio45 Montserrat Abello55 Asuncion Sinobas58 (Fatima Paz)(81) (Estela Estévez)(112) | 195 |
| 12 | Scotland Marcella Robertson25 Yvonne Murray38 Christine Price57 Karen MacLeod101 (Jean Lorden)(107) (June Standing)(139) | 221 |
| 13 | Australia Krishna Wood36 Anne Lord53 Jenny Lund66 Tania Turney74 (Penny Just)(96) (Gaylene Clews)(105) | 229 |
| 14 | Switzerland Cornelia Bürki14 Sandra Gasser51 Martine Oppliger62 Helen Comsa111 (Genoveva Eichenmann)(116) (Daria Nauer)(124) | 238 |
| 15 | Poland Renata Kokowska13 Lidia Camberg86 Anna Rybicka87 Anna Busko91 (Małgorzata Birbach)(106) (Izabella Zatorska)(123) | 277 |
| 16 | Canada Susan Berenda50 Debbie Bowker64 Carole Rouillard79 Brenda Shackleton104 (Maureen de St. Croix)(108) (Angela Chalmers)(120) | 297 |
| 17 | Ethiopia Tigist Moreda59 Adanech Workula71 Asselefech Adera84 Fantaye Sirak85 | 299 |
| 18 | Italy Agnese Possamai48 Rita Marchisio76 Rosanna Munerotto88 Betty Molteni92 (Alessandra Corti)(114) | 304 |
| 19 | Japan Kumi Araki78 Eriko Asai93 Mami Fukao97 Yuki Tamura103 (Yoshiko Hidaka)(127) | 371 |
| 20 | Denmark Dorthe Rasmussen27 Kersti Jakobsen115 Mette Holm Hansen118 Gitte Karlshøj125 (Hanne Kjärsgaard)(133) | 385 |
| 21 | Ireland Mary Donohoe61 Ann Hilliard110 Valerie O'Mahoney119 Mary Friel121 (Greta Hickey)(128) (Patricia Griffin)(130) | 411 |
| 22 | Brazil Carmem de Oliveira52 Angélica de Almeida100 Cássia Pegado134 Dalvirene de Paiva137 | 423 |
| 23 | Wales Susan Tooby77 Melissa Watson109 Ann Roblin117 Ann-Marie Fox122 (Lynne Maddison)(129) (Sally James)(135) | 425 |
| 24 | Morocco Hassania Darami56 Fatima Maama126 Rakiya Maraoui138 Saadia Bendenoune142 (Saida Hamama)(146) | 462 |
| 25 | Netherlands Margreet Verbeek82 Wilma Rusman131 Marjan Freriks140 Ilse Riedeman141 (Krista Aukema)(145) | 494 |
| 26 | India Suman Rawat132 Surjit Kaur144 Vijay Nilman Khalko150 M. Permanik156 (Nirmala Nair)(159) (Purabi Daas)(160) | 582 |
| 27 | Northern Ireland Teresa Duffy143 Barbara Harkness148 Paula Hawtin152 Noelle Harron153 (Ita Speight)(155) | 596 |
| 28 | Puerto Rico Ileana Arroyo147 Carmen Martinez149 Carmen Vega154 Rosita Ocasio158 | 608 |
* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

## Participation

An unofficial count yields the participation of 161 athletes from 36 countries in the Senior women's race. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published.
* Algeria (2)
* Australia (6)
* Belgium (6)
* Brazil (4)
* Canada (6)
* Czechoslovakia (1)
* Denmark (5)
* England (5)
* Ethiopia (4)
* Finland (2)
* France (6)
* India (6)
* Indonesia (1)
* Ireland (6)
* Italy (5)
* Japan (5)
* Luxembourg (1)
* Mauritius (1)
* Morocco (5)
* Netherlands (5)
* New Zealand (6)
* Northern Ireland (5)
* Norway (4)
* Poland (6)
* Portugal (6)
* Puerto Rico (4)
* Romania (5)
* Scotland (6)
* Soviet Union (5)
* Spain (6)
* Sweden (2)
* Switzerland (6)
* United States (6)
* U.S. Virgin Islands (1)
* Wales (6)
* West Germany (5)