# 1981 UK Athletics Championships

The 1981 UK Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for the United Kingdom held at Antrim Stadium, Antrim. It was the first time that a national track and field championship was held in Northern Ireland.
It was the fifth 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 1981 AAA Championships.
David Ottley won his fourth straight title in the men's javelin throw. Among the athletes to defend their 1980 UK titles were Cameron Sharp (men's 100 metres), Carol Tyson (race walk) and Louise Miller (high jump). Three athletes won UK title doubles, all of them women: Linsey MacDonald won the short sprint double, Gillian Dainty took both middle-distance titles, while Venissa Head was both shot put and discus throw champion.
The main international track and field competition for the United Kingdom that year was the 1981 European Cup. Reflecting the secondary status of the UK event at national level, none of the British individual medallists there were present at UK Championships, though all members of the medal-winning women's 4 × 400 metres relay reached the podium in Antrim (Linda Forsyth, Michelle Scutt, Verona Elder and Joslyn Hoyte-Smith).

## Medal summary
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100m | Cameron Sharp | 10.86 | Earl Tulloch | 10.90 | Jim Evans | 11.07 |
| 200m | Earl Tulloch | 20.84 | Cameron Sharp | 21.21 | Nigel Richens | 21.40 |
| 400m | Steve Scutt | 46.52 | Paul Dunn | 47.87 | Brian Jones | 47.99 |
| 800m | Rob Harrison | 1:48:35 | John Goodacre | 1:48.89 | Peter Elliott | 1:49.19 |
| 1,500m | Steve Ovett | 3:42.80 | Frank Clement | 3:44.10 | Jack Buckner | 3:44.22 |
| 5,000m | Dave Clarke | 13:36.13 | Steve Binns | 13:42.28 | Steve Emson | 13:57.94 |
| 10,000m | Dave Black | 29:09.09 | Glyn Harvey | 29:14.21 | Lawrie Spence | 29:15.50 |
| 110m hurdles | Kieran Moore | 15.02 | Phil Barthropp | 15.08 | Gary Myles | 15.08 |
| 400m hurdles | Bill Hartley | 51.58 | Steve Sole | 52.33 | Howard Moscrop | 52.41 |
| 3000m steeplechase | Kevin Capper | 8:43.99 | Trevor Fieldsend | 8:46.15 | Paul Bettridge | 8:46.73 |
| 10,000m walk | Steve Barry | 42:32.43 | Roger Mills | 43:46.16 | Gordon Vale | 43:52.52 |
| high jump | Brian Burgess | 2.15 m | Ossie Cham | 2.10 m | Floyd Manderson | 2.10 m |
| pole vault | Graham Eggleton | 4.80 m | Mike Bull | 4.80 m | Billy Davey | 4.40 m |
| long jump | Colin Rattigan | 7.49 m w | Derrick Williams | 7.22 m | John King | 7.18 m |
| triple jump | Gary Gallagher | 15.46 m | Joe Allison | 15.11 m | Stephen Metcalfe | 15.03 m |
| shot put | Simon Rodhouse | 17.73 m | Ian Lindley | 17.58 m | Mike Atkinson | 15.13 m |
| discus throw | Peter Gordon | 52.06 m | Paul Mardle | 50.86 m | Colin Sutherland | 50.32 m |
| hammer throw | Martin Girvan | 69.50 m | Ron James | 64.58 m | Ian Chipchase | 61.74 m |
| javelin throw | David Ottley | 82.84 m | Roald Bradstock | 75.56 m | Richard Hooper | 69.66 m |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100m | Linsey MacDonald | 12.20 | Pippa Baker | 12.38 | Debbie Warner | 12.46 |
| 200m | Linsey MacDonald | 23.97 | Verona Elder | 24.21 | Debbie Warner | 24.42 |
| 400m | Joslyn Hoyte-Smith | 52.33 | Michelle Scutt | 52.34 | Linda Forsyth | 53.47 |
| 800m | Gillian Dainty | 2:08.12 | Karen Ford | 2:08.71 | Lorraine Baker | 2:08.86 |
| 1,500m | Gillian Dainty | 4:21.39 | Karen Hughes | 4:22.25 | Sandra Arthurton | 4:23.70 |
| 3,000m | Ruth Smeeth | 9:00.36 | Jane Furniss | 9:03.14 | Hilary Hollick | 9:05.03 |
| 100m hurdles | Manndy Laing | 14.20 | Elaine McMaster | 14.43 | Jill Duffield | 14.59 |
| 400m hurdles | Wendy Griffiths | 58.51 | Susan Morley | 59.74 | Margaret Southerden | 60.17 |
| 5,000m walk | Carol Tyson | 24:09.89 | Lillian Millen | 24:32.09 | Elaine Cox | 25:18.98 |
| High jump | Louise Miller | 1.89 m | Ann-Marie Cording | 1.86 m | Sharon McPeake | 1.83 m |
| Long jump | Sandra Green | 6.17 m w | Karen Glen | 6.08 m w | Beverly Kinch | 6.02 m |
| Shot put | Venissa Head | 17.62 m | Caroline Dyer | 14.03 m | Helen Clarke | 13.16 m |
| Discus throw | Venissa Head | 45.20 m | Jackie McKernan | 37.18 m | Laurian Hanna | 33.14 m |
| Javelin | Fatima Whitbread | 56.10 m | Jackie Zaslona | 51.16 m | Janeen Williams | 50.74 m |