# United States at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics

The United States competed at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland, from August 7 to 14, 1983. The championships were the first to feature both men and women's events and a full complement of events. The USA entered sixty-six men and thirty five women. The USA took home eight gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals. Ranking second in the medal table.

## Medalists

The following competitors from the United States won medals at the Championships
| Medal | Athlete | Event |
| Gold | Carl Lewis | 100 metres |
| Gold | Calvin Smith | 400 metres |
| Gold | Greg Foster | 110 metres hurdles |
| Gold | Edwin Moses | 400 metres hurdles |
| Gold | Carl Lewis | Long jump |
| Gold | Mary Decker | 1500 metres |
| Gold | Mary Decker | 3000 metres |
| Gold | Willie Gault Emmit King Carl Lewis Calvin Smith | 4 × 100 metres relay |
| Silver | Calvin Smith | 100 metres |
| Silver | Elliott Quow | 200 metres |
| Silver | Michael Franks | 400 metres |
| Silver | Steve Scott | 1500 metres |
| Silver | Tyke Peacock | High jump |
| Silver | Jason Grimes | Long jump |
| Silver | Willie Banks | Triple jump |
| Silver | Tom Petranoff | Javelin |
| Silver | Marianne Dickerson | Marathon |
| Bronze | Emmit King | 100 metres |
| Bronze | Sunder Nix | 400 metres |
| Bronze | Willie Gault | 110 metres hurdles |
| Bronze | Mike Conley | Long jump |
| Bronze | Diane Williams | 100 metres |
| Bronze | Louise Ritter | High jump |
| Bronze | Carol Lewis | Long jump |

### Men
#### Track and road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Emmit King | 100 metres | 10.41 | 17 Q | 10.30 | 3 Q | 10.36 | 5Q | 10.24 | |
| Carl Lewis | 100 metres | 10.34 | 10= Q | 10.20 | 2 Q | 10.28 | 2 Q | 10.07 | |
| Calvin Smith | 100 metres | 10.30 | 3 Q | 10.27 | 2 Q | 10.22 | 1 Q | 10.21 | |
| Larry Myricks | 200 metres | 21.74 | 33 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Elliott Quow | 200 metres | 21.01 | 5 Q | 20.80 | 7 Q | 20.69 | 8 Q | 20.41 | |
| Calvin Smith | 200 metres | 21.10 | 10 Q | 20.60 | 1 Q | 20.29 | 1 Q | 20.14 | |
| Michael Franks | 400 metres | 46.16 | 2 Q | 45.57 | 1 Q | 45.44 | 1 Q | 45.22 | |
| Sunder Nix | 400 metres | 46.19 | 4 Q | 46.19 | 11 Q | 45.73 | 7 Q | 45.24 | |
| Eliot Tabron | 400 metres | 46.68 | 18 Q | 46.54 | 20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| David Mack | 800 metres | 1:45.84 | 1 Q | — | — | 1:46.39 | 12 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| David Patrick | 800 metres | 1:46.76 | 9 q | — | — | 1:46.66 | 17 | 1:46.56 | 8 |
| James Robinson | 800 metres | 1:46.32 | 4 Q | — | — | 1:46.16 | 7 Q | 1:45.12 | 5 |
| Tom Byers | 1500 metres | 3:39.41 | 9 q | — | — | 3:43.97 | 22 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Sydney Maree | 1500 metres | 3:43.13 | 25 Q | — | — | 3:38.65 | 14 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Steve Scott | 1500 metres | 3:37.87 | 1 Q | — | — | 3:36.43 | 5 Q | 3:41.87 | |
| Jim Hill | 5000 metres | 14:58.21 | 31 Q | — | — | 13:38.56 | 16 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Doug Padilla | 5000 metres | 13:44.71 | 24 Q | — | — | 13:32.90 | 8 Q | 13:32.08 | 5 |
| Jim Spivey | 5000 metres | 14:15.70 | 8 Q | — | — | 13:43.17 | 18 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Bill McChesney | 10,000 metres | 28:08.13 | 16 q | — | — | — | — | 28:34.46 | 15 |
| Mark Nenow | 10,000 metres | 28:17.28 | 8 q | — | — | — | — | 28:17.28 | 13 |
| Alberto Salazar | 10,000 metres | 28:10.10 | 18 q | — | — | — | — | 28:48.42 | 17 |
| Benji Durden | Marathon | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2:20:38 | 39 |
| Ed Mendoza | Marathon | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| Ron Tabb | Marathon | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2:13:38 | 18 |
| Greg Foster | 110 metres hurdles | 13.41 | 1 Q | — | — | 13.22 | 1 Q | 13.42 | |
| Willie Gault | 110 metres hurdles | 13.66 | 7 Q | — | — | 13.48 | 2 Q | 13.48 | |
| Sam Turner | 110 metres hurdles | 13.62 | 6= Q | — | — | 13.65 | 5 Q | 13.82 | 8 |
| David Lee | 400 metres hurdles | 50.15 | 5 Q | — | — | 48.63 | 3 Q | 49.32 | 6 |
| Edwin Moses | 400 metres hurdles | 49.54 | 9= Q | — | — | 48.11 | 1 Q | 47.50 | |
| Andre Phillips | 400 metres hurdles | 50.44 | 4 Q | — | — | 48.99 | 4 Q | 49.24 | 5 |
| Brian Diemer | 3000 metres steeplechase | 8:24.92 | 6 Q | — | — | 8:23.39 | 13 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Henry Marsh | 3000 metres steeplechase | 8:27.46 | 12 Q | — | — | 8:23.18 | 9 Q | 8:20.45 | 8 |
| Rickey Pittman | 3000 metres steeplechase | 8:32.62 | 25 | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Willie Gault Emmit King Carl Lewis Calvin Smith | 4 × 100 metres relay | 37.75 | 1 Q | — | — | 38.50 | 1 Q | 37.86 | |
| Alonzo Babers Michael Franks* Edwin Moses Sunder Nix Andre Phillips* Willie Smith | 4 × 400 metres relay | 3:06.62 | 1 Q | — | — | 3:02.13 | 1 Q | 3:05.29 | 5 |
| Marco Evoniuk | 20 kilometres walk | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| Jim Heiring | 20 kilometres walk | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1:25:55 | 19 |
| Tim Lewis | 20 kilometres walk | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1:30:10 | 36 |
| Marco Evoniuk | 50 kilometres walk | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3:56:57 | 9 |
| Jim Heiring | 50 kilometres walk | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| Daniel O'Connor | 50 kilometres walk | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4:18:41 | 23 |
* – Indicates the athlete competed in preliminaries but not the final

#### Field events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position | Distance | Position |
| Tyke Peacock | High jump | 2.21 | =3 q | 2.32 | |
| Dwight Stones | High jump | 2.21 | =3 q | 2.29 | 6 |
| Leo Williams | High jump | 2.21 | =3 q | 2.23 | 12 |
| Jeff Buckingham | Pole vault | Cancelled | Cancelled | 5.40 | 13 |
| Billy Olson | Pole vault | Cancelled | Cancelled | NM | NM |
| Mike Tully | Pole vault | Cancelled | Cancelled | NM | NM |
| Mike Conley | Long jump | 7.90 | 11 Q | 8.12 | |
| Jason Grimes | Long jump | 8.29 | 11 Q | 8.29 | |
| Carl Lewis | Long jump | 8.37 | 1 Q | 8.55 CR | |
| Willie Banks | Triple jump | 16.58 | 9 Q | 17.18 | |
| Mike Conley | Triple jump | 16.90 | 1 Q | 17.13 | 4 |
| Al Joyner | Triple jump | 16.65 | 6 Q | 16.76 | 8 |
| Kevin Akins | Shot put | 19.48 | 13 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Dave Laut | Shot put | 21.08 | 1 Q | 20.60 | 4 |
| Mike Lehmann | Shot put | 19.88 | 7 q | 19.69 | 10 |
| Art Burns | Discus throw | 61.88 | 10 q | 63.22 | 8 |
| Mac Wilkins | Discus throw | 62.58 | 8 q | 61.46 | 10 |
| John Powell | Discus throw | 58.96 | 15 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Rod Ewaliko | Javelin | 82.68 | 11 q | 77.74 | 11 |
| Tom Petranoff | Javelin | 85.68 | 5 Q | 85.60 | |
| Bob Roggy | Javelin | 86.16 | 3 Q | 79.84 | 9 |
| Ed Burke | Hammer throw | 69.12 | 20 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| John McArdle | Hammer throw | 66.18 | 23 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Dave McKenzie | Hammer throw | 69.94 | 19 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

#### Combined events – Decathlon

| Athlete | Event | 100 m | LJ | SP | HJ | 400 m | 110H | DT | PV | JT | 1500 m | Final | Rank |
| Mark Anderson | Result | 11.39 | 6.83 | 13.61 | DNS | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| Mark Anderson | Points | 713 | 783 | 703 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | DNF | DNF |
| John Crist | Result | 11.42 | 6.76 | 12.89 | 1.88 | 51.67 | DNF | 42.02 | DNS | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| John Crist | Points | 707 | 769 | 653 | 751 | 731 | — | 724 | — | — | — | | | DNF | DNF |

### Women
#### Track and road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Evelyn Ashford | 100 metres | 11.15 | 1 Q | 11.11 | 1Q | 10.99 | 1 Q | DNF | DNF |
| Alice Brown | 100 metres | 11.26 | =5 Q | 11.30 | 7 Q | 11.33 | 12 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Diane Williams | 100 metres | 11.23 | 2 Q | 11.25 | =5 Q | 11.21 | 5 Q | 11.06 | |
| Randy Givens | 200 metres | 23.01 | 1 Q | 23.43 | 15 Q | 23.34 | 14 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Florence Griffith | 200 metres | 22.74 | 5 Q | 22.73 | 5 Q | 22.59 | 1 Q | 22.46 | 4 |
| Roberta Belle | 400 metres | 53.01 | 6 Q | 53.43 | 18 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Rosalyn Bryant | 400 metres | 53.64 | 12 Q | 51.44 | 3 Q | 51.04 | 4 Q | 50.66 | 8 |
| Denean Howard | 400 metres | 52.78 | 5 Q | 52.34 | 15 Q | 52.06 | 13 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Robin Campbell | 800 metres | 2:04.83 | 6 Q | — | — | 1:59.35 | 4 q | 1:58.73 | 7 |
| Cindy Bremser | 1500 metres | 4:14.10 | 15 | — | — | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Mary Decker | 1500 metres | 4:07.47 | 1 Q | — | — | — | — | 4:00.90 | |
| Mary Decker | 3000 metres | 8:44.72 | 2 Q | — | — | — | — | 8:34.62 | |
| Maggie Keyes-Kraft | 3000 metres | 9:01.97 | 18 | — | — | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Brenda Webb | 3000 metres | 9:24.38 | 24 | — | — | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Julie Brown | Marathon | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| Marianne Dickerson | Marathon | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2:31:09 | |
| Debbie Eide | Marathon | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2:36:17 | 12 |
| Benita Fitzgerald | 100 metres hurdles | 13.67 | 23 Q | 13.15 | 9 Q' | 12.96 | 6 Q | 12.99 | 8 |
| Pam Page | 100 metres hurdles | 13.18 | 9 Q | 13.12 | 10 Q | 13.24 | 12 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Candy Young | 100 metres hurdles | DNF | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Sharrieffa Barksdale | 400 metres hurdles | 56.60 | 9= Q | — | — | 56.81 | 11 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Judi Brown | 400 metres hurdles | 57.14 | 15 Q | — | — | 57.98 | 15 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Tonja Brown | 400 metres hurdles | 58.00 | 17 | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Alice Brown Chandra Cheeseborough Randy Givens Diane Williams | 4 × 100 metres relay | 44.20 | 9 | — | — | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Roberta Belle Rosalyn Bryant Easter Gabriel Denean Howard | 4 × 400 metres relay | 3:26.82 | 1 Q | — | — | — | — | 3:27.57 | 5 |

#### Field events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position | Distance | Position |
| Louise Ritter | High jump | 1.90 | 5 Q | 1.95 | |
| Coleen Sommer | High jump | 1.90 | 1= Q | 1.95 | 4 |
| Carol Lewis | Long jump | 6.78 | 1 Q | 7.04 | |
| Gwen Loud | Long jump | 6.37 | 13 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Jackie Joyner-Kersee | Long jump | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| Lorna Griffin | Shot put | 16.50 | 15 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Carol Cady | Discus throw | 57.34 | 15 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Karin Smith | Javelin | 54.52 | 9 q | 59.76 | 10 |

#### Combined events – Heptathlon

| Athlete | Event | 100H | HJ | SP | 200 m | LJ | JT | 800 m | Final | Rank |
| Jane Frederick | Result | 13.72 | 1.83 | 14.75 | 25.16 | 6.00 | 45.62 | DNS | DNF | DNF |
| Jane Frederick | Points | 901 | 942 | 881 | 836 | 906 | 853 | — | DNF | DNF |
| Marlene Harmon | Result | 14.17 | 1.74 | 11.91 | 24.92 | 6.17 | 36.06 | 2:12.16 | 5925 | 11 |
| Marlene Harmon | Points | 844 | 892 | 699 | 851 | 943 | 793 | 903 | 5925 | 11 |
| Jackie Joyner | Result | 13.69 | 1.86 | 12.73 | 23.73 | DNS | Did not advance | Did not advance | DNF | DNF |
| Jackie Joyner | Points | 905 | 953 | 768 | 961 | — | — | — | | | DNF | DNF |