# 1983 in the sport of athletics

This article contains an overview of the year 1983 in athletics.

## International Events

* Asian Championships
* Balkan Games
* Central American and Caribbean Championships
* European Indoor Championships
* Mediterranean Games
* Pan American Games
* South American Championships
* World Championships
* World Cross Country Championships
* World Student Games

## World records
### Men

| EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
| 100 metres | Calvin Smith (USA) | 9.93 | 3 July | Air Force Academy, CO, USA |
| 1500 m | Sydney Maree (USA) | 3:31.24 | 28 August | Köln, West Germany |
| 1500 m | Steve Ovett (GBR) | 3:30.77 | 4 September | Rieti, Italy |
| 400m Hurdles | Ed Moses (USA) | 47.02 | 31 August | Koblenz, West Germany |
| 4x100m Relay | United States (USA) • Emmit King • Willie Gault • Calvin Smith • Carl Lewis | 37.86 | 10 August | Helsinki |
| High Jump | Zhu Jianhua (CHN) | 2.37m | 11 June | Beijing, PR China |
| High Jump | Zhu Jianhua (CHN) | 2.38m | 22 September | Shanghai, PR China |
| Pole Vault | Pierre Quinon (FRA) | 5.82m | 28 August | Köln, West Germany |
| Pole Vault | Thierry Vigneron (FRA) | 5.83m | 1 September | Rome, Italy |
| Shot Put | Udo Beyer (GDR) | 22.22m | 25 June | Los Angeles, United States |
| Discus | Yuriy Dumchev (URS) | 71.86m | 29 May | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Hammer | Sergey Litvinov (URS) | 84.14m | 21 June | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Javelin (old) | Tom Petranoff (USA) | 99.72m | 15 May | Westwood, United States |
| Decathlon | Jürgen Hingsen (FRG) | 8825 | 4-5 June | Bernhausen, West Germany |
| Half Marathon | Paul Cummings (USA) | 1:01:32 | 25 September | Dayton, Ohio, United States |

### Women

| EVENT | ATHLETE | MARK | DATE | VENUE |
| 100 metres | Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 10.81 | 8 June | East Berlin |
| 100 metres | Evelyn Ashford (USA) | 10.79 | 3 July | Colorado Springs |
| 400 metres | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 47.99 | 10 August | Helsinki |
| 800 metres | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 1:53.28 | 26 July | Munich |
| 10,000 metres | Lyudmila Baranova (URS) | 31:35.01 | 29 May | Krasnodar |
| 10,000 metres | Raysa Sadreydinova (URS) | 31:27.58 | 7 September | Odessa |
| 400m Hurdles | Anna Ambrazienė (URS) | 54.02 | 11 June | Moscow |
| 4x100m Relay | East Germany (GDR) • Silke Möller • Marita Koch • Ingrid Auerswald • Marlies Göhr | 41.53 | 31 July | East Berlin |
| High Jump | Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG) | 2.03m | 21 August | London |
| High Jump | Tamara Bykova (URS) | 2.04m | 25 August | Pisa, Italy |
| Heptathlon | Ramona Neubert (GDR) | 6935 | 18-19 June | Moscow |
| Half Marathon | Joan Benoit (USA) | 1:09:10 | 18 September | Philadelphia |

## Men's Best Year Performers
### 100 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 100 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Calvin Smith (USA) | 9.93 |
| 2. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 9.97 |
| 3. | Mel Lattany (USA) | 10.03 |
| 4. | Leandro Peñalver (CUB) | 10.06 |
| 4. | Ron Brown (USA) | 10.06 |
| 4. | Emmit King (USA) | 10.06 |

### 200 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 200 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 19.75 |
| 2. | Calvin Smith (USA) | 19.99 |
| 3. | Larry Myricks (USA) | 20.03 |
| 4. | Elliott Quow (USA) | 20.16 |
| 5. | Mel Lattany (USA) | 20.22 |

### 400 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 400 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Erwin Skamrahl (FRG) | 44.50 |
| 2. | Bert Cameron (JAM) | 44.62 |
| 3. | James Rolle (USA) | 44.73 |
| 4. | Chris Whitlock (USA) | 44.80 |
| 5. | Sunder Nix (USA) | 44.87 |

### 800 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 800 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 1:43.61 |
| 2. | Willi Wülbeck (FRG) | 1:43.65 |
| 3. | Sebastian Coe (GBR) | 1:43.80 |
| 4. | Peter Elliott (GBR) | 1:43.98 |
| 5. | Joaquim Cruz (BRA) | 1:44.04 |

### 1,500 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 1,500 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Steve Ovett (GBR) | 3:30.77 |
| 2. | Sydney Maree (USA) | 3:31.24 |
| 3. | Steve Cram (GBR) | 3:31.66 |
| 4. | Saïd Aouita (MAR) | 3:32.54 |
| 5. | Steve Scott (USA) | 3:32.71 |

### Mile

| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Steve Scott (USA) | 3:49.21 |
| 2. | John Walker (NZL) | 3:49.73 |
| 3. | Thomas Wessinghage (FRG) | 3:49.98 |
| 4. | Sydney Maree (USA) | 3:50.30 |
| 5. | Steve Ovett (GBR) | 3:50.49 |

### 3,000 metres

| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Doug Padilla (USA) | 7:35.84 |
| 2. | Eamonn Coghlan (IRL) | 7:38.39 |
| 3. | António Leitão (POR) | 7:39.69 |
| 4. | Thomas Wessinghage (FRG) | 7:39.71 |
| 5. | Dragan Zdravković (YUG) | 7:40.49 |

### 5,000 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 5,000 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Fernando Mamede (POR) | 13:08.54 |
| 2. | António Leitão (POR) | 13:14.13 |
| 3. | Doug Padilla (USA) | 13:17.69 |
| 4. | Antonio Prieto (ESP) | 13:18.53 |
| 5. | Thomas Wessinghage (FRG) | 13:18.86 |

### 10,000 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 10,000 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 27:23.44 |
| 2. | Werner Schildhauer (GDR) | 27:24.95 |
| 3. | Fernando Mamede (POR) | 27:25.13 |
| 4. | Hansjörg Kunze (GDR) | 27:30.69 |
| 5. | Nick Rose (GBR) | 27:31.19 |

### Half Marathon

| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Paul Cummings (USA) | 1:01:32 WR |

### Marathon

    Main race this year: World Championships Marathon
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Robert de Castella (AUS) | 2:08:37 |
| 2. | Toshihiko Seko (JPN) | 2:08:38 |
| 3. | Carlos Lopes (POR) | 2:08:39 |
| 4. | Takeshi So (JPN) | 2:08:55 |
| 4. | Juma Ikangaa (TAN) | 2:08:55 |

### 110m Hurdles

    Main race this year: World Championships 110m Hurdles
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Greg Foster (USA) | 13.11 |
| 2. | Sam Turner (USA) | 13.17 |
| 3. | Tonie Campbell (USA) | 13.32 |
| 4. | Arto Bryggare (FIN) | 13.44 |
| 4. | Roger Kingdom (USA) | 13.44 |

### 400m Hurdles

    Main race this year: World Championships 400m Hurdles
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Edwin Moses (USA) | 47.02 |
| 2. | Andre Phillips (USA) | 47.78 |
| 3. | David Patrick (USA) | 48.05 |
| 4. | David Lee (USA) | 48.42 |
| 5. | Harald Schmid (FRG) | 48.49 |

### 3,000m Steeplechase

    Main race this year: World Championships 3,000m Steeplechase
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Henry Marsh (USA) | 8:12.37 |
| 2. | Bogusław Mamiński (POL) | 8:12.62 |
| 3. | Patriz Ilg (FRG) | 8:15.06 |
| 4. | Graeme Fell (GBR) | 8:15.16 |
| 5. | Joseph Mahmoud (FRA) | 8:15.59 |

### High Jump

    Main competition this year: World Championships High Jump
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Zhu Jianhua (CHN) | 2.38 WR |
| 2. | Valeriy Sereda (URS) | 2.35 |
| 3. | Paul Frommeyer (FRG) | 2.34 |
| 3. | Carlo Thränhardt (FRG) | 2.34 |
| 3. | Eddy Annys (BEL) | 2.34 |

### Long Jump

    Main competition this year: World Championships Long Jump
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Carl Lewis (USA) | 8.79 |
| 2. | Jason Grimes (USA) | 8.39 |
| 3. | Sergey Rodin (URS) | 8.33 |
| 3. | Reginald Kelly (USA) | 8.33 |
| 5. | Aleksandr Beskrovniy (URS) | 8.28 |

### Triple Jump

    Main competition this year: World Championships Triple Jump
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Vasiliy Grishchenkov (URS) | 17.55 |
| 2. | Aleksandr Beskrovniy (URS) | 17.53 |
| 3. | Zdzislaw Hoffmann (POL) | 17.42 |
| 4. | Lázaro Betancourt (CUB) | 17.40 |
| 5. | Ken Lorraway (AUS) | 17.35 |

### Discus

    Main competition this year: World Championships Discus Throw
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Yuriy Dumchev (URS) | 71.86 WR |
| 2. | Ben Plucknett (USA) | 71.32 |
| 3. | Art Burns (USA) | 71.18 |
| 4. | Luis Delís (CUB) | 71.06 |
| 5. | Imrich Bugár (TCH) | 70.72 |

### Hammer

| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Sergey Litvinov (URS) | 84.14 |
| 2. | Igor Nikulin (URS) | 82.92 |
| 3. | Yuriy Tarasyuk (URS) | 81.18 |
| 4. | Juha Tiainen (FIN) | 81.02 |
| 5. | Yuriy Syedikh (URS) | 80.94 |

### Shot Put

    Main competition this year: World Championships Shot Put
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Udo Beyer (GDR) | 22.22 WR |
| 2. | Dave Laut (USA) | 21.94 |
| 3. | Edward Sarul (POL) | 21.68 |
| 4. | Kevin Akins (USA) | 21.61 |
| 5. | Mike Lehmann (USA) | 21.43 |

### Javelin (old design)

    Main competition this year: World Championships Javelin Throw
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Tom Petranoff (USA) | 99.72 |
| 2. | Detlef Michel (GDR) | 96.72 |
| 3. | Heino Puuste (URS) | 94.20 |
| 4. | Dainis Kula (URS) | 91.88 |
| 5. | Klaus Tafelmeier (FRG) | 91.44 |

### Pole Vault

    Main competition this year: World Championships Pole Vault
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Thierry Vigneron (FRA) | 5.83 |
| 2. | Pierre Quinon (FRA) | 5.82 |
| 3. | Billy Olson (USA) | 5.80 |
| 4. | Jeff Buckingham (USA) | 5.76 |
| 5. | Brad Pursley (USA) | 5.75 |

### Decathlon

    Main competition this year: World Championships Decathlon
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
| 1. | Jürgen Hingsen (FRG) | 8779 WR |
| 2. | Siegfried Wentz (FRG) | 8718 |
| 3. | Daley Thompson (GBR) | 8666 |
| 4. | Grigoriy Degtyaryev (URS) | 8538 |
| 5. | Uwe Freimuth (GDR) | 8501 |

## Women's Best Year Performers
### 100 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 100 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Evelyn Ashford (USA) | 10.79 WR |
| 2. | Marlies Göhr (GDR) | 10.81 WR |
| 3. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 10.83 |
| 4. | Diane Williams (USA) | 10.94 |
| 5. | Silke Gladisch (GDR) | 11.03 |

### 200 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 200 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Marita Koch (GDR) | 21.82 |
| 2. | Evelyn Ashford (USA) | 21.88 |
| 3. | Chandra Cheeseborough (USA) | 21.99 |
| 4. | Merlene Ottey (JAM) | 22.19 |
| 5. | Florence Griffith (USA) | 22.23 |

### 400 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 400 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 47.99 WR |
| 2. | Tatána Kocembová (TCH) | 48.59 |
| 3. | Mariya Pinigina (URS) | 49.19 |
| 4. | Gaby Bußmann (FRG) | 49.75 |
| 5. | Marita Payne (CAN) | 50.06 |

### 800 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 800 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 1:53.28 WR |
| 2. | Yekaterina Podkopayeva (URS) | 1:55.96 |
| 3. | Lyubov Gurina (URS) | 1:56.11 |
| 4. | Zamira Zaytseva (URS) | 1:56.21 |
| 5. | Tatyana Providokhina (URS) | 1:56.81 |

### 1,500 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 1,500 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Mary Decker (USA) | 3:57.12 |
| 2. | Ravilya Agletdinova (URS) | 3:59.31 |
| 3. | Fiţa Lovin (ROU) | 4:00.12 |
| 4. | Yekaterina Podkopayeva (URS) | 4:00.3 |
| 5. | Maria Radu (ROU) | 4:00.62 |

### 3,000 metres

    Main race this year: World Championships 3,000 metres
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Tatyana Kazankina (URS) | 8:32.08 |
| 2. | Alla Yushina (URS) | 8:34.02 |
| 3. | Galina Zakharova (URS) | 8:34.60 |
| 4. | Mary Decker (USA) | 8:34.62 |
| 5. | Svetlana Guskova (URS) | 8:35.06 |

### 5,000 metres

| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Zola Budd (RSA) | 15:10.65 |
| 2. | Anna Domoradskaya (URS) | 15:19.0 |

### 10,000 metres

| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Raysa Sadreydinova (URS) | 31:27.58 WR |
| 2. | Lyudmila Baranova (URS) | 31:35.01 WR |
| 3. | Tatyana Pozdnyakova (URS) | 31:48.94 |
| 4. | Olga Bondarenko (URS) | 31:49.44 |
| 5. | Aurora Cunha (POR) | 31:52.85 |

### Half Marathon

| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Joan Benoit (USA) | 1:09:10 |

### Marathon

    Main race this year: World Championships Marathon
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Joan Benoit (USA) | 2:22:43 |
| 2. | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 2:25:17 |
| 3. | Julie Brown (USA) | 2:26:26 |
| 4. | Mary O'Connor (NZL) | 2:28:20 |
| 5. | Charlotte Teske (FRG) | 2:28:32 |

### 100m Hurdles

    Main race this year: World Championships 100m Hurdles
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Bettine Jahn (GDR) | 12.42 |
| 2. | Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL) | 12.49 |
| 3. | Kerstin Knabe (GDR) | 12.62 |
| 4. | Yordanka Donkova (BUL) | 12.65 |
| 5. | Cornelia Riefstahl (GDR) | 12.72 |

### 400m Hurdles

    Main race this year: World Championships 400m Hurdles
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | TIME |
| 1. | Anna Ambrazienė (URS) | 54.02 WR |
| 2. | Yekaterina Fesenko (URS) | 54.14 |
| 3. | Ellen Fiedler (GDR) | 54.20 |
| 4. | Petra Pfaff (GDR) | 54.64 |
| 5. | Yelena Filipishina (URS) | 54.72 |

### High Jump

    Main competition this year: World Championships High Jump
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | HEIGHT |
| 1. | Tamara Bykova (URS) | 2.04 WR |
| 2. | Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG) | 2.03 WR |
| 3. | Louise Ritter (USA) | 2.01 |
| 4. | Kerstin Brandt (GDR) | 1.99 |
| 5. | Larisa Kositsyna (URS) | 1.98 |
| 5. | Silvia Costa (CUB) | 1.98 |
| 5. | Valentina Poluyko (URS) | 1.98 |

### Long Jump

    Main competition this year: World Championships Long Jump
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Anişoara Cuşmir (ROU) | 7.43 |
| 2. | Heike Daute (GDR) | 7.14 |
| 3. | Svetlana Zorina (URS) | 7.04 |
| 3. | Tatyana Proskuryakova (URS) | 7.04 |
| 5. | Margarita Butkiené (URS) | 7.00 |

### Discus

    Main competition this year: World Championships Discus Throw
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Galina Savinkova (URS) | 73.26 |
| 2. | Gisela Beyer (GDR) | 70.96 |
| 3. | Mariya Petkova (BUL) | 70.74 |
| 4. | Martina Hellmann (GDR) | 70.26 |
| 5. | Zdeňka Šilhavá (TCH) | 70.00 |

### Shot Put

    Main competition this year: World Championships Shot Put
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Ilona Slupianek (GDR) | 22.40 |
| 2. | Helena Fibingerová (TCH) | 21.46 |
| 3. | Zdeňka Šilhavá (TCH) | 21.05 |
| 4. | Mihaela Loghin (ROU) | 20.95 |
| 5. | Nunu Abashidze (URS) | 20.94 |

### Javelin (old design)

    Main competition this year: World Championships Javelin Throw
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Tiina Lillak (FIN) | 74.76 |
| 2. | Tessa Sanderson (GBR) | 73.58 |
| 3. | Sofia Sakorafa (GRE) | 72.28 |
| 4. | Antje Zöllkau (GDR) | 71.00 |
| 5. | Anna Verouli (GRE) | 70.90 |

### Heptathlon

    Main competition this year: World Championships Heptathlon
| RANK | 1983 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS | POINTS |
| 1. | Ramona Neubert (GDR) | 6935 WR |
| 2. | Sabine Paetz (GDR) | 6713 |
| 3. | Lyudmila Kolyadina (URS) | 6541 |
| 4. | Yekaterina Smirnova (URS) | 6536 |
| 5. | Anke Vater (GDR) | 6531 |

## Births

* January 4 — Laura Douglas, Welsh hammer thrower
* January 7 — Marc Burns, Trinidad and Tobago athlete
* January 7 — Stéphanie Falzon, French hammer thrower
* January 11 — Cui Zhide, Chinese race walker
* January 16 — Trevell Quinley, American long jumper
* January 26 — Arturo Casado, Spanish middle distance runner
* January 28 — Chiara Rosa, Italian shot putter
* February 1 — Alice Timbilili, Kenyan distance runner
* February 2 — Athanasia Perra, Greek triple jumper
* March 10 — Yelena Bolsun, Russian sprinter
* March 14 — Jiang Qiuyan, Chinese race walker
* March 21 — Martina Hrašnová, Slovak hammer thrower
* March 21 — Jussi Heikkilä, Finnish hurdler
* March 22 — André Pollmächer, German long-distance runner
* March 23 — Mo Farah, Somali-British distance runner
* March 28 — Jurica Grabušić, Croatian hurdler
* April 25 — Nick Willis, New Zealand middle distance runner
* May 5 — Mabel Gay, Cuban triple jumper
* June 4 — Satoshi Osaki, Japanese long-distance runner
* July 12 — Yarelis Barrios, Cuban discus thrower
* July 18 — Mikk Pahapill, Estonian decathlete
* July 20 — Ignisious Gaisah, Ghanaian athlete
* August 2 — Zuzana Malíková, Slovak race walker
* August 4 — Fábio Gomes da Silva, Brazilian pole vaulter
* September 2 — Tatyana Kozlova, Russian race walker
* September 11 — Vivian Cheruiyot, Kenyan distance runner
* September 14 — Mestawet Tufa, Ethiopian distance runner
* October 2 — Michael Kipyego, Kenyan runner
* October 5 — Hamid Ezzine, Moroccan long-distance runner
* October 6 — Leonid Andreev, Uzbekistani decathlete and pole vaulter
* October 8 — Mihkel Kukk, Estonian javelin thrower
* October 10 — Dong Jimin, Chinese race walker
* October 22 — Mika Vasara, Finnish shot putter
* October 22 — Li Zhuhong, Chinese long-distance runner
* November 19 — Meseret Defar, Ethiopian distance runner
* December 2 — Yelena Priyma, Russian hammer thrower
* December 6 — Urszula Piwnicka, Polish javelin thrower
* December 8 — Aliaksandr Kazulka, Belarusian hammer thrower
* December 9 — Diana Pickler, American heptathlete
* December 13 — Janeth Jepkosgei, Kenyan middle distance runner
* December 22 — Viola Kibiwot, Kenyan middle distance runner
* December 27 — Tomo Morimoto, Japanese long-distance runner

## Deaths

* January 21 — Antonio Siddi (59), Italian athlete (b. 1923)
* January 24 — Juan Carlos Zabala (71), Argentine athlete (b. 1911)
* February 14 — Lina Radke (79), German athlete (b. 1903)
* September 12 — Sabin Carr (79), American pole vaulter (b. 1904)