# Athletics at the 1981 Central African Games

At the 1981 Central African Games, the athletics events were held in Luanda, Angola from 20 August – 30 September.
A total of 34 track and field events were contested (20 for men and 14 for women). Compared to the previous edition, a men's hammer throw event and the women's 3000 metres and 100 metres hurdles were added to the programme. Cameroon repeated as the medal leader in athletics, winning twelve events and a total of 25 medals. Gabon had the second highest number of gold medals (seven) while the Republic of the Congo has the second highest tally with 22 medals. The host Angola won 19 medals. Nine of the ten competing nations reached the medal table.
Seven athletes won multiple individual titles at the games. On the men's side, Théophile Nkounkou won a short sprints double for Congo, Burundi's Evariste Haritwinshi scored a middle-distance double, and Bernardo Manuel took a long-distance double for the host nation. Among the women, Cameroon's Ruth Enang Mesode did a sprint double, Marcianne Mukamurenzi of Rwanda won the 1500 metres and 3000 metres titles, Cameroonian heptathlete Cécile Ngambi won the high jump and 100 metres hurdles, and her teammate Agnès Tchuinté won both the discus throw and javelin throw.
Six individuals successfully retained their titles from the 1976 edition: Théophile Nkounkou (men's 100 m), Paul Ngadjadoum (men's high jump), Jean-Emmanuel Vanlier (men's discus), Kémobé Djimassal (men's long jump), Cécile Ngambi (women's high jump) and Agnès Tchuinté (women's javelin). The standard of performances improved across the board, with games records being set in 24 of the 34 events contested – 19 of the games records set went unbeaten in the competition's history.

## Medal summary
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Théophile Nkounkou (CGO) | 10.4 | Antoine Ntsana (CGO) | 10.4 | Sulama Yansem (ZAI) | 10.8 |
| 200 metres | Théophile Nkounkou (CGO) | 20.9 GR | Emmanuel Bitanga (CMR) | 21.1 | Henri Ndinga (CGO) | 21.5 |
| 400 metres | Emmanuel Bitanga (CMR) | 46.3 GR | Jean-Didace Bémou (CGO) | 47.4 | Pierre Nyabenda (BDI) | 48.4 |
| 800 metres | Evariste Haritwinshi (BDI) | 1:51.0 GR | Ernest Batangiye (BDI) | 1:51.4 | Fernando Fonseca (ANG) | 1:52.5 |
| 1500 metres | Evariste Haritwinshi (BDI) | 3:54.1 GR | Ernest Batangiye (BDI) | 3:54.9 | Ghislain Obounghat (CGO) | 3:56.1 |
| 5000 metres | Bernardo Manuel (ANG) | 14:42.4 GR | Evariste Nbikora (BDI) | 14:44.6 | ?. Niyonzima (BDI) | 14:58.2 |
| 10,000 metres | Bernardo Manuel (ANG) | 30:27.4 GR | ?. Niyonzima (BDI) | 30:46.1 | ?. Nbizi (BDI) | 30:47.3 |
| 3000 m steeplechase | Emmanuel M'pioh (CGO) | 9:20.3 GR | Liboire Barutwanayo (BDI) | 9:23.5 | Pedro Luciano (ANG) | 9:29.8 |
| 110 m hurdles | Daniel Ololo (GAB) | 14.8 | Bernard Mabikana (CGO) | 15.2 | Jean-Pierre Abossolo (CMR) | 15.2 |
| 400 m hurdles | Jean-Pierre Abossolo (CMR) | 52.8 | Gualberto Paquete (ANG) | 53.3 | Octavio da Conceição (ANG) | 55.1 |
| High jump | Paul Ngadjadoum (CHA) | 2.10 m | Orlando Bonifacio (ANG) | 2.05 m | Édouard Messan (GAB) | 2.00 m |
| Pole vault | Noël Ongowou-Dosso (GAB) | 4.20 m GR | Daniel Elebou (CGO) | 3.80 m | Germain Gamouna (CGO) | 3.50 m |
| Long jump | Kémobé Djimassal (CHA) | 7.11 m | Antoine Kiakouama (CGO) | 7.02 m | Kalengay Ntumba (ZAI) | 6.80 m |
| Triple jump | Paul Bétel (CMR) | 14.88 m | José Monteiro (ANG) | 14.34 m | Kémobé Djimassal (CHA) | 14.28 m |
| Shot put | Thomas Abong (CMR) | 14.23 m | Claude Bessala (CMR) | 13.72 m | François Ganongo (CGO) | 13.42 m |
| Discus throw | Jean-Emmanuel Vanlier (CMR) | 48.06 m | Casimir Molongo (CGO) | 44.08 m | Abraham Vounsouma (CMR) | 41.52 m |
| Hammer throw | António Réais (ANG) | 49.16 m GR | Jorge Cruz (ANG) | 46.50 m | Casimir Molongo (CGO) | 33.62 m |
| Javelin throw | François Ganongo (CGO) | 71.12 m GR | Jean Rusesemwa (BDI) | 66.34 m | Isaie Sébugoré (RWA) | 59.44 m |
| 4 × 100 m relay | Congo (CGO) | 40.5 | Angola (ANG) | 41.1 | Cameroon (CMR) | 41.8 |
| 4 × 400 m relay | Congo (CGO) | 3:12.7 GR | Cameroon (CMR) | 3:15.1 | Angola (ANG) | 3:16.5 |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Ruth Enang Mesode (CMR) | 11.5 GR | Albertine Batsoua (CGO) | 12.3 | Filomena Mauricio (ANG) | 12.4 |
| 200 metres | Ruth Enang Mesode (CMR) | 24.8 GR | Adèle Mengué (GAB) | 24.9 | Chantal Méyé (GAB) | 25.4 |
| 400 metres | Adèle Mengué (GAB) | 56.4 GR | Chantal Méyé (GAB) | 56.7 | Lucia Martins Souza (STP) | 59.3 |
| 800 metres | Brigitte Ntsamé (GAB) | 2:15.2 GR | Francisca Xavier (ANG) | 2:16.8 | ?. Yéno (GAB) | 2:17.4 |
| 1500 metres | Marcianne Mukamurenzi (RWA) | 4:43.0 GR | Assumpta Achuo-Bei (CMR) | 4:53.9 | Rosa Neves (ANG) | 4:56.5 |
| 3000 metres | Marcianne Mukamurenzi (RWA) | 10:07.1 GR | Pauline Mpassy (CGO) | 10:35.0 | Clementine Yong (CMR) | 10:38.8 |
| 100 m hurdles | Cécile Ngambi (CMR) | 13.8 GR | Anne-Lise Montoulieu (GAB) | 15.5 | Françoise Mistoul (GAB) | 15.7 |
| High jump | Cécile Ngambi (CMR) | 1.77 m GR | Fernande Agnentchoué (GAB) | 1.72 m | Brigitte Revangué (GAB) | 1.63 m |
| Long jump | Lydie Loueyit (GAB) | 5.47 m | Christine Maring (CMR) | 5.37 m | Faustina Assis (ANG) | 5.08 m |
| Shot put | Odette Mistoul (GAB) | 13.60 m GR | Carla Carvalho (ANG) | 12.90 m | Julienne Kémayo-Ngassa (CMR) | 12.68 m |
| Discus throw | Agnès Tchuinté (CMR) | 39.28 m GR | Agathe Ngo Nack (CMR) | 37.02 m | Maria Domingos (ANG) | 33.34 m |
| Javelin throw | Agnès Tchuinté (CMR) | 55.86 m GR | Técle Libata (CGO) | 40.38 m | Véronique Kenfack (CMR) | 39.46 m |
| 4 × 100 m relay | Cameroon (CMR) | 47.4 GR | Angola (ANG) | 49.8 | Congo (CGO) | 50.0 |
| 4 × 400 m relay | Gabon (GAB) | 3:56.1 GR | Congo (CGO) | 4:00.1 | Cameroon (CMR) | 4:02.1 |

## Medal table

* Host nation (Angola)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Cameroon (CMR) | 12 | 6 | 7 | 25 |
| 2 | Gabon (GAB) | 7 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| 3 | Republic of the Congo (CGO) | 6 | 10 | 6 | 22 |
| 4 | Angola (ANG)* | 3 | 8 | 8 | 19 |
| 5 | Burundi (BDI) | 2 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| 6 | Chad (CHA) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Rwanda (RWA) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Democratic Republic of the Congo (ZAI) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (9 entries) | Totals (9 entries) | 34 | 34 | 34 | 102 |