Bertland "Bert" Cameron won the 400 m Commonwealth title and was named Jamaica Sportsman of the Year. The inaugural World Athletics Championships were held in 1983. This provided additional opportunity for Jamaican athletes to win significant gold. Bert Cameron was the inaugural 400-meter World Champion. Merlene Ottey won silver in the 200 m as well. Bob Lambert took home a bronze in the 4x400 m relay. Cameron was a successful hurdler before taking up track and field. He had already represented Jamaica at two Olympics when he went to his third game in Moscow, Russia, in 1980. There he became the first man to run under 51 seconds in the 400 m hurdles. The following year he won the gold medal at the 1981 World Championships in Helsinki with a time of 55 seconds. After these successes, Cameron decided to switch to track and field. At the 1982 British Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Canada, he won both the 400 m and 800 m races, setting new games records along the way. This made him the first man to win back-to-back titles in the same event. In 1983, he went to his third consecutive Games in Los Angeles. This time he won the gold medal in the 400 m contest with a new national record of 49 seconds. The next year he added another title in the 800 m race with a new games record of 1:45.76 minutes.