The 1981

UK Athletics Championships The UK Athletics Championships was an annual national championship in track and field for the United Kingdom, organised by the British Athletics Federation. The event incorporated the 1980 Olympic trials for the British Olympic team. The venue ...

was the national championship in outdoor

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

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 Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It was the fifth edition of the competition limited to British athletes only, launched as an alternative to the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

, 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.UK Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
NUTS. Retrieved 2018-02-25.

Summary

David Ottley won his fourth straight title in the men's

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

. Among the athletes to defend their 1980 UK titles were

Cameron Sharp Robert Cameron Sharp (born 3 June 1958) is a Scottish former sprinter. In 1978, he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alber ...

(men's

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

), Carol Tyson ( race walk) and Louise Miller (

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

). Three athletes won UK title doubles, all of them women:

Linsey MacDonald Linsey Tarrel Macdonald (born 14 February 1964) is a former sprinter from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, who specialised in the 400 metres and competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics. She was nicknamed "The Fife Flyer" during her career. Biograp ...

won the short sprint double,

Gillian Dainty Gillian Green (née Dainty) (born 24 November 1958), is a female former athlete who competed for England. Biography Dainty became the British 1500 champion after winning the British WAAA Championships title at the 1980 WAAA Championships an ...

took both middle-distance titles, while Venissa Head was both

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

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 The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

reached the podium in Antrim ( Linda Forsyth,

Michelle Scutt Michelle Scutt, née Probert (born 17 June 1960) is a female former British Olympic athlete. Competing for Wales at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, she won a silver medal in the 400 metres, behind Australia's Raelene Boyle. ...

Verona Elder Verona Marolin Elder (née Verona Bernard) MBE (born 5 April 1953 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire) is a female British, Commonwealth and European medal winning English 400 metres runner and is now the manager of the British athletics team for ...

and

Joslyn Hoyte-Smith Joslyn Yvonne Hoyte, married name Smith (born 16 December 1954) is a British/barbadian former 400 metres athlete who competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Biography Hoyte grew up in Leeds, England, and attended Matthew Murray High School b ...

).European Cup (Women)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-03-06.

Medals

Men

Women

References

{{British championships in athletics UK Athletics Championships UK Outdoor Championships Athletics Outdoor Sport in County Antrim Athletics competitions in Northern Ireland