1981 Pacific Conference Games

Last updated
IV Pacific Conference Games
QEII1.jpg
The host stadium
Dates31 January and 1 February
Host city Christchurch, New Zealand
Venue Queen Elizabeth II Park
Events37

The 1981 Pacific Conference Games was the fourth edition of the international athletics competition between five Pacific coast nations: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. This was the first occasion that athletes from beyond the Pacific grouping were allowed to compete at the tournament. A total of 21 men's and 16 women's athletics events were contested. Combined track and field events were included for the first time, in the form of the men's decathlon and the women's pentathlon. The women's 3000 metres was also a new addition to the programme. [1]

Contents

It was held at Queen Elizabeth II Park on 31 January and 1 February in Christchurch, New Zealand. [2] The host stadium was built for and hosted 1974 British Commonwealth Games. [3]

The competition had mandatory drug testing and two gold medallists were banned from the sport by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) after anabolic steroids were detected in their urine. Ben Plucknett, an American who broke the men's discus world record twice that year, was stripped of his win in that event and later tried to sue the IAAF. [4] Four-time Olympic champion Al Oerter stated that Plucknett had been made an example of due to his record breaking. Another American Olympian John Powell—who was consequently elevated to the Pacific Conference discus gold—criticised the fact that bans came top-down from the federation, rather than being seen before a judge or jury. [5]

Australia's Gael Mulhall similarly had her shot put and discus titles removed for the same doping violation. Mulhall considered a legal appeal and team mate Bev Francis (who was promoted to the shot put gold) criticised the testing procedure, which had no team officials or doctors present. Ultimately Mulhall accepted a reduced 18-month ban, but did not publicly confirm whether she had taken steroids or not. [6] [7] Mulhall was criticised by Australian officials and members of the public as a drug cheat. She argued that testing was not of a reliable standard given the gravity of the sanctions and damage to her reputation, as well as saying that athletes needed more information on drugs and their effects. [8]

Medal summary

Men

EventGoldSilverBronze
100 metresFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Peter Gandy  (AUS)10.42Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Desai Williams  (CAN)10.50Flag of the United States.svg  Steve Williams  (USA)10.59
200 metresFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Peter Gandy  (AUS)20.89Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Bruce Frayne  (AUS)21.03Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Desai Williams  (CAN)21.07
400 metresFlag of the United States.svg  Ed Yearwood  (USA)46.53Flag of the United States.svg  Palmer Simmons  (USA)46.78Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Mike Willis  (AUS)46.95
800 metresFlag of Hungary.svg  András Paróczai  (HUN)1:48.17Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Peter Bourke  (AUS)1:49.06Flag of New Zealand.svg  John Walker  (NZL)1:49.41
1500 metresFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Mike Hillardt  (AUS)3:41.74Flag of the United States.svg  Richie Harris  (USA)3:41.77Flag of Poland.svg  Mirosław Żerkowski  (POL)3:42.15
5000 metresFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Dave Moorcroft  (GBR)13:36.79Flag of the United States.svg  Dick Buerkle  (USA)13:46.19Flag of Japan.svg  Masami Otsuka  (JPN)13:57.04
10,000 metresFlag of New Zealand.svg  Rod Dixon  (NZL)28:35.69Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Peter Butler  (CAN)28:39.58Flag of Australia (converted).svg  John Andrews  (AUS)28:41.70
110 m hurdlesFlag of the United States.svg  Sam Turner  (USA)13.80Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Max Binnington  (AUS)13.88Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Pat Fogarty  (CAN)14.22
400 m hurdlesFlag of Germany.svg  Harald Schmid  (FRG)50.35Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Lloyd Guss  (CAN)50.79Flag of Japan.svg  Yukihiro Yoshimatsu  (JPN)50.83
3000 metres steeplechaseFlag of Poland.svg  Bronisław Malinowski  (POL)8:24.02Flag of Poland.svg  Bogusław Mamiński  (POL)8:24.04Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Greg Duhaime  (CAN)8:26.51
4×100 m relayFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada  (CAN)
Mark McKoy
Tony Sharpe
Desai Williams
Ben Johnson
39.6Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia  (AUS)
Max Binnington
Bruce Frayne
Gerrard Keating
Peter Gandy
39.8Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand  (NZL)
Ian Ferguson
Murray Cumberpatch
John Enright
Shane Downey
41.4
4×400 m relayFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia  (AUS)
Garry Brown
John Fleming
Bruce Frayne
Mike Willis
3:07.03Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada  (CAN)3:08.16Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)3:08.18
High jumpFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Dean Bauck  (CAN)2.21 mFlag of the United States.svg  Nat Page  (USA)2.21 mFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Cai Shu  (CHN)2.15 m
Pole vaultFlag of Japan.svg  Tomomi Takahashi  (JPN)5.25 mFlag of the United States.svg  Charlie Brown  (USA)5.05 mFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Ray Boyd  (AUS)5.05 m
Long jumpFlag of the United States.svg  Mike Marlow  (USA)7.64 mFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Steven Knott  (AUS)7.49 mFlag of Japan.svg  Ikko Omura  (JPN)7.36 m
Triple jumpFlag of the United States.svg  Mike Marlow  (USA)16.49 mFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Ken Lorraway  (AUS)16.32 mFlag of Japan.svg  Masami Nakanishi  (JPN)16.21 m
Shot putFlag of the United States.svg  Colin Anderson  (USA)19.76 mFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Bishop Dolegiewicz  (CAN)18.67 mFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Mike Mercer  (CAN)17.62 m
Discus throw [nb1] Flag of the United States.svg  John Powell  (USA)59.54 mFlag of New Zealand.svg  Robin Tait  (NZL)56.08 mFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Rob Gray  (CAN)55.42 m
Hammer throwFlag of Japan.svg  Shigenobu Murofushi  (JPN)69.52 mFlag of the United States.svg  Dave McKenzie  (USA)67.68 mFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Gus Puopolo  (AUS)62.62 m
Javelin throwFlag of Hungary.svg  Miklós Németh  (HUN)84.56 mFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Phil Olsen  (CAN)77.36 mFlag of New Zealand.svg  Mike O'Rourke  (NZL)76.86 m
DecathlonFlag of the United States.svg  John Crist  (USA)7869 ptsFlag of the United States.svg  Mauricio Bardales  (USA)7778 ptsFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Peter Hadfield  (AUS)7672 pts

Women

EventGoldSilverBronze
100 metresFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Angela Bailey  (CAN)11.46Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Diane Holden  (AUS)11.65Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Helen Edwards  (AUS)11.67
200 metresFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Angela Bailey  (CAN)23.37Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Diane Holden  (AUS)23.47Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Helen Edwards  (AUS)23.50
400 metresFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Michelle Baumgartner  (AUS)52.85Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Molly Killingbeck  (CAN)54.01Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Marian O'Shaughnessy  (AUS)54.30
800 metresFlag of the United States.svg  Leann Warren  (USA)2:03.52Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Terri Cater  (AUS)2:04.02Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Liz Laban  (GBR)2:04.25
1500 metresFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Brit McRoberts  (CAN)4:11.87Flag of the United States.svg  Cindy Bremser  (USA)4:12.21Flag of Poland.svg  Anna Bukis  (POL)4:14.65
3000 metresFlag of New Zealand.svg  Lorraine Moller  (NZL)9:07.86Flag of the United States.svg  Cindy Bremser  (USA)9:09.22Flag of New Zealand.svg  Barbara Moore  (NZL)9:14.94
100 m hurdlesFlag of Poland.svg  Grażyna Rabsztyn  (POL)13.25Flag of the United States.svg  Linda Weekly  (USA)13.77Flag of Japan.svg  Emi Akimoto  (JPN)13.83
400 m hurdlesFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Lyn Foreman  (AUS)57.73Flag of Japan.svg  Yumiko Aoi  (JPN)59.74Flag of New Zealand.svg  Terry Yaxley  (NZL)60.10
4×100 m relayFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada  (CAN)44.5Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)45.4Flag of Japan.svg  Japan  (JPN)45.7
4×400 m relayFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia  (AUS)
Michelle Baumgartner
Terri Cater
Lyn Foreman
Marian O'Shaughnessy
3:34.20Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)3:38.81Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada  (CAN)3:40.56
High jumpFlag of Japan.svg  Hisayo Fukumitsu  (JPN)1.89 mFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Brigitte Reid  (CAN)1.86 mFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Chris Stanton  (AUS)1.83 m
Long jumpFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Linda Garden  (AUS)6.53 mFlag of New Zealand.svg  Pamela Hendren  (NZL)6.25 mFlag of the United States.svg  Jodi Anderson  (USA)6.16 m
Shot put [nb2] Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Bev Francis  (AUS)16.17 mFlag of the United States.svg  Denise Wood  (USA)14.79 mFlag of the United States.svg  Sandy Burke  (USA)14.72 m
Discus throw [nb2] Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Zhu Junfang  (CHN)55.48 mFlag of the United States.svg  Denise Wood  (USA)52.60 mFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Lucette Moreau  (CAN)50.60 m
Javelin throwFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Tessa Sanderson  (GBR)61.56 mFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Sue Howland  (AUS)60.36 mFlag of the United States.svg  Karen Smith  (USA)59.92 m
PentathlonFlag of New Zealand.svg  Karen Page  (NZL)4348 ptsFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Glynis Saunders  (AUS)4290 ptsFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Jill Ross  (CAN)4288 pts

References

  1. Pacific Conference Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-01-14.
  2. Australia finish top nation at Games. The Straits Times, pg. 26 (1981-02-03). Retrieved on 2015-01-15.
  3. Degun, Tom (2012-05-07). Christchurch's QEII Stadium to be demolished in wake of 2011 earthquake. Inside The Games. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.
  4. Litsky, Frank (1981-07-14). PLUNKETT, HOLDER OF DISCUS RECORDS, BARRED ON DRUG USE. New York Times. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.
  5. BANNING OF PLUCKNETT CALLED UNFAIR BY PEERS. New York Times (1981-07-29). Retrieved on 2015-01-15.
  6. Mitchell, Neil & McMahon, Peg (1981-07-15). Mulhall May Take Life Ban To Court. The Age. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.
  7. Webster, Jim (1982-07-29). Mulhall to Start Her Comeback on Sunday. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.
  8. Farber, Michael (1982-10-04). Drugs Hurt Career of Aussie Woman. The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.
Medalists