The 1983 Ibero-American Championships (Spanish: ''I Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') was an

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

competition which was held at the Estadi Serrahima in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

from 23–25 September

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. A total of 37 events were contested, of which 22 by male and 15 by female athletes. It was the first edition of the Ibero-American Championships, although a precursor to the tournament, the ''Juegos Iberoamericanos'' (Ibero-American Games), had been held in 1960 and 1962..

CONSUDATLE Atletismo Sudamericano (''South American Athletics''), formerly CONSUDATLE (Spanish: Confederación Sudamericana de Atletismo; ''South American Athletics Confederation''), is the continental confederation governing body of athletics for national ...

. Retrieved on 2010-06-14. Eighteen countries participated, drawing from the 22 members of the ''Asociación Ibero-Americano de Atletismo'' (Ibero-American Athletics Association).El Atletismo Ibero-Americano - San Fernando 2010
RFEA. Retrieved on 2011-11-14.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

won the most gold medals with a total of nineteen, but it was

which had the largest overall haul, beating Cuba's 24 with a total of 33 medals.

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, were the third and fourth most successful nations of the competition, although the latter won the largest number of silver medals (12) over the course of the three-day competition. The Ibero-American Championships succeeded in attracting a number of high-profile athletes from

Ibero-America Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages (usually former territories of Portugal or Spain). ...

n countries, thus beginning the history of the long-running championships. Cuban athletes Luis Delís and Maritza Martén both doubled up to win the shot put and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

events for men and women, respectively.

Aurora Cunha Aurora Cunha (born 31 May 1959, in Ronfe, near Guimarães) is a retired long-distance runner from Portugal, living in Póvoa de Varzim. From 1984 to 1992 she represented her native country in three consecutive Olympic Games. Cunha's greatest succe ...

of Portugal took the victory in the women's

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

and 3000 metres while

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

's Alejandra Ramos finished runner-up in both the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

and 1500 m. Luisa Ferrer came close to a sprint double, but was beaten by Esmeralda de Jesus Garcia in the

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 conteste ...

. Two records from the championships were particularly long-lasting: Delís's discus record stood until the

2010 Ibero-American Championships The 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (Spanish: ''XIV Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') was an athletics competition which was held at the Estadio Municipal Bahía Sur in San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain from 4–6 June. A total ...

and Domingo Ramón's mark in the 3000 metres steeplechase remains the championship record.Ibero American Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-06-14.

Medal summary

Men

*† The 110 metres hurdles competition was won by Carlos Sala of Spain in 13.74 seconds, but he was competing as a "guest" athlete.

Women

Medal table

*Note: The women's 400 metres medals (gold for Cuba, silver for Spain) were excluded in the official competition medal count.

Participation

Of the twenty-two founding members of the

Asociación Iberoamericana de Atletismo The Asociación Iberoamericana de Atletismo (AIA; ''Iberoamerican Athletics Association'') is the governing body for the sport of athletics of European, Latinamerican, and African countries with iberian origin and/or Spanish or Portuguese languag ...

, eighteen presented delegations for the inaugural championships. The four absent member countries were

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. A total of 143 athletes participated in the first edition.El Atletismo Ibero-Americano - San Fernando 2010
(pg. 214). RFEA. Retrieved on 2012-01-08. Including a number of guests, 163 participating athletes were counted by analysing the official result list. * (10) * (1) * (12) * (3) * (6) * (1) * (21) * (1) * (1) * (1) * (1) * (2) * (1) * (1) * (1) * (27) * (72) * (1)

References

;Results
El Atletismo Ibero-Americano - San Fernando 2010
RFEA. Retrieved on 2011-11-14. {{Ibero-American Championships Ibero-American Championships in Athletics

Ibero-American Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages (usually former territories of Portugal or Spain). P ...

International athletics competitions hosted by Spain Athletics competitions in Catalonia Athletics in Barcelona

Ibero-American Championships in Athletics The Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (Spanish: ''Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') is a biennial athletics competition for athletes representing Ibero-American countries as well as a number of other Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking ...