The UK Athletics Championships was an annual national championship in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, organised by the British Athletics Federation. The event incorporated the 1980 Olympic trials for the British Olympic team. The venue for the event was rotational and designed to be inclusive – all four

Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

hosted the event during its twenty-year existence, as well as several areas of England. Created in 1977 and open only to British athletes, the event was initiated to provide 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 officia ...

, which was open to foreign athletes and was organised by an English amateur organisation. The event failed to displace the long-established AAA event and did not attract the nation's best athletes. The event was not part of a formal international selection process and the competition's early scheduling in the calendar was not conducive to participation; the event often took place in May, which was well before the peak of the track and field season in August and early September.UK Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
NUTS. Retrieved 2018-02-25. The annual format ceased after 1993. The British Athletics Federation organised a "British Championships" event in 1997, which proved to be the most important domestic competition that season. The bankruptcy of the British Athletics Federation that same year effectively rendered the competition defunct.
Parliament. Retrieved 2018-02-25. Both the UK Championships, and the AAA Championships would later be superseded by the

British Athletics Championships The British Athletics Championships is the premier national championship in track and field held in the United Kingdom, and are organised by British Athletics. The event has doubled as the main trials meet for international team selection for ma ...

, organised by

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials. The orga ...

– the government-led successor organisation to the British Athletics Federation.

Events

The following

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 ...

events featured as standard on the UK Athletics Championships programme: * Sprint: 100 m, 200 m, 400 m * Distance track events: 800 m, 1500 m, 5000 m *

Hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

: 100 m hurdles (women only), 110 m hurdles (men only), 400 m hurdles, 3000 m steeplechase (men only) * Jumps: long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault * Throws: shot put, discus, hammer, javelin * Racewalking: 5000 m walk (women only), 10,000 metres walk (men only) A men's 3000 metres was contested from 1989 to 1993, while the women's event lasted from 1977 to 1992, being the standard distance event for women at the time. Women raced over 5000 m from 1982 to 1997, with interruptions in 1986–87 and 1990–93. The men's

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

was stopped after 1988, with a one-off re-instatement in 1997. Women raced over that distance in 1986 and 1997 only. The men's and women's walking events were first introduced at the 1980 edition, though were dropped as a one-off at the 1992 edition. The women's walk was also dropped from the programme for the 1982 championships. The javelin model used in the men's event changed to the international standard in 1986. In line with international changes, the women's programme gradually expanded to match the men's, with the first triple jump championship held in 1990, then the first women's

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

and

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consist ...

UK champions being crowned in 1993.

Editions

Most successful athletes by event

Multiple champions

A total of 18 athletes won five or more titles at the UK Athletics Championships. Women's shot putter Judy Oakes won the most titles overall, with ten national wins.

Linford Christie Linford Cicero Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former sprinter. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World ...

was the most successful man, with eight titles across 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 ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

References

{{defunct athletics competitions Defunct athletics competitions National athletics competitions Athletics competitions in the United Kingdom 1977 establishments in the United Kingdom 1997 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Recurring sporting events established in 1977 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1997 Defunct sports competitions in the United Kingdom

Events

Editions

Most successful athletes by event

Multiple champions

See also

References