1983 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 1500 metres
These are the official results of the Helsinki, Finland. There were a total number of 26 participating athletes, with three qualifying heats and the final held on Sunday 14th August 1983. The winning margin was 0.29 seconds.
The final was a microcosm of these championships. East vs West. The American
Yevgeniy Arzhanov
a decade earlier, Zaytseva dived for the finish line from four meters out. Clearly beaten by this point, Zaytseva executed a face plant a metre from the finish line and rolled across the line in second. Podkopayeva held off her teammate for bronze. The powerful Soviets all finished in the top four, but Decker was number one.
Medalists
| Gold |  Mary DeckerUnited States (USA) |
| Silver |  Zamira ZaytsevaSoviet Union (URS) |
| Bronze | Yekaterina Podkopayeva Soviet Union (URS) |
Records
Existing records at the start of the event.
| World record | Tatyana Kazankina (URS)
|
3:52.47 | Zürich, Switzerland | August 13, 1980 |
| Championship record | New event | |||
Final
| RANK | FINAL | TIME |
|---|---|---|
|
Mary Decker (USA)
|
4:00.90 |
|
Zamira Zaytseva (URS)
|
4:01.19 |
|
Yekaterina Podkopayeva (URS)
|
4:02.25 |
| 4. | Ravilya Agletdinova (URS)
|
4:02.67 |
| 5. |  Wendy Sly (GBR)
|
4:04.14 |
| 6. |  Doina Melinte (ROU)
|
4:04.42 |
| 7. |  Gabriella Dorio (ITA)
|
4:04.73 |
| 8. |  Brit McRoberts (CAN)
|
4:05.73 |
| 9. | Christina Boxer (GBR)
|
4:06.74 |
| 10. |  Cornelia Bürki (SUI)
|
4:11.61 |
| 11. |  Ivana Kleinová (TCH)
|
4:15.12 |
| 12. | Maria Radu (ROU)
|
4:19.03 |
Qualifying heats
- Held on Friday 1983-08-12
| RANK | HEAT 1 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ravilya Agletdinova (URS)
|
4:10.71 |
| 2. | Ivana Kleinová (TCH)
|
4:10.82 |
| 3. | Brit McRoberts (CAN)
|
4:10.88 |
| 4. |  Christiane Wartenberg (GDR)
|
4:10.89 |
| 5. |  Totka Petrova (BUL)
|
4:12.31 |
| 6. | Cindy Bremser (USA)
|
4:14.10 |
| 7. |  Kriscia García (ESA)
|
4:40.21 |
| 8. |  Bigna Samuel (VIN)
|
4:51.35 |
| 9. |  Kungu Bakombo (ZAI)
|
4:54.12 |
| RANK | HEAT 2 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mary Decker (USA)
|
4:07.47 |
| 2. | Zamira Zaytseva (URS)
|
4:07.64 |
| 3. | Wendy Sly (GBR)
|
4:08.16 |
| 4. | Cornelia Bürki (SUI)
|
4:08.61 |
| 5. | Maria Radu (ROU)
|
4:10.15 |
| 6. |  Marcianne Mukamurenzi (RWA)
|
4:30.58 |
| 7. |  Vivian Pearson (MAW)
|
5:03.70 |
 Aurora Cunha (POR)
|
DNS |
| RANK | HEAT 3 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Yekaterina Podkopayeva (URS)
|
4:09.39 |
| 2. | Gabriella Dorio (ITA)
|
4:09.45 |
| 3. | Doina Melinte (ROU)
|
4:09.71 |
| 4. | Christina Boxer (GBR)
|
4:09.88 |
| 5. |  Betty Van Steenbroeck (BEL)
|
4:12.93 |
| 6. |  Marjo-Riitta Lakka (FIN)
|
4:22.33 |
| 7. |  Hala El Moughrabi (SYR)
|
4:45.62 |
| 8. |  Khadija Al Matari (JOR)
|
5:01.83 |
 Brigitte Kraus (FRG)
|
DNS |