Athletics events at the 1978 Southern Cross Games were held at the Estadio Olímpico Hernando Siles in La Paz, Bolivia in November. The stadium was one of the first in South America equipped with a synthetic track. A total of 35 events were contested, 22 by men and 13 by women.
Best performances were by Luis Schneider from Chile winning four gold medals (100m, 200m, relay, relay), by native Jhonny Pérez from Bolivia winning three gold medals (1500 m, 5000 m, and 3000 m steeplechase), by Ivonne Neddermann from Argentina winning two gold (long jump, relay), two silver (100 m hurdles, pentathlon) and one bronze medal (shot put), and finally by Nancy Vallecilla from Ecuador winning two gold (100 m hurdles, pentathlon), one silver (400 m), and one bronze medal (long jump). She was awarded the unofficial title of "Queen of the Games" (Spanish: Reina de los Juegos).
Medal summary
Medal winners were published in a book written by Argentinian journalist Ernesto Rodríguez III with support of the Argentine Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico Argentino) under the auspices of the Ministry of Education (Spanish: Ministerio de Educación de la Nación) in collaboration with the Office of Sports (Spanish: Secretaría de Deporte de la Nación). Eduardo Biscayart supplied the list of winners and their results. All results are marked as "affected by altitude" (A), because the stadium in La Paz is situated 3,650 metres above sea level.
Men
100 metresLuis Schneider 10.70 AJosé Luis Elías 10.77 AGustavo Dubarbier 10.78 A200 metresLuis Schneider 21.4 ARicardo Donda 21.5 AJosé Luis Elías 21.6 A400 metresPatricio Valenzuela 48.31 AFelipe Mascaró 49.08 ARoberto Prado 49.12 A800 metresOmar Amdematten 1:56.68 AÁlvaro Cortez 1:57.22 AFelipe Mascaró 1:57.51 A1500 metresJhonny Pérez 4:11.56 APedro Foronda 4:12.72 AAbel Godoy 4:14.09 A5000 metresJhonny Pérez 15:54.33 ALuis Tipán 15:56.54 ALucio Guachalla 16:18.14 A10,000 metresLuis Tipán 33:28.14 ALucio Guachalla 34:11.62 ARufino Chávez 34:30.27 A110 m hurdlesAlfredo Piza 14.64 ARodolfo Iturraspe 15.04 AFrancisco Fuentes 15.42 A400 m hurdlesAlfredo Piza 53.26 ARodolfo Iturraspe 54.53 AGuillermo Gago 56.08 A3000 m steeplechaseJhonny Pérez 9:53.08 ALuis Tipán 10:07.39 ANorberto Limonta 10:34.24 A4 × 100 metres relayPatricio ValenzuelaLuis Alberto SchneiderFrancisco PichottAlejandro Kapsch 40.35 AJorge Ullanque José Torrico Roberto Prado Ernesto Roca 40.91 ADaniel Díaz Antuña Ricardo Donda Angel Gagliano Eduardo Labalta 41.05 A4 × 400 metres relayPatricio ValenzuelaLuis SchneiderAlfredo PizaFelipe Mascaró 3:18.48 ADaniel Díaz Antuña Guillermo Gago Angel Gagliano Rodolfo Iturraspe 3:18.73 ARoberto Prado Edgar Aguayo Freddy Bustamante Freddy Torrico 3:18.78 A20 kilometres walkOswaldo Morejón 1:56:13 AEsteban Quelale 1:56.49 AVíctor Sánchez 2:08.05 AHigh jumpDaniel Mamet 2.18 ALuis Arbulú 2.05 AVíctor Migliaro 2.00 APole vaultRoberto Steinmetz 4.60 AAlejandro Jadresic 4.20 AAndrés Vicuña 4.00 ALong jumpFrancisco Pichot 7.47 AAlex Kapch 7.46 ARonald Raborg 7.25 ATriple jumpFrancisco Pichot 16.27 AAngel Gagliano 15.66 AÓscar Aguirre 13.47 AShot putJosé Alberto Vallejo 14.46 AHéctor Rivero 14.11 AMiro Ronac 11.63 ADiscus throwHéctor Rivero 47.10 AJosé Alberto Vallejo 46.76 AEduardo Vieira 43.68 AHammer throwJosé Alberto Vallejo 63.90 ADaniel Gómez 62.38 AMiro Ronac 33.26 AJavelin throwAngel Garmendia 70.70 AMiro Ronac 60.04 A DecathlonRoberto Steinmetz 6624 AAlfredo Silva 6597 A
Women
100 metresBeatriz Allocco 11.73 ACarmela Bolívar 11.83 AIsabel Alemán 12.06 A200 metresBeatriz Allocco 22.94 ACarmela Bolívar 23.55 AIsabel Alemán 24.57 A400 metresAlejandra Ramos 56.68 ANancy Vallecilla 59.05 ABlanca Ibáñez 59.17 A800 metresAna María Nielsen 2:15.85 AMery Rojas 2:19.03 ALaura Méndez 2:20.73 A1500 metresAna María Nielsen 4:57.12 ALaura Méndez 5:08.58 ATrinidad Guerra 5:11.7 A100 m hurdlesNancy Vallecilla 13.80 AIvonne Neddermann 14.34 AEmilia Dyrzka 14.74 A4 × 100 metres relayIvonne Neddermann Emilia Dyrzka Araceli Bruschini Beatriz Allocco 46.06 ACarIa Guissini Blanca Ibáñez Martha Novillo Isabel Alemán 46.94 A High jumpElizabeth Huber 1.75 ALaura Ragas 1.65 AXimena Mesa 1.65 ALong jumpIvonne Neddermann 6.05 AXimena Mesa 5.97 ANancy Vallecilla 5.90 AShot putPatricia Weber 12.91 ALorena Prado 12.49 AIvonne Neddermann 12.10 ADiscus throwLucy Ascune 39.72 ALorena Prado 38.12 AElizabeth Garnica 31.02 AJavelin throwAna María Campillay 46.72 AElizabeth Guernica 36.78 AElizabeth Huber 31.18 APentathlonNancy Vallecilla 3798 AIvonne Neddermann 3625 AAriana Salas 3103 A
Medal table (unofficial)
References