1987 World Masters Athletics Championships is the seventh in a series of World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships (called World Veterans Games or World Masters Games at the time) that took place in Melbourne, Australia, from 28 November to 6 December 1987. The 4,000+ participating athletes made this the largest track and field meet in the world.

The main venue was Olympic Park Stadium, which had hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics. A World Games Promotional Track and Field Meet was held at Olympic Park Stadium on 7 December, 1986 as a warm-up publicity showcase.

The stadium was later demolished in 2011 and replaced by Olympic Park Oval. Throwing events were held in Gosch's Paddock next to the tracks.

Cross Country was held at Royal Park. The marathon course included Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, St Kilda and Elwood, with start and finish at Olympic Park Stadium.

The three-time Olympian Raelene Boyle carried a friendship torch into the stadium to light an Olympic-style flame during opening ceremonies on Sunday, 29 November.

This edition of masters athletics Championships had a minimum age limit of 35 years for women and 40 years for men.

The governing body of this series is World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA). WAVA was formed during meeting at the inaugural edition of this series at Toronto in 1975, then officially founded during the second edition in 1977, then renamed as World Masters Athletics (WMA) at the Brisbane Championships in 2001.

This Championships was organized by WAVA in coordination with a Local Organising Committee (LOC) of Peg Smith, Ray Callaghan.

In addition to a full range of track and field events,

non-stadia events included 10K Cross Country, 10K Race Walk (women), 20K Race Walk (men), and Marathon. After an experimental suspension of the relays in 1983

and forming regional relay teams in 1985,

relays reverted to national teams for this Championships.

Controversy After 1976, when the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) expelled the Amateur Athletic Union of South Africa over the apartheid policy of the South African government,

the participation of South African athletes in WAVA competitions had been at odds with the IAAF, specifically due to the 1977 WAVA constitution which had stated that

As a compromise, South Africans often competed under the flag of other nations in previous editions of these Championships.

During General Assembly at this Championships, WAVA delegates approved a motion to amend the WAVA constitution and exclude countries whose national federation is suspended by the IAAF.

Thus South African athletes were now officially banned from these Championships, and would not be welcomed back until the 1993 edition in Miyazaki,

after the abolition of apartheid and the readmittance of South Africa into IAAF in 1992.

World Records Past Championships results are archived at WMA.

Additional archives are available from Museum of Masters Track & Field

as a pdf book,

as a searchable pdf,

and in a pdf newsletter.

Several masters world records were set at this Championships. World records for 1987 are from the list of World Records in the Museum of Masters Track & Field searchable pdf unless otherwise noted.

After the relays on the last day of competition (Sunday, 6 December), the 3 medalists from each of the 1500m races were invited to participate in a special "Masters Mile", where 4 world records were broken.

Key:

Women EventAthlete(s)NationalityPerformanceW65 100 MetersPaula SchneiderhanW65 200 MetersAileen HoganW65 400 MetersPaula SchneiderhanW60 1500 MetersShirley BrasherW60 5000 MetersShirley BrasherW50 MileJeanne HoaglandW60 10000 MetersShirley BrasherW60 10000 MetersLenore MarvinW40 80 Meters HurdlesPhil RaschkerW50 80 Meters HurdlesCorrie Roovers-van den BoschW50 80 Meters HurdlesCorrie Roovers-van den BoschW70 80 Meters HurdlesRosaline SoleW50 300 Meters HurdlesBrenda ParkinsonW50 300 Meters HurdlesPirkko MartinW55 300 Meters HurdlesAsta LarssenW40 400 Meters HurdlesJan HynesW45 400 Meters HurdlesAnnelise Damm OlesenW40 5K Race WalkJane JacksonW50 5K Race WalkJoan HooperW55 5K Race WalkJean AlburyW60 5K Race WalkMarj ColthupW65 5K Race WalkBritta TibblingW75 5K Race WalkAilsa ForbesW80 5K Race WalkMarilla SalisburyW65 Long JumpPaula SchneiderhanW55 High JumpDaphne PirieW60 High JumpKirsten HveemW65 High JumpGwen DavidsonW70 High JumpMary BowermasterW35 Triple JumpEileen HindleW40 Triple JumpPhil RaschkerW50 Triple JumpDorothy WittamW55 Triple JumpPatricia CarrW60 Triple JumpKirsten HveemW65 Triple JumpGwen DavidsonW50 Shot PutValerie YoungW50 Discus ThrowValerie YoungW70 Discus ThrowAnnchen ReileW35 Hammer throwChristine Schultz}W40 Hammer throwChristine BattersbyBev SavageW45 Hammer throwIrene MitchellW50 Hammer throwAnnemarie ScholtenW55 Hammer throwWini PepeneW60 Hammer throwLydia WideraW65 Hammer throwIlse BellinW60 Javelin ThrowBernice Holland

Men

EventAthlete(s)NationalityPerformanceM40 100 MetersGeorge McNeillM55 100 MetersCharles WilliamsM70 100 MetersPayton JordanM60 100 MetersPeter MirkesM95 100 MetersPrithvi Singh AzadM80 200 MetersHarry GathercoleM95 200 MetersPrithvi Singh AzadM45 400 MetersHanno RheineckM50 400 MetersReginald AustinM55 400 MetersCharles WilliamsM85 400 MetersLongino PerezM85 800 MetersLongino PerezM45 1500 MetersDavid SiriM65 1500 MetersJack RyanM80 1500 MetersEd BenhamM85 1500 MetersLongino PerezM45 MileDavid SiriM50 MileTom RobertsM65 MileJack RyanM65 5000 MetersJack RyanM80 5000 MetersEd BenhamM45 10000 MetersAntonio VillanuevaM80 10000 MetersEd BenhamM75 2000 Meters SteeplechaseStan NichollsM45 3000 Meters SteeplechaseRon RobertsonM70 4 x 400 Meters RelayDaniel Buckley, Bill Fairbank, Payton Jordan, Bill WeinachtM75 5K Race WalkTom DaintryM90 5K Race WalkGus TheobaldM55 20K Race WalkLouis Marquis M75 20K Race WalkJames GrimwadeM90 20K Race WalkGus TheobaldM50 Long JumpPericles PintoM65 Long JumpTom PatsalisM75 Long JumpHeikki SimolaM80 Long JumpGulab SinghM60 Triple JumpJakob RypdalVaclav BartlM65 Triple JumpTom PatsalisM75 Triple JumpHeikki SimolaM80 Triple JumpGulab SinghM55 High JumpHerm WyattM80 High JumpGulab SinghM75 Shot PutGerhard SchepeM80 Shot PutKarsten BrodersenM85 Shot PutHerb AndersonM90 Shot PutWang Jing-ChanM95 Shot PutPrithvi Singh AzadM80 Discus ThrowKarsten BrodersenM50 Hammer throwHans PötschM65 Hammer throwWolfram HausmannM70 Hammer throwRay FoleyM80 Hammer throwKarsten BrodersenM60 Javelin ThrowDel PickartsM65 Javelin ThrowAloysius SibidolM70 Javelin ThrowBill MoralesM75 Javelin ThrowGerhard Schepe

References