The 1981 Pacific Conference Games was the fourth edition of the international athletics competition between five Pacific coast nations: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. This was the first occasion that athletes from beyond the Pacific grouping were allowed to compete at the tournament. A total of 21 men's and 16 women's athletics events were contested. Combined track and field events were included for the first time, in the form of the men's decathlon and the women's pentathlon. The women's 3000 metres was also a new addition to the programme.Pacific Conference Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-01-14.

It was held at Queen Elizabeth II Park on 31 January and 1 February in Christchurch, New Zealand.Australia finish top nation at Games. The Straits Times, pg. 26 (1981-02-03). Retrieved on 2015-01-15. The host stadium was built for and hosted 1974 British Commonwealth Games.Degun, Tom (2012-05-07). Christchurch's QEII Stadium to be demolished in wake of 2011 earthquake. Inside The Games. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.

The competition had mandatory drug testing and two gold medallists were banned from the sport by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) after anabolic steroids were detected in their urine. Ben Plucknett, an American who broke the men's discus world record twice that year, was stripped of his win in that event and later tried to sue the IAAF.Litsky, Frank (1981-07-14). PLUNKETT, HOLDER OF DISCUS RECORDS, BARRED ON DRUG USE. New York Times. Retrieved on 2015-01-15. Four-time Olympic champion Al Oerter stated that Plucknett had been made an example of due to his record breaking. Another American Olympian John Powell—who was consequently elevated to the Pacific Conference discus gold—criticised the fact that bans came top-down from the federation, rather than being seen before a judge or jury.BANNING OF PLUCKNETT CALLED UNFAIR BY PEERS. New York Times (1981-07-29). Retrieved on 2015-01-15.

Australia's Gael Mulhall similarly had her shot put and discus titles removed for the same doping violation. Mulhall considered a legal appeal and team mate Bev Francis (who was promoted to the shot put gold) criticised the testing procedure, which had no team officials or doctors present. Ultimately Mulhall accepted a reduced 18-month ban, but did not publicly confirm whether she had taken steroids or not.Mitchell, Neil & McMahon, Peg (1981-07-15). Mulhall May Take Life Ban To Court. The Age. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.Webster, Jim (1982-07-29). Mulhall to Start Her Comeback on Sunday. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2015-01-15. Mulhall was criticised by Australian officials and members of the public as a drug cheat. She argued that testing was not of a reliable standard given the gravity of the sanctions and damage to her reputation, as well as saying that athletes needed more information on drugs and their effects.Farber, Michael (1982-10-04). Drugs Hurt Career of Aussie Woman. The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.

Medal summary Men 100 metres 10.42 10.50 10.59200 metres 20.89 21.03 21.07400 metres 46.53 46.78 46.95800 metres 1:48.17 1:49.06 1:49.411500 metres 3:41.74 3:41.77 3:42.155000 metres 13:36.79 13:46.19 13:57.0410,000 metres 28:35.69 28:39.58 28:41.70110 m hurdles 13.80 13.88 14.22400 m hurdles 50.35 50.79 50.833000 metres steeplechase 8:24.02 8:24.04 8:26.514×100 m relayMark McKoyTony SharpeDesai WilliamsBen Johnson 39.6Max BinningtonBruce FrayneGerrard KeatingPeter Gandy 39.8Ian FergusonMurray CumberpatchJohn EnrightShane Downey 41.44×400 m relayGarry BrownJohn FlemingBruce FrayneMike Willis 3:07.03 3:08.16 3:08.18High jump 2.21 m 2.21 m 2.15 mPole vault 5.25 m 5.05 m 5.05 mLong jump 7.64 m 7.49 m 7.36 mTriple jump 16.49 m 16.32 m 16.21 mShot put 19.76 m 18.67 m 17.62 mDiscus throw 59.54 m 56.08 m 55.42 mHammer throw 69.52 m 67.68 m 62.62 mJavelin throw 84.56 m 77.36 m 76.86 mDecathlon 7869 pts 7778 pts 7672 pts

Ben Plucknett of the United States was the original men's discus throw winner but his title was removed and his marks erased from the record due to his failing a doping test at the competition.

Women 100 metres 11.46 11.65 11.67200 metres 23.37 23.47 23.50400 metres 52.85 54.01 54.30800 metres 2:03.52 2:04.02 2:04.251500 metres 4:11.87 4:12.21 4:14.653000 metres 9:07.86 9:09.22 9:14.94100 m hurdles 13.25 13.77 13.83400 m hurdles 57.73 59.74 60.104×100 m relay 44.5 45.4 45.74×400 m relayMichelle BaumgartnerTerri CaterLyn ForemanMarian O'Shaughnessy 3:34.20 3:38.81 3:40.56High jump 1.89 m 1.86 m 1.83 mLong jump 6.53 m 6.25 m 6.16 mShot put 16.17 m 14.79 m 14.72 mDiscus throw 55.48 m 52.60 m 50.60 mJavelin throw 61.56 m 60.36 m 59.92 mPentathlon 4348 pts 4290 pts 4288 pts

Australia's Gael Mulhall was the original women's shot put and discus throw winner but her titles were removed and her marks erased from the record due to her failing a doping test at the competition.

References

Medalists Pacific Conference Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-01-14.

External links