1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
# 1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Rome, Italy, at the Ippodromo delle Capannelle on March 21, 1982. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald.

Complete results for men, junior men, women, medallists, and the results of British athletes were published. In the senior men's competition, two-time defending champion Craig Virgin had traveled to Rome to defend his title, but was unable to race. On the day before the contest, was sent to the hospital by ambulance, where he was hospitalized for six days with a swollen kidney and a massive urinary tract infection. Doctors ultimately decided against removal of Virgin's right kidney, although the kidney was later removed in 1994.

## Medallists

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Individual |||||||
| Senior men (11.978 km) | Mohammed Kedir Ethiopia | 33:40.5 | Alberto Salazar United States | 33:44.8 | Rod Dixon New Zealand | 34:01.8 |
| Junior men (7.926 km) | Zurbachev Gelaw Ethiopia | 22:45.3 | Adugna Lema Ethiopia | 22:46.6 | Stefano Mei Italy | 22:48.7 |
| Senior women (4.663 km) | Maricica Puică Romania | 14:38.9 | Fiţa Lovin Romania | 14:40.5 | Grete Waitz Norway | 14:43.9 |
| Team |||||||
| Senior men | Ethiopia | 98 | England | 114 | Soviet Union | 257 |
| Junior men | Ethiopia | 12 | Italy | 37 | United States | 70 |
| Senior women | Soviet Union | 44 | Italy | 57 | England | 67 |

## Race results

### Senior men's race (11.978 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

### Junior men's race (7.926 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

### Senior women's race (4.663 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

## Medal table (unofficial)

* Host nation (Italy)

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ethiopia (ETH) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Romania (ROU) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Soviet Union (URS) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Italy (ITA)* | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | England (ENG) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | United States (USA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | New Zealand (NZL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Norway (NOR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (8 entries) | Totals (8 entries) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |

* Note: Totals include both individual and team medals, with medals in the team competition counting as one medal.

## Participation

An unofficial count yields the participation of 382 athletes from 33 countries. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published.

* Algeria (20)
* Australia (1)
* Belgium (19)
* Canada (21)
* Czechoslovakia (2)
* Denmark (16)
* East Germany (3)
* England (21)
* Ethiopia (14)
* France (21)
* Ireland (20)
* Israel (3)
* Italy (20)
* Kenya (9)
* Kuwait (1)
* Lebanon (2)
* Mexico (1)
* Morocco (6)
* Netherlands (6)
* New Zealand (4)
* Northern Ireland (11)
* Norway (4)
* Poland (6)
* Portugal (21)
* Romania (2)
* Scotland (21)
* Soviet Union (17)
* Spain (21)
* Sweden (15)
* Switzerland (6)
* United States (21)
* Wales (20)
* West Germany (7)
