| VIII Ibero-American Championships | |
|---|---|
 Official logo | |
| Dates | 17 – 19 July |
| Host city | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Venue | Estádio Universitário de Lisboa |
| Events | 43 |
| Participation | 327 athletes from 22 nations |
| Records set | 9 championship records |
The 1998 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (Spanish: VIII Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo) was the eighth edition of the international athletics competition between Ibero-American nations which was held at the Estádio Universitário de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal from 17–19 July.[1]
As had previously occurred at the 1992 edition, the competition coincided with a world's fair, being held as part of Lisbon's Expo '98 event. The Spanish team topped the medal table with sixteen gold medals and 37 medals in total. Mexico won the next highest number of golds, taking seven in a haul of 16 medals, while the hosts Portugal had the second highest medal tally, having secured 21 medals in the three-day competition. Cuba sent a small delegation due to economic constraints and many of its foremost athletes were absent. In spite of this five Cubans topped the podium, leaving them fourth in the rankings.[2]
Mexico's Ana Guevara won her first international medals in Lisbon, taking 400 m individual and relay titles as well as a silver medal in the 800 metres. Twenty-year-old Yago Lamela also won his first international long jump medal and later went on to win medals on the world stage. The 1997 London Marathon champion António Pinto won the 5000 metres gold for the hosts with a championship record time of 13:34.34 minutes. Chilean Sebastián Keitel continued his success at the competition by repeating his 100/200 metres double of the 1996 edition.[2]
Although the overall standard of the competition was not as high as other years, nine championships records were improved at the event. Liliana Allen, formerly of Cuba, won the women's 100 m gold in a record of 11.32 seconds. Alberto Sánchez bettered the men's hammer throw mark, while María Eugenia Villamizar won her third straight women's hammer title with another championships record. Dana Cervantes and Alejandra García established a new record in the women's pole vault, a contest whose introduction brought the 43-event programme to near parity for the sexes (the men's steeplechase being the sole remaining difference). National records were also set in Lisbon: Lisette Rondón beat the Chilean 100 m record, Sebastian Keitel's winning time of 10.10 seconds was also a new Chilean mark, while 100 m and 200 m medalist Carlos Gats set Argentine records in both disciplines.[2]
- ^ Campeonato Iberamericano[usurped]. CONSUDATLE. Retrieved on 2012-01-04.
- ^ a b c El Atletismo Ibero-Americano - San Fernando 2010 Archived 2011-11-23 at the Wayback Machine (pgs. 151-160). RFEA. Retrieved on 2012-01-05.