Remember Helsinki 1983?

When the IAAF World Championships in Athletics return to Helsinki this summer 22 years after its first edition was held in the Finnish capital it will be like a journey back to the temple of the sport for all those who witnessed the 1983 inaugural edition. Mark Butler shares his personal experience of avid fan.

It was Easter 1983 and I had just completed a huge project in my former career as a software engineer. Having saved up my hard-earned overtime payment, I could not resist the opportunity advertised in "Athletics Weekly"; A trip to the World Championships.

Helsinki was a magical word for athletics fans thanks to the events of 1952. The city had already been a special venue for British sport in 1983; our legendary Ice Dancers Torvill and Dean had won the World title there in March with an unprecedented set of perfect marks.

In return for £699 (1100 Euros) I received nine nights accommodation in the Finnish capital plus a full set of tickets and flights. I'd never spent so much money on one thing, but I never regretted my decision.

The three-hour Finnair flight from Heathrow was highlighted by a breathtaking view of the Åland archipelago, with islands as far as the eye could see. I was to stay at the Torni Hotel, a solid seven-story building topped by a seven-story tower.

It was Helsinki's first American-style skyscraper and from the top floor you could see the lights on the Estonian coast.  Its location was ideal; the Olympic Stadium was within walking distance and the main attractions of the city were even nearer.

There were four of us in the Torni group and I was sharing with British coach Neville Taylor, who was the trainer of Britain's top woman distance runner Wendy Sly.

On the eve of the championships, we strolled around the town to take in the atmosphere, architecture and wonderful weather. It was warm, a vest and shorts were enough even until 22:00 when the sun was still shining.

Later that evening, I decided to sample Finnish nightlife and ended up at what turned out to be a University disco where I found many friendly faces, keen to welcome World Championship visitors. One had a flat near to the stadium - on Runeberginkatu - and ended up being my unofficial tour guide for the week. We have stayed in touch since and it will be wonderful to renew our friendship this summer.

On the morning of the first day I was up early for breakfast and I could not believe the amount and quality of the food which was laid out in the Torni restaurant. It was the first time I had seen a breakfast buffet and with prices as they were in Finland, I realised that I should make this my main meal of the day. It is a tactic I have repeated ever since where good food is hard to find at championships.

I had seen the Olympic Stadium in pictures; for real it was magnificent, freshly painted with its iconic tower. It looked like a huge ship from the outside. The best tickets I could get were opposite the finish but on the backstraight. An extra tier of open wooden seats had been constructed high on that side, blending in perfectly with the curves of the permanent stand.

There was a great view of the finish as well as all of the backstraight and a jumping pit. I remember a huge cheer went up after the start of the very first event, a heat of the men's 400m Hurdles. The first World Championships had begun.

On day one, all eyes were on new American star Carl Lewis in the 100m. The red-clad Americans were extremely popular with the knowledgeable Finnish crowd. We had not seen the USA at a global athletics championship in Europe since Munich 1972, and that occasion was marred by terrorism.

If Lewis was the man of the championships, it looked as if the formidable Czech Jarmila Kratochvilová would be the woman to watch. Having just broken the World record at 800m - now the oldest women's record - she decided on an "impossible" double of both 400m and 800m, events which took place in parallel. These days the timetable might have been tweaked to make things easier, but in 1983 that was unthinkable.

I decided to skip the lengthy Opening Ceremony held before the first evening session. Instead I visited the nearby funfair at Nojespark, but panicked when I could not find my way back and almost missed the start of the women's Marathon.

In that event, Grete Waitz became the first Helsinki World champion. She was naturally a very popular winner in front of a Nordic crowd, especially as she was an athlete who one felt was too good not to have so far won a gold medal at a global track championship. I would dearly love to see Paula Radcliffe emulate Waitz in 2005 for the same reason.

The long hours of daylight meant there was time to enjoy the city after the end of the daily programme, which at around 21:00 was much earlier than the timetables of today. I went running up and down the avenues towards the port where huge passenger ships docked after crossing the Baltic.

From a distance they looked like buildings. Another great place to run was round Töölönlahti, a beautiful lake nestled between the stadium complex and the city centre. It was the ideal way to reflect on what had happened and look forward at events yet to unfold.

The highlights continued; Willie Banks delighted Triple Jump fans on day two, though he ultimately lost out to an inspired Zdzislaw Hoffmann. In the women's 100m final we saw our first upset; World record holder Evelyn Ashford pulled up injured when it looked (to me) as if she might win. The men's final brought a "US sweep" headed by Lewis.

On day three there were six finals including both 800m. As I found my seat I saw Steve Cram and his fiancée Karen taking their place among the fans.

Later in the week he would be battling for gold at 1500m. Surely Steve was particularly interested in the men's 800m, but I was more fascinated by the earlier women's final, which Kratochvilová started just 35 minutes after qualifying for the 400m final in 51.08.

The Czech woman let her Soviet opponents set a quick pace, about the same as that forged by Jearl Miles-Clark in Athens. But whereas that race was decided by inches in favour of Kelly Holmes, Kratochvilová opened up nearly 20m on the opposition with a final 200m in 27.3. Her final time of 1:54.68 has not been beaten since that day.

Then came a thrilling men's 10,000m where five men were in contention during the last desperate sprint home. It was a race which kept everyone buzzing as they filed away savouring the prospect of four more days to come.

10 August 1983 would become known as "Wonderful Wednesday". Within three hours we would see two World records, plus another massive upset.

First, Kratochvilová was back for the 400m final and for the first time in Helsinki it would be her only race of the day. The 31-year-old was never the most glamourous of track stars but no-one doubted her strength. From my seat I timed her at 23.1 at 200m, then she raced clear to record the science-fiction time of 47.99. Her compatriot Tatjana Kocembová was a fine second and the two received great acclaim on their lap of honour, which in 1983 were generally staged without the adornment of a national flag.

Next came Carl Lewis, whose first effort in the Long Jump was delayed for him to compete in the sprint relay semi-finals. It was worth the wait. He cleared 8.55m, which was easily enough for victory, and meant he could pass later rounds in order to prepare for the relay final.

Before that race, yet another American - Mary Decker - delighted the crowd by denying an expected Soviet gold medal at 3000m. The night ended on the highest possible note when Lewis anchored the USA to gold and a world record at 4x100m.

Thursday was a "rest" day though I did little of that. My new Finnish friend showed me round the cathedral, stone church, and the Sibelius memorial. Having been captivated by "Finnish Design", I went shopping at Arabia, Marimekko and Pentik.

I found records by Finnish music stars Pave Maijanen and Pekka Pohjola. Their LPs were rarely off my turntable in the autumn of 1983.

The weather turned for the first day of the decathlon. We had heavy rain, but happily my ticket allowed me to move to an undercover seat in the morning session. That evening we were stuck in the open again but had returned prepared with raincoats. The weather was so bad that the men's Pole Vault qualifying - featuring a teenage Sergey Bubka - was abandoned.

The big track final of the night was the steeplechase, won dramatically by Patriz Ilg from a field which included just one Kenyan who actually finished behind three Britons. Imagine that happening these days!

The abiding memory of that night was the commotion at the conclusion of the women's shot. Helena Fibingerová won in the last round and then bounded around kissing everyone in sight.

Saturday was Finland's big day, their two medal prospects - Arto Bryggare and Tina Lillak - had their finals and the crowd was hungry for success. It was also a notable day for Britain as Daley Thompson was heading for victory in the Decathlon.

Lillak was expected to win the javelin, having lengthened the World record to 74.76m the previous June. She could not find that form and so the greatest drama of the week unfolded. Britain's Fatima Whitbread opened with an unexpected personal best of 69.14m. Lillak had qualified with 69.16m and one felt she would overtake the Briton with her first effort. She fell short, not just in the first round but also the next four. In fact none of the other women could get near the leading mark.

Bryggare's final came just before Lillak's penultimate effort of 67.46m. He performed well to defeat all but the hot favourite Greg Foster. In the next track event, the Decathlon 1500m, Thompson became Britain's first World champion. So who would get the women's javelin gold, Finland or Britain?

With Whitbread passing her last effort, it was down to Lillak. Sitting in a group of British fans one had mixed feelings. Much as I wanted to see a British winner, I also felt that the Finnish crowd deserved that gold.

Rarely has a single throw been watched in hope by so many. Lillak threw hard, her javelin flew. Would it land beyond the 70m line? Yes. Imagine Cathy Freeman winning the 400m in Sydney 2000. It was a moment like that.

Later that night, for the only time in Helsinki, I dined out. I sampled reindeer meat. It was nothing special.

It has to be said that the final day was not the best of the week, but I remember watching as two all-time greats in the history of the Championships - Heike Daute and Merlene Ottey - won the first of many individual "World" medals. The two 1500m finals were crackers. First Decker outran the Soviets again. Then it was the men's turn, with Steves Ovett and Cram going for Britain.

In my judgment, this event had the toughest field of the week with 11 countries represented in the final. Cram, just 22, ran with immaculate timing to win gold. After three more memorable finals it was all over. Rather than watch the championships slip away in the closing ceremony, I strolled off to Runeberginkatu where my Finnish friend had planned a farewell party for me.

I had enjoyed my time in Helsinki so much it was quite a wrench to go home to what seemed like a dreary and miserable Britain. I dreamed of the day I would be able to return to a World Championships in Helsinki. The dream is about to come true.

Published in IAAF Magazine Issue 2 - 2005