In the IAAF World Championships event in 1980, Lyn Young-Foreman made the final of the 400m Hurdles and continued good form for the next two seasons. At the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Foreman was the nominal favourite but a young Victorian named Debbie Flintoff ran a surprisingly strong race, setting a huge personal best and new Commonwealth Record of 55.91 to win a Gold Medal at her international debut.  Australia's other track success at these Games came from the veteran Raelene Boyle, who won a record seventh Gold medal, racing in her new distance of 400m.  Boyle retired immediately after the Games, ending a 15 year career of international level sprinting.

In other events, Glynis Saunders-Nunn won the heptathlon with a fine series of performances, upsetting English favourite Judy Simpson.  Queensland's Sue Howland upset another English athlete, Tessa Sanderson, in winning the javelin.

Edmonton Champion Gael Mulhall was beaten in the Shot Putt after returning from suspension due to failing a drugs test.  Mulhall's test, taken after the 1981 Pacific Conference Games in New Zealand, were the first positive test announced for any Australian athlete.  For the rest of her international career, she was tagged as a 'drug cheat'.  The same fate befell Sue Howland in 1987, when she failed a drug test at a European meet, prior to the World Championships where she had been expected to challenge for a medal.

Australia's small team at the inaugural World Athletics Championships, in 1983 did not win a medal in women's events.  Denise Boyd ran her last races for Australia, failing to make the final of the 200m or 400m.  Robyne Strong-Lorraway did best for Australia, looking dangerous in the final of the Long Jump, before injury caused her to withdraw from competition.  Glynis Nunn also made the top ranks in the heptathlon while Vanessa Browne did well in the High Jump.

Glynis Nunn was born in Queensland, but moved to South Australia in the early 1980s to train under Olympic coach Dr. John Daly.  Her performances showed the benefit of the move and she was further assisted in her preparation by her husband, Chris Nunn, a successful South Australian decathlete.  An international class hurdler and long-jumper and competent sprinter and high-jumper, she had to work hard to develop her weaker throwing and endurance events.  She was ranked third going into the Los Angeles Olympic Games of 1984, after boycotting countries withdrew, but performed at her very best in the Olympic Stadium, setting a range of personal bests in individual events.  Nunn knew she had to be considerably ahead of the American star Jackie Joyner at the finish of the final event, the 800m and she just managed this, setting a new Commonwealth record of 6390 points to take the Gold Medal.   Nunn also made the final of the 100m hurdles and Long Jump in LA.

Gael Mulhall-Martin, won Australia's first Olympic medal in the Shot Putt, a bronze.  A few weeks earlier, she had smashed the Commonwealth Record with a massive throw of 19.74m.  South Australian Lisa O'Dea-Martin, a former 400m Hurdler , made an impressive Games debut in the marathon, finishing seventh and smashing her Australian record.  

Debbie Flintoff made the final of the 400m Hurdles, but could not challenge for a medal.  Her performances had plateaued over the past season, but improvement was soon to come.  Flintoff ran impressively at European meets in 1985 and was in good form leading into the World Cup, held at Canberra, in late 1985.

Flintoff was the only female medallist for Australia, taking third in the 400m hurdles.  She also ran in the 400m and actually won the trials race to determine the Oceanian entry in the 100m.  In the 1986 Australian season, she ran a fine series of national and Commonwealth record times.  Flintoff won a rare 400m/400m hurdles double at the Commonwealth Games in 1986, motivated by Raelene Boyle, who did not feel such a double was possible.

Another double gold went to Gael Mulhall in the Shot and Discus, Western Australian Chris Stanton took out the High Jump, and Lisa Martin won the inaugural marathon for women in fast time.  Another gold medal came from the inaugural Goodwill Games, where Kerry Saxby won the 10k Walk event.

Saxby and Flintoff were the stars of Australia's team for the 1987 World Championships.  Both won silver medals with gutsy performances.  The major disappointment was Lisa Martin's failure to finish the marathon in tough conditions.  Young Jane Flemming did well in the Heptathlon, making the top ranks.

Saxby could not compete in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, as the Walk was not yet included in the athletics programme.  Debbie Flintoff-King was more fortunate and had a perfect competition in Seoul, winning her heat, semi-final and final with strong runs.  Her finals time of 53.17 was a new Commonwealth Record, the second best run of all-time, and just won her the Gold by 0.01 of a second.  

Lisa Martin ran impressively in the marathon, winning a silver medal behind Portugal's Rosa Mota.  Maree Holland provided a pleasant surprise, running a national record of 50.24 to make the 400m final.  Jane Flemming again made the finals of the Heptathlon, while Chris Stanton and young Nicole Boegman did just as well in the High Jump and Long Jump, respectively.

Opportunities for athletes were increasing with the addition of IAAF World Junior Championships from 1986 and World Indoor Championships from 1987.  Kerry Saxby won Australia's first gold medal at an official indoor championships in 1989 where she set a world record in winning the 3000m Walk.

Saxby, as with most of Australia's top athletes of the era, was able to gain assistance from a government funded sports academy.  Saxby held a residential scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, whereas other athletes, such as Debbie Flintoff-King, accessed limited elements of institute assistance, as necessary.

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