1978 UK Athletics Championships below also competed at the 1978 AAA Championships. Sonia Lannaman defended her 100 metres/200 metres sprint double from 1977. Allan Wells took his first sprint double on the men's side and Jane Colebrook managed a double in the 400 metres and 800 metres. Athletes to retain their titles from 1977 included Lannaman, sprint hurdlers Berwyn Price and Sharon Colyear, Geoff Capes (men's shot put), Meg Ritchie (women's discus) and Tessa Sanderson (women's javelin). The main international track and field competition for the United Kingdom that year was the 1978 European Athletics Championships. Two athletes at the UK event won individual
Albert Hill (athlete) the middle distance double by winning the 1500 m as well, thus completing a "double" not replicated by a British athlete until Kelly Holmes at the 2004 Olympics. Helped by his compatriot, Philip Baker (who would receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959), he won comfortably, with Baker in second in a time of 4:01.8. Hill also competed in the 3000 m team race event, in which the British team finished second, earning Hill's third Olympic medal. Hill won the 1921 AAA mile championship in a British record of 4:13.8, this was 1.2 seconds outside the world record and the