| V South American Youth Championships in Athletics | |
| Size: | 200px |
| Host City: | Montevideo, Uruguay  |
| Dates: | November 11–13 |
| Nations Participating: | 7 |
| Athletes Participating: | about 179 |
| Events: | 33 |
| Level: | Youth |
| Previous: | 1977 Rio de Janeiro |
| Next: | 1979 Cochabamba |
The 5th South American Youth Championships in Athletics were held in Montevideo, Uruguay from November 11–13, 1978.
Medal winners are published for boys and girls. Complete results can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website.
| 100 metres (wind: +1.0 m/s) | 10.89 | 10.93 | 11.27 | ||||
| 200 metres (wind: +1.5 m/s) | 22.30 | 22.41 | 22.84 | ||||
| 400 metres | 50.15 | 51.69 | 51.82 | ||||
| 800 metres | 1:56.1 | 1:57.2 | 1:57.8 | ||||
| 1500 metres | 4:04.5 | 4:06.2 | 4:07.8 | ||||
| 3000 metres | 8:53.6 | 8:55.3 | 8:56.3 | ||||
| 1500 metres steeplechase | 4:24.9 | 4:28.8 | 4:37.9 | ||||
| 110 metres hurdles (wind: +1.5 m/s) | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.9 | ||||
| 300 metres hurdles | 38.94 | 39.13 | 40.22 | ||||
| High jump | 1.95 | 1.85 | 1.85 | ||||
| Pole vault | 3.65 | 3.50 | 3.50 | ||||
| Long jump | 6.74 | 6.67 | 6.49 | ||||
| Triple jump | 14.01 | 13.75 | 13.66 | ||||
| Shot put | 16.08 | 15.59 | 15.50 | ||||
| Discus throw | 43.44 | 41.92 | 41.56 | ||||
| Hammer throw | 48.76 | 44.70 | 39.62 | ||||
| Javelin throw | 51.92 | 51.04 | 50.14 | ||||
| Hexathlon | 4048 | 4023 | 3834 | ||||
| 4 × 100 metres relay | 43.27 | 43.61 | 44.17 | ||||
| 4 × 400 metres relay | 3:25.0 | 3:27.4 | Douglas Murillo Oswaldo Zea Chaparro Ramírez | 3:30.1 |
| 100 metres (wind: +0.7 m/s) | 12.28 | 12.33 | 12.70 | ||||
| 200 metres (wind: +0.7 m/s) | 25.43 | 25.60 | 26.12 | ||||
| 400 metres | 57.38 | 57.87 | 59.28 | ||||
| 800 metres | 2:13.7 | 2:14.7 | 2:15.4 | ||||
| 80 metres hurdles (wind: +1.5 m/s) | 11.75 | 12.65 | 12.81 | ||||
| High jump | 1.55 | 1.55 | 1.50 | ||||
| Long jump | 5.53 | 5.52 | 5.38 | ||||
| Shot put | 12.14 | 10.72 | 10.40 | ||||
| Discus throw | 33.96 | 32.76 | 31.70 | ||||
| Javelin throw | 39.68 | 39.28 | 39.06 | ||||
| Pentathlon | 3223 | 3183 | 3163 | ||||
| 4 × 100 metres relay | 48.27 | 49.57 | 49.88 | ||||
| 4 × 400 metres relay | 3:56.3 | 3:58.1 | 4:10.0 |
Detailed result lists can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the number of about 179 athletes from about 7 countries:
(39)
(38)
(38)
(14)
Perú (15) (22)