Athletics

Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. The word is derived from the Greek word "athlos" meaning "contest". It is a collection of sport events, which can roughly be divided into running, throwing, and jumping.

Athletics was the original sport at the first Olympics back in 776 B.C where the only event held was the stadium-length foot race or "stade". The earliest recorded win was at these games in the stade race. Track and field events have been contested in all the Olympic Games and provide the backbone of the Olympics. Women were not allowed to participate in track and field events in the Olympics until 1928.

Modern athletic events are usually organised around a 400 m running track, on which most of the running events take place. Field events (jumping and throwing) often take place in the field in the centre of the running track.

Many athletic events have an ancient origin and were already conducted in competitive form by the ancient Greeks. Athletics was included in the Olympic Games in 1896 and has been part of the program ever since. An international governing body, the IAAF was founded in 1912. The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in 1983. The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) was the governing body in the United States until it collapsed under pressure from advancing professionalism in the late 1970s. A new governing body called The Athletics Congress (TAC) was formed, it was later renamed USA Track and Field (USATF or USA T&F). An additional, less structured organization, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) also exists in the USA to promote road racing. Both organizations allow athletes to receive money for racing putting an end to the "shamateurism" that existed before.

Events

There are other variations besides the ones listed below but races of unusual length (e.g. 300 m) are run much less often. With the exception of the mile run, races based on imperial distances are rarely run on the track anymore since most tracks have been converted from a quarter mile (402.3 m) to 400 meters.

Men and women do not compete against each other. Women generally run the same distances as men although hurdles and steeplechase barriers are lower and the weights of the shot, discus, javelin and hammer are less.

• Track events - running events conducted on a 400 meter track.
  • Sprints: events up to and including 400 m. Common events are 60 m, 100 m, 200 m and 400 m.
  • Middle distance: events from 800 m to 3000 m, especially 800 m, 1500 m, mile and 3000 m.
    • steeplechase - a race (usually 3000 m) in which runners must negotiate barriers and water jumps.
  • Long distance: runs over 5000 m. Common events are 5000 m and 10000 m.
  • Hurdling: 110 m high hurdles (100 m for women) and 400 m intermediate hurdles.
  • Relays: 4 x 100 m, 4 x 400 m, 4 x 200 m, 4 x 800 m, etc. Some events, such as medley relays, are rarely run except at large relay carnivals.
• Road running: conducted on open roads, but often finishing on the track. Common events are half-marathon and marathon.
• Race walking: usually conducted on open roads. Common events are 10 km, 20 km and 50 km.
• Field events
  • Throwing events
    • Shot put
    • Hammer throw
    • Javelin throw
    • Discus throw
  • Jumping events
    • High jump
    • Long jump
    • Pole vault
    • Triple jump
• Composite events
  • Pentathlon
  • Heptathlon
  • Decathlon

World Records

Men

Note : Two record distances are given for the men's javelin event ; this is because in the 1980s, the men's event was throwing at distances which caused many "flat landings" and judges at the event were having trouble discerning the exact point at which the javelin had landed and whether the throw was legal. In 1985, the specs of the javelin were changed by moving the centre of gravity forward by 4 cm.

Women

Note: As with the men's event, the specification of the women's javelin has been changed. On April 1, 1999 the IAAF moved the centre of gravity forward by 3 cm in order to ensure a greater number of legal throws and to allow for more accurate distance measurement.

See also

• Olympic medalists in athletics (men)
• Olympic medalists in athletics (women)
• World Record progression 100 m men
• World Record progression in athletics 100 m women
• World record progression for the mile run

External link

• World Record progression in athletics (http://www.athletix.org/)

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