Athletics

Athletics is the embodiment of the Olympic motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius – faster, higher, stronger. Athletics is at the Olympic core, contested at the ancient Games of 776 BC and the centrepiece of the modern Games revival in 1896. The marathon was born to commemorate a Greek soldier who ran 26 miles to Athens with news of a Greek victory over the Persians, after which he died from exhaustion.

All races, except the marathon and race walking events, take place on a 400-metre track. In races of less than 800 metres, athletes must remain in their assigned lanes. For 800 metres and above, athletes may move from their assigned lane after the first turn in the track. There are currently 16 running/walking events at the Olympic and Pan American Games, led by the famous 100-metre sprint.

There are four jumping events which all require a running start to build momentum: high jump, pole vault, long jump and triple jump. In both vertical and horizontal jumps, athletes have up to three attempts. The objective in these events is either to jump the highest or the furthest.

There are four throwing events: shot put, discus, hammer and javelin. Standing inside a fixed throwing area, athletes must land their throws within a specific area. Decathlon (for men) and heptathlon (for women) are called "combined events." They require that athletes be multi-skilled over 10 separate events in decathlon and seven for heptathlon. They are running, jumping and throwing events held over two days with a minimum 30-minute break between events and minimum 10-hour break between days.

Athletes

Comments (0)

You must be logged in to leave a comment.

Sign Up or Login