Portal:Sport of athletics
Introduction
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing sports,throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
The results of racing events are decided by finishing position (or time, where measured), while the jumps and throws are won by the athlete that achieves the highest or furthest measurement from a series of attempts. The simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most common types of sports in the world. Athletics is mostly an individual sport, with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes' performances for a team score, such as cross country.
Organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC. The rules and format of the modern events in athletics were defined in Western Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th century, and were then spread to other parts of the world. Most modern top level meetings are held under the auspices of World Athletics, the global governing body for the sport of athletics, or its member continental and national federations. (Full article...)
General images -
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Oscar Pistorius running in the first round of the 400 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
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Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, one of the first modern track and field stadiums (from Track and field) -
The finish of a women's 100 m race (from Track and field) -
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Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele leading in a long-distance track event (from Track and field) -
A children's cross country competition in Čakovec, Croatia (from Cross country running) -
A women's 400 m hurdles race at the 2007 Dutch Championships (from Track and field) -
The Gordon Indoor Track sports an 80-yard sprint straight, and the track is 220 yards in length. (from Track and field) -
Marion Jones, after admitting to doping, lost her Olympic medals, was banned from the sport, and spent six months in jail. (from Track and field) -
An Ancient Greece vase from 600 BC depicting a running contest (from Track and field) -
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The 100 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
Arne Andersson (left) and Gunder Hägg (right) broke a number of middle distance world records in the 1940s. (from Track and field) -
The Roy Griak Invitational cross country meet at the University of Minnesota in September 2007 (from Cross country running) -
A child taking part in a local schools meeting in Cambodia (from Track and field) -
The New York State Federation Championship cross country meet in November 2010 (from Cross country running) -
A javelin throw athlete (from Track and field) -
Edvin Wide, Ville Ritola, and Paavo Nurmi (on left) competing in the individual cross country race at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris; due to the hot weather, which exceeded 40 °C (104 °F), only 15 out of 38 competitors finished the race. (from Cross country running) -
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Men traversing the water jump in a steeplechase competition (from Track and field) -
Carl Lewis, one of the athletes who helped increase track and field's profile (from Track and field) -
Shaul Ladany (centre), in 1969 (from Racewalking) -
A typical layout of an outdoor track and field stadium (from Track and field) -
A graph of the world record progression in the men's 100 metres (from Track and field) -
A racewalker "flying" (entirely out of contact with the ground, a rule violation) (from Racewalking) -
Naide Gomes in the jumping phase of the event (from Track and field) -
Men assuming the starting position for a sprint race (from Track and field) -
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The start of a typical cross country race, as an official fires a gun to signal the start (from Cross country running) -
Girls handing over the baton in a relay race in Leipzig in 1950 (from Track and field) -
American athlete Jim Thorpe lost his Olympic medals after taking expense money prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics for playing baseball, a violation of Olympic amateurism rules. (from Track and field) -
Runners at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, Portugal (from Cross country running)
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Selected article
The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day (formerly two days). The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with the overall ranking determined by total points. Since 1949 the events have been sprint hurdling, high jump, shot put, long jump, and a flat race. The sprint hurdles distance was 80 m outdoors until 1969 and thereafter 100 m; in indoor pentathlon the distance is 60 m. The flat race was 200 m until 1976 and thereafter 800 m. In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by the heptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as the javelin throw. Pentathlon is still contested at school and masters level and indoors. (Full article...)
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Selected picture
Athlete birthdays
29 April:
- Rob Druppers, Dutch middle-distance runner
- Taoufik Makhloufi, Algerian middle-distance runner
- Dorothy Manley, British sprinter
- Jim Ryun, American middle-distance runner
- Sofia Sakorafa, Greek javelin thrower
- Larisa Turchinskaya, Russian heptathlete
- Attila Zsivóczky, Hungarian decathlete
30 April:
- Daniela Costian, Romanian-Australian discus thrower
- Margit Papp, Hungarian pentathlete
1 May:
- Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish distance runner
- Lornah Kiplagat, Kenyan-Dutch distance runner
- Mikhail Krivonosov, Soviet hammer thrower
- Ollie Matson, American sprinter
- Bryshon Nellum, American sprinter
- Michelle Perry, American hurdler
- Vasiliy Sidorenko, Russian hammer thrower
- Marina Stepanova, Soviet hurdler
- John Svanberg, Swedish distance runner
- Archie Williams, American sprinter
2 May:
- Tim Benjamin, British sprinter
- James Dillion, American discus thrower
- Bill Horr, American discus thrower
- Taťána Kocembová, Czechoslovakian sprinter
- Guinn Smith, American pole vaulter
3 May:
- Jamie Baulch, British sprinter
- Edmund Black, American hammer thrower
- Mary Cain, American middle-distance runner
- Kathy Cook, British sprinter
- Jörg Drehmel, German triple jumper
- Vasily Rudenkov, Soviet hammer thrower
- Anastasiya Shvedova, Belarusian pole vaulter
- Dai Tamesue, Japanese hurdler
- Allan Wells, British sprinter
4 May':
- Silvia Costa, Cuban high jumper
- Wolrad Eberle, German decathlete
- Ulrike Meyfarth, German high jumper
- Pekka Päivärinta, Finnish distance runner
5 May:
- Mabel Gay, Cuban triple jumper
- Heike Henkel, German high jumper
- Igor Kashkarov, Soviet high jumper
- Meb Keflezighi, American distance runner
- Jorge Llopart, Spanish race walker
- Francine Niyonsaba, Burundian middle-distance runner
- Steve Scott, American middle-distance runner
Related portals
More did you know
- ... that the 2000 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the heptathlon was Denise Lewis?
- ... that as part of a publicity stunt, the 1927 Texas Relays held an 89 mile (143 km) running race from San Antonio to Austin?
- ... that Czech decathlete Roman Šebrle, world record holder and 2004 Olympic winner, was injured in January 2007 when a javelin which had been thrown 55 metres pierced his shoulder?
- ... that at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, Yipsi Moreno became world champion in the hammer throw at the age of twenty, improving from an eighteenth place finish in 1999?
| Archive |
Selected biography
Vilho "Ville" Eino Ritola (18 January 1896 – 24 April 1982) was a Finnish long-distance runner. Known as one of the "Flying Finns", he won five Olympic gold medals and three Olympic silver medals in the 1920s. He holds the record of winning most athletics medals at a single Games – four golds and two silvers in Paris 1924 - and ranks second in terms of most athletics gold medals at a single Games. (Full article...)
At the 1924 Paris Olympics, he won four gold and two silver medals. He had a start on eight consecutive days to achieve this, all long-distance.
Ritola's 1924 triumph in Paris is historical. His six medals from Paris is still the biggest number of medals won by an athlete in one Olympic games event. His four gold medals put him in second place after Paavo Nurmi in the number of gold medals won by an athlete in one Olympic Games event.[1]
Ritola's last Olympic appearance was in the 5,000 m at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Both Ritola and Nurmi had hurt themselves in the steeplechase qualification competitions. Nurmi had a sore hip and Ritola a sore ankle. However, Ritola again took the lead at 2,500m. At 600m before the finish, only Ritola and Nurmi were left in the leading group. This time, Ritola pulled away from Nurmi in the final curve and won by 12 metres - 3 seconds. Wide nearly caught Nurmi, and Nurmi only held on to silver by a 0.2s margin.[2] This victory brought Ritola's career total to five Olympic gold medals and three silver medals.[3]
| More selected biographies |
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the women's race at today's New York City Marathon will feature two of the medalists from this year's Olympic marathon?
- ... that for the first time this century, this year's British Athletics Championships were not broadcast on live television?
- ... that at the 2022 British Athletics Championships, Daryll Neita became the first woman since 2010 to win both the 100- and 200-metre events?
- ... that at the 2022 British Indoor Athletics Championships, Lorraine Ugen equalled the championship long jump record?
- ... that German runner Alica Schmidt, who is running in the Women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, has won multiple European junior relay medals?
- ... that the men's 100 metres event at the 2023 British Athletics Championships was run in heavy rain?
- ... that in the 1932 baseball game in which pitcher Eddie Rommel won his last game, he pitched 17 innings in relief, an American League record?
- ... that Marthe Yankurije, who dropped out of school during her fourth year of secondary school, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics?
World records
| Event | Men | Record | Women | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m |  Usain Bolt |
9.58 |  Florence Griffith Joyner |
10.49 |
| 200 m | Usain Bolt |
19.19 | Florence Griffith Joyner |
21.34 |
| 400 m |  Wayde van Niekerk |
43.03 |  Marita Koch |
47.60 |
| 800 m |  David Rudisha |
1:40.91 |  Jarmila Kratochvílová |
1:53.28 |
| 1500 m |  Hicham El Guerrouj |
3:26.00 | Faith Kipyegon |
3:49.11 |
| 5000 m |  Joshua Cheptegei |
12:35.36 |  Gudaf Tsegay |
14:00.21 |
| 10,000 m | Joshua Cheptegei |
26:11.00 | Letesenbet Gidey |
29:01.03 |
| Marathon | Kelvin Kiptum |
2:00:35 | Brigid Kosgei |
2:14:04 |
| 3000 m steeplechase | Lamecha Girma |
7:52.11 | Beatrice Chepkoech |
8:44.32 |
| 110 / 100 m hurdles | Aries Merritt |
12.80 |  Tobi Amusan |
12.12 |
| 400 m hurdles |  Karsten Warholm |
45.94 | Sydney McLaughlin |
50.68 |
| High jump |  Javier Sotomayor |
2.45 m |  Stefka Kostadinova |
2.09 m |
| Pole vault |  Armand Duplantis |
6.23 m |  Yelena Isinbayeva |
5.06 m |
| Long jump | Mike Powell |
8.95 m |  Galina Chistyakova |
7.52 m |
| Triple jump |  Jonathan Edwards |
18.29 m |  Yulimar Rojas |
15.74 m |
| Shot put | Ryan Crouser |
23.56 m | Natalya Lisovskaya |
22.63 m |
| Discus throw | Jürgen Schult |
74.08 m | Gabriele Reinsch |
76.80 m |
| Hammer throw | Yuriy Sedykh |
86.74 m |  Anita Włodarczyk |
82.98 m |
| Javelin throw | Jan Železný |
98.48 m | Barbora Špotáková |
72.28 m |
| Decathlon/Heptathlon |  Kevin Mayer |
9126 pts. | Jackie Joyner-Kersee |
7291 pts. |
| 20 km racewalk |  Yusuke Suzuki |
1:16:36 |  Yang Jiayu |
1:23:49 |
| 4×100 m relay | Jamaica |
36.84 |  United States |
40.82 |
| 4×400 m relay | United States |
2:54.29 | Soviet Union |
3:15.17 |
Topics
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Athletics by country | ||
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Annual awards in athletics and track and field | ||
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Athletics events
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Athletics competitions
It's from the first edition (1896 Summer Olympics), that Athletics has been considered the "Queen" of the Olympics. Since then there have been a series of competitions organized at world level, than at the continental level. Furthermore, the Athletics is the main sport of nearly all multi-sport events such as Universiade, Mediterranean Games or Pan American Games. The following list refers to the main Athletics competitions that take place in the world.
| Event | 1st edition | Kind of competition | Can participate |
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| Olympic Games | 1896 | World games |  Worldwide
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| World Championships | 1983 | World championships | |
| World Indoor Championships | 1985 | ||
| European Championships | 1934 | Continental championships | .svg){kind=small} Europe
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| European Indoor Championships | 1966 | ||
| South American Championships | 1919 | .svg){kind=small} South America
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| Asian Championships | 1973 | .svg){kind=small} Asia
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| African Championships | 1979 | .svg){kind=small} Africa
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| Ocenian Championships | 1990 | .svg){kind=small} Oceania
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Federations
- Internationals
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)
European Athletics Association (EAA)
Confederation of African Athletics (CAA)
Asian Athletics Association (AAA)
North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association
CONSUDATLE
Oceania Athletics Association (OAA)
- Nationals
Australia: Athletics Australia (AA)
Brazil: Brazilian Athletics Confederation (CBAt)
Canada: Athletics Canada (AC)
Czech: Czech Athletics Federation (ČAS)
France: Fédération française d'athlétisme (FFA)
Germany: German Athletics Association (DLV)
Italy: Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL)
Jamaica: Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA)
Japan: Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF)
Kenya: Athletics Kenya (AK)
China: Chinese Athletic Association
Norway: Norwegian Athletics Association
Romania: Romanian Athletics Federation
Spain: Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA)
Great Britain: UK Athletics (UKA)
United States: USA Track & Field (USATF)
- Others
Wales: Welsh Athletics (WA)
England: Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA)
Scotland: Scottishathletics
Athletic Association of Small States of Europe (AASSE)
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Sources
- ^ "OLYMPIC TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS, THE RECORDS" (PDF). Track and Field News. 15 June 2014.
- ^ Jukola, Martti (toim.): Olympialaiskisat: III osa. WSOY, 1928.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ville Ritola". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
