Difference between revisions of "Athletics (track and field)" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Naisten 400 m aidat.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A women's [[400-meter hurdles|400-meter hurdles]] race on a typical outdoor red-rubber track in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland.]]
 
[[Image:Naisten 400 m aidat.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A women's [[400-meter hurdles|400-meter hurdles]] race on a typical outdoor red-rubber track in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland.]]
  
''Athletics'', also known as '''track and field''' or '''track and field athletics''', is a collection of [[sport]]s events that involve [[running]], [[throwing]], and [[jumping]]. The name is derived from the [[Greek (language)|Greek]] word ''athlon'' meaning "contest."  
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''Athletics'', also known as '''track and field''' or '''track-and-field athletics''', is a collection of [[sport]]s events that involve [[running]], [[throwing]], and [[jumping]]. The name is derived from the [[Greek (language)|Greek]] word ''athlon'' meaning "contest."  
  
A stadium-length foot race or ''stade'' was originally, the only athletic event at [[Ancient Olympic Games|the first Olympics]] in 776 B.C.E. Later, other peoples such as the [[Celt]]s, [[Teuton]]s, and [[Goths]] particpated in athletics, which were frequently done as [[combat training]]. In the [[Middle Ages]], noblemen's sons engaged in running, leaping, and wrestling, which became contests between rivals and friends. The formal organization of the modern events began in the nineteenth century, with the earliest recorded meeting being organized at [[Shrewsbury]], [[Shropshire]], [[England]] in 1840 by the Royal [[Shrewsbury School]] Hunt.  
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A stadium-length foot race, or ''stade'', was the only athletic event at [[Ancient Olympic Games|the first Olympics]] in 776 B.C.E. Later, other peoples such as the [[Celt]]s, [[Teuton]]s, and [[Goths]] particpated in athletics, which were frequently done as [[combat training]]. In the [[Middle Ages]], noblemen's sons engaged in running, leaping, and wrestling, which became contests between rivals and [[friends]]. The formal organization of the modern events began in the nineteenth century, with the earliest recorded contest organized in 1840 by the Royal [[Shrewsbury School]] Hunt at [[Shrewsbury]], [[Shropshire]], [[England]].  
  
Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and has formed their backbone since. An international governing body, the [[International Association of Athletics Federations]] (IAAF) was founded in 1912. Women were first allowed to participate in track and field events in the [[Olympics]] in 1928.
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Athletics was included in the first modern [[Olympic Games]] in 1896, and has formed their backbone since. In 1912, an international governing body, the [[International Association of Athletics Federations]] (IAAF), was founded. [[Women]] were first allowed to participate in track-and-field events in the [[Olympics]] in 1928.
  
Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400-meter running track take place, while field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often taking place inside the track. Track and field has two seasons: There is an indoor season, run during the winter, and an outdoor season, run during the spring and summer. Most indoor tracks are 200 meters and consist of four to six lanes, often with banked turns to compensate for the tight bends.  
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Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400-meter running track, while field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often taking place inside the track. Track and field has two seasons: an indoor season, run during the [[winter]]; and an outdoor season, run during the [[spring]] and [[summer]]. Most indoor tracks are 200 meters and consist of four to six lanes, often with banked turns to compensate for the tight bends.  
  
Some languages such as [[Germany|German]] and [[Russia]]n refer to track-and-field sports as "light athletics" to differentiate them from sports like weightlifting, wrestling, etc.
+
Some [[languages]], such as [[Germany|German]] and [[Russia]]n, refer to track-and-field sports as "light athletics" to differentiate them from sports like weightlifting, wrestling, etc.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==

Revision as of 21:39, 29 October 2007


A women's 400-meter hurdles race on a typical outdoor red-rubber track in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland.

Athletics, also known as track and field or track-and-field athletics, is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing, and jumping. The name is derived from the Greek word athlon meaning "contest."

A stadium-length foot race, or stade, was the only athletic event at the first Olympics in 776 B.C.E. Later, other peoples such as the Celts, Teutons, and Goths particpated in athletics, which were frequently done as combat training. In the Middle Ages, noblemen's sons engaged in running, leaping, and wrestling, which became contests between rivals and friends. The formal organization of the modern events began in the nineteenth century, with the earliest recorded contest organized in 1840 by the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt at Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.

Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and has formed their backbone since. In 1912, an international governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), was founded. Women were first allowed to participate in track-and-field events in the Olympics in 1928.

Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400-meter running track, while field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often taking place inside the track. Track and field has two seasons: an indoor season, run during the winter; and an outdoor season, run during the spring and summer. Most indoor tracks are 200 meters and consist of four to six lanes, often with banked turns to compensate for the tight bends.

Some languages, such as German and Russian, refer to track-and-field sports as "light athletics" to differentiate them from sports like weightlifting, wrestling, etc.

History

Athletics was the original event at the first Olympics in 776 B.C.E., where the only event held was the stadium-length foot race or stade.

There were several other "Games" held throughout Europe in the classical era:

  • Panhellenic Games:
    • The Pythian Games (founded 527 B.C.E.) held in Delphi every four years
    • The Nemean Games (founded 516 B.C.E.) held in Argolid every two years
    • The Isthmian Games (founded 523 B.C.E.) held on the Isthmus of Corinth every two years
  • The Roman Games – Arising from Etruscan rather than purely Greek roots, the Roman Games deemphasized footraces and throwing. Instead, the Greek sports of chariot racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat, took center stage.

Other peoples enjoyed athletic contests, such as the Celts, Teutons, and Goths who succeeded the Romans. However, these were often related to combat training. In the Middle Ages, the sons of noblemen would be trained in running, leaping, and wrestling, in addition to riding, jousting, and arms' training. Contests between rivals and friends may have been common on both official and unofficial grounds.

In the nineteenth century, the formal organization of the modern events started. This included the incorporation of regular sports and exercise into British school regimes. The Royal Military College, Sandhurst has claimed to be the first to adopt this in 1812 and 1825, but without any supporting evidence. The earliest recorded meeting was organized at Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1840 by the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt. There are details of the meeting in a series of letters written 60 years later by C.T. Robinson, who was a pupil there from 1838 to 1841. The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich held an organized competition in 1849, but the first regular series of meetings was held by Exeter College, Oxford from 1850. [1]

Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400-meter running track on which most of the running events take place. Field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often take place inside the track.

Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and has formed their backbone since. Women were first allowed to participate in track and field events in the Olympics in 1928.

An international governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was founded in 1912. The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in 1983. Their are a number of regional games as well, such as the European Championships, the Pan-American Games, and the Commonwealth Games. In addition, there is a professional Golden League circuit, cumulating in the IAAF World Athletics Final and indoor championships, such as the World Indoor Championships. The sport has a very high profile during major championships, especially the Olympics, but otherwise is less popular.

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.

In modern times, athletes can now receive money for racing, putting an end to the so-called "amateurism" that existed before.

Indoor track and field

There are two seasons for track and field. There is an indoor season, run during the winter and an outdoor season, run during the spring and summer. Most indoor tracks are 200 meters and consist of four to six lanes. Often an indoor track will have banked turns to compensate for the tight bends.

In an indoor track meet, athletes contest the same track events as an outdoor meet with the exception of the 100-meter and 110-meter/100-metter hurdles (replaced by the 60-meter sprint and 60-meter hurdles at most levels and sometimes the 55-meter sprint and 55-meter hurdles at the high-school level), and the 10,000-meter run, 3,000-meter steeplechase, and 400-meter hurdles. Indoor meets also have the addition of a 3,000-meter run normally at both the collegiate and elite level, instead of the 10,000 meter event.

The 5,000-meter is the longest event commonly run indoors, although there are situations where longer distances have been raced. In the mid-twentieth century, there was a series of races "duel races" at Madison Square Garden's (New York City) indoor track, some of which featured two men racing a marathon (26.2 miles). However, this is an extremely rare occurrence, for obvious reasons. In some occasions, there may also be a 500-meter race instead the open 400-meter contest normally found outdoors. In many collegiate championship races indoors, both are contested.

In field events, indoor meets only feature the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and shot put. The longer throws of javelin, hammer, and discus are added only for outdoor meets, as there is normally not enough space in an indoor stadium to house these events.

Other events unique to indoor meets (especially in North America) are the 300-, 600-, 1000-, and 35-pound weight throw. In some countries, notably Norway, standing long jump and standing high jump are also contested, even in the National Championships.

For multi-event athletes, there is the Pentathlon for women (consisting of 60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, and 800 meters), and heptathlon for men (consisting of 60 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1000 meters) indoors. Outdoor, there is the heptathlon for women and decathlon for men.

Outdoor track and field

Typical oval track. Not all tracks are oval. Some consist of two semicircles joined by straight segments.

The outdoor track-and-field season usually begins in the spring and lasts through the summer. Most tracks are ovals of 400 meters in circumference. However, some older tracks are 440 yards in length, while there are some tracks that are neither oval nor 400 meters/440 yards due to geographic considerations.

Modern tracks are made with a rubberized surface, while older tracks may be made of dirt or cinders. Tracks normally consist of six to 10 lanes, and many include a steeplechase lane with a water pit on one of the turns. This steeplechase pit can be placed either inside or outside the track, making for a tighter turn or a wider turn. It is common that tracks will surround a playing field used for American football, football (soccer), or lacrosse. This inner field is usually known as the infield and has a surface of either grass or artificial turf.

All field events can be contested on the infield. However the javelin, hammer, and discus throws are often contested on fields outside of the track stadium because they take up a large amount of space. Such implements may damage the infield, and the implements could end up landing on the track.

Events

There are other variations besides the ones listed below, but races of unusual length (e.g. 300 meters) are run much less often. The unusual races are typically held during indoor season because of the shorter 200-meter indoor track. 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 meters) to 400 meters; almost all record-keeping for imperial distances has been discontinued. However, the IAAF record book still includes the mile world record (currently held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco for men and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia for women) because of its worldwide historic significance.

Men and women do not compete against each other, although they may sometimes run in the same races due to time constraints at high-school meets. 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 meters. Common events are 60 meters (indoors only), 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters.
    • Middle distance: events from 800 meters to 3000 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, mile, and 3000 meters. (Note: In the United States, high-school athletes in most states normally run the 800 meters, 1600 meters, and 3200 meters. In a few states, high-school athletes run the 1500 meters and 3000 meters, instead of the 1600-meter and 3200-meter races.)
      • Steeplechase - a race (usually 3000 meters) in which runners must negotiate barriers and water jumps.
    • Long distance: runs over 5000 meters. Common events are 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. Less common are one-, six-, 12-, and 24-hour races.
    • Hurdling: 110-meter high hurdles (100 meters for women) and 400 meters intermediate hurdles (300 meters in some high schools).
    • Relays: 4 x 100 meters relay, 4 x 400 meters relay, 4 x 200 meters relay, 4 x 800 meters relay, etc. Some events, such as medley relays, are rarely run except at large relay carnivals. Typical medley relays include the distance medley relay (DMR) and the sprint medley relay (SMR). A distance medley relay consists of a 1200-meter leg, a 400-meter leg, an 800-meter leg, and finishes with a 1600-meter leg. A sprint-medley relay consists of a 400-meter leg, 2,200-meter legs, and then an 800-meter leg. Most American high schools run the 4x100, 4x400, and 4x800, with the 4x400 being the finishing event to the meet.
  • Road running: conducted on open roads, but often finishing on the track. Common events are over five kilometer, 10 kilometer, half-marathon, and marathon, and less commonly over 15 kilometer, 20 kilometer, 10 miles, and 20 miles. The marathon is the only common road-racing distance run in major international athletics championships, such as the Olympics.
  • Race walking: usually conducted on open roads. Common events are 10 kilometers, 20 kilomters, and 50 kilometers.
  • Field events
    • Throwing events
      • Shot put
      • Hammer throw
      • Javelin throw
      • Discus throw
    • Jumping events
      • High jump
      • Pole vault
      • Long jump
      • Triple jump
        Highly uncommon are the
      • Standing high jump
      • Standing long jump
      • Standing triple jump
  • Combined or Multi events
    • Pentathlon
    • Heptathlon
    • Decathlon

Notes

  1. J.Arlott, Oxford Companion to Sports and Games, O.U.P. (1975) ISBN 0192115383 ISBN 9780192115386

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Carr, Gary. Fundamentals on Track and Field, Human Kinetics Publishers, 1999. ISBN 978-0736000086
  • Guthrie, Mark. Coaching Track and Field Successfully, Human Kinetic Publishers, 2003. ISBN 978-0736042741
  • USA Track & Field Staff. USA Track and Field Coaching Manual, Human Kinetics Publishers, 2000. ISBN 978-0880116046
  • Wallace, Edward L. Track & Field Coach's Survival Guide, Parker Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 978-0136165095

External links

Athletics events

Sprints: 60 m | 100 m | 200 m | 400 m

Hurdles: 60 m hurdles | 100 m hurdles | 110 m hurdles | 400 m hurdles

Middle distance: 800 m | 1500 m | 3000 m | steeplechase

Long distance: 5,000 m | 10,000 m | half marathon | marathon | ultramarathon | multiday races | Cross country running

Relays: 4 × 100 m | 4 × 400 m;       Racewalking;       Wheelchair racing

Throws: Discus | Hammer | Javelin | Shot put

Jumps: High jump | Long jump | Pole vault | Triple jump

Combination: Pentathlon | Heptathlon | Decathlon

Highly uncommon: Standing high jump | Standing long jump | Standing triple jump

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