Summer Olympic Sports >>Athletics

ABOUT

Athletics is, in many ways, the embodiment of the Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius", meaning faster, higher, and stronger.

Athletics (or track and field) is about running faster, jumping higher and throwing further than your competitors.  The ancient Games at Olympia began simply with foot races, only occasionally complicated by dressing the runners in infantry armour or making them carry soldiers' shields.  Today, athletics remains one of the most popular Olympic sports.  From the 100m dash to the 42.195km marathon, from the hammer throw to the high jump, it contains many of the Olympic Games' blue-ribbon events and many of the highest-profile competitors.

COMPETITION

Athletics can be divided into four areas: track, field, road and combined events.

Track events Include sprints (100m, 200m, 400m), middle-distance running (800m,1500m) and long-distance running (5000m, 10,000m), hurdling (100m and 400m for women, 110m and 400m for men), relays (4 x 100m and 4 x 400m) and the 3000m steeplechase.

Field events for both men and women include the long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin and hammer throw.  The women's pole vault and hammer throw debuted at the Sydney 2000 Games.

Road events consist of the men's and women's marathons, the men's 20km and 50km race walks and the women's 10km race walk.

Combined events The heptathlon for women and the decathlon for men - athletes compete in a series of track and field events over two days.  Points are based upon their finishes in each event, and the person with the most points wins.

LIST OF EVENTS *

• 10000m Men

• 100m Men

• 110m hurdles Men

• 1500m Men

• 200m Men

• 20km walk Men

• 3000m steeplechase Men

• 400m Men

• 400m hurdles Men

• 4x100m relay Men

• 4x400m relay Men

• 5000m Men

• 50km walk Men

• 800m Men

• Decathlon Men

• Discus throw Men

• Hammer throw Men

• High jump Men

• Javelin throw Men

• Long jump Men

• Marathon Men

• Pole vault Men

• Shot put Men

• Triple jump Men

• 10000m Women

• 100m Women

• 100m hurdles Women

• 1500m Women

• 200m Women

• 20km race walk Women

• 3000m steeplechase Women

• 400m Women

• 400m hurdles Women

• 4x100m relay Women

• 4x400m relay Women

• 5000m Women

• 800m Women

• Discus throw Women

• Hammer throw Women

• Heptathlon Women

• High jump Women

• Javelin throw Women

• Long jump Women

• Marathon Women

• Pole vault Women

• Shot put Women

• Triple jump Women