Portal:Sport of athletics
Introduction
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping and throwing. 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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A javelin throw athlete (from Track and field) -
Runners at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, Portugal (from Cross country running) -
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The finish of a women's 100 m race (from Track and field) -
A graph of the world record progression in the men's 100 metres (from Track and field) -
Men traversing the water jump in a steeplechase competition (from Track and field) -
A child taking part in a local schools meeting in Cambodia (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) -
The New York State Federation Championship cross country meet in November 2010 (from Cross country running) -
A typical layout of an outdoor track and field stadium (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) -
The 100 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
The Roy Griak Invitational cross country meet at the University of Minnesota in September 2007 (from Cross country running) -
Arne Andersson (left) and Gunder Hägg (right) broke a number of middle distance world records in the 1940s. (from Track and field) -
Carl Lewis, one of the athletes who helped increase track and field's profile (from Track and field) -
Oscar Pistorius running in the first round of the 400 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
Shaul Ladany (centre), in 1969 (from Racewalking) -
A high school student attempting to high jump while using the Fosbury Flop technique (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) -
A racewalker "flying" (entirely out of contact with the ground, a rule violation) (from Racewalking) -
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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) -
Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele leading in a long-distance track event (from Track and field) -
A women's 400 m hurdles race at the 2007 Dutch Championships (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) -
A children's cross country competition in Čakovec, Croatia (from Cross country running) -
Girls handing over the baton in a relay race in Leipzig in 1950 (from Track and field) -
The start of a typical cross country race, as an official fires a gun to signal the start (from Cross country running) -
Naide Gomes in the jumping phase of the event (from Track and field) -
An ancient Greece vase from 600 BC depicting a running contest (from Track and field) -
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Men assuming the starting position for a sprint race (from Track and field) -
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Selected article
The European Athletic Association (EAA, more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 members and is headquartered in Lausanne.
Originally created in 1932 as a European Committee, it was made into an independent body during the Bucharest conference of 1969. The first European Athletics congress took place in Paris on 6–8 October 1970, with Dutchman Adriaan Paulen elected as its first president. From a volunteer-led organization based in the acting Secretary's home country, European Athletics has developed into a professional organization with a permanent base in Switzerland.
European Athletics runs and regulates several championships and meetings across Europe – both indoor and outdoor. (Full article...)
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Selected picture
Athlete birthdays
30 January:
- Taisiya Chenchik, Soviet high jumper
- Encarna Granados, Spanish race walker
- James Mitchel, Irish-American thrower
- Jadwiga Wajs, Polish discus thrower
31 January:
- George Bonhag, American middle-distance runner and race walker
- Chris Chataway, British middle- and long-distance runner
- Walter Dix, American sprinter
- Torri Edwards, American sprinter
- Arto Härkönen, Finnish javelin thrower
- Håkan Lidman, Swedish hurdler
- Arthur Newton, American distance runner
- Edmund Piątkowski, Polish discus thrower
- Klaus Ploghaus, German hammer thrower
- Atanas Tarev, Bulgarian pole vaulter
- Emil Voigt, British distance runner
- Jeremy Wariner, American sprinter
- John Zander, Swedish middle-distance runner
1 February:
- Feyisa Lilesa, Ethiopian distance runner
- Yelena Nikolayeva, Russian race walker
- Ekateríni Thánou, Greek sprinter
- Oksana Udmurtova, Russian long jumper
2 February:
- Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler
- Dorcus Inzikuru, Ugandan steeplechase runner
- Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete
- Knut Lindberg, Swedish sprinter and javelin thrower
- Eino Purje, Finnish middle-distance runner
- Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
- Lawrence Whitney, American shot putter
3 February:
- Markus Esser, German hammer thrower
- George Horine, American high jumper
- Mariya Itkina, Soviet sprinter
- Erik Kynard, American high jumper
- Stefano Mei, Italian distance runner
- Jack Metcalfe, Australian triple jumper
- Mary Onyali, Nigerian sprinter
- Michael Rimmer, British middle-distance runner
- Helen Stephens, American sprinter
4 February:
- Julie Brown, American distance runner
- Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian weight thrower
- Gary Kikaya, Congolese sprinter
- Jüri Lossman, Estonian distance runner
- Arne Åhman, Swedish triple- and high jumper
5 February:
- Astrid Kumbernuss, German shot putter
- Gaston Roelants, Belgian distance runner
- Markus Ryffel, Swiss distance runner
- Jenn Suhr, American pole vaulter
- Jüri Tamm, Estonian hammer thrower
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
Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert AC, MBE (20 April 1938 – 6 August 2017), was an Australian athlete and a four-time Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's "Golden Girl". During her career, she set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres, 220 yards and 440 yards. Cuthbert also contributed to Australian relay teams completing a win in the 4 × 100 metres, 4 × 110 yards, 4 × 200 metres and 4 × 220 yards. Cuthbert had a distinctive running style, with a high knee lift and mouth wide open. She was named in 1998 an Australian National Treasure and was inducted as a Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame in 2000. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... 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 Mokulubete Makatisi placed eighth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games women's marathon despite running in new shoes that she had received on the eve of the race?
- ... that at the 2022 British Indoor Athletics Championships, Lorraine Ugen equalled the championship long jump record?
- ... that Femke Bol won the women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in a championship record of 52.49 seconds?
- ... that Femke Bol successfully defended her 2021 title by winning the women's 400 metres at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships?
- ... that Femke Bol won the women's 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in an unprecedented double victory?
- ... that the championship record was broken three times in the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2024 World Athletics Relays?
- ... that the men's 100 metres event at the 2023 British Athletics Championships was run in heavy rain?
World records
Topics
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Records in athletics | |||||||||||
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| Area records |
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International youth, junior, and U23 athletics | |||||||||
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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
From the first edition at the 1896 Summer Games, athletics has been considered the "queen" of the Olympics. Today, there are several other athletics championships organized at global and continental levels. Athletics also serves as the main focus of many multi-sport events such as the World University Games, Mediterranean Games, and Pan American Games. The following is a list of prominent athletics competitions.
| 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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