Athletics Track and Field Events

What Events Are Included?

Athletics events at the Olympics have changed a lot since the first modern Games in 1896. For example, the first Olympic Marathon was not run until the 1908 London Games. And the first Olympic Heptathlon and Decathlon weren’t held until the 1984 Los Angeles Games. The current athletics program at the Olympics includes 32 events. Events for both men and women are held in each of the following categories, Track Events and Field Events. Track events are running, jumping and throwing competitions that are held on an indoor or outdoor running track. Field events are running, jumping and throwing competitions that take place in a stadium or outdoors on a non-coated surface.

Track Events

The Track Events include running, hurdling, and jumping. The 100m, 200m and 400m races are the three most popular track events at the Olympics. The 100m and 200m are sprints and the 400m is often considered a sprint as well despite being slightly longer than the 100m. The 800m, 1500m and 3000m are middle-distance track events. The 5000m and 10,000m are long-distance track events.

Field Events

The Field Events, which include throwing and jumping competitions, comprise the other half of the Athletics program at the Olympics. The Shot Put and Discus Throw are the two most popular field events. The Long Jump, Triple Jump, and High Jump are three Jumping events. The two Field Throwing events are the Hammer Throw and the Javelin Throw.

Women's Athletics in the Olympics

The first women's Olympic track and field event was the 3000m race walk in 1928. The first women's track and field event at the Summer Olympics that did not include walking was the 100m dash in 1972. At the first Olympics that included women's field events, in 1900, women competed in only one field event, the shot put. The only other field event added to the women's athletics program at the Olympics was the high jump, which was added to the 1972 Games in Munich. Since the birth of the modern Olympic Games, participation in athletics has increased steadily. There have been some ups and downs due to a variety of factors. But, in general, the popularity of athletics has grown significantly over the last century. Some of the more notable moments in athletics history at the Olympics include, The 1908 Olympic Marathon was won by John Hayes from the United States in 2 hours, 32 minutes and 10 seconds, a new Olympic record.

Men's Athletics in the Olympics

Men have been competing in athletics at the Olympics since the first modern Games in 1896. Women competed in athletics at the Olympics for the first time at the 1900 Games in Paris. The number of athletics events at the Olympics has varied over time as events have been added and dropped from the program. In general, there have been more men's events than women's events. Some of the more notable moments in athletics history at the Olympics include. In the 1904 Olympic 400m dash, American runner Arthur Wilsky broke the world record with a time of 49.8 seconds. At the 1912 Olympic 100m dash, two athletes tied for first place. No one had ever come in tied for first place in any Olympic event before. For the first tiebreaker, both athletes ran a second 100m race. That didn’t settle anything, so both runners were given silver medals. For the second tiebreaker, both runners ran a second 100m race while being tied together by a cloth belt, and then they ran the third race while still tied together.

Conclusion

Athletics has been a part of the modern Olympic Games since their beginning in 1896. The first Olympics included only 42 competitors in nine different events the 100m sprint, 800m run, discus throw, shot put, javelin throw, 200m intermediate sprint, long jump and triple jump. The first women's Olympic track and field event was the 3000m race walk in 1928. The only other field event added to the women's athletics program at the Olympics was the high jump, which was added to the 1972 Games in Munich. Since the birth of the modern Olympic Games, participation in athletics has increased steadily.