The results ofracing events are decided by finishing position (or time, where measured), while the jumps and throws are won by theathlete 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 ofrelay races and competitions which combine athletes' performances for a team score, such as cross country.
Organized athletics are traced back to theancient Olympic Games from 776 BC. The rules and format of the modernevents 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 ofWorld Athletics, the global governing body for the sport of athletics, or its member continental and national federations.
The most prestigious global season-long leagues in the sport are theDiamond League for track and field athletes, and theWorld Marathon Majors in marathon running.
The word athletics is derived from theAncient Greekἀθλητής (athlētēs, "combatant in public games") fromἆθλον (athlon, "prize") orἆθλος (athlos, "competition").[2] Initially, the term described athletic contests in general – i.e. sporting competition based primarily on human physical feats. In the 19th century, the term athletics acquired a more narrow definition in Europe and came to describe sports involving competitive running, walking, jumping and throwing. This definition continues to be prominent in the United Kingdom and the formerBritish Empire. Related words inGermanic andRomance languages also have a similar meaning.
In many parts of North America, athletics is commonly understood as encompassing sports in general, aligning with its historical usage. The term "athletics" is seldom used specifically to denote the sport of athletics in this region. Instead, "track and field" is the preferred term used in the United States and Canada to describe athletics events, which include race-walking and marathon running (although cross-country running is typically categorized as a distinct sport).
TheCotswold Olympic Games, a sports festival which emerged in 17th centuryEngland, featured athletics in the form ofsledgehammer throwing contests.[7] Annually, from 1796 to 1798, L'Olympiade de la République was held inrevolutionary France, and is an early forerunner to the modern Olympic Games. The premier event of this competition was a running event, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display. The 1796 Olympiade marked the introduction of themetric system into the sport.[8]
The first modern-style indoor athletics meetings were recorded shortly after in the 1860s, including a meet at Ashburnham Hall in London which featured four running events and a triple jump competition.[12][13]
An athletics competition was included in the first modernOlympic Games in 1896 and it has been as one of the foremost competitions at the quadrennialmulti-sport event ever since. Originally for men only, the1928 Olympics saw the introduction of women's events in the athletics programme. Athletics is part of theParalympic Games since the inaugural Games in1960. Athletics has a very high-profile during major championships, especially the Olympics, even among casual sports fans, but otherwise is less popular though it maintains a dedicate fan base. Big city marathons such asNew York,Boston,Chicago,London andTokyo are major televised events in their respective cities, and often attract thousands of entrants and tens of thousands of spectators, for whom the event is usually free as it takes place on normal city roads. A small number of half marathons and road mile races, including theGreat North Run, attract similar attention.
An international governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), was founded in 1912. It enforcedamateur sport status on competitions during much of the 20th century. Professional competition continued at a low level, becoming increasingly more common as the century progressed. TheInternational Track Association briefly formed a professional track and field circuit in the United States in the 1970s. Athletes used their increasing status to push for remuneration and the IAAF responded with theIAAF Golden Events series and the establishment an outdoorWorld Championships in 1983, including track and field, racewalking and a marathon event. In modern times, athletes can receive money for racing, putting an end to the so-called "amateurism" that existed before. The global body updated the name to the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2001, moving away from its amateur origins,[15] before taking on its current nameWorld Athletics in 2019.[16]
The Comité International Sports des Sourds had been formed by 1922, to govern international deaf sports, including athletics.[17]
The first organized international competitions for athletes with aphysical disability (not deaf) began in 1952, when the first internationalStoke Mandeville Games were organized for World War II veterans.[17][18] This only included athletes in awheelchair. This inspired the firstParalympic Games, held in 1960. Competitions would over time be expanded to include mainly athletes withamputation,cerebral palsy andvisual impairment, in addition to wheelchair events.
All forms of athletics areindividual sports with the exception ofrelay races. However, athletes' performances are often tallied together by country at international championships, and, in the case of cross country and road races, finishing positions or times of the top athletes from a team may be combined to declare a team victor.
Athletics, specifically the distance running discipline, also forms a significant portion of a number of other organised sports, most notable thetriathlon family of sports andmodern pentathlon. In both cases, the rules of the sport broadly mirror those of World Athletics, but the details are set by the international federation of the sports themselves.
A typical athletics stadium with an oval running track and a grassy inner fieldInternational level women athletes atISTAF Berlin, 2006
Track and field competitions emerged in the late 19th century and were typically contested between athletes who were representing rivaleducational institutions,military organisations andsports clubs.[29] Participating athletes may compete in one or more events, according to their specialities. Men and women compete separately. Track and field comes in both indoor and outdoor formats, with most indoor competitions occurring inwinter, while outdoor events are mostly held insummer. The sport is defined by the venue in which the competitions are held – theathletics stadium.
A variety ofrunning events are held on the track which fall into three broad distance categories:sprints,middle-distance, andlong-distance track events. Relay races feature teams comprising four runners each, who must pass abaton to their teammate after a specified distance with the aim of being the first team to finish.Hurdling events and thesteeplechase are a variation upon the flat running theme in that athletes must clear obstacles on the track during the race. The field events come in two types – jumping and throwing competitions. In throwing events, athletes are measured by how far they hurl an implement, with the common events being theshot put,discus,javelin, andhammer throw. There are four common jumping events: thelong jump andtriple jump are contests measuring the horizontal distance an athlete can jump, while thehigh jump andpole vault are decided on the height achieved.Combined events, which include thedecathlon (typically competed by men) andheptathlon (typically competed by women), are competitions where athletes compete in a number of different track and field events, with each performance going toward a final points tally.
The sport of road running finds its roots in the activities offootmen: male servants who ran alongside the carriages ofaristocrats around the 18th century, and who also ran errands over distances for their masters.Foot racing competitions evolved fromwagers between aristocrats, who pitted their footman against that of another aristocrat in order to determine a winner. The sport becameprofessionalised as footmen were hired specifically on their athletic ability and began to devote their lives to training for the gambling events. Theamateur sports movement in the late 19th century marginalised competitions based on the professional, gambling model. The1896 Summer Olympics saw the birth of the modern marathon and the event led to the growth of road running competitions through annual events such as the Boston Marathon (first held in 1897) and theLake Biwa Marathon andFukuoka Marathons, which were established in the 1940s. The1970s running boom in theUnited States made road running a commonpastime and also increased its popularity at the elite level.[30]
Ekiden contests – which originated inJapan and remain very popular there – are a relay race variation on the marathon, being in contrast to the typically individual sport of road running.
Competitors mid-race at a boys high school event in theUnited States
Cross country running is the most naturalistic of the sports in athletics as competitions take place on open-air courses over surfaces such asgrass,woodland trails, andearth. It is both an individual andteam sport, as runners are judged on an individual basis and a points scoring method is used for teams. Competitions are typically long distance races of 3 km (1.9 mi) or more which are usually held in autumn and winter. Cross country's most successful athletes often compete in long-distance track and road events as well.
TheCrick Run inEngland in 1838 was the first recorded instance of an organised cross country competition. The sport gained popularity in British, then American schools in the 19th century and culminated in the creation of the firstInternational Cross Country Championships in 1903.[31] The annualIAAF World Cross Country Championships was inaugurated in 1973 and this remains the highest level of competition for the sport. A number of continental cross country competitions are held, with championships taking place inAsia,Europe,North America andSouth America. The sport has retained its status at the scholastic level, particularly in the United Kingdom and United States. At the professional level, the foremost competitions come under the banner of theIAAF Cross Country Permit Meetings.
While cross country competitions are no longer held at the Olympics, having featured in the athletics programme from 1912 to 1924, it has been present as one of the events within themodern pentathlon competition since the1912 Summer Olympics. One variation on traditional cross country ismountain running, which incorporates significant uphill and downhill sections as an additional challenge to the course.Fell running andOrienteering are other competitive sports similar to cross country, although they feature an element ofnavigation which is absent from the set courses of cross country.
Racewalking is a form of competitivewalking that usually takes place on open-air roads, although running tracks are also occasionally used. Racewalking is the only sport in athletics in which judges monitor athletes on their technique. Racewalkers must always have a foot in contact with the ground and their advancing leg must be straightened, not bent at the knee – failure to follow these rules results in disqualification from the race.[32]
Racewalking finds its roots in the sport ofpedestrianism which emerged in the late 18th century in England. Spectators would gamble on the outcome of the walking competitions. The sport took on an endurance aspect and competitions were held over long distances or walkers would have to achieve a certain distance within a specified time frame, such asCenturion contests of walking 100 miles (160 km) within 24 hours.[32] During this period, racewalking was frequently held on athletics tracks for ease of measurement, and the1908 Summer Olympics inLondon saw the introduction of the 3500-metre and 10-mile walks. Racewalking was briefly dropped from the Olympic programme in1928, but the men's50 kilometres race walk has been held at every Olympic Games but one since 1932. The men's20 kilometres race walk was added to the Olympic athletics schedule in 1956 and the women's event was first held in 1992. The most common events in modern competition are over 10 km, 20 km and 50 km on roads, although women's 3 km and men's 5 km are held on indoor tracks.
The highest level racewalking competitions occur at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics and at the Summer Olympics, although the sport also has its own separate major competition – theIAAF World Race Walking Cup – which has been held since 1961. TheIAAF World Race Walking Challenge forms the primary seasonal competition – athletes earn points for their performances at ten selected racewalking competitions and the highest scoring walkers are entered into that year'sIAAF Race Walking Challenge Final.
Foekje Dillema was banned from the women's division in 1950.
The significant variation in people's abilities in the sport of athletics has led to the creation of numerous competitive categories, in order that athletes are pitted against rivals of a similar kind or ability, and to include groups of people who would otherwise not be competitive in open-to-all events. The eligibility of athletes for a given category is occasionally a source of controversy among the sport's participants, officials and spectators, with disputes typically being rooted in deliberatecheating in order to gain a competitive advantage or differing cultural perspectives over the eligibility of a category.
Beyond the primary categories based on physical attributes, some competitions have further eligibility criteria based on nationality, community membership or occupation.
The foremost division of this kind is by sex[ling]: in athletics, men and women almost exclusively compete against people of the same sex. In contrast to the men's division, the development of the women's division has caused regular dispute in terms of eligibility. Severalintersex athletes had success in the women's division in the early 20th century, such asStanisława Walasiewicz andMary Weston (later Mark), and the IAAF responded by introducingsex verification for all athletes in the women's category, beginning with the disqualification of sprinterFoekje Dillema in 1950 after she refused to be tested.[33] Olympic championEwa Kłobukowska became the first athlete to publicly fail the test in 1967 and the humiliation she suffered as a result of the announcement led to sex tests becoming a confidential process.[34] HurdlerMaria José Martínez-Patiño failed a test and was disqualified in 1985, but publicly fought the ban in court and was reinstated in 1988. In 1991, the IAAF replaced the sexchromatin test with general medical tests for athletes of all divisions, due to changes in ethical and scientific viewpoints.[35]
The question of eligibility for the women's division continued to be a contentious and public issue into the 21st century, withCaster Semenya andDutee Chand bearing periods of ineligibility and taking the IAAF to theCourt of Arbitration for Sport over their bans under thehyperandrogenism rules.[36] An increasing number oftrans men andtrans women began to compete in the women's division in the 2010s, which caused other athletes in the division to raise questions of fairness in competition.[37][38]
The dispute reached new heights in 2019 with theUnited Nations Human Rights Council issuing a statement that the IAAF was breaching "international human rights norms and standards" through its practice of allowing some athletes to compete in the women's division only once they had lowered their testosterone levels through medical intervention.[39] The IAAF and several prominent women athletes, such asPaula Radcliffe, said this was required in order to prevent a situation where countries deliberately sought out athletes who were intersex, transgender or had adifference in sex development in order to succeed in women's sport.[40] Others have argued for the abolition of gender verification testing, with academic Maren Behrensen citing the harm to tested athletes' social and emotional well-being, the inaccuracy of the medical tests, the difficulty of determining the exact performance advantage provided by a given condition, and the moral risk of "gender-engineering" by setting a biological definition for a female athlete.[41]
Age is a significant determiner of ability to compete in athletics, with athletic ability generally increasing through childhood and adolescence, peaking in early adulthood, then gradually declining from around the age of 30 onwards.[42][43] As a result, numerous age categories have been created to encourage younger and older athletes to engage in competition. At international level, there are three major categories for young athletes:under-23,under-20 (formerly junior), andunder-18 (formerly youth). Beyond international rules, different youth categories are in use in the sport, often in the form of two-year or single age groupings.[44] Age categories are more extensive for older athletes and these are commonly organised under the umbrella ofmasters athletics, which has age groups spanning five years for all athletes aged 35 and above. There is no limit to the number of age groupings, henceStanisław Kowalski holds a world record for men aged 105 years and over.[45] For competitions where age is not taken into account, this is known as senior oropen class athletics; in international rules there remain some restrictions on younger people competing in endurance events for health reasons .[44]
Athletes' eligibility for a competitive age grouping is typically assessed through official documentation, such as birth records or passports. Instances ofage cheating have occurred at all of the IAAF's global age category championships. One prominent incident was Olympic medalistThomas Longosiwa, who provided a falsified passport to compete at the2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics at age 24.[46] Age falsification for youth categories is mostly limited to less developed parts of the world, such as Africa and South Asia, which have less stringent controls on official documentation and many mature athletes engaging in high school competition due to disruptions to education.[47][48][49][50] The same regions of the world also present issues with age verification in masters age categories, with examples such as Indian distance runnersDharampal Singh Gudha andFauja Singh (both claiming to be over 100 years old) reaching mainstream attention.[51]
Competitors at elite level competitions, are classified by disability, to arrange athletes with a similar disability in the same event. A classified T12 athlete for example, is a track athlete with a visual impairment.[52]
Operating independently of the Paralympic movement,deaf athletes have a long-established tradition of organised athletics, with the first major world competition being included at the 1924Deaflympics.[53] The primary impediments to the inclusion of deaf athletes in mainstream athletics are sound based elements of the sport, such as thestarter's pistol. This can be a disadvantage even in Paralympic sport, as shown in by the example ofOlivia Breen who failed to hear a false start in a cerebral palsy class race at the 2012 Paralympics.[54]
Inwheelchair racing athletes compete in lightweight racing chairs. Most majormarathons have wheelchair divisions and the elite racers consistently beat the runners on foot. The speed of wheel chair racers has caused difficulties for race organisers in properly staggering their start times compared to runners. A collision between Josh Cassidy (a wheelchair racer) and Tiki Gelana (a leading female marathoner) at the2013 London Marathon brought the issue into the spotlight again.[55]
The disability categories have caused dispute among athletes, with some athletes being accused of exaggerating their level of disability in order to compete in less challenging categories.[58] Athletes withintellectual disabilities were banned from competition in all Paralympic sports in response to verification issues andcheating at the 2000 Summer Paralympics and the intellectual disability athletics programme was only restored twelve years later at the2012 Summer Paralympics.[59]
Professional athletics almost exclusively takes place in one of three types of venue:stadiums, set courses on grass or woodland, and road-based courses. Such venues ensure that events take place in a relatively standardised manner, as well as improving the safety of athletes and enjoyment for spectators. At a more basic level, many forms of athletics demand very little in terms of venue requirements; almost any open space or area of field can provide a suitable venue for basic running, jumping and throwing competitions.
A standard outdoor track is in the shape of astadium,[60] 400 metres in length, and has at least eight lanes 1.22 m in width (small arenas might have six lanes). Older track facilities may have nonstandard track lengths, such as 440 yards (402.3 m; 1/4 mile) (common in the United States). Historically, tracks were covered by a dirt running surface. ModernAll-weather running tracks are covered by a synthetic weather-resistant running surface, which typically consists of rubber (either black SBR or colored EPDM granules), bound by polyurethane or latex resins. Older tracks may becinder-covered. The facilities can be called track and field stadiums or athletics stadiums.[61][62]
A standard indoor track is designed similarly to an outdoor track, but is only 200 metres in length and has between four and eight lanes, each with width between 0.90 m and 1.10 m.[63] Often, the bends of an indoor track will be banked to compensate for the small turning radius. However, because of space limitations, indoor tracks may have other nonstandard lengths, such as 160-yard (146.3 m) indoor track atMadison Square Garden used for theMillrose Games. Because of space limitations, meetings held at indoor facilities do not hold many of athletics events typically contested outdoors.
A cross country race taking place at a snowy park in the United States
There is no standardised form of cross country course and each venue is significantly defined by the environment it contains – some may be relatively flat and featureless, while others may be more challenging with natural obstacles, tight turns, and undulating ground. While a small number of purpose-built courses exist, the vast majority of cross country running courses are created by cordoning a specific area within any open natural land, typically apark,woodland orgreenspace near asettlement.[64]
At the elite and professional level, courses must be looped and each lap must be between 1750 m and 2000 m in length. Severe obstacles such as deep ditches, high barriers and thick undergrowth not normally present; the course should be able to be completed whilst remaining on foot throughout. In order to maintain the sport's distinction from road running, the usage of unnatural ormacadamised surfaces is generally kept to a minimum or avoided entirely.[64]
Because the majority of races take place on areas of grass, soil, mud or earth,weather conditions can significantly affect the difficulty of cross country courses, assnow andrain reduces traction and can create areas of standing water.
A typical road running course on the inner-city roads ofToronto
The surface of road races is highly important and the IAAF dictate that the courses must be along man-made roads, bicycle paths or footpaths. Courses set along major roads of cities are typical of road running events, andtraffic is usually cordoned off from the area during the competition. While soft ground, such as grass, is generally avoided, races may start and finish on soft ground or within an athletics stadium. Road racing courses come in two primary types: looped and point-to-point. Courses may be measured and designed to cover a standardised distance, such as 10 km (6.2 mi), or they may simply follow a set route between two landmarks.[65]
Road running courses over 5 km usually offer drinks or refreshment stations for runners at designated points alongside the course and medical professionals are present at the courses of major races due to the health risks involved with long-distance running.[65]
Elite road walks are conducted on closed loop courses (usually loops of 2,000 or 2,500 meters). Refreshment stations are also present over long distance walking competitions, with drinks being available on every lap for races longer than 10 km.[66]
In 1912, the formation of theinternational governing body for athletics, theInternational Amateur Athletics Federation, began. In recognition of the movement of the sport fromamateurism towardsprofessionalism that began in the late 1970s, the wordamateur was dropped from the name, and the organization was rebranded as the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2001. In late 2019, another rebranding began, withWorld Athletics as the new title of the governing body.
World Athletics has 215 member nations and territories, which are divided into six continental areas (or area associations).[67] The six association areas are forAsia,Africa,Europe,Oceania,North and Central America and Caribbean andSouth America. The sports within athletics do not have their own independent governing bodies at either international or continental level; instead, all fall under the athletics authorities.[68][69]
Map of the six continental federations of World Athletics
National level athletics organisations are responsible for the regulation of the sport within their respective countries and most major competitions have some form of permit or approval from their national body.
Athletics competitions can be broadly divided into three types: international championships, national championships, and annual meetings and races. Athletics at international championships, or Games, represent the pinnacle of competition within the sport, and they are contested between athletes representing their country or region. The organisation of these competitions is usually overseen by either a world, continental, or regional athletics governing body. Athletes gain entry into these competitions by earning selection from their national athletics governing body, which is generally done by assessing athletes via their past achievements or performances at a national selection event. National championships are annual competitions endorsed by a national governing body which serve the purpose of deciding the country's best athlete in each event. Annual one-day meetings and races form the most basic level of competition and are the most common format of athletics contests. These events are often invitational and are organised by sports organisations, sports promoters, or other institutions.
Competitions typically feature only one of the sports within athletics. However, major outdoor international athletics championships and athletics competitions held as part ofmulti-sport events usually feature a combination of track and field, road running and racewalking events
The athletics competition underway at the main stadium of the2008 Summer Olympics
The modernSummer Olympics was the first event at which a global athletics competition took place. All the four major sports within athletics have featured in theOlympic athletics programme since its inception in 1896, although cross country has since been dropped. The Olympic competition is the most prestigious athletics contest, and many athletics events are among the most watched events at the Summer Olympics. A total of 47 athletics events are held at the Olympics, 24 for men and 23 for women (as of London 2012). The events within the men's and women's programmes are either identical or have a similar equivalent, with the sole exception being that men contest the 50 km race walk.[70]
TheSummer Paralympics include athletes with aphysical disability. Track and field, and road events have featured in theParalympic athletics programme since its inception in 1960. The Paralympic competition is the most prestigious athletics contest where athletes with a physical disability compete. Athletics at the Paralympic Games also includewheelchair racing where athletes compete in lightweight racing chairs. Athletes with avisual impairment compete with asighted guide. At the2012 Summer Paralympics inLondon, for the first time at an international athletics event, the guides received medals,[71] such as the pilots in cycling, and the guides at theParalympic Winter Games have done for a while.
TheWorld Athletics Championships is the primary global athletics championships held by World Athletics. The biennial competition was first held in 1983 and now features an event programme which is identical to the Olympics. Thus, road running, racewalking and track and field are the sports which feature at the competition. Cross country running has its own discrete global championships – theWorld Athletics Cross Country Championships – which has been held annually since 1973. TheWorld Athletics Indoor Championships is a biennial athletics championships which features solely indoor track and field events. The foremost separate road running event is the annualWorld Athletics Half Marathon Championships (formerlyIAAF World Half Marathon Championships). While not having official world championship status, the biennialWorld Athletics Race Walking Team Championships fulfils a similar role for the sport of racewalking. Outdoor track and field is the only sport in athletics that does not have a its own distinct global championship which is separate from other types of athletics, although theIAAF Continental Cup (a quadrennial competition between continental teams) is composed entirely of outdoor track and field events.
Ancient Greek pottery showing the javelin and the discus throw
Athletics, and its athletes in particular, has been artistically depicted since ancient times – one of the surviving instances include runners and high jumpers in the motifs ofAncient Egyptian tombs dating from 2250 BC. Athletics was much respected in Ancient Greece and the events within theancient pentathlon provided inspiration for large statues such as theDiscobolus andDiscophoros, and for motifs on countless vase andpottery works.Aristotle discussed the significance of the pentathlon in histreatiseRhetoric and reflected on the athlete aesthetic of the period: "a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength...This is why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful".[72]
Athletics events have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 GreekRunning commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the2004 Summer Olympics. In the obverse of the coin, a modern athlete figure appears in the foreground, shown in the starting position, while in the background two ancient runners are carved in a manner that gives the appearance of a coin that is "worn" by time. This scene originally appeared on a black-figure vase of the 6th century BC.
^"2017 Trail World Championships".International Trail Running Association. Archived fromthe original on 6 November 2017. Retrieved29 October 2017.IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations), having recognized in summer 2015 the Trail as a new discipline, will recognize as the only Trail World Championships the event of Badia Prataglia, Italia
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