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...)
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A women's 400 m hurdles race at the 2007 Dutch Championships (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) -
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) -
The Roy Griak Invitational cross country meet at the University of Minnesota in September 2007 (from Cross country running) -
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The 100 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
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Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele leading in a long-distance track event (from Track and field) -
An ancient Greece vase from 600 BC depicting a running contest (from Track and field) -
Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, one of the first modern track and field stadiums (from Track and field) -
A typical layout of an outdoor track and field stadium (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) -
Carl Lewis, one of the athletes who helped increase track and field's profile (from Track and field) -
A javelin throw athlete (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) -
Arne Andersson (left) and Gunder Hägg (right) broke a number of middle distance world records in the 1940s. (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) -
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A children's cross country competition in Čakovec, Croatia (from Cross country running) -
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Girls handing over the baton in a relay race in Leipzig in 1950 (from Track and field) -
Naide Gomes in the jumping phase of the event (from Track and field) -
Men assuming the starting position for a sprint race (from Track and field) -
Oscar Pistorius running in the first round of the 400 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
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The finish of a women's 100 m race (from Track and field) -
Men traversing the water jump in a steeplechase competition (from Track and field) -
Runners at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, Portugal (from Cross country running) -
A racewalker "flying" (entirely out of contact with the ground, a rule violation) (from Racewalking) -
Shaul Ladany (centre), in 1969 (from Racewalking) -
A child taking part in a local schools meeting in Cambodia (from Track and field) -
A graph of the world record progression in the men's 100 metres (from Track and field) -
The New York State Federation Championship cross country meet in November 2010 (from Cross country running)
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Selected article
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (déka, meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "contest" or "prize"). Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved. The decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes typically compete in the heptathlon.
Traditionally, the title of "World's Greatest Athlete" has been given to the person who wins the decathlon. This began when Gustav V of Sweden told Jim Thorpe, "Sir, you are the world's greatest athlete" after Thorpe won the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912.
The event is similar to the pentathlon held at the ancient Greek Olympics, and also similar to a competition called an "all-around", which was contested at the United States amateur championships in 1884. Another all-around was held at the 1904 Summer Olympics. The modern decathlon first appeared at the 1912 Games.
In modern athletics, the 10 events are: 100 metres, 400 metres, 1500 metres, 110 metre hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, discus throw, javelin throw, and shotput. The current official decathlon world record holder is French athlete Kevin Mayer, who scored a total of 9,126 points at the 2018 Décastar in France. (Full article...)
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Selected picture
Athlete birthdays
11 November:
- Aleksandr Baryshnikov, Soviet shot putter
- Raymond Hecht, German javelin thrower
- Jan Johnson, American pole vaulter
- Elżbieta Krzesińska, Polish long jumper
- Willie May, American hurdler
- Josef Odložil, Czechoslovakian middle-distance runner
- Qieyang Shenjie, Chinese race walker
12 November:
- Maureen Gardner, British hurdler
- Sverre Hansen, Norwegian long jumper
- Toivo Hyytiäinen, Finnish javelin thrower
- Luguelín Santos, Dominican sprinter
13 November:
- Sergey Bakulin, Russian race walker
- Olga Fikotová, Czechoslovakian-American discus thrower
- Manuela Montebrun, French hammer thrower
- Tiffany Porter, American-British hurdler
- Yargelis Savigne, Cuban triple jumper
- Liliya Shobukhova, Russian distance runner
- Kelly Sotherton, British heptathlete
- Anna Verouli, Greek javelin thrower
- Steve Williams, American sprinter
14 November:
- Klaus Beer, German long jumper
- John Bennett, American long jumper
- Marianne Dickerson, American distance runner
- Osleidys Menéndez, Cuban javelin thrower
- Ted Meredith, American 400/800 runner
- Anatoly Mikhailov, Soviet hurdler
- Judy Simpson, British heptathlete
- Gabriela Szabo, Romanian middle- and long-distance runner
15 November:
- Edna Kiplagat, Kenyan distance runner
- Kęstutis Šapka, Soviet high jumper and coach
- Mac Wilkins, American discus thrower
- Zhou Chunxiu, Chinese distance runner
16 November:
- Bert Cameron, Jamaican sprinter
- Tanja Damaske, German javelin thrower
- Donald Lippincott, American sprinter
- Marilyn Neufville, Jamaican-British sprinter
- Emerson Norton, American decathlete
- Mel Patton, American sprinter
- Edward Sarul, Polish shot putter
- Ellina Zvereva, Belarusian discus thrower
17 November:
- Eunice Barber, French heptathlete and long jumper
- Ulrike Bruns, German middle-distance runner
- Derek Clayton, Australian distance runner
- Winthrop Graham, Jamaican hurdler
- Tom Hill, American hurdler
- Brenda Jones, Australian middle-distance runner
- Bob Mathias, American decathlete
- Greg Rutherford, British long jumper
- Klavdiya Tochonova, Soviet shot putter
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
Shirley Barbara de la Hunty AO, MBE (née Strickland; 18 July 1925 – 11 February 2004), known as Shirley Strickland during her early career, was an Australian athlete. She won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running sports. (Full article...)
While teaching at Perth Technical College, she was coached by Austin Robertson, a former world professional sprint champion and South Melbourne footballer.[1] She improved her 100 yards time from 11.8 to 11.0 flat. At the 1947 Western Australia state titles, she won the 100 yards, 220 yards, 440 yards, the 90 m yards hurdles and the shot put.
The following year, she took up running seriously, with great success. She won the national title in the 80 m hurdles in 1948 and was part of the Australian delegation to the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. There, Strickland finished third in both the 100 m and 80 m hurdles and won a silver medal in the 4×100 m relay. Despite being awarded 4th place in the 200 m final, a photo finish of the race that was not consulted at the time, when examined in 1975, showed that she had beaten American Audrey Patterson into third place, a discrepancy that has been recognised by many reputable Olympic historians.[2]
After winning three gold medals in the 1950 British Empire Games, she won her first Olympic title at the 1952 Games in Helsinki. She won the 80 m hurdles in world record time (10.9 s). A baton mix-up cost her a second gold medal in the 4×100 m relay. In the 100 m, she again won a bronze medal.
She set a new world record of 11.3 s for the 100 m in Poland in 1955. Further, in the 1956 Olympics, she won again in the 80 m hurdles and with the Australian 4×100 m relay team.
| More selected biographies |
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... 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 at the 2022 British Indoor Athletics Championships, Lorraine Ugen equalled the championship long jump record?
- ... 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 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 the men's 100 metres event at the 2023 British Athletics Championships was run in heavy rain?
- ... that at the 2022 British Athletics Championships, Daryll Neita became the first woman since 2010 to win both the 100- and 200-metre events?
World records
Topics
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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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Sources
- ^ Hughes, Dave (21 February 2004). "A champion of mind and body". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Shirley Strickland". athletics.com.au. Athletics Australia. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
