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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Carl Lewis, one of the athletes who helped increase track and field's profile (from Track and field) -
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A racewalker "flying" (entirely out of contact with the ground, a rule violation) (from Racewalking) -
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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Runners at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, Portugal (from Cross country running) -
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A children's cross country competition in Čakovec, Croatia (from Cross country running) -
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) -
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Naide Gomes in the jumping phase of the event (from Track and field) -
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) -
A javelin throw athlete (from Track and field) -
A child taking part in a local schools meeting in Cambodia (from Track and field) -
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) -
Shaul Ladany (centre), in 1969 (from Racewalking) -
Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, one of the first modern track and field stadiums (from Track and field) -
Men traversing the water jump in a steeplechase competition (from Track and field) -
The finish of a women's 100 m race (from Track and field) -
The New York State Federation Championship cross country meet in November 2010 (from Cross country running) -
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A typical layout of an outdoor track and field stadium (from Track and field) -
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Men assuming the starting position for a sprint race (from Track and field) -
Girls handing over the baton in a relay race in Leipzig in 1950 (from Track and field) -
The 100 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele leading in a long-distance track event (from Track and field) -
The Roy Griak Invitational cross country meet at the University of Minnesota in September 2007 (from Cross country running) -
A graph of the world record progression in the men's 100 metres (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) -
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Arne Andersson (left) and Gunder Hägg (right) broke a number of middle distance world records in the 1940s. (from Track and field) -
Oscar Pistorius running in the first round of the 400 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
An ancient Greece vase from 600 BC depicting a running contest (from Track and field)
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Selected article
Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully assess that this is maintained throughout the race. Typically held on either roads or running tracks, common distances range from 3,000 metres (1.9 mi) up to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi).
The current race walking contests at the Summer Olympics are the 20 kilometres race walk (men and women) and the marathon race walk mixed relay, the latter of which debuted at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The 50 kilometres race walk (men only) was discontinued after the 2020 Summer Olympics. The biennial World Athletics Championships also features both 20 and 50 kilometer events, the 50 km walk for women being contested until 2019. The 50 km race walk was replaced by the 35 kilometres race walk as standard championship discipline in 2022. The IAAF World Race Walking Cup, first held in 1961, is a stand-alone global competition for the discipline and it has 10 kilometres race walks for junior athletes, in addition to the Olympic-standard events. The IAAF World Indoor Championships featured 5000 m and 3000 m race walk variations, but these were discontinued after 1993. Top-level athletics championships and games typically feature 20 km racewalking events. (Full article...)
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Selected picture
Athlete birthdays
18 November:
- Earl Eby, American middle-distance runner
- Allyson Felix, American sprinter
- John Garrels, American hurdler and thrower
- Richard Limo, Kenyan distance runner
- LaVonna Martin, American hurdler
- Shirley Strong, British hurdler
19 November:
- Luigi Beccali, Italian middle-distance runner
- Claudinei Quirino da Silva, Brazilian sprinter
- Meseret Defar, Ethiopian distance runner
- Gail Devers, American sprinter and hurdler
- Ivanka Khristova, Bulgarian shot putter
- Yipsi Moreno, Cuban hammer thrower
- Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová, Czech discus thrower
- Dayron Robles, Cuban hurdler
- Reima Salonen, Finnish race walker
- Toby Stevenson, American pole vaulter
20 November:
- Naide Gomes, São Toméan-Portuguese long jumper
- Timothy Kitum, Kenyan middle-distance runner
- Richmond Landon, American high jumper
- Dora Ratjen, German high jumper
- Jean Shiley, American high jumper
- Aleksey Spiridonov, Soviet hammer thrower
21 November:
- Oleksandr Bagach, Ukrainian shot putter
- Sabine Busch, German sprinter and hurdler
- Sebastian Chmara, Polish decathlete
- Henri Deloge, French middle-distance runner
- Alberto Juantorena, Cuban 400/800 runner
- Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, Russian sprinter
- Werknesh Kidane, Ethiopian distance runner
- Ainārs Kovals, Latvian javelin thrower
- Nadine Müller, German discus thrower
- Niklas Wallenlind, Swedish hurdler
22 November:
- Roger Bambuck, French sprinter
- Dionísio Castro, Portuguese distance runner
- Domingos Castro, Portuguese distance runner
- Nikolai Kirov, Soviet middle-distance runner
- Katrin Krabbe, German sprinter
- Francis Obikwelu, Nigerian-Portuguese sprinter
- Irina Privalova, Russian sprinter and hurdler
- Yaroslav Rybakov, Russian high jumper
- Nataliya Tobias, Ukrainian middle-distance runner
23 November:
- Rodion Gataullin, Russian pole vaulter
- Svetlana Krachevskaya, Soviet shot putter
- Nam Sung-yong, Korean distance runner
- Asafa Powell, Jamaican sprinter
- Delos Thurber, American high jumper
- Terrence Trammell, American hurdler
24 November:
- Eamonn Coghlan, Irish middle- and long-distance runner
- Dejen Gebremeskel, Ethiopian distance runner
- Carmelita Jeter, American sprinter
- Gisela Mauermayer, German discus thrower
- Sándor Rozsnyói, Hungarian steeplechase runner
- Ryan Whiting, American shot putter
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- ... that wind assistance has caused the non-ratification of many potential world records in athletics?
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| Archive |
Selected biography
Claudia Testoni (19 December 1915 – 17 July 1998), was an Italian hurdler, sprinter and long jumper. She was European champion, in 1938, on 80 metres hurdles. She was born in Bologna and died in Cagliari. (Full article...)
Testoni is one of the 38 athletes included in the FIDAL Hall of Fame (list of Italian athletes who have won at least one gold medal at the Olympic Games, World Championships or European Championships, or who have achieved a world record).[1]
She was 4th at the 1936 Summer Olympics in two events. From 1931 to 1940 she has 17 caps in the Italian national athletics team. In the 1930s was celebrated her rivalry with compatriot Ondina Valla (the winner in Berlin 1936), after a thrilling final, resolved by a photo finish, and the same place in the 4 × 100 m relay. It is said that the disappointment over the Olympic fourth place was so great, that from that moment on she turned her back to her friend and rival Ondina; other sources, however, report letters in which the two friends showed renewed demonstrations of affection.
She was the world record holder in the 80 m hurdles event, until in 1942 it was taken away by Fanny Blankers-Koen.[2] Her son-in-law, Claudio Velluti, was a professional basketball player of Olimpia Milano.[3]
| More selected biographies |
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... 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?
- ... 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?
World records
Topics
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Records in 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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Sources
- ^ "Hall of Fame". fidal.it. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ^ "Women's 80/100 Meters Hurdles - Del's Athletics Almanac". athletics.hitsites.deaccessdate=24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ "Compie settant'anni e va in pensione lo storico direttore della Clinica ortopedica dell'Università Claudio Velluti, una vita da migliore in campo" (in Italian). unica.it. Retrieved 24 October 2012.[permanent dead link]
