Athletics

Athletics may refer to:

Track and field athletics, a sport, comprising a group of athletic events or disciplines, each of which involves either running, walking, throwing or jumping

Indian Sports Awards

Track and field athletics, commonly known as athletics or track and field, is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing and jumping. The name "athletics" is derived from the Greek word "athlos", meaning "contest".

Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Indoor athletics
* 3 Outdoor athletics
* 4 Events
.1 All Comers Track Meets
.2 Running and racewalking events
.3 Field events
+ 4.3.1 Throwing events
+ 4.3.2 Jumping events
o 4.4 Multiple-event competitions
* 5 Rules
o 5.1 Track events
2 Running the race
3 The finish
* 6 Track and field on coinage

History

The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BC was a stadium-length foot race or "stade", run on a track.

There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical era:

* Panhellenic Games:
The Pythian Games (founded 527 BC) held in Delphi every four years
The Nemean Games (founded 516 BC) held in Argolid every two years

The Isthmian Games (founded 523 BC) held on the Isthmus of Corinth every two years

* The Roman Games – Arising from Etruscan rather than purely Greek roots, the Roman Games deemphasized footraces and throwing. Instead, the Greek sports of chariot racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat, took center stage.
* The Tailteann Games (claimed foundation 1829 BC) – held near modern Telltown in Ireland, this thirty-day meeting included foot races and stone-throwing events

Other peoples, such as the Celts, Teutons and Goths who succeeded the Romans, enjoyed athletic contests. However, these were often related to combat training. In the Middle Ages the sons of noblemen would be trained in running, leaping and wrestling, in addition to riding, jousting and arms-training. Contests between rivals and friends may have been common on both official and unofficial grounds.

Annually, from 1796-1798, L'Olympiade de la République was held in revolutionary France, and is an early forerunner to the modern summer Olympic Games. The premier event of this competition was a footrace, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display. The 1796 Olympiade also marks the introduction of the metric system into sport.

In the 19th century the formal organization of the modern events accelerated - in France, Germany, and Great Britain in particular. This included the incorporation of regular sports and exercise into school regimes. The Royal Military College, Sandhurst has claimed to be the first to adopt this in 1812 and 1825, but without any supporting evidence. The earliest recorded meeting was organised at Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1840 by the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt. There are details of the meeting in a series of letters written 60 years later by C.T. Robinson, who was a pupil there from 1838 to 1841. The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich held an organised competition in 1849, but the first regular series of meetings was held by Exeter College, Oxford from 1850.[1]

Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400 metre running track on which most of the running events take place. Field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often take place on the infield, inside the track.

Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has formed their backbone ever since. Women were first allowed to participate in track and field events in the 1928 Olympics.

An international governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), was founded in 1912; it adopted its current name, the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 2001. The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in 1983. There are a number of regional games as well, such as the European Championships, the Pan-American Games, and the Commonwealth Games. In addition there is a professional Golden League circuit, cumulating in the IAAF World Athletics Final, and indoor championships such as the World Indoor Championships. The sport has a very high profile during major championships, especially the Olympics, but otherwise is less popular.

The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) was the governing body in the United States until it collapsed under pressure from advancing professionalism in the late 1970s. A new governing body called The Athletics Congress (TAC) was formed. It was later renamed USA Track & Field (USATF or USA T&F). An additional, less structured organization, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA), also exists in the United States to promote road racing.

In modern times, athletes can receive money for racing, putting an end to the so-called "amateurism" that existed before.


Indoor athletics

Typical "oval" track consisting of two semicircles joined by straight segments.

There are two seasons for track and field. There is an indoor season, run during the winter and an outdoor season, run during the spring. Most indoor tracks are 200 metres and consist of four to 8 lanes. There are also some 150 metre indoor tracks, and others as small as 120 metres have been used. Some "oversize tracks" (larger than 200 metres) are popular for American collegiate athletics despite the fact that they are not considered valid for setting indoor records. Often an indoor track will have banked turns to compensate for the tight radius of the turns. The banking can help prevent injuries to the athlete, while also promoting higher speeds.

In an indoor track meet athletes contest the same track events as at an outdoor meet, with the exception of the 100 m and 110 m/100 m hurdles (replaced by the 55 or 60 m sprint and 55 or 60 m hurdles at most levels, or the 55 m sprint and hurdles at the high school level), the 10,000 m run, 3,000 m steeplechase, 400 m hurdles. Indoor meets also have the addition of a 3,000 m run normally at both the collegiate and elite level, instead of the 10,000 m. The 5,000 m is the longest event commonly run indoors, although there are situations where longer distances have been raced. In the mid 20th century, there was a series of "duel" races on Madison Square Garden's indoor track, some of which featured two men racing a marathon (42.2 km). However, this is an extremely rare occurrence, for obvious reasons. In some occasions, there may also be a 500 m race instead of the open 400 m normally found outdoors, and in many college championship races indoors both are contested.

In field events, indoor meets only feature the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and shot put (weight throw). Due to space limitations, these events take place on the infield, within the circumferential track. The longer throws of javelin, hammer and discus are added only for outdoor meets, as there is normally not enough space in an indoor stadium to house these events.

Other events unique to indoor meets (especially in North America) are the 300 m, 600m, 1000 m, and 35 lb (16 kg) weight throw. In some countries, notably Norway, standing long jump and standing high jump are also contested, even in the National Championships.

For multi-event athletes there is the Pentathlon for women (consisting of 60 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800 m) and heptathlon for men (consisting of 60 m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60 m hurdles, pole vault and 1000 m) indoors.

Outdoor athletics

The outdoor track and field season usually begins in the spring and lasts through the summer. Most tracks are ovals of 400 metres in circumference. Modern "tartan tracks" or more recently "mondo tracks" are made with a rubberized surface; older tracks were cinder-covered. Tracks normally consist of 6-10 lanes (up to 12 lanes on the 'front' straight) and many include a steeplechase lane with a water pit on one of the turns. This steeplechase pit can be placed either inside or outside the track, making for a tighter turn or a wider turn. It is common that tracks will surround a playing field used for American football, association football (soccer), or lacrosse. This inner field is usually known as the infield and has a surface of either grass or artificial turf.

All field events can be contested on the infield. However the javelin, hammer and discus throws are sometimes contested on fields outside of the track stadium because they take up a large amount of space, the implements may damage the infield, and the implements could end up landing on the track. However, some infields are used specifically for these events, and for the javelin, an athlete may have a longer run-up by starting it on the other side of the track, and crossing when there are no athletes passing.

Events

There are other variations besides the ones listed below, but races of unusual length (e.g. 300 m) are run much less often. The unusual races are typically held during indoor season because of the shorter 200 m indoor track. With the exception of the mile run, races based on imperial distances are rarely run on the track anymore since most tracks have been converted from a quarter mile (402.3 m) to 400 m; almost all record keeping for imperial distances has been discontinued. However, the IAAF record book still includes the mile world record (currently held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco for men and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia for women) because of its worldwide historic significance.

Men and women do not compete against each other, although they may sometimes run in the same races due to time constraints at high school meets. Women generally run the same distances as men although hurdles and steeplechase barriers are lower and the weights of the shot, discus, javelin and hammer are less.


Track and Field is the most accessible sport for anybody to participate in. It only takes two people to have a race, or one can simply race a stopwatch. In events called All Comers Track Meets, anybody who wishes to participate is welcome. They are pretty low-key and are merely intended for gaining experience or just practicing for races. There is no exclusion because participants have no teams or even equipment. Most such meets are low cost or free. While races are usually seeded based on the entrant's expected level of ability, the most elite of athletes can and do use these meets as training grounds.

Running and racewalking events

Running events conducted on a track (generally 400 metres, except indoors):

Sprints are events up to and including the 400 metres. Events commonly contested are:

* 50 metres (indoors only)
* 55 metres (indoors only)
* 60 metres (indoors only)
* 100 metres
* 200 metres
* 400 metres

Middle Distance Events are events longer than sprints and up to 3000 metres. Events commonly contested are:

* 600 metres (uncommon)
* 800 metres
* 1000 metres (uncommon)
* 1500 metres
* One mile[2]
* 2000 metres (uncommon)
* 3000 metres
* 3000 metres steeplechase

Long Distance Events are events over 3000 metres. Events commonly contested are:

* 5000 metres
* 10000 metres

Hurdles events require the runner to run over evenly spaced barriers during the race. Events commonly contested are:

* 60 metres hurdles (indoors only)
* 100 metres hurdles (women)
* 110 metres hurdles (men)
* 400 metres hurdles

Relay races are events in which four athletes participate as a team, passing a metal baton in between. Events commonly contested are:

* 4 x 100 metres relay
* 4 x 200 metres relay (high school & collegiate)
* 4 x 400 metres relay
* 4 x 800 metres relay

Some events, such as medley relays, are rarely run except at large relay carnivals. Typical medley relays include:

* Sprint Medley Relay (SMR): the four legs are two 200 metre legs, 400 metres, 800 metres; or alternately two 100 metre legs, 200 metres, 400 metres
* Distance Medley Relay (DMR): the four legs are 1200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres, 1600 metres

Road Races are events conducted on open roads, sometimes finishing on a track. Events commonly contested are:

* 10 km
* 20 km
* Half marathon(21.0975 km)
* Marathon (42.195 km). The marathon is the only common road-racing distance run in major international athletics championships, such as the Olympics.

Racewalking may be contested on either the track or on open roads. Events commonly contested are:

* 10 km
* 20 km
* 50 km

Field events

Throwing events

* Discus Throw
* Hammer Throw
* Javelin Throw
* Shot Put

Jumping events

* High Jump
* Pole Vault
* Long Jump
* Triple Jump

The following events also take place, but are uncommon:

* Standing high jump
* Standing long jump
* Standing triple jump

Multiple-event competitions

Multiple event competitions include events from both the track (running) and field events.

Pentathlon: the outdoor Pentathlon includes the following five events:

* Long Jump
* Javelin
* 200 metres
* Discus
* 1500 metres

The outdoor Pentathlon was a national championship event in the United States until 1978. It is still contested in many places throughout the world, but rarely as a championship event. The Pentathon was also contested in several of the early Olympic Games, notably in the 1912 Olympics which was won by Jim Thorpe, who also won the Decathlon. The event was modeled after the original Greek Olympic Games, in which the Pentathlon was the foremost contest. It consisted of a Long Jump, Javelin, a statia run of approximately 180 metres, Discus, and Greco-Roman style wrestling.

Pentathlon: the indoor Pentathlon includes the following five events:

* High Hurdles (110 metres for men, 100 metres for women)
* Shot Put
* Long Jump
* High Jump
* Middle distance (1500 metres for men, 800 metres for women)

Heptathlon: the Heptathlon includes the following seven events:

Outdoors (usually only women):

* 100 metre high hurdles
* High Jump
* Shot Put
* 200 metres
* Long Jump
* Javelin Throw
* 800 metres

Indoors (usually only men):

* 60 metres
* Long Jump
* Shot Put
* High Jump
* 60 metres hurdles
* Pole Vault
* 1000 metres

Decathlon: the Decathlon includes the following ten events:

* 100 metres
* Long Jump
* Shot Put
* High Jump
* 400 metres
* 110 metre high hurdles
* Discus
* Pole Vault
* Javelin
* 1500 metres

Rules

Track events

The rules of track athletics or of track events in athletics as observed in most international athletics competitions are set by the Competition Rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The most recent complete set of rules is the 2009 rules that relate only to competitions in 2009.[3] Key rules of track events are those regarding starting, running and finishing.

Starting

The start of a race is marked by a white line 5 cm wide. In all races that are not run in lanes the start line must be curved, so that all the athletes start the same distance from the finish.[4] Starting blocks may be used for all races up to and including 400 m (including the first leg of the 4 x 200 m and 4 x 400 m) and may not be used for any other race. No part of the starting block may overlap the start line or extend into another lane.[5] All races must be started by the report of the starter's gun or approved starting apparatus fired upwards after he or she has ascertained that athletes are steady and in the correct starting position.[6] An athlete may not touch either the start line or the ground in front of it with his hands or his feet when on his marks.[7] At most international competitions the commands of the starter in his own language, in English or in French, shall, in races up to and including 400 m, be "On your marks" and "Set". When all athletes are "set", the gun must be fired, or an approved starting apparatus must be activated.[7] However, if the starter is not satisfied that all is ready to proceed, the athletes may be called out of the blocks and the process started over.

False start: An athlete, after assuming a final set position, may not commence his starting motion until after receiving the report of the gun, or approved starting apparatus. If, in the judgment of the starter or recallers, he does so any earlier, it is considered a false start. It is deemed a false start if, in the judgment of the starter an athlete fails to comply with the commands "on your marks" or "set" as appropriate after a reasonable time; or an athlete after the command "on your marks" disturbs other athletes in the race through sound or otherwise.[8] Any athlete making a false start must be warned.[9]

Running the race

In all races run in lanes, each athlete must keep within his allocated lane from start to finish. This also applies to any portion of a race run in lanes. If an athlete leaves the track or steps on the line demarking the track, he/she should be disqualified.[10] Also, any athlete who jostles or obstructs another athlete, in a way that impedes his progress, should be disqualified from that event.[11] However, if an athlete is pushed or forced by another person to run outside his lane, and if no material advantage is gained, the athlete should not be disqualified.

The finish

The finish of a race is marked by a white line 5 cm wide.[12] The athletes must be placed in the order in which any part of their torso ( as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet) reaches the vertical plane of the nearer edge of the finish line.[13]

Ties between different athletes are resolved as follows: In determining whether there has been a tie in any round for a qualifying position for the next round based on time, a judge (called the chief photo finish judge) must consider the actual time recorded by the athletes to 1/1000th of a second. If the judge decides that there has been a tie, the tying athletes must be placed in the next round or, if that is not practicable, lots must be drawn to determine who must be placed in the next round. In the case of a tie for first place in any final, the referee decides whether it is practicable to arrange for the athletes so tying to compete again. If he decides it is not, the result will stand. Ties in other placings remain.

Track and field on coinage
Running commemorative coin

Track and field events have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 Greek Running commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 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.

Indian Athletics

Athletic events in India include Track and Field, Road Running, Cross-country and even Race Walking events. Several track and field events of Athletics are played in India. The Athletics events in India include all the three departments of Athletics like running, jumping and throwing.

The events like Track and Field, Road Running, Cross-country and Race Walking are famous among all the Athletics events in India. The Track events played in India include running events like 100metres, 200metres, 400metres, 800metres, 1500metres, 5000metres, 10,000metres, 100meters hurdles, 110metres hurdles, 400metres hurdles, 3000metres steeplechase, 4-x 100metres relay and 4-x 400metres relay etc. The Track events also include Marathon running. Field events include High jump, Long jump, Triple jump, Pole vault, Shot-put, Discus throw, Javelin throw, Hammer throw. The Decathlon and Heptathlon are a combination of track and field events.

Athletic events in India are considered to be one of the oldest games in the nation, as it started its journey during the Vedic era. The Indian people have been playing different track and field events of Athletics since then and they have actually taken Athletics, as part of their exercise to maintain physical fitness. Almost all the Athletics events in India are played with great enthusiasm. Various Athletic meets are also organised in India

Field events are also an integral part of Athletics events in India. Among the most common Field events played in India, the most common ones are High jump, Long jump, Triple jump, Pole vault, Shot-put, Discus throw, Javelin throw, Hammer throw etc. The Athletics events like Triathlon, Decathlon and Heptathlon are actually the combination of both Track and Field events. Apart from these Athletic events in India, there are also the events like Road Running, Cross Country Races or Race Walking that are included in the Athletics events in India. Long jump is a Jumping event in Athletics, where the athlete jumps a distance in length. The highest distance achieved by an athlete determines the winner.

High Jump is another Jumping event in Athletics. In this event, the athlete has to jump high in the air and cross a bar set on a certain height. The athlete who achieves the longest distance is announced as the winner. Pole Vault is an event of Athletics where the athlete needs to jump high above a bar. The difference between high jump and pole vault is that here the athlete takes the help of a long, flexible pole to elevate him to jump to the highest distance. Triple Jump is an important athletic event and has a lot of similarities with Long Jump. However, the difference is that; here the athlete jumps three times on the same effort. Discus Throw is a throwing event of Athletics. Here the athlete has to throw a lens-shaped heavy disc to such a distance where nobody else can throw. The discus is usually made of rubber, plastic, wood or metal with a metal rim and a metal core to attain the weight. Apart from these the following athletic events are also important in India.

Athletic Events in IndiaIn the Hammer Throw event of Athletics, the thrower has to throw a heavy steel ball that is attached with a wire to a handle. There is a circle in this event and the thrower has to throw the ball staying within the circle. Javelin Throw is one of most popular events of Athletics. This is also a throwing event and here the thrower throws a javelin instead of discuss or hammer. Shot Put is an Athletic event that needs a lot of energy. Here, an athlete tries to throw a very heavy metal ball as far as possible to become the winner. In this event also, the athlete needs to stay within a circle. The steeplechase is a form of horse racing that is also included in Athletics. Here, the athlete needs to jump over fences and trenches and also a lot of other types of obstacles.

Hurdles are running event in Athletic events in India where the runners run through some obstacles. This is a little harder than the simple running as the athlete needs to do a bit jumping along with running in this case. Relay is another running event where more than one athlete runs one by one for the same goal and the winner is determined as a team. There is a small stick (called as Baton) in the play that the players have to rotate within themselves when their next runner`s term comes. Relays can be of various categories like 4x100 meters, 4x200 meters etc.

Heptathlon is one of the most ancient events in the Athletic events in India. The word is a diversion of two Greek words. `Hepta` means seven and `Athlos` means contest. The event is a combination of seven different games. There are two versions of the event for the men and women. The Women`s heptathlon has seven games like the 100 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 m, long jump, javelin throw and 800 m. The men`s heptathlon is consists of 60 m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60 m hurdles, pole vault and 1000 m. The winner here is determined according to the total points that an athlete gathered in all the seven games. Decathlon is a little extended version of the Heptathlon and this is also as ancient as the Heptathlon. Here the athletes have to compete in ten different events and the winner is determined according to the total points achieved by them, just like the Heptathlon.

A half marathon is road-running event where a number of athletes take part and they have to run the distance of 13 miles. As the name suggests, it is half the distance of a marathon. It is long enough to be a serious challenge but does not require the level of training of a full marathon. Walk is a very common Athletic event not only in India, but also in almost every part of the world. Here, a large number of people walk together to a certain distance and whoever touches the finish line first, announced as the winner. The distance varies in different countries. Marathon is a long-distance running event where the athletes run a distance of 26 miles. Here also, a large number of people take part and run together. The runner who touches the finishing line first, is usually declared as the winner of a Marathon.

The Athletic events in India not only attract thousands of sports lovers from all across the world, but they also hold the heritage of the nation dates back to thousand years. These events are now played in much more modernised form and enjoy a larger platform of Olympic participation.