Athletics and its List of Events
- 17 March 2022
Athletics And Its List Of Events
What is Athletics?
Derived from the Greek word, "Athlos," which means "to contest for a Prize," athletics is a sport that encloses various sporting events across several disciplines. Core sporting attributes, including walking, running, jumping, and throwing, are the heart and soul of all athletic events. Athletes are hailed as the 'Mother of all games. And those features have made Athletics a "way of life" rather than a sport.
The Summer Olympics marks the pinnacle of the sport, and undoubtedly it is the first connotation that strikes the chord. But anyhow, that doesn't refrain the sport to elite athletes. On the contrary, it steers participation at various levels, making it one of the most popular sports worldwide.
The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) is Athletics' governing body. It conducts tournaments throughout the year, stretching the scope of athletics beyond the Olympics.
Let's dive into the details without further ado!
The Athletic events are categorized as Track, Field, Road Running, Cross Country Running, and race walking.
TRACK AND FIELD EVENTS
As the name indicates, track and field events are conducted on tracks and fields, respectively. Various runs fall under track events, whereas different throws and jumps occur in the area.
TRACK EVENTS
SPRINTS
Sprints are races in which the athletes compete against each other for short distances. So naturally, speed is the most crucial factor here, as it is all about reaching a very short distance as soon as possible.
100 Meters, 200 Meters, and 400 Meters are the three categories in which sprints are organized.
HURDLES
Hurdles are races where athletes have to jump over hurdles while running at high speed. They are running in which a series of hurdles are raised that the athlete has to leap over.
Hurdles are conducted over 100Metres, 110 Meters, and 400 Meters.
RELAY
Relay is the only team event in athletics in which four athletes equally share a certain distance and hand over a baton on completing theirs to the athlete who is waiting to take over the consequent space.
Relays are conducted over 100Metres and 400Metres.
MIDDLE DISTANCE
Unlike sprints and hurdles, Middle distance runs are conducted over longer distances. Therefore, it demands endurance to carry on and speed to compete.
Middle distance races are run over 800Metres, 1500Metres, and 3000Metres.
LONG-DISTANCE
Defined by the name, these are races conducted over longer distances. They require consistency, endurance, Stamina, and Speed.
These races are organized over 5000Meters and 10,000Meters.
FIELD EVENTS: JUMPING
LONG JUMPS
The event starts with an approach run, usually around 40Metres, and take-off the jump before a take-off board lands the leap in a sandpit. The take-off board will be 20Cms long and wide and level with the ground, and the jump should be taken before making contact with the leading edge of the board. The jump's distance will be measured from the take-off point to the point disturbed at the sandpit, closest to the take-off point. Furthermore, the standing long jump was a part of the Olympics from 1900 to 1912.
WORLD RECORD-HOLDERS
MEN: Mike Powell (USA), 8.95 Meters.
WOMEN: Galina Chistyakova (Czechoslovakia), 7.52 Meters.
HIGH JUMP
The athlete will have to run through distance and jump over a horizontal bar without making contact in a high jump. The approach, the take-off, and the bar rotation are the three elements that form the base of a good high jump. The height jumped over by the athlete is recorded as the height of the jump.
WORLD RECORD-HOLDERS
MEN:Javier Sotomayor (Cuba), 2.45Metres Meters.
WOMEN: Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria), 2.09 Meters.
TRIPLE JUMP
The triple jump is very similar to the Long jump, except that it has three steps, hop, bound, and jump, by which the athlete will make three jumps before landing on the pit. A good acceleration, maximum controllable speed, Takeoff, hop, bound, and jump is the optimum technique for a solid triple Jump.
WORLD RECORD-HOLDERS
MEN: Jonathan Edwards (GB ), 18.29 Metres.
WOMEN: Inessa Kravets (Ukraine), 15.50 Meters.
POLE VAULT
Pole Vault is the sport of vaulting over a bar using a Pole. The athlete will have to run through a track with a pole, land the pole on metal, gain momentum to jump over a horizontal bar, and then let go of the pole and fall backward on a safe mattress. The athlete can choose a pole that suits their height.
WORLD RECORD-HOLDERS
MEN: Armand Duplantis (Louisianna) 6.17Metres.
WOMEN: Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia), 5.06 Meters.
FIELD EVENTS: THROWING
JAVELIN THROW
A javelin throw is a throwing event in which a metal-tipped sphere (Javelin ) uses one arm in a field. Similar to the jumps, the athlete may run a certain distance before reaching the foul line to gain momentum and throw the Javelin utilizing the speed. The specifications for the Javelin are 2.6Metres to 2.7Metres and 800Grams for Men and 2.2Metres to 2.3Metres and 600Grams for Women.
WORLD RECORD-HOLDERS
MEN:Jan Zelezny (Czek) ,98.48Metre.
WOMEN:Barbora Spotakova (Czech), 72.28Meters.
INDIAN RECORD
Neeraj Chopra holds India's record in the Javelin throw with 88.06Metres.
SHOT PUT
In a shot put, the athlete pushes the ball, a heavy spherical metal ball (7.26Kg for Men & 4Kg for Women), as far as possible. An athlete will have to put the shot from a(2.135Metre) circle and land the iron inside the 35degree sector. Unlike Javelin's throw, the athlete will not benefit from a run to gain momentum. Spin and glide are the two-shot put techniques.
WORLD RECORD-HOLDERS
MEN: Randy Barnes (USA), 23.13Meter
WOMEN: Natalia Lisovskaya (URS) ,23.63M put.
DISCUS THROW
Discus throw is very similar to the shot put, except the athlete throws a circular disk rather than an iron ball. The disc is 2Kg and 22 Cm.
WORLD RECORD-HOLDERS
Men: Jurgen Schult (GDR), 74.08
Women: Gabriel Reinsch(GDR), 76.70
HAMMER THROW
Athletes throw a metal ball ( 7.62 Kg for men and 4Kg for women) attached to a wire and make spins inside a 2.135Metre circle before throwing the ball. The ball should land in the designated 35degree sector, and the athlete should not leave the circle before the ball lands.
WORLD RECORD-HOLDERS
MEN: Yuriy Sedyhk ( URS ), 86.74Metre
WOMEN:Anita Wlodarczyk (Poland) 82.98 Meter.
COMBINED EVENTS
PENTATHLON
Pente- five; Athlon-Competition, and that makes Pentathlon.
And as the name goes, Pentathlon is a sport featuring five different events. Shooting, swimming, Fencing, Equestrianism, and Cross Country running are the five events that the Modern Pentathlon will feature.
The UIPM Senior World Championship is the annual Pentathlon Championship, and the sport is a part of all the Athletic Championships.
The Modern Pentathlon Federation of India (MPFI) is the National Governing body of the sport in India, and they organize tournaments at various levels.
HEPTATHLON
Hepta-Seven; Athlon-competition, and that makes Heptathlon.
The Heptathlon features seven events - 100M Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, 200M Sprint, Long Jump, Javelin throw, and 800M.
The Heptathlon is a part of the World Summer Olympics, World Games, and significant Athletic Championships.
DECATHLON
Deca-ten; Athlon – Competition which makes it Decathlon.
Decathlon is a discipline that features ten events – 100Metres, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, 400 Meters, 100Meter Hurdles, Discuss Throw, Pole Vault, Javelin Throw, 1500Meters namely. And the event is conducted over two days.
Summer Olympics, World Championships, and IAAF Combined Events Championships are some of the significant Championships featuring the sport.
COMBINED EVENTS
ROAD RUNNING
Road running is one of the forms of road racing. Road-runners run over an established surface, a road over a certain distance. These are long distant runs that range from 5Kms to 42.2Kms. 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, and Full Marathon are the IAAF-recognized events.
CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING
As opposed to all types of courses, cross country running is an individual or team running held on natural terrain that may include grass, hill, flat ground, dirt, etc. the typical course should be within 4-12kms.
Since 1928 Sport has been conducted only as the fifth discipline in the Olympics. Still, it has found its place in the International Cross-country Championship and IAAF World Championships.
RACE WALKING
Race walking is a foot race in which one of the feet should contact the ground at all times. It is mainly held on roads or running tracks.
The sport is featured in the Summer Olympics, the World Athletics Championships, and the IAAF Race Walking Championships.
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