Introduction
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Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. 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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Selected article
The men's marathon race of the 1908 Summer Olympics took place in London on 24 July 1908. Johnny Hayes won after Dorando Pietri was disqualified for having received assistance before the finish line. For the first time in an Olympic marathon, the distance was 26 mi 385 yd (42.195 km), which would become the standard distance in 1921. 75 competitors entered the race, of whom 55 from 16 nations started, with 27 from 11 nations finishing. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The United States and South Africa each won their first Olympic marathon medals. (Full article...)
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Athlete birthdays
28 June:
- Adrián Annus, Hungarian hammer thrower
- Ibrahim Camejo, Cuban long jumper
- Anişoara Cuşmir, Romanian long jumper
- Belayneh Dinsamo, Ethiopian distance runner
- Howard Drew, American sprinter
- Lloyd LaBeach, Panamanian sprinter
- Guillermo Martínez, Cuban javelin thrower
- Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter
- Fabrizio Mori, Italian hurdler
- Lars Riedel, German discus thrower
- Hans-Joachim Walde, German decathlete
- Zhong Huandi, Chinese distance runner
29 June:
- Margitta Gummel, German shot putter
- Henry Hawtrey, British distance runner
- Erik Lundqvist, Swedish javelin thrower
- Earle Meadows, American pole vaulter
- Rosa Mota, Portuguese distance runner
- Aleksandr Shustov, Russian high jumper
30 June:
- Andrey Abduvaliyev, Tajikistani hammer thrower
- Volker Beck, German hurdler
- Olga Bryzgina, Soviet sprinter
- Otis Harris, American sprinter
- Patrick Ivuti, Kenyan distance runner
- Asbel Kiprop, Kenyan middle-distance runner
- Billy Mills, American distance runner
- Silke Renk, German javelin thrower
- Hezekiél Sepeng, South African middle-distance runner
- Barbora Špotáková, Czech javelin thrower
1 July:
- Ödön Földessy, Hungarian long jumper
- Ed Gordon, American long jumper
- Glenn Hardin, American hurdler
- Lynn Jennings, American distance runner
- Carl Lewis, American sprinter and long jumper
- Steffi Nerius, German javelin thrower
- Jefferson Pérez, Ecuadorian race walker
- Donald Thomas, Bahamian high jumper
- Tatyana Tomashova, Russian middle-distance runner
- Szymon Ziółkowski, Polish hammer thrower
2 July:
- Derrick Adkins, American hurdler
- Ricky Bruch, Swedish discus thrower
- Walter Davis, American triple jumper
- Daphne Hasenjager, South African sprinter
- Séra Martin, French middle-distance runner
- Wendell Mottley, Trinidadian sprinter
3 July:
- Johnny Gibson, American hurdler
- Remigius Machura, Czechoslovakian shot putter
- Churandy Martina, Dutch sprinter
- Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese distance runner
- Daniel Plaza, Spanish race walker
4 July:
- John Anderson, American discus thrower
- Wude Ayalew, Ethiopian distance runner
- Amantle Montsho, Botswanan sprinter
- Aurèle Vandendriessche, Belgian distance runner
Related portals
More did you know
- ... that Erica Larson, a chemist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, won the Pikes Peak mountain marathon five times in six years between 1999 and 2004, more than any other woman in the event's history?
- ... that all four deaths in the thirty annual Chicago Marathons have occurred in the last ten years?
- ... that wind assistance has caused the non-ratification of many potential world records in athletics?
- ... that Patrick Ivuti's photo finish victory in the 2007 Chicago Marathon, one of the five major marathons, was his first marathon victory?
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Selected biography
Edwin Corley Moses (born August 31, 1955) is an American former hurdler who won gold medals in the 400 m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) and set the world record in the event four times. In addition to his running, Moses was also an innovative reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing. In 2000, he was elected the first Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, an international service organization of world-class athletes. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg/47px-Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg.png)
- ... 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 the women's race at today's New York City Marathon will feature two of the medalists from this year's Olympic marathon?
- ... that German runner Alica Schmidt, who is running in the Women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, has won multiple European junior relay medals?
- ... that at the 2022 British Indoor Athletics Championships, Lorraine Ugen equalled the championship long jump record?
- ... that when the Oakland Athletics promoted Bill McNulty to the major leagues, they needed forest rangers to find him?
- ... that in the 1932 baseball game in which pitcher Eddie Rommel won his last game, he pitched 17 innings in relief, an American League record?
- ... that Marthe Yankurije, who dropped out of school during her fourth year of secondary school, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics?
World records
Event | Men | Record | Women | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
100 m | ![]() |
9.58 | ![]() |
10.49 |
200 m | ![]() |
19.19 | ![]() |
21.34 |
400 m | ![]() |
43.03 | ![]() |
47.60 |
800 m | ![]() |
1:40.91 | ![]() |
1:53.28 |
1500 m | ![]() |
3:26.00 | ![]() |
3:49.11 |
5000 m | ![]() |
12:35.36 | ![]() |
14:00.21 |
10,000 m | ![]() |
26:11.00 | ![]() |
29:01.03 |
Marathon | ![]() |
2:00:35 | ![]() |
2:14:04 |
3000 m steeplechase | ![]() |
7:52.11 | ![]() |
8:44.32 |
110 / 100 m hurdles | ![]() |
12.80 | ![]() |
12.12 |
400 m hurdles | ![]() |
45.94 | ![]() |
50.68 |
High jump | ![]() |
2.45 m | ![]() |
2.09 m |
Pole vault | ![]() |
6.23 m | ![]() |
5.06 m |
Long jump | ![]() |
8.95 m | ![]() |
7.52 m |
Triple jump | ![]() |
18.29 m | ![]() |
15.74 m |
Shot put | ![]() |
23.56 m | ![]() |
22.63 m |
Discus throw | ![]() |
74.08 m | ![]() |
76.80 m |
Hammer throw | ![]() |
86.74 m | ![]() |
82.98 m |
Javelin throw | ![]() |
98.48 m | ![]() |
72.28 m |
Decathlon/Heptathlon | ![]() |
9126 pts. | ![]() |
7291 pts. |
20 km racewalk | ![]() |
1:16:36 | ![]() |
1:23:49 |
4×100 m relay | ![]() |
36.84 | ![]() |
40.82 |
4×400 m relay | ![]() |
2:54.29 | ![]() |
3:15.17 |
Topics
Athletics events
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Athletics competitions
It's from the first edition (1896 Summer Olympics), that Athletics has been considered the "Queen" of the Olympics. Since then there have been a series of competitions organized at world level, than at the continental level. Furthermore, the Athletics is the main sport of nearly all multi-sport events such as Universiade, Mediterranean Games or Pan American Games. The following list refers to the main Athletics competitions that take place in the world.
Event | 1st edition | Kind of competition | Can participate |
---|---|---|---|
Olympic Games | 1896 | World games | ![]() |
World Championships | 1983 | World championships | |
World Indoor Championships | 1985 | ||
European Championships | 1934 | Continental championships | ![]() |
European Indoor Championships | 1966 | ||
South American Championships | 1919 | ![]() | |
Asian Championships | 1973 | ![]() | |
African Championships | 1979 | ![]() | |
Ocenian Championships | 1990 | ![]() |
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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