List of international athletics competitions

In the sport of athletics, major international competitions between nations can be distinguished into four types:

• Multi-sport events, commonly referred to as Games, where athletics events form part of a wider sporting programme
• World championships, the primary competitions where all nations may compete
• Continental or regional championships, competitions between nations of a specific continent or region
• Championships where the invited nations or athletes have a shared language, religion, ethnicity, occupation or political allegiance

Competitions

#	Event	1st edition	Kind of competition	May participate
1	Olympic Games	1896	World games	Worldwide
2	World Championships	1983	World championships	Worldwide
3	World Indoor Championships	1985	World indoor championships	Worldwide
4	Universiade	1959	University games	Worldwide (college athletes)
5	Military World Games	1995	Military games	Worldwide (military athletes)
5a	World Military Track & Field Championship	1941	Military championships	Worldwide (military athletes)
6	Asian Games	1951	Continental games	Asia
7	Asian Indoor Games	2005	Continental indoor games	Asia
8	Pan American Games	1951	Continental games	Americas
9	African Games	1965	Continental games	Africa
10	European Games	2015	Continental games	Europe
11	European Championships	1934	Continental championships	Europe
12	European Indoor Championships	1966	Continental indoor championships	Europe
13	South American Championships	1919	Continental championships	South America
14	Asian Championships	1973	Continental championships	Asia
15	African Championships	1979	Continental championships	Africa
16	Ocenian Championships	1990	Continental championships	Oceania
17	Mediterranean Games	1951	Regional games	All nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea
18	Pan Arab Games	1953	Regional games	Arab World nations
19	Commonwealth Games	1930	Regional games	Commonwealth of Nations
20	Central American and Caribbean Games	1926	Regional games	Central American and Caribbean nations
21	East Asian Games	1983	Regional games	East Asian nations
22	South Asian Games	1953	Regional games	South Asian nations
23	Southeast Asian Games	1959	Regional games	Southeast Asian nations
24	Island Games	1985	Regional games	European islands and other small territories
25	Games of the Small States of Europe	1985	Regional games	Small states of Europe
26	Maccabiah Games	1950	Ethnoreligious games	Jewish athletes
27	Lusophony Games	2006	Language games	Portuguese speaking nations
28	Jeux de la Francophonie	1989	Language games	French-speaking nations
29	Central American and Caribbean Championships	1967	Regional championships	Central American and Caribbean nations
30	North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships	2007	Regional championships	North American, Central American and Caribbean nations
31	Ibero-American Championships	1983	Regional championships	Ibero-American countries
32	Pacific Conference Games	1969	Invitational championships	Five Pacific-coast countries (later invitational)
33	FAJR Indoor Championships	1992	Regional championships	Asia

See also

• List of multi-sport events

External links

• List of medallist of the International Athletics Championships, Games and Cups