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 race walking.
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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Arne Andersson (left) and Gunder Hägg (right) broke a number of middle-distance world records in the 1940s. (from Track and field) -
Men traversing the water jump in a steeplechase competition (from Track and field) -
Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele leading in a long-distance track event (from Track and field) -
Carl Lewis, one of the athletes who helped increase track and field's profile (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) -
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Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, one of the first modern track and field stadiums (from Track and field) -
Girls handing over the baton in a relay race in Leipzig in 1950 (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) -
Quincy Wilson setting the U18 world record in the 400-meter dash (from Track and field) -
The Roy Griak Invitational cross country meet at the University of Minnesota in September 2007 (from Cross country running) -
Runners at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, Portugal (from Cross country running) -
The start of a typical cross country race, as an official fires a gun to signal the start (from Cross country running) -
The 100 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
Naide Gomes in the jumping phase of the event (from Track and field) -
The finish of a women's 100m race (from Track and field) -
The Gordon Indoor Track features an 80-yard sprint straight, and the track is 220 yards in length. (from Track and field) -
A high school student attempting to high jump while using the Fosbury Flop technique (from Track and field) -
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Men assuming the starting position for a sprint race (from Track and field) -
A women's 400 m hurdles race at the 2007 Dutch Championships (from Track and field) -
A child taking part in a local schools meeting in Cambodia (from Track and field) -
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) -
A javelin throw athlete (from Track and field) -
Shaul Ladany (centre), in 1969 (from Race walking) -
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A typical layout of an outdoor track and field stadium (from Track and field) -
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An example of a racewalker in a "flight phase" (both feet entirely out of contact with the ground, a rule violation) (from Race walking) -
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A children's cross country competition in Čakovec, Croatia (from Cross country running) -
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An ancient Greece vase from 600 BC depicting a running contest (from Track and field) -
A graph of the world record progression in the men's 100 metres (from Track and field) -
Oscar Pistorius running in the first round of the 400 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
The New York State Federation Championship cross country meet in November 2010 (from Cross country running)
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Selected article
The Night of Legends is an annual track and field awards ceremony that announces the highest accolades given out by USA Track & Field (USATF), namely the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year Award and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Female Athlete of the Year Award. Before 2013, both the men's and women's awards were called the Jesse Owens Award. Since 2018, the ceremony is called the Night of Legends; before then, the awards were given out at USATF's annual meeting.
As the country's highest award for the sport, it was named after Jesse Owens in recognition of his significant career, which included four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. First awarded in 1981 to hurdler Edwin Moses, it was created to recognize the season's top American performer in track and field competitions. In 1996, the award was divided into two categories, with both a male and female winner. The 1996 winners, Michael Johnson and Gail Devers, each won two gold medals at that year's Olympics in Atlanta. Until 2008 the award was voted on by members of the United States athletics media only, but in 2009 fans were able to vote via the USATF website, with their opinions contributing 10% of the overall result.
The winners of the award are typically announced in late November or early December after the end of the outdoor track and field season. A number of athletes have received the award on more than one occasion: Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the first to do so with back-to-back wins in 1986 and 1987, while Carl Lewis won his second award in 1991. Michael Johnson was the first to receive the award three times (winning consecutively from 1994 to 1996) and Marion Jones became the first woman to collect three awards after wins in 1997, 1998 and 2002. In 2012, Allyson Felix won the award for the fourth time, thus distinguishing herself as the athlete with the most wins. Winners receive a replica of the award while the original remains on permanent display at the USATF Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. As of 2013, the female athlete of the year award was renamed the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award. (Full article...)
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Selected picture
Athlete birthdays
10 December:
- Tatyana Andrianova, Russian middle-distance runner
- Anna Jesień, Polish hurdler
- Jules Ladoumègue, French middle-distance runner
- Mark McKoy, Canadian hurdler
- Carla Sacramento, Portuguese middle-distance runner
11 December:
- Tatyana Kotova, Russian long jumper
- Ella Kovacs, Romanian middle-distance runner
- Ria Stalman, Dutch discus thrower
- Gete Wami, Ethiopian distance runner
12 December:
- Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper
- Arturo Barrios, Mexican distance runner
- Gus Desch, American hurdler
- Josef Doležal, Czechoslovakian walker
- Martina Hellmann, German discus thrower
- Wilson Kipketer, Kenyan-Danish middle-distance runner
- Wilfred Kirochi, Kenyan middle-distance runner
- Alvin Kraenzlein, American all-rounder
- Bernard Lagat, Kenyan-American middle- and long-distance runner
- Dean Macey, British decathlete
- Fiona May, British-Italian long jumper
- John Moffitt, American long jumper
- Michael Möllenbeck, German discus thrower
- Andrey Perlov, Russian race walker
- Christa Stubnick, German sprinter
13 December:
- Lillian Board, British 400/800 runner
- Tonja Buford-Bailey, American hurdler
- Janeth Jepkosgei, Kenyan middle-distance runner
- Joseph Mahmoud, French steeplechase runner
- Hellen Obiri, Kenyan middle-distance runner
- George Rhoden, Jamaican sprinter
14 December:
- Falk Balzer, German hurdler
- Ruth Fuchs, German javelin thrower
- Diana Gansky, German discus thrower
- Hanne Haugland, Norwegian high jumper
- Boris Henry, German javelin thrower
- C. J. Hunter, American shot putter
- Shedrack Korir, Kenyan middle-distance runner
- Walter Rangeley, British sprinter
- Howard Valentine, American middle-distance runner
- Diane Williams, American sprinter
15 December:
- Harold Abrahams, British sprinter
- Harry Babcock, American pole vaulter
- Bai Xue, Chinese distance runner
- Fita Bayissa, Ethiopian distance runner
- Jehue Gordon, Trinidadian hurdler
- Jorma Kinnunen, Finnish javelin thrower
- Véronique Mang, French sprinter
- Liliya Nurutdinova, Soviet middle-distance runner
16 December:
- Donovan Bailey, Canadian sprinter
- Heike Drechsler, German long jumper and sprinter
- Horatio Fitch, American sprinter
- Vince Matthews, American sprinter
- Harold Whitlock, British race walker
Related portals
More did you know
- ... that 1985 NCAA hurdling champion Thomas Wilcher won the Michigan High School Athletic Association team track & field championship three consecutive times, both as an athlete and a coach?
- ... that Charlie Fonville broke a 14-year-old shot put world record by almost twelve inches at the 1948 Kansas Relays but was not allowed to stay with the other athletes because he was African-American?
- ... that the Peachtree Road Race, held annually on July 4 (U.S. Independence Day) in Atlanta, Georgia, is the world's largest 10 kilometer road race with 55,000 runners participating in 2007?
- ... that Patrick Ivuti's photo finish victory in the 2007 Chicago Marathon, one of the five major marathons, was his first marathon victory?
| Archive |
Selected biography
Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (née Griffith; December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete and the fastest woman ever recorded, setting world records in the 100m and 200m in 1988. She was married to Al Joyner, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump. He was also her coach and husband during her success as a four-time Olympic medalist. During the late 1980s, she became a popular figure due to both her record-setting athleticism and eclectic personal style.
Griffith Joyner was born and raised in California. She was athletic from a young age and began running at track meets as a child. While attending California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), she continued to compete in track and field. While still in college, she qualified for the 100 m 1980 Olympics but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott. She made her Olympic debut four years later, winning a silver medal in the 200-meter distance at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. At the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials, Griffith set a new world record in the 100-meter sprint. She won three gold medals at the 1988 Olympics. (Full article...)
| More selected biographies |
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the Dutch women's 4 × 400 metres relay team, having never won a medal before, won European titles in 2021, in 2022, in 2023, in 2024, and in 2025?
- ... that a 400-metre race in 2025 was won by Lieke Klaver, who pretended that an absent competitor was running in front of her?
- ... that the championship record was broken three times in the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2024 World Athletics Relays?
- ... 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 Justyna Święty-Ersetic "snatch[ed] gold in the dying strides" of the women's 400 metres at the 2018 European Athletics Championships?
- ... that Ireland won the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2024 European Athletics Championships, receiving their first European gold medal in athletics since 1998?
- ... 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?
- ... that four-time NAIA scoring champion Grace Beyer has scored more career points than any female basketball player at a four-year college or university?
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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