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 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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Carl Lewis, one of the athletes who helped increase track and field's profile (from Track and field) -
Shaul Ladany (centre), in 1969 (from Race walking) -
The Roy Griak Invitational cross country meet at the University of Minnesota in September 2007 (from Cross country running) -
A graph of the world record progression in the men's 100 metres (from Track and field) -
A racewalker "flying" (entirely out of contact with the ground, a rule violation) (from Race walking) -
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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) -
A typical layout of an outdoor track and field stadium (from Track and field) -
The finish of a women's 100 m race (from Track and field) -
A javelin throw athlete (from Track and field) -
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The Gordon Indoor Track sports an 80-yard sprint straight, and the track is 220 yards in length. (from Track and field) -
The 100 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
Arne Andersson (left) and Gunder Hägg (right) broke a number of middle distance world records in the 1940s. (from Track and field) -
A children's cross country competition in Čakovec, Croatia (from Cross country running) -
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) -
Men assuming the starting position for a sprint race (from Track and field) -
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An ancient Greece vase from 600 BC depicting a running contest (from Track and field) -
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The start of a typical cross country race, as an official fires a gun to signal the start (from Cross country running) -
Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, one of the first modern track and field stadiums (from Track and field) -
Men traversing the water jump in a steeplechase competition (from Track and field) -
Naide Gomes in the jumping phase of the event (from Track and field) -
Runners at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, Portugal (from Cross country running) -
The New York State Federation Championship cross country meet in November 2010 (from Cross country running) -
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) -
A child taking part in a local schools meeting in Cambodia (from Track and field) -
Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele leading in a long-distance track event (from Track and field) -
A women's 400 m hurdles race at the 2007 Dutch Championships (from Track and field) -
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Oscar Pistorius running in the first round of the 400 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics (from Track and field) -
Girls handing over the baton in a relay race in Leipzig in 1950 (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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Selected article
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The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consists of a metal ball attached by a steel wire to a grip. These three components are each separate and can move independently. Both the size and weight of the ball vary between men's and women's events. The women's hammer weighs 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) for college and professional meets while the men's hammer weighs 7.26 kilograms (16.0 lb). (Full article...)
The men's hammer weighs 7.26 kilograms (16.0 lb) and the women's weighs 4 kg (8.8 lb), with the wire in either case no more than 122 centimetres (48 in) in length.[1] Like the other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the implement the farthest.
The throwing motion starts with the thrower swinging the hammer back-and-forth about two times to generate momentum. The thrower then makes three, four or (rarely) five full rotations using a complex heel-toe foot movement, spinning the hammer in a circular path and increasing its angular velocity with each rotation. Rather than spinning the hammer horizontally, it is instead spun in a plane that angles up towards the direction in which it will be launched. The thrower releases the hammer as its velocity is upward and toward the target.[2]
Throws are made from a throwing circle. The thrower is not allowed to step outside the throwing circle before the hammer has landed and may only enter and exit from the rear of the throwing circle. The hammer must land within a 34.92º throwing sector that is centered on the throwing circle. The sector angle was chosen because it provides a sector whose bounds are easy to measure and lay out on a field (10 metres out from the center of the ring, 6 metres across).[3][4] A violation of the rules results in a foul and the throw not being counted.[citation needed]
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Athlete birthdays
25 March:
- Irving Baxter, American jumper
- Christina Cahill, British middle-distance runner
- María Caridad Colón, Cuban javelin thrower
- Stacy Dragila, American pole vaulter
- Muriel Hurtis-Houairi, French sprinter
- Abdalaati Iguider, Moroccan middle-distance runner
- Carl Kaufmann, German sprinter
- Stefka Kostadinova, Bulgarian high jumper
- Gunnar Nielsen, Danish middle-distance runner
- Aleksandr Puchkov, Soviet hurdler
- Irina Stankina, Russian race walker
- Mitchell Watt, Australian long jumper
26 March:
- Lennart Atterwall, Swedish javelin thrower
- Barbara Jones, American sprinter
- Stig Pettersson, Swedish high jumper
- Tatyana Providokhina, Soviet middle-distance runner
- Violeta Szekely, Romanian middle-distance runner
- Vilho Tuulos, Finnish triple jumper
27 March:
- Nunu Abashidze, Soviet shot putter
- Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete
- Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter
- Jukka Keskisalo, Finnish steeplechase runner
- Aleksandr Klimenko, Ukrainian shot putter
- Antonina Lazareva, Soviet high jumper
- Mihaela Melinte, Romanian hammer thrower
- Dean Starkey, American pole vaulter
28 March:
- Ladji Doucouré, French hurdler
- Harvey Glance, American sprinter
- Evelin Jahl, German discus thrower
- Sylvia Kibet, Kenyan distance runner
- Aksana Miankova, Belarusian hammer thrower
- Martin Sheridan, Irish-American thrower and standing jumper
- Józef Szmidt, Polish triple jumper
- Ilke Wyludda, German discus thrower
- Olga Yegorova, Russian middle- and long-distance runner
29 March:
- Ed Archibald, Canadian pole vaulter
- Kim Batten, American hurdler
- Jim Bausch, American decathlete
- Yusuf Saad Kamel, Kenyan-Bahraini middle-distance runner
- Sigrid Kirchmann, Austrian high jumper
- Voula Patoulidou, Greek hurdler
- Djabir Saïd-Guerni, Algerian middle-distance runner
- Steve Smith, British high jumper
- Ivan Ukhov, Russian high jumper
30 March:
- Paweł Czapiewski, Polish middle-distance runner
- Tommy Green, British race walker
- Josiah McCracken, American thrower
- Mikio Oda, Japanese triple jumper
- István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian middle-distance runner
- Kareem Streete-Thompson, Caymanian-American long jumper
- Obadele Thompson, Barbadian sprinter
- Leonid Voloshin, Russian triple jumper
31 March:
- Roger Black, British sprinter
- Kimmo Kinnunen, Finnish javelin thrower
- Tamara Tyshkevich, Soviet shot putter
- Klaus Wolfermann, German javelin thrower
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Selected biography
Vilho "Ville" Eino Ritola (18 January 1896 – 24 April 1982) was a Finnish long-distance runner. Known as one of the "Flying Finns", he won five Olympic gold medals and three Olympic silver medals in the 1920s. He holds the record of winning most athletics medals at a single Games – four golds and two silvers in Paris 1924 – and ranks second in terms of most athletics gold medals at a single Games. (Full article...)
At the 1924 Paris Olympics, he won four gold and two silver medals. He had a start on eight consecutive days to achieve this, all long-distance.
Ritola's 1924 triumph in Paris is historical. His six medals from Paris is still the biggest number of medals won by an athlete in one Olympic games event. His four gold medals put him in second place after Paavo Nurmi in the number of gold medals won by an athlete in one Olympic Games event.[5]
Ritola's last Olympic appearance was in the 5,000 m at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Both Ritola and Nurmi had hurt themselves in the steeplechase qualification competitions. Nurmi had a sore hip and Ritola a sore ankle. However, Ritola again took the lead at 2,500m. At 600m before the finish, only Ritola and Nurmi were left in the leading group. This time, Ritola pulled away from Nurmi in the final curve and won by 12 metres – 3 seconds. Wide nearly caught Nurmi, and Nurmi only held on to silver by a 0.2s margin.[6] This victory brought Ritola's career total to five Olympic gold medals and three silver medals.[7]
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the championship record was broken three times in the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2024 World Athletics Relays?
- ... that the men's 100 metres event at the 2023 British Athletics Championships was run in heavy rain?
- ... 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 at the 2022 British Indoor Athletics Championships, Lorraine Ugen equalled the championship long jump record?
- ... 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 Femke Bol successfully defended her 2021 title by winning the women's 400 metres at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships?
- ... that Femke Bol won the women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in a championship record of 52.49 seconds?
- ... that at the 2022 British Athletics Championships, Daryll Neita became the first woman since 2010 to win both the 100- and 200-metre events?
World records
Topics
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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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Sources
- ^ "Hammer Throw". World Athletics. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Johannsen, Dana (1 August 2021). "Tokyo 2020: Why the Olympic hammer throw may become a new national obsession". Stuff. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ "Hammer Throw". World Athletics.
- ^ "Laying Out Sector Angles for the Track and Field Throwing Events" (PDF). USA Track & Field Pacific Northwest. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-05-13. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
The shot, discus, hammer & weight throw sector is 34.92º. This angle was chosen due to its simple geometry.
- ^ "OLYMPIC TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS, THE RECORDS" (PDF). Track and Field News. 15 June 2014.
- ^ Jukola, Martti (toim.): Olympialaiskisat: III osa. WSOY, 1928.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ville Ritola". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
