Athletics
Track and field disciplines measured in metres and seconds: sprints, marathons, hurdles, high jump, pole vault, javelin, decathlon and everything between.
26 sports in athletics.
Athletics
The umbrella sport of the Olympic Games — track running, road running, jumps and throws.
Cross-Country Running
Endurance running over open, uneven country — mud, grass, hills and unpredictable weather.
Decathlon
MEN'S COMBINED-EVENTS athletic competition — 10 EVENTS over 2 days. Day 1: 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m. Day 2: 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, 1500m. Points scored per event via IAAF tables. Winner = highest total. Decathlon champion considered 'WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE'. Ancient (Greek pentathlon roots); modern Olympic since 1912.
Discus Throw
Ancient athletics throwing event — athlete rotates 1.5 turns within a 2.5m diameter circle and hurls a heavy metal-rimmed disc (2 kg men, 1 kg women) for maximum distance into a 34.92° landing sector.
Fell Running
British hill and mountain running — off-track races up and down open fells at brutal gradients.
Half Marathon
21.0975 km road race — the world's most popular endurance distance, with courses in every major city.
Hammer Throw
Throwing event — spin three or four rotations in a 2.135 m circle and release a wire-and-ball hammer for distance.
Heptathlon
WOMEN'S COMBINED-EVENTS athletic competition — 7 EVENTS over 2 days. Day 1: 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m. Day 2: long jump, javelin, 800m. Points via IAAF scoring tables. Winner = highest total. Considered women's decathlon equivalent. Olympic sport since 1984 Los Angeles. JACKIE JOYNER-KERSEE world record 7291 pts (1988).
High Jump
Vertical jumping event in which athletes clear a horizontal bar without the aid of any apparatus, using the Fosbury Flop back-arch technique — current world records: 2.45 m (men) and 2.09 m (women).
Hurdles
Track athletics event in which runners sprint and clear 10 barrier hurdles evenly spaced along the track — Olympic events: 100mH (women), 110mH (men), 400mH (both).
Javelin Throw
Ancient athletics throwing event — athletes sprint down 30m runway + hurl a 2.6-2.7m spear-like javelin (800 g men / 600 g women) with maximum distance + accuracy from behind the arc line.
Long Jump
Track-and-field horizontal jump: sprint down a runway and jump for maximum distance from a fixed take-off board into a sand pit.
Long-Distance Running
Track and cross-country races from 3,000 m up to 10,000 m — the domain of East African distance dynasties.
Marathon
The classic 42.195-kilometre road race — the Olympic long-distance running event and the flagship event of every big-city runner festival.
Middle-Distance Running
Athletics races between 800 m and one mile — pace, tactics and lung capacity in equal measure.
Obstacle Course Racing
Long-distance running punctuated by walls, ropes, monkey bars, cargo nets and mud pits.
Orienteering
Navigate a course of checkpoints in an unfamiliar forest using only map and compass — fastest wins.
Pole Vault
Vertical jumping event in which athletes use a flexible carbon-fibre pole to launch themselves over a horizontal bar, currently exceeding 6.2 m (20+ ft).
Race Walking
Olympic long-distance foot race with one strict rule: one foot must always be in contact with the ground.
Shot Put
Ancient throwing event in athletics — athletes 'put' (push) a metal shot (7.26 kg men / 4 kg women) as far as possible from a 2.135m diameter circle using explosive rotational or gliding technique.
Sprint
The shortest athletics track races — 60 m (indoor), 100 m, 200 m and 400 m all-out sprints.
Sprinting
Short-distance track athletics events (60m indoor, 100m, 200m, 400m) contested at maximum speed with fastest time winning.
Steeplechase
Long-distance track event — 3000m with 28 solid BARRIERS + 7 WATER JUMPS (barrier + water pit combination). Blend of distance running + hurdling + water traversal. Olympic sport (men since 1920, women since 2008). Kenya + Ethiopia dominant globally. World record: SOUFIANE EL BAKKALI (Morocco) men 7:52.11 (2023); BEATRICE CHEPKOECH (Kenya) women 8:44.32 (2018).
Trail Running
Long-distance running on mountain trails and technical terrain — often self-supported over huge climbs.
Triple Jump
Hop-step-jump for distance — three linked take-offs from a runway into a sand pit.
Ultramarathon
Any foot race longer than the marathon — the road classics 50 km, 100 km and 24-hour races.