1.
100 metres
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The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and it has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1928 for women. The reigning 100 m Olympic champion is named the fastest runner in the world. The World Championships 100 metres has been contested since 1983, jamaicans Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are the reigning world champions, Bolt and Elaine Thompson are the Olympic champions in the mens and womens 100 metres, respectively. On an outdoor 400 metres running track, the 100 m is run on the home straight, runners begin in the starting blocks and the race begins when an official fires the starters pistol. Sprinters typically reach top speed after somewhere between 50–60 m and their speed then slows towards the finish line. The 10-second barrier has historically been a barometer of fast mens performances, the current mens world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaicas Usain Bolt in 2009, while the womens world record of 10.49 seconds set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 remains unbroken. The 100 m emerged from the metrication of the 100 yards, the event is largely held outdoors as few indoor facilities have a 100 m straight. US athletes have won the mens Olympic 100 metres title more times than any country,16 out of the 28 times that it has been run. US women have dominated the event winning 9 out of 21 times. At the start, some athletes play psychological games such as trying to be last to the starting blocks, at high level meets, the time between the gun and first kick against the starting block is measured electronically, via sensors built in the gun and the blocks. A reaction time less than 0.1 s is considered a false start, the 0. 2-second interval accounts for the sum of the time it takes for the sound of the starters pistol to reach the runners ears, and the time they take to react to it. For many years a sprinter was disqualified if responsible for two false starts individually, however, this rule allowed some major races to be restarted so many times that the sprinters started to lose focus. The next iteration of the rule, introduced in February 2003, meant that one false start was allowed among the field, but anyone responsible for a subsequent false start was disqualified. To avoid such abuse and to improve spectator enjoyment, the IAAF implemented a change in the 2010 season – a false starting athlete now receives immediate disqualification. This proposal was met with objections when first raised in 2005, justin Gatlin commented, Just a flinch or a leg cramp could cost you a years worth of work. The rule had an impact at the 2011 World Championships. Runners normally reach their top speed just past the point of the race
2.
Marathon
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The marathon is a long-distance running race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres, usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, more than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants. The name Marathon comes from the legend of Philippides or Pheidippides and it is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming νενικήκαμεν, before collapsing and dying. Lucian of Samosata also gives the story, but names the runner Philippides, there is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend. In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides, in 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheidippides. Brownings poem, his story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend. This route, as it existed when the Olympics were revived in 1896, was approximately 40 kilometres long, and this route is considerably shorter, some 35 kilometres, but includes a very steep initial climb of more than 5 kilometres. When the modern Olympics began in 1896, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, the idea of a marathon race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics. The Greeks staged a race for the Olympic marathon on 10 March 1896 that was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. The winner of the first Olympic marathon, on 10 April 1896, was Spyridon Louis, the marathon of the 2004 Summer Olympics was run on the traditional route from Marathon to Athens, ending at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics. The womens marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds. It has become a tradition for the mens Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, often, the mens marathon medals are awarded during the closing ceremony. The Olympic mens record is 2,06,32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya, the Olympic womens record is 2,23,07, set at the 2012 Summer Olympics by Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia. The mens London 2012 Summer Olympic marathon winner was Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, per capita, the Kalenjin ethnic group of Rift Valley Province in Kenya has produced a highly disproportionate share of marathon and track-and-field winners. Johnny Hayes victory at the 1908 Summer Olympics contributed to the growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States. Later that year, races around the season including the Empire City Marathon held on New Years Day 1909 in Yonkers, New York
3.
Racewalking
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Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although it is a race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. This is assessed by race judges, typically held on either roads or on running tracks, common distances vary from 3000 metres up to 100 kilometres. There are two racewalking distances contested at the Summer Olympics, the 20 kilometres race walk and 50 kilometres race walk, both are held as road events. The biennial IAAF World Championships in Athletics also features the three events. The IAAF World Indoor Championships featured 5000 m and 3000 m race walk variations, top level athletics championships and games typically feature 20 km racewalking events. Compared to other forms of racing, stride length is reduced. There are two rules that govern racewalking, the first dictates that the athletes back toe cannot leave the ground until the heel of the front foot has touched. Violation of this rule is known as loss of contact, the second rule requires that the supporting leg must straighten from the point of contact with the ground and remain straightened until the body passes directly over it. These rules are judged by the human eye. Athletes regularly lose contact for a few milliseconds per stride, which can be caught on film, athletes stay low to the ground by keeping their arms pumping low, close to their hips. If one sees a racewalkers shoulders rising, it may be a sign that the athlete is losing contact with the ground, what appears to be an exaggerated swivel to the hip is, in fact, a full rotation of the pelvis. Athletes aim to move the forward, and to minimize sideways motion in order to achieve maximum forward propulsion. Speed is achieved by stepping quickly with the aim of rapid turnover and this minimizes the risk of the feet leaving the ground. Strides are short and quick, with pushoff coming forward from the ball of the foot, world-class racewalkers can average under four and five minutes per kilometre in a 20-km racewalk. Races have been walked at distances as short as 3 kilometres —at the 1920 Summer Olympics—and as long as 100 km. The mens world record for the 50-mile race walk is held by Israeli Shaul Ladany, the modern Olympic events are the 20 km race walk and 50 km race walk. There are judges on the course to monitor form, three judges submitting red cards for violations results in disqualification
4.
High jump
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The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern most practised format, a bar is placed between two standards with a mat for landing. In the modern era, athletes run towards the bar and use the Fosbury Flop method of jumping, leaping head first with their back to the bar, performed since ancient times, competitors have introduced increasingly more effective techniques to arrive at the current form. The discipline is, alongside the pole vault, one of two vertical clearance events to feature on the Olympic athletics programme and it is contested at the World Championships in Athletics and IAAF World Indoor Championships, and is a common occurrence at track and field meetings. The high jump was among the first events deemed acceptable for women, Javier Sotomayor is the current mens record holder with a jump of 2.45 m set in 1993 – the longest standing record in the history of the mens high jump. Stefka Kostadinova has held the world record at 2.09 m since 1987. The rules for the jump are set internationally by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Jumpers must take off on one foot, a jump is considered a failure if the bar is dislodged by the action of the jumper whilst jumping or the jumper touches the ground or breaks the plane of the near edge of the bar before clearance. The technique one uses for the jump must be almost flawless in order to have a chance of clearing a high bar, competitors may begin jumping at any height announced by the chief judge, or may pass, at their own discretion. Three consecutive missed jumps, at any height or combination of heights, the victory goes to the jumper who clears the greatest height during the final. If two or more tie for first place, the tie-breakers are, 1) The fewest misses at the height at which the tie occurred. If the event remains tied for first place, the jumpers have a jump-off, the bar is then alternately lowered and raised until only one jumper succeeds at a given height. The first recorded high jump event took place in Scotland in the 19th century, early jumpers used either an elaborate straight-on approach or a scissors technique. In the later years, the bar was approached diagonally, around the turn of the 20th century, techniques began to modernise, starting with the Irish-American Michael Sweeneys Eastern cut-off. By taking off like the scissors, but extending his back and flattening out over the bar, Sweeney achieved a more economic clearance, another American, George Horine, developed an even more efficient technique, the Western roll. In this style, the bar again is approached on a diagonal, Horine increased the world standard to 2.01 m in 1912. His technique was predominant through the Berlin Olympics of 1936, in which the event was won by Cornelius Johnson at 2.03 m, American and Soviet jumpers held the playing field for the next four decades, and they pioneered the evolution of the straddle technique. Straddle jumpers took off as in the Western roll, but rotated their torso around the bar, straddle-jumper Charles Dumas was the first to clear 7 feet, in 1956, and American John Thomas pushed the world mark to 2.23 m in 1960
5.
Pole vault
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Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, Cretans and it has been a full medal event at the Olympic Games since 1896 for men and 2000 for women. It is typically classified as one of the four jumping events in athletics, alongside the high jump, long jump. It is unusual among track and field sports in that it requires a significant amount of specialised equipment in order to participate, running speed, however, may be the most important skill required. Artificial draining of these created a network of open drains or canals intersecting each other. To cross these without getting wet, while avoiding tedious roundabout journeys over bridges, venetian gondoliers have traditionally used punting poles for moving to the shore from their boat. Distance pole vaulting competitions continue to be held annually in the lowlands around the North Sea and these far-jumping competitions are not based on height. Other early pole vaulting competitions where height was measured took place at the Ulverston Football and Cricket Club, Lancashire, north of the sands in 1843. Modern competition began around 1850 in Germany, when pole vaulting was added to the exercises of the Turner gymnastic clubs by Johann C. F. GutsMuths, in Great Britain, it was first practiced at the Caledonian Games. Initially, vaulting poles were made from materials such as bamboo or aluminum. The introduction of flexible vaulting poles in the early 1950s made from such as fiberglass or carbon fiber allowed vaulters to achieve greater height. Physical attributes such as speed, agility and strength are essential to pole vaulting effectively, the object of pole vaulting is to clear a bar or crossbar supported upon two uprights without knocking it down. In 2000, IAAF rule 260. 18a was amended, so that records can be set in a facility with or without roof. This rule was not applied retroactively, With many indoor facilities not conforming to outdoor track specifications for size and flatness, today, athletes compete in the pole vault as one of the four jumping events in track and field. Because the high jump and pole vault are both vertical jumps, the competitions are conducted similarly, each athlete can choose what height they would like to enter the competition. Once they enter, they have three attempts to clear the height, if a height is cleared, the vaulter advances to the next height, where they will have three more attempts. Once the vaulter has three consecutive misses, they are out of the competition and the highest height they cleared is their result, a no height, often denoted NH, refers to the failure of a vaulter to clear any bar during the competition. Once the vaulter enters the competition, they can choose to pass heights, similarly, after earning two misses at a height, they could pass to the next height, when they would have only one attempt
6.
Long jump
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The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point. Along with the jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a group are referred to as the horizontal jumps. This event has a history in the Ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympic event for men since the first Olympics in 1896 and for women since 1948. If the competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot past the foul line, a layer of plasticine is placed immediately after the board to detect this occurrence. An official will also watch the jump and make the determination, therefore, it is in the best interest of the competitor to get as close to the foul line as possible. Competitors are allowed to place two marks along the side of the runway in order to assist them to jump accurately. At a lesser meet and facilities, the plasticine will likely not exist, at a smaller meet, the number of attempts might also be limited to four or three. Each competitor has a set number of attempts and that would normally be three trials, with three additional jumps being awarded to the best 8 or 9 competitors. All legal marks will be recorded but only the longest legal jump counts towards the results, the competitor with the longest legal jump at the end of competition is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, then comparing the next best jumps of the tied competitors will be used to determine place. In a large, multi-day elite competition, a set number of competitors will advance to the final round, a set of 3 trial round jumps will be held in order to select those finalists. For record purposes, the maximum accepted wind assistance is two metres per second, the long jump is the only known jumping event of Ancient Greeces original Olympics pentathlon events. All events that occurred at the Olympic Games were initially supposed to act as a form of training for warfare, the long jump emerged probably because it mirrored the crossing of obstacles such as streams and ravines. After investigating the surviving depictions of the ancient event it is believed that unlike the modern event, the athletes carried a weight in each hand, which were called halteres. These weights were swung forward as the athlete jumped in order to increase momentum and it is commonly believed that the jumper would throw the weights behind him in midair to increase his forward momentum, however, halteres were held throughout the duration of the jump. Swinging them down and back at the end of the jump would change the center of gravity and allow the athlete to stretch his legs outward. The jump itself was made from the bater and it was most likely a simple board placed on the stadium track which was removed after the event. The jumpers would land in what was called a skamma, the idea that this was a pit full of sand is wrong
7.
Shot put
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The shot put is a track and field event involving throwing/putting a heavy spherical object —the shot—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, homer mentions competitions of rock throwing by soldiers during the Siege of Troy but there is no record of any dead weights being thrown in Greek competitions. The first evidence for stone- or weight-throwing events were in the Scottish Highlands, in the 16th century King Henry VIII was noted for his prowess in court competitions of weight and hammer throwing. The first events resembling the modern shot put likely occurred in the Middle Ages when soldiers held competitions in which they hurled cannonballs, shot put competitions were first recorded in early 19th century Scotland, and were a part of the British Amateur Championships beginning in 1866. Competitors take their throw from inside a marked circle 2.135 metres in diameter, the following rules are adhered to for a legal throw, Upon calling the athletes name, the athlete may enter from any part of the throwing circle. They have sixty seconds to commence the throwing motion otherwise they are banned from the game, the athlete may not wear gloves, IAAF rules permit the taping of individual fingers. The athlete must rest the shot close to the neck, the shot must be released above the height of the shoulder, using only one hand. The athlete may touch the surface of the circle or toe board. Limbs may however extend over the lines of the circle in the air, the shot must land in the legal sector of the throwing area. The athlete must leave the circle from the back. The athlete may enter the circle at the location of their choice. Foul throws occur when an athlete, Does not pause within the circle before beginning the throwing motion, does not complete the throwing movement within sixty seconds of having their name called. Allows the shot to drop below his shoulder or outside the plane of his shoulder during the put. At any time if the shot loses contact with the neck then it is technically an illegal throw, during the throwing motion, touches with any part of the body, the top or ends of the toe board the top of the iron ring anywhere outside the circle. Throws a shot which either falls outside the sector or touches a sector line on the initial impact. Leaves the circle before the shot has landed, does not leave from the rear half of the circle. The following are either obsolete or non-existent, but commonly believed rules within professional competition, the athlete entering the circle, then exiting and re-entering it prior to starting the throw results in a foul. Each competition has a set number of rounds of throws, typically there are three preliminary rounds to determine qualification for the final, and then three more rounds in the final
8.
Discus throw
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The discus throw is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-B. C, although not part of the modern pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least to 708 BC. Discus is a part of most modern track-and-field meets at all levels and is a sport which is particularly iconic of the Olympic Games. The mens competition has been a part of the modern Summer Olympic Games since the first Olympiad in 1896. Images of discus throwers figured prominently in advertising for early modern Games, such as fundraising stamps for the 1896 games, the discus was re-discovered in Magdeburg, Germany, by Christian Georg Kohlrausch and his students in the 1870s. His work around the discus and the throwing techniques have been published since the 1880. The first modern athlete to throw the discus while rotating the body was František Janda-Suk from Bohemia. He invented this technique when studying the position of the statue of Discobolus. After only one year of developing the technique he gained the silver in 1900. The womens competition was added to the Olympic program in the 1928 games, the mens discus is a heavy lenticular disc with a weight of 2 kilograms and diameter of 22 centimetres, the womens discus has a weight of 1 kilogram and diameter of 18 centimetres. Under IAAF rules, Youth boys throw the 1.5 kilograms discus, the Junior men throw the unique 1.75 kilograms discus, in international competition, men throw the 2 kg discus through to age 49. The 1.5 kilograms discus is thrown by ages 50–59, women throw the 1 kilogram discus through to age 74. Starting with age 75, women throw the 0.75 kilograms discus, the typical discus has sides made of plastic, wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber or metal with a metal rim and a metal core to attain the weight. The rim must be smooth, with no roughness or finger holds, a discus with more weight in the rim produces greater angular momentum for any given spin rate, and thus more stability, although it is more difficult to throw. However, a higher rim weight, if thrown correctly, can lead to a farther throw, a solid rubber discus is sometimes used. To make a throw, the starts in a circle of 2.5 m diameter. The thrower typically takes an initial stance facing away from the direction of the throw and he then spins anticlockwise around one and a half times through the circle to build momentum, then releases his throw. The discus must land within a 34. 92-degree sector, the distance from the front edge of the circle to where the discus has landed is measured, and distances are rounded down to the nearest centimetre
9.
Hammer throw
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The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The hammer used in sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consists of a ball attached by a steel wire to a grip. The size of the varies between mens and womens competitions. With roots dating back to the 15th century, the version of the hammer throw is one of the oldest of Olympic Games competitions, first included at the 1900 games in Paris. The hammer evolved from its early origins to become part of the Scottish Highland games in the late 18th century. In the absence of weapons of war, the Scots turned to methods of military training. While the mens hammer throw has been part of the Olympics since 1900, womens hammer throw was first included in the Olympics at the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia, after having been included in the World Championships a year earlier. The mens hammer weighs 16 pounds and measures 3 feet 11 3⁄4 inches in length, like the other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the implement the farthest. The ball moves in a path, gradually increasing in velocity with each turn with the high point of the hammer ball toward the target sector. The thrower releases the ball from the front of the circle, as of 2015 the mens hammer world record is held by Yuriy Sedykh, who threw 86.74 m at the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, West Germany on 30 August. The world record for the hammer is held by Anita Włodarczyk. Updated August 2015 Ivan Tsikhan of Belarus also threw 86.73 on 3 July 2005 in Brest, betty Heidler also threw 77.13 m,77.12 m. Gulfiya Agafonova of Russia also threw 77.36 on 26 May 2007 in Sochi, gwen Berry of the United States threw 76.31 on 21 May 2016 in Tucson, but this performance was annulled due to doping offense. Manuela Montebrun of France threw 75.20 on 18 May 2003 in Vineuil, the throw was made onto sloping ground, and therefore not a legal performance. IAAF list of records in XML HammerThrow. eu HammerThrow. org Statistics Hammer Throw Records Hammer Throw History
10.
Javelin throw
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The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about 2.5 m in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area, Javelin throwing is an event of both the mens decathlon and the womens heptathlon. The javelin was part of the pentathlon of the Ancient Olympic Games beginning in 708 BC in two disciplines, distance and target throw, the javelin was thrown with the aid of a thong, called ankyle wound around the middle of the shaft. Athletes would hold the javelin by the thong and when the javelin was released this thong unwound giving the javelin a spiraled flight, throwing javelin-like poles into targets was revived in Germany and Sweden in the early 1870s. In Sweden, these developed into the modern javelin, and throwing them for distance became a common event there. The rules continued to evolve over the decades, originally, javelins were thrown with no run-up. Limited run-ups were introduced in the late 1890s, and soon developed into the modern unlimited run-up, swedens Eric Lemming, who threw his first world best in 1899 and ruled the event from 1902 to 1912, was the first dominant javelin thrower. Competitions for the hand only were less common, though not unknown. At the Olympics a both-hands contest was only once, in 1912, Finland swept the medals. Hungarys Mór Kóczán used a freestyle end grip to break the 60-meter barrier in 1911, the first known womens javelin marks were recorded in Finland in 1909. Originally, women threw the same implement as men, a lighter, shorter javelin for women was introduced in the 1920s, womens javelin throw was added to the Olympic program in 1932, Mildred Babe Didrikson of the United States became the first champion. For a long time, javelins were made of wood, typically birch. The current mens record is held by Jan Železný at 98.48 m. Of the 69 Olympic medals that have been awarded in the javelin,32 have gone to competitors from Norway. Finland has, however, never been nearly as successful in the womens javelin, the javelin was also part of some of the many early forms of womens pentathlon, and has always been included in the heptathlon after it replaced the pentathlon in 1981. The size, shape, minimum weight, and center of gravity of the javelin are all defined by IAAF rules. In international competition, men throw a javelin between 2.6 and 2.7 m in length and 800 g in weight, the javelin has a grip, about 150 mm wide, made of cord and located at the javelins center of gravity. Unlike the other throwing events, the used to throw the javelin is dictated by IAAF rules
Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)
Alina Astafei (GER)
Inga Babakova (UKR)
Tatyana Motkova (RUS)
Tatyana Shevchik (BLR)
Hanne Haugland (NOR)
Amy Acuff (USA)
Nelė Žilinskienė (LTU)
Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE)
Monica Iagăr (ROM)
Alica Javadová (SVK)
Silvia Costa (CUB)
Alison Inverarity (AUS)
Natalia Jonckheere (BEL)
Svetlana Munkova (UZB)
Kaisa Gustafsson (FIN)
Irène Tiéndrebeogo (BUR)
Sieglinde Cadusch (SUI)
Svetlana Zalevskaya (KAZ)
Najuma Fletcher (GUY)
Pia Zinck (DEN)
Zuzana Kováčiková (CZE)
Olga Bolşova (MDA)
Monika Gollner (AUT)
Lea Haggett (GBR)
Desiré du Plessis (RSA)