An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track and field and marathon runners but excluding e.g. swimmers, footballers or basketball players. However in other contexts it is used to refer to all athletics participants of any sport. For the latter definition, the word sportsperson or its gendered sportsman or sportswoman are also used. A third definition is also sometimes used meaning anyone who is physically fit regardless of whether or not they compete in a sport.
Jim Thorpe at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Runners, ceramics, S. IV a.C.
Athletes taking part in a race on a snowy park in the U.S.
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
Image: Bregje crolla Europacup 2007
Image: Albert Meyer 3 Olympia 1896
Image: Pole Vault Sequence 3
Image: Fotothek df roe neg 0006300 033 Wettkampf im Weitsprung