1.
Sport of athletics
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Athletics is a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running. The results of racing events are decided by finishing position, while the jumps, the simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most commonly competed 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, organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BCE. The rules and format of the events in athletics were defined in Western Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th century. Most modern top level meetings are conducted by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the athletics meeting forms the backbone of the Summer Olympics. The foremost international athletics meeting is the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, other top level competitions in athletics include the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. Athletes with a disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships. The word athletics is derived from the Ancient Greek ἀθλητής from ἆθλον or ἆθλος, initially, the term was used to describe athletic contests in general – i. e. sporting competition based primarily on human physical feats. In the 19th century, the term acquired a more narrow definition in Europe. This definition continues to be the most prominent one in the United Kingdom, furthermore, foreign words in many German and Roman languages which are related to the term athletics also have a similar meaning. In much of North America, athletics is synonymous with sports in general, the word athletics is rarely used to refer to the sport of athletics in this region. Track and field is preferred, and is used in the United States and Canada to refer to most athletics events, including racewalking, Athletic contests in running, walking, jumping and throwing are among the oldest of all sports and their roots are prehistoric. Athletics events were depicted in the Ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara, with illustrations of running at the Heb Sed festival, the Tailteann Games were an ancient Celtic festival in Ireland, founded around 1800 BCE, and the thirty-day meeting included running and stone-throwing among its sporting events. The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BCE was a running event known as the stadion. This later expanded to include throwing and jumping events within the ancient pentathlon, Athletics competitions also took place at other Panhellenic Games, which were founded later around 500 BCE. The Cotswold Olimpick Games, a festival which emerged in 17th century England. Annually, from 1796 to 1798, LOlympiade de la République was held in revolutionary France, the premier event of this competition was a running event, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display
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Kenya
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Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in Africa and a founding member of the East African Community. Its capital and largest city is Nairobi and it is bordered by Tanzania to the south and southwest, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya covers 581,309 km2, and had a population of approximately 48 million people in January 2017, Kenya has a warm and humid tropical climate on its Indian Ocean coastline. The climate is cooler in the grasslands around the capital city, Nairobi, and especially closer to Mount Kenya. Further inland are highlands in Central and Rift Valley regions where tea, in the West are Nyanza and Western regions, there is an equatorial, hot and dry climate which becomes humid around Lake Victoria, the largest tropical fresh-water lake in the world. This gives way to temperate and forested areas in the neighbouring western region. The north-eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes, Kenya is known for its world class athletes in track and field and rugby. The African Great Lakes region, which Kenya is a part of, has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic period, by the first millennium AD, the Bantu expansion had reached the area from West-Central Africa. Bantu and Nilotic populations together constitute around 97% of the nations residents, European and Arab presence in coastal Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period, European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century. The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, which starting in 1920 gave way to the Kenya Colony, Kenya obtained independence in December 1963. Following a referendum in August 2010 and adoption of a new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties, the capital, Nairobi, is a regional commercial hub. The economy of Kenya is the largest by GDP in East, agriculture is a major employer, the country traditionally exports tea and coffee and has more recently begun to export fresh flowers to Europe. The service industry is also an economic driver. Additionally, Kenya is a member of the East African Community trading bloc, the Republic of Kenya is named after Mount Kenya. The origin of the name Kenya is not clear, but perhaps linked to the Kikuyu, Embu and Kamba words Kirinyaga, Kirenyaa, if so, then the British may not so much have mispronounced it, as misspelled it. In the 19th century, the German explorer Johann Ludwig Krapf was staying with the Bantu Kamba people when he first spotted the mountain. On asking for the name of the mountain, he was told Kĩ-Nyaa or Kĩĩma- Kĩĩnyaa probably because the pattern of black rock, the Agikuyu, who inhabit the slopes of Mt. Kenya, call it Kĩrĩma Kĩrĩnyaga in Kikuyu, which is quite similar to the Kamba name. Ludwig Krapf recorded the name as both Kenia and Kegnia believed by most to be a corruption of the Kamba version, others say that this was—on the contrary—a very precise notation of a correct African pronunciation /ˈkɛnjə/
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IAAF World Championships in Athletics
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The IAAF World Championships, commonly referred to as the World Championships in Athletics, is a biennial athletics event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally held every four years, first in 1983, the current two-year cycle began in 1991, the idea of having an Athletics World Championships was around well before the competitions first event in 1983. In 1913, the IAAF decided that the Olympic Games would serve as the World Championships for athletics and this was considered suitable for over 50 years until in the late 1960s the desire of many IAAF members to have their own World Championships began to grow. In 1976 at the IAAF Council Meeting in Puerto Rico an Athletics World Championships separate from the Olympic Games was approved, two IAAF world championship events preceded the inaugural edition of the World Championships in Athletics in 1983. Four years later, the 1980 World Championships contained only two newly approved womens events, neither of which featured on the programme for the 1980 Summer Olympics, over the years the competition has grown in size. In 1983 an estimated 1,300 athletes from 154 countries participated, by the 2003 competition, in Paris, it had grown to 1,907 athletes from 203 countries with coverage being transmitted to 179 different countries. There has also been a change in composition over the years, with new events, all for women. By 2005, the differences were mens competition in the 50 km walk. The following list shows when new events were added for the first time,1987, womens 10,000 m and 10 km walk were added. 1993, womens triple jump was added,1995, womens 5000 m was added, replacing the 3000 m race. 1999, womens pole vault and hammer were added and the womens 20 km walk replaced the 10 km walk,2005, womens 3000 m steeplechase was added. Updated after 2015 Championships Note, Germany refers both to the former West Germany and the unified Federal Republic of Germany, the opening and closing ceremonies of the 8th IAAF World Championships held in Edmonton in 2001 were broadcast live to over 200 countries. The event included the mens marathon, and featured a thousand voice choir, men There are fifteen athletes who have won at least six medals. Women There are thirteen athletes who have won at least six medals, There are eighteen athletes that competed in at least eight editions
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2013 World Championships in Athletics
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The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 2001 and it was also the first time ever the host nation took the top of the medal table. The United States won the most overall medals, with 1,784 athletes from 203 countries it was the biggest single sports event of the year. The number of spectators for the sessions was 268,548 surpassing Daegu 2011. This achievement also earned Bolt the title of being the most successful athlete in the history of the World Championships with eight gold, prior to the competition, four sprinters were banned on doping charges. When the seeking deadline passed on 1 December 2006, four cities had confirmed their candidatures. These were, Barcelona, Brisbane, Moscow and Gothenburg, the IAAF announced Moscow the winning candidate at the IAAF Council Meeting in Mombasa on 27 March 2007. Gothenburg backed out already in December, citing lack of support from the Swedish government. Barcelona had a record of hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships and it was chosen over Madrid and Valencia, which were at one point outlined as possible candidates. Brisbane simultaneously bid for 2011 and 2013 World Championships with the focus being on the 2011 event. Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre was the proposed venue, the venue had hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games and 2001 Goodwill Games. It was also a failed bidder for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, in the case of Moscow, Deputy Mayor Valery Vinogradov announced on 13 March 2006 that the city would bid for the 2011 Championships and suggested Luzhniki Stadium as venue. When the IAAF elected to decide the 2011 and 2013 events at the same meeting, the city had hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Main venue was Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow with a capacity of 78,360 spectators, the championships featured 3 championship records,22 world leadings,2 area records,48 national records but no world records. In addition to medals, individual winners received prize money of $60,000 where as members of winning relay teams received $20,000. Usain Bolt of Jamaica moved to the top of the all-time World Championships medal table by winning three gold medals. He won the 100 metres, the 200 metres, and Jamaica won the 4x100 metre relay behind an anchor leg from Bolt who passed the United States Justin Gatlin down the stretch. It was Bolts second three gold performance at the World Championships, after the meet, his career total stood at 8 golds and 2 silvers, narrowly surpassing Carl Lewis 8 golds,1 silver, and 1 bronze
5.
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
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The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships is an annual half marathon competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was contested from 1992 to 2005, and replaced by the IAAF World Road Running Championships, after a second edition of the Road Running Championships, which was over the half marathon distance, it reverted to the original name of the World Half Marathon Championships. Key The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was first held in 1992 and it comprised three races, the mens race, the womens race and the junior mens race. Furthermore, a competition was held in each category, with the winners being decided by combining the performances of a countrys top three finishers. The country with the lowest aggregate time won the team competition, the junior mens race was held in only the first and second editions, and was removed from the programme from 1994 onwards. The competition went largely unchanged until 2006, when the competition was renamed as the IAAF World Road Running Championships, aside from the name change, the significant difference was the distance of the race, changing from a half marathon to a 20 kilometres road race. The 20 km race featured only at the 2006 edition, the competition is generally held every October. Runners compete on public roads which have closed off to traffic specifically for the event. Prize money varies from US$30,000 to US$3000, key †, In 2009, the team from Russia was initially ranked 3rd, but fell behind Japan after the disqualification of Inga Abitova. Her competition results were annulled, beginning October 10,2009, because of breaking anti-doping regulations
6.
2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
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The 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships took place on March 29,2014. The races were held in Copenhagen, Denmark, the essentially flat one-loop course was beginning and ending in the city centre by Christiansborg Castle. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were both for the mens race and for the womens race. Complete results were published for the race, for the womens race, for mens team. An unofficial count yields the participation of 201 athletes from 56 countries, although announced, the athletes from Canada and Palestine did not show
7.
African Championships in Athletics
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The African Championships in Athletics is a continental athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics, the continental association for the sport in Africa. Since its inaugural edition in 1979 it was at first organised intermittently with nine editions held in fourteen years until 1993, following the tenth edition in 1996 it has been organised biennially on even years, and is always held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. The latest 20th edition was held in Durban, South Africa in June 2016, the event featured a mens marathon from 1979 to 1990. Following it being dropped from the programme an African Marathon Championships was briefly contested, the event programme has roughly matched that of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, with the exception of the 50 kilometres race walk. The following list shows changes to the event programme,1982, womens heptathlon and mens 20 km walk were added to replace womens pentathlon,1985, womens 10,000 m was added. 1988, womens 5 km walk was added,1992, womens triple jump was added. Mens marathon, held from 1979 to 1990 was permanently dropped,1996, womens 5000 metres was added. 1998, womens hammer throw was added, womens 3000 metres was permanently removed from the programme, while mens 3000 metres event was held for the first and only time. 2000, womens pole vault was added, womens 10 km walk was also added before being held again in 2002 and discontinued. 2004, womens 3000 m steeplechase and 20 km walk were added
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2012 African Championships in Athletics
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The 2012 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo, Benin from 27 June to 1 July 2012. It was the first time that Benin had hosted the event, host nation A total of fifty countries and 816 athletes have stated their intention to take part in the competition – a record high. Lambrechts grabs first gold in rain swept Porto-Novo – African champs, milama wins first-ever sprint title for Gabon – African champs, Day 2. Montsho and Makwala take 400m titles in Porto-Novo – African champs, cherono takes 10, 000m for second title in Porto-Novo – African champs, Day 4. Burundian teen Niyonsaba takes dramatic 800m title as Nigeria top medal table in Porto-Novo – African champs, official site Results Confederation of African Athletics website
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Long-distance running
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Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least three kilometres. Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength, among mammals, humans are well adapted for running significant distances, and particularly so among primates. The endurance running hypothesis suggests that running endurance in the Homo genus arose because travelling over large areas improved scavenging opportunities, the capacity for endurance running is also found in migratory ungulates and a limited number of terrestrial carnivores, such as dogs, wolves and hyenas. Long distance running can also be used as a means to improve cardiovascular health, Running improves aerobic fitness by increasing the activity of enzymes and hormones that stimulate the muscles and the heart to work more efficiently. Endurance running is often a component of military training and has been so historically. Professional running is most commonly found in the field of sports, long-distance running as a form of tradition or ceremony is known among the Hopi and Tarahumara people, among others. Distance running can also serve as an exercise for family, friends, colleagues. The social element of distance running has been linked with improved performance, in the sport of athletics, long-distance events are defined as races covering three kilometres and above. The three most common types are track running, road running and cross country running, all of which are defined by their terrain – all-weather tracks, roads and natural terrain, respectively. In collegiate cross country races in the United States, men race 8000 or 10000 meters, depending on their division, the Summer Olympics features three long-distance running events, the 5000 metres,10,000 metres and marathon. Since the late 1980s, Kenyans, Moroccans and Ethiopians have dominated in major international long-distance competitions, in this method, the hunter would run at a slow and steady pace between one hour and a few days, in an area where the animal has no place to hide. The Old Testament has a few mentions of messengers running to deliver messages, for example, in 2 Samuel 18, two runners, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and a Cushite run to deliver King David the message of the death of his son Absalom. Running messengers are reported from early Sumer, were named lasimu as military men as well as the officials who disseminated documents throughout the kingdom by running. Ancient Greece was famous for its running messengers, who were named hemerodromoi and he collapsed and died as he delivered the message “we won”.2 miles /42.195 km is based on this legend. Humans are considered among the best distance runners among all running animals, game animals are faster over short distances, but they have less endurance than humans. Unlike other primates whose bodies are designed to walk on four legs or climb trees and this leads to different bone and muscular demands especially in the legs and pelvis. Dissipation of metabolic heat, humans’ ability to cool the body by sweating through the surface provides many advantages over panting through the mouth or nose. These include a surface of evaporation and independence of the respiratory cycle
