Athletics

AthleticsPE 3

I. Definition and History

ATHLETICSAthletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking. 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 that combine athletes’ performances for a team score, such as cross-country.

Organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC, and the member clubs of the International Association of Athletics Federations conducts most modern events. The athletics meeting forms the backbone of the modern Summer Olympics, and other leading international meetings include the IAAF World Championships and World Indoor Championships, and athletes with a physical disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships.

II. Constituents/Classifications

Track Events

A. Sprints or Short Distance

Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other. There are three sprinting events which are currently held at the Summer Olympics and outdoor World Championships: the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 400 metres. These events have their roots in races of imperial measurements which were later altered to metric: the 100 m evolved from the 100 yard dash, the 200 m distances came from the furlong (or 1/8 of a mile), and the 400 m was the successor to the 440 yard dash or quarter-mile race.

At the professional level, sprinters begin the race by assuming a crouching position in the starting blocks before leaning forward and gradually moving into an upright position as the race progresses and momentum is gained. The set position differs depending on the start. Body alignment is of key importance in producing the optimal amount of force. Ideally the athlete should begin in a 4-point stance and push off of both legs for the most force production. Athletes remain in the same lane on the running track throughout all sprinting events, with the sole exception of the 400 m indoors. Races up to 100 m are largely focused upon acceleration to an athlete's maximum speed. All sprints beyond this distance increasingly incorporate an element of endurance. Human physiology dictates that a runner's near-top speed cannot be maintained for more than 30–35 seconds due to the accumulation of lactic acid in muscles.

B. Middle Distance Races

Middle distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle distance event. The 880 yard run, or half mile, was the forebear to the 800 m distance and it has its roots in competitions in the United Kingdom in the 1830s. The 1500 m came about as a result of running three laps of a 500 m track, which was commonplace in continental Europe in the 20th century.

C.

Long Distance Races

Long-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy. These types of races are predominantly aerobic in nature and at the highest level, exceptional levels of aerobic endurance are required more than anything else. Elite long distance athletes typically train over 100 miles a week.

D.

Relay

Relay races are the only track and field event in which a team of

runners directly competes against other teams. Typically, a team is

made up of four runners of the same sex. Each runner completes their specified distance (referred to as a leg) before handing over a baton to a teammate, who then begins their leg upon receiving the baton. There is usually a designated area where athletes must exchange the baton. Teams may be disqualified if they fail to complete the change within the area, or if the baton is dropped during the race. A team may also be disqualified if its runners are deemed to have willfully impeded other competitors.

E. Hurdles

Races with hurdles as obstacles were first popularized in the 19th century in England. The first known event, held in 1830, was a variation of the 100-yard dash that included heavy wooden barriers as obstacles. A competition between the Oxford and Cambridge Athletic Clubs in 1864 refined this, holding a 120-yard race (109.72 m) with ten hurdles of 3-foot and 6 inches (1.06 m) in height (each placed 10 yards (9.14 m) apart), with the first and final hurdles 15 yards from the start and finish, respectively.

French organisers adapted the race into metric (adding 28 cm) and the basics of this race, the men's 110 metres hurdles, has remained largely unchanged. The origin of the 400 metres hurdles also lies in Oxford, where (around 1860) a competition was held over 440 yards and twelve 1.06 m high wooden barriers were placed along the course. The modern regulations stem from the 1900 Summer Olympics: the distance was fixed to 400 m while ten 3-foot (91.44 cm) hurdles were placed 35 m apart on the track, with the first and final hurdles being 45 m and 40 m away from the start and finish, respectively. Women's hurdles are slightly lower at 84 cm for the 100 m event and 76 cm (2 ft 6in) for the 400 m event.

F. Walking Races

Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance athletic event. Although it is a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Stride length is reduced, so to achieve competitive speeds, racewalkers must attain cadence rates comparable to those achieved by Olympic 400-metre runners—and they must do so for hours at a time since the Olympic events are the 20-kilometre (12 mi) race walk (men and women) and 50-kilometre (31 mi) race walk (men only).

Field EventsA. Jumping Events

1. Long JumpThe 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. This event has been an Olympic medal event since the first modern Olympics in 1896 and has a history in the Ancient Olympic Games.

2.

Triple Jump

The triple jump (sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump) is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.

The triple jump has its origins in the ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympics event since the Games' inception in 1896.

The current male and female world record holders are Jonathan Edwards of Great Britain, with a jump of 18.29 metres (60.0 ft), and Inessa Kravets of Ukraine, with a jump of 15.5 metres (51 ft). Both records were set during 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg.

3. High Jump

The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices. In its modern most practiced format, auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years. It has been contested since the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. Over the centuries since, competitors have introduced increasingly more effective techniques to arrive at the current form. Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) is the current men's record holder with a jump of 2.45 metres set in 1993, the longest standing record in the history of the men's high jump. Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) has held the women's world record at 2.09 metres since 1987, also the longest-held record in the event.

4. Pole Vault

Pole-vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole (which today is usually made either of fiberglass or carbon fiber) as an aid to leap over a bar. The ancient Greeks, Cretans and Celts knew pole-jumping competitions. It has been a full medal event at the Olympic Games since 1896 for men and 2000 for women.

B. Throwing Events

1. Shot Put

The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting (throwing) action.

Competitors take their throw from inside a marked circle 2.135 metres (7.00 ft) in diameter, with a stopboard approximately 10 centimetres (3.9 in) high at the front of the circle. The distance thrown is measured from the inside of the circumference of the circle to the nearest mark made in the ground by the falling shot, with distances rounded down to the nearest centimetre under IAAF, WMA, USATF, and NCAA rules.

2. Discus Throw

The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus. Although not part of the modern pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient pentathlon, which can be dated at least back to 708 BC.

3. Javelin Throw

The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area.

4. Hammer Throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown. Such competitions are still part of the Scottish Highland Games, where the implement used is a steel or lead weight at the end of a cane handle.

III. Facilities and Equipment

Playing Venue

A. The Stadium

Stadium" comes from the Greek word "stadion" (στάδιον), a measure of length equalling the length of 600 human feet. As feet are of variable length the exact length of a stadion depends on the exact length adopted for 1 foot at a given place and time. Although in modern terms 1 stadion = 600 ft (180 m), in a given historical context it may actually signify a length up to 15% larger or smaller. A

Roman stadium was defined somewhat differently to be a distance of 125 passus (double-paces), equal to about 185 m (607 ft). Although most dictionaries provide for both "stadiums" and "stadia" as valid plurals, etymological sticklers sometimes apply "stadia" only to measures of length in excess of 1 stadium. (That the "stadium" measurement is used only in historical contexts perhaps explains the sustained use of the archaic plural.)The English use of stadium comes from the tiered infrastructure surrounding a Roman track of such length.

The oldest known stadium is the one in Olympia, in the western Peloponnese, Greece, where the Olympic Games of antiquity were held from 776 BC. Initially 'the Games' consisted of a single event, a sprint along the length of the stadium. According to the article Stadium at Olympia the track at Olympia was longer than even the longest definition for stadion given in the article Stadion (unit of length). In turn. Greek and Roman stadiums have been found in numerous ancient cities, perhaps the most famous being the Stadium of Domitian, in Rome.

The first stadium to be used in modern times, and the only one to be used during the 19th century, was the excavated and refurbished ancient Panathenaic stadium which has hosted Olympic Games in 1870, 1875, 1896, 1906, and 2004. B. The Infield

Found at the center of the track, includes runways for jumping events and has circular areas of material such as concrete or asphalt for most throwing events.

Equipment

A. Baton

The hollow cylinder that is carried by each member of a relay team in a running race and passed to the next team member.

B. Hurdles

A light portable barrier over which competitors must leap in certain races. It consists of 2 adjustable meta; stands which support central wooden bar.

C. Barriers

The circuit has four ordinary barriers and one water jump. Over 3,000 m, each runner must clear a total of 28 ordinary barriers and seven water jumps. This entails seven complete laps after starting with a fraction of a lap run without barriers.

D. Shot

In open competitions the men's shot weighs 7.260 kilograms (16.01 lb), and the women's shot weighs 4 kilograms (8.8 lb). Junior, school, and masters competitions often use different weights of shots, typically below the weights of those used in open competitions;

E. Discus

The discus, the object to be thrown, is a heavy lenticular disc with a weight of 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) and diameter of 219–221 millimetres (8.6–8.7 in) for the men's event, and a weight of 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) and diameter of 180–182 millimetres (7.1–7.2 in) for the women's event.

F. JavelinThe size, shape, minimum weight,and center of gravity of the javelin implement itself are all defined by IAAF rules. In international competition, men throw a javelin between 2.6 and 2.7 m (8 ft 6 in and 8 ft 10 in) in length and 800 g (28 oz) in weight, and women throw a javelin between 2.2 and 2.3 m (7 ft 3 in and 7 ft 7 in) in length and 600 g (21 oz) in weight. The javelin is equipped with a grip, approximately 150 mm (5.9 in) wide, made of cord and located at the javelin's center of gravity (0.9 to 1.06 m (2 ft 10 in to 3 ft 6 in) or 0.8 to 0.92 m (2 ft 7 in to 3 ft 0.2 in) from the tip of the javelin for men's and women's implements, respectively).

G. Hammer

The men's hammer weighs 16 pounds (7.257 kg) and measures 3 feet 11 3⁄4 inches (121.5 cm) in length and the women's hammer weighs 8.82 lb (4 kg) and 3 feet 11 inches (119.5 cm) in length. Competitors gain maximum distance by swinging the hammer above their head to set up the circular motion.

Then they apply force and pick up speed by completing one to four turns in the circle.