Athletics (Track and Field)

Athletics (Track and Field) is often used synonymously with any sporting activity, but in most
cases, athletics refers primarily to track-and-field events that involve jumping, running,
throwing or walking and primarily an individual sports consisting of 30 different events.

The word “athlete” comes from the Greek word “Athlos” which means “Competition” and the
word “stadium” comes from the Greek word “stadion”

Origin from Greece and first professional meet was held at Oxford in 1860 &
Cambridge University conducted the first official British Championships in 1866.

Athletics is divided into Track events and Field events. What is a track?

A standard track is of 400 meters with eight lanes, two curves and two straights. It can
be laid down on various types of surfaces such as clay, grass cinder and synthetic (tartan).
All the lines over track are marked 5 cm thick except the arc of Javelin which is 7 cm
thick.

International competitions are conducted on synthetic track.

IN TRACK WE COMPETE AGAINST TIME / CLOCK.

Track events are: -

1. Sprints or short distance races:-

100 meters which is the fastest and shortest event, 200 meters is as with 100 meters
and requires instant acceleration along with stamina to maintain speed for the
duration of the race, 400 meters is distance of one circuit around the track which is
considered as the toughest event.600 meter event is included only in indoor athletics.

2. Middle distance races:-

800 meters (2 circuits) and 1500 meters (3.75 times around the track) are two
events and an athlete requires good speed, endurance and energy.

3. Long distance races:-

3000 meters (7.5 times around the track), 5000 meters (12.5 times around the
track) & 10,000 meters (25 times around the track), are the events for long distance
races.

4. Relay Races:-
This is the only team event in athletics. (4X100 metersNon-Visual Method and
4X400 meters Visual Method) 4 athletes run without stopping and exchange the
BATTON (The hollow rod)
5. Obstacle races or Hurdles:-

100 meters (Women), 110 meters (Men) and 400 meters (Women & Men) There are
10 hurdles in each lane. There is a special type of hurdle race called as STAPPLE
CHASE including 35 obstacles and 7 water jumps.

100 meters (Women)

The height of the hurdles is 0.84 meters and the first hurdle is placed after a run-
up of 13 metres from the starting line. The next 9 hurdles are set at a distance of
8.5 metres from each other, and the home stretch from the last hurdle to the finish
line is 10.5 metres long.

110 meters (Men)

The height of the hurdles is 1.06 meters and the first hurdle is placed after a run-
up of 13.72 metres from the starting line. The next 9 hurdles are set at a distance
of 9.14 metres from each other, and the home stretch from the last hurdle to the
finish line is 14.02metres long.

400 meters (Women)

The height of the hurdles is 0.84 meters and the first hurdle is placed after a run-
up of 45metres from the starting line. The next 9 hurdles are set at a distance of
35metres from each other, and the home stretch from the last hurdle to the finish
line is 40 metres long.

400 meters (Men)

The height of the hurdles is 0.91 meters and the first hurdle is placed after a run-
up of 45 metres from the starting line. The next 9 hurdles are set at a distance of
35 metres from each other, and the home stretch from the last hurdle to the finish
line is 40 metres long.

6. Road Races:-
Long distance races such as 20 Km Cross Country, Marathon (42 Km 195 meters
i.e. 26 miles and 385 yards), 5 Km walk

7. Starts:-There are two types of starts.

A) Crouch / sitting start for sprints,B) Standing Start for middle- and long-distance
races.

A) Crouch / sitting start is divided into three parts.

a) Bunch or Bullet start: - The distance of the first block is 19 inches whereas the
rear leg is placed 29 inches away from the starting line.
b) Mediumstart: -The distance of the first block is 15 inches whereasthe rear leg is
placed 34 inches away from the starting line.
c) Elongated start: -The distance of the first block is 13 inches
whereas the rear leg is placed 41 inches away from the starting line.
8. STARTING BLOCK: - It is a device made up of two adjustable pedals that allow
sprinters to give themselves momentum during a start.

9. HEAT: - It is the qualifying round to go to the next round in races. It is given when
numbers of athletes are more in number.

10. Starting Lines and Finish Lines/ Points : - There are four different starting lines /
points (I-100 / 110 hurdles, II-200, 3000 & 5000 meters, III-1500 meters and IV-400,
800 & 10000 meters) but the end / finish line is the same for all the events.

11. STAGGER:- It is the starting point (after reducing the excess distance) for the outer
lane / track athletes while running in the curve so that no athlete is at advantage or
disadvantage while running in different lanes. When athlete runs one curve half
stagger is given where as running over two curves full stagger is given. Other type of
stagger given in long distance races are known as Curves stagger.(Achlon Stagger)

12. LANE/ TRACK:- It is the path where athletes run between two lines with the width of
.95 to 1.22 meters.

IN FIELD TRACK WE COMPETE AGAINST HEIGHT / DISTANCE.

Field events are

JUMPS OR JUMPING EVENTS:-There are four types of jumps.

1) Long Jump (Broad Jump):- There are three techniques performed for the Long
Jump. a) Sail:- (Usually performed by the untrained athletes) b) Hang:- Good athletes
perform this by arc or curve of body during flight and c) Cyclic or Hitch Kick:- Very
good jumpers perform this by doing cycling in the air.

The dimensions of Long Jump Landing pit are (9 meters in length &2.75 meters
in width. The run way is 40 meters in length and 1.22 meters in width and the
Take off Board is place 1 meter away from the pit.)

2) Hop Step & Jump / Triple Jump:- There are three techniques
a) Flat b) Steep and c) Mixed for the Triple Jump.
A) In Flat technique the vertical height gained by the jumper remains same
whereas the distance covered at hop, step and jump is respectively 33 %, 34% and
33 %.

B) In Steep technique the vertical height gained by the jumper gradually reduces
in step and jump whereas the distance covered at hop, step and jump is respectively
38 %, 34% and 28 %.

C) In Mixed technique the vertical height gained by the jumper remains same in
hop and jump and gradually reduces in step whereas the distance covered at hop,
step and jump is respectively 36 %, 32% and 32 %.
 The dimensions of Triple Jump landing pit are (9 meters in length & 2.75 meters
in width. The run way is 40 meters in length and 1.22 meters in width and the
Take off Board is place 11 to 13 meters away from the pit.)

3. High Jump:-In this event an athlete tries to clear maximum heightwith one leg take
off. Officials raise the bar by 5 cm at a time and may reduce the difference in
height to a minimum of 2 cm.

An athlete gets 3 attempts to clear a particular height and eliminated from

competition after 3 successive failures.

(Scissors Jump:-Crossing legs alternately over bar and landing on foot, Western
Roll:- Crossing by rolling over the bar and landing with back, Fosbury Flop:-This is
the latest technique in which the body curve or arc is used to clear the bar with the
back and landing on shoulders)

4. Pole Vault:-

THROWS OR THROWING EVENTS:-There are four types of throws.

A) SHOT PUT:-It is a metallic ball pushed from a throwing circle. The weight of the
Shot Put for men is 7.26 Kg and for women is 4 Kg. There are three styles a)
Parry O’Brien b) Orthodox Style and c) Disco-Put (techniques are Holding,
Placing the shot, Starting Position, Crouch, Shift & Trust)

Throwing circle: - A seven-foot diameter (2.135 m) circle that has a curved 10-
centimetre high toe-board at the front and 35-degree sector.

B) DISCUS THROW: - The men's discus is a heavy lenticular disc with a weight of 2
kilograms (4.4 lb) and diameter of 22 centimeters (8.7 in), the women's discus
has a weight of 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) and diameter of 18 centimeters (7.1 in).

Under IAAF (international) rules,Youth boys (16–17years) throw the 1.5

kilograms (3.3 lb) discus, the Junior men (18–19 years) throw the unique 1.75
kilograms (3.9 lb) discus, and the girls/women of those ages throw the 1
kilogram (2.2 lb) discus.
In international competition, men throw the 2 kg discus through to age 49.
The 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb) discus is thrown by ages 50–59, and men age 60 and
beyond throw the 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) discus. Women throw the 1 kilogram (2.2 lb)
discus through to age 74. Starting with age 75, women throw the 0.75 kilograms
(1.7 lb) discus.
The typical discus has sides made of plastic, wood, fiber-glass, 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
rimproduces 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.
There are five techniques a) Grip b) Swing c) Spin d) Drive and e) Release.
 Throwing circle:- A diameter of 2.50 m circle that has a curved and 34.92 degree
sector.

C) JAVELIN THROW:-Using one arm, a metal-tipped javelin is thrown as far as

possible. The athlete must hold the javelin by its corded grip with his or her little
finger closest to the tip of the implement.
The men’s javelin must weigh at least 800 gm and be 2.6 m-2.7 m long while the women’s
javelin must weigh 600 gm and be 2.2 m-2.3 m long.For the throw to be measured, the
athlete must not turn his or her back to the landing area at any stage during their approach
and throw; they must throw the javelin over the upper part of their throwing arm, and they
must not cross the foul line, aka scratch line, at any time.

The javelin must also land tip first and within the marked 29-degree sector.

The run way is 40 meters in length and 4 meters in width.

D) HAMMER THROW:-The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also
called by that name. It consists of a metal ball attached by a steel wire to a grip.
The size of the ball varies between men's and women's competitions.

The men's hammer weighs 16 pounds (7.26 kg) and measures 3 feet 11 3⁄4 inches
(121.3 cm) in length, and the women's hammer weighs 8.82 lb (4 kg) and 3 ft 11 in
(119.4 cm) in length. Like the other throwing events, the competition is decided by
who can throw the implement the furthest.

HEPTATHLON (WOMEN)
The heptathlon (women) consists of three running events, two jumping events and two
throwing events, all carried out over two days.

Day 1: 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200 m.

Day 2: long jump, javelin and 800m.

Heptathletes receive points in each event, according to a scoring table. Therefore,

the results and not the placing are the most important thing. For instance, a result of
1000 points correspond to the following:

13.85 in the 100m hurdles, 1.82m in the high jump, 17.87m in the shot, 23.20 in the
200m, 6.48m in the long jump, 57.18 m in the javelin and 2.07.63 in the 800m.

The main qualities of a heptathlete are speed, strength and especially dynamism. High
concentration levels are required throughout the two days of the event.

DECATHLON (MEN)

The decathlon (Men) includes four running events, three jumping events and three
throwing events, all of which take over a two-day period.

Day 1:100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m.
Day 2: 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m.

Points are awarded in each event according to a scoring table.A score of 1000 points would
correspond to the following results:

10.39 in the 100m, 7.76 m in the long jump, 18.40m in the shot put, 2.21m in the
highjump, 46.17m in the 400m, 13.80 in the 110m hurdles, 56.18m in the discus, 5.29m in
the pole vault, 77.20m in the javelin and 3.53.79 in the 1500m.

The main qualities of a decathlete are speed, strength and especially dynamism. High
concentration levels are required throughout the two days of the event.