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Track and field is a sport which includes athletic contests established on the skills of running , jumping , and throwing . The name is derived from the sport 's typical venue : a stadium with an oval running track enclosing a grass field where the throwing and jumping events take place . Track and field is categorised under the umbrella sport of athletics , which also includes road running , cross country running , and race walking .
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The running events , which include sprints , middle and long @-@ distance events , race walking and hurdling , are won by the athlete with the fastest time . The jumping and throwing events are won by the athlete who achieves the greatest distance or height . Regular jumping events include long jump , triple jump , high jump and pole vault , while the most common throwing events are shot put , weight , javelin , discus and hammer . There are also " combined events " or " multi events " , such as pentathlon consisting of five events , heptathlon consisting of seven events , and decathlon consisting of ten events.For every multi event , athletes participate in a combination of sprinting , jumping , throwing , middle distance , and long distance events . Most track and field events are individual sports with a single victor , but a number are relay races consisting of four members . Events are almost exclusively divided by gender , although both the men 's and women 's competitions are usually held at the same venue .
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It is one of the oldest sports . In ancient times , it was an event held in conjunction with festivals and sports meets such as the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece . In modern times , the two most prestigious international track and field competitions are athletics competition at the Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics . The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body .
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Records are kept of the best performances in specific events , at world and national levels , right down to a personal level . However , if athletes are deemed to have violated the event 's rules or regulations , they are disqualified from the competition and their marks are erased .
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In North America , the term track and field may be used to refer to other athletics events , such as the marathon , rather than strictly track @-@ based events .
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= = History = =
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The sport of track and field has its roots in human prehistory . Track and field @-@ style events are among the oldest of all sporting competitions , as running , jumping and throwing are natural and universal forms of human physical expression . The first recorded examples of organized track and field events at a sports festival are the Ancient Olympic Games . At the first Games in 776 BC in Olympia , Greece , only one event was contested : the stadion footrace . The scope of the Games expanded in later years to include further running competitions , but the introduction of the Ancient Olympic pentathlon marked a step towards track and field as it is recognized today — it comprised a five @-@ event competition of the long jump , javelin throw , discus throw , stadion footrace , and wrestling .
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Track and field events were also present at the Panhellenic Games in Greece around this period , and they spread to Rome in Italy around 200 BC . After the period of Classical antiquity ( in which the sport was largely Greco @-@ Roman influenced ) new track and field events began developing in parts of Northern Europe in the Middle Ages . The stone put and weight throw competitions popular among Celtic societies in Ireland and Scotland were precursors to the modern shot put and hammer throw events . One of the last track and field events to develop was the pole vault , which stemmed from competitions such as the Fierljeppen contests in the Northern European Lowlands in the 18th century .
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Discrete modern track and field competitions , separate from general sporting festivals , were first recorded in the 19th century . These were typically organised by educational institutions , military organisations and sports clubs as competitions between rival establishments . Competitions in the English public schools were conceived as human equivalents of horse racing , fox hunting and hare coursing , influenced by a Classics @-@ rich curriculum . The Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt is the oldest running club in the world , with written records going back to 1831 and evidence that it was established by 1819 . The school organised Paper Chase races in which runners followed a trail of paper shreds left by two " foxes " ; even today RSSH runners are called " hounds " and a race victory is a " kill " . The first definite record of Shrewsbury 's ( cross @-@ country ) Annual Steeplechase is in 1834 , making it the oldest running race of the modern era . The school also lays claim to the oldest track and field meeting still in existence , originating in the Second Spring Meeting first documented in 1840 . This featured a series of throwing and jumping events with mock horse races including the Derby Stakes , the Hurdle Race and the Trial Stakes . Runners were entered by " owners " and named as though they were horses . 13 miles ( 21 km ) away and a decade later , the first Wenlock Olympian Games were held at Much Wenlock racecourse . Events at the 1851 Wenlock Games included a " half @-@ mile foot race " ( 805 m ) and a " leaping in distance " competition .
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In 1865 , Dr William Penny Brookes of Wenlock helped set up the National Olympian Association , which held their first Olympian Games in 1866 at The Crystal Palace in London . This national event was a great success , attracting a crowd of over ten thousand people . In response , that same year the Amateur Athletic Club was formed and held a championship for " gentlemen amateurs " in an attempt to reclaim the sport for the educated elite . Ultimately the " allcomers " ethos of the NOA won through and the AAC was reconstituted as the Amateur Athletic Association in 1880 , the first national body for the sport of athletics . The AAA Championships , the de facto British national championships despite being for England only , have been held annually since 3 July 1880 with breaks only during two world wars and 2006 – 2008 . The AAA was effectively a global governing body in the early years of the sport , codifying its rules for the first time .
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Meanwhile , the United States began holding an annual national competition — the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships — first held in 1876 by the New York Athletic Club . The establishment of general sports governing bodies for the United States ( the Amateur Athletic Union in 1888 ) and France ( the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques in 1889 ) put the sport on a formal footing and meant that international competitions became possible .
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The establishment of the modern Olympic Games at the end of the 19th century marked a new high for track and field . The Olympic athletics programme , comprising track and field events plus a marathon race , contained many of the foremost sporting competitions of the 1896 Summer Olympics . The Olympics also consolidated the use of metric measurements in international track and field events , both for race distances and for measuring jumps and throws . The Olympic athletics programme greatly expanded over the next decades , and track and field contests remained among the Games ' most prominent . The Olympics was the elite competition for track and field , and only amateur sportsmen could compete . Track and field continued to be a largely amateur sport , as this rule was strictly enforced : Jim Thorpe was stripped of his track and field medals from the 1912 Olympics after it was revealed that he had played baseball professionally .
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That same year , the International Amateur Athletic Federation ( IAAF ) was established , becoming the international governing body for track and field , and it enshrined amateurism as one of its founding principles for the sport . The National Collegiate Athletic Association held their first Men 's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 1921 , making it one of the most prestigious competitions for students , and this was soon followed by the introduction of track and field at the inaugural World Student Games in 1923 . The first continental track and field competition was the 1919 South American Championships , which was followed by the European Athletics Championships in 1934 .
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Up until the early 1920s , track and field had been almost exclusively a male @-@ only pursuit . A growing women 's sports movement in Europe and North America led to the establishment of the Women 's World Games in 1921 and this ultimately caused the introduction of five track and field events for women in the athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics . In China , women 's track and field events were being held in the 1920s , but were subject to criticism and disrespect from audiences . In 1923 , physical education advocate Zhang Ruizhen called for greater equality and participation of women in Chinese track and field . The rise of Kinue Hitomi and her 1928 Olympic medal for Japan signified the growth of women 's track and field in East Asia . More women 's events were gradually introduced as years progressed ( although it was only towards the end of the century that the men 's and women 's programmes approached parity of events ) . Marking an increasingly inclusive approach to the sport , major track and field competitions for disabled athletes were first introduced at the 1960 Summer Paralympics .
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With the rise of numerous regional championships , as well as the growth in Olympic @-@ style multi @-@ sport events ( such as the Commonwealth Games and the Pan @-@ American Games ) , competitions between international track and field athletes became widespread . From the 1960s onwards , the sport gained more exposure and commercial appeal through television coverage and the increasing wealth of nations . After over half a century of amateurism , the amateur status of the sport began to be displaced by growing professionalism in the late 1970s . As a result , the Amateur Athletic Union was dissolved in the United States and it was replaced with a non @-@ amateur body solely focused on the sport of athletics : The Athletics Congress ( later USA Track and Field ) . The IAAF soon followed suit in 1982 , abandoning amateurism , and later removing all references to it from its name by rebranding itself as the International Association of Athletics Federations . The following year saw the establishment of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics — the first ever global competition just for athletics — which , with the Olympics , became one of track and field 's most prestigious competitions .
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The profile of the sport reached a new high in the 1980s , with a number of athletes becoming household names ( such as Carl Lewis , Sergey Bubka , Sebastian Coe , Zola Budd and Florence Griffith @-@ Joyner ) . Many world records were broken in this period , and the added political element between competitors of the United States , East Germany , and the Soviet Union , in reaction to the Cold War , only served to stoke the sport 's popularity . The increase in the commercial capacity of track and field was also met with developments in the application of sports science , and there were many changes to coaching methods , athlete 's diet regimes , training facilities and sports equipment . This was also accompanied by an increase in the use of performance @-@ enhancing drugs , and prominent cases , such as those of Olympic gold medallists Ben Johnson and Marion Jones , damaged the public image and marketability of the sport .
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From the 1990s onwards , track and field became increasingly more professional and international , as the IAAF gained over two hundred member nations . The IAAF World Championships in Athletics became a fully professional competition with the introduction of prize money in 1997 , and in 1998 the IAAF Golden League — an annual series of major track and field meetings in Europe — provided a higher level of economic incentive in the form of a US $ 1 million jackpot . In 2010 , the series was replaced by the more lucrative IAAF Diamond League , a fourteen @-@ meeting series held in Europe , Asia , North America and the Middle East — the first ever worldwide annual series of track and field meetings .
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= = Events = =
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Track and field events are divided into three broad categories : track events , field events , and combined events . The majority of athletes tend to specialise in just one event ( or event type ) with the aim of perfecting their performances , although the aim of combined events athletes is to become proficient in a number of disciplines . Track events involve running on a track over a specified distances and — in the case of the hurdling and steeplechase events — obstacles may be placed on the track . There are also relay races in which teams of athletes run and pass on a baton to their team member at the end of a certain distance .
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There are two types of field events : jumps , and throws . In jumping competitions , athletes are judged on either the length or height of their jumps . The performances of jumping events for distance are measured from a board or marker , and any athlete overstepping this mark is judged to have fouled . In the jumps for height , an athlete must clear their body over a crossbar without knocking the bar off the supporting standards . The majority of jumping events are unaided , although athletes propel themselves vertically with purpose @-@ built sticks in the pole vault .
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The throwing events involve hurling an implement ( such as a heavy weight , javelin or discus ) from a set point , with athletes being judged on the distance that the object is thrown . Combined events involve the same group of athletes contesting a number of different track and field events . Points are given for their performance in each event and the athlete with the greatest points total at the end of all events is the winner .
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Note : Events in italics are competed at indoor world championships only
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= = = Running = = =
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= = = = Sprints = = = =
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Races over short distances , or sprints , 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 . Sprinting events are focused around athletes reaching and sustaining their quickest possible running speed . Three sprinting events are currently held at the Olympics and outdoor World Championships : the 100 metres , 200 metres , and 400 metres . These events have their roots in races of imperial measurements that later changed 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 .
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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 . 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 thirty seconds or so because lactic acid builds up once leg muscles begin to suffer oxygen deprivation . Top speed can only be maintained for up to 20 metres .
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The 60 metres is a common indoor event and indoor world championship event . Less @-@ common events include the 50 metres , 55 metres , 300 metres and 500 metres which are run in some high school and collegiate competitions in the United States . The 150 metres , though rarely competed , has a star @-@ studded history : Pietro Mennea set a world best in 1983 , Olympic champions Michael Johnson and Donovan Bailey went head @-@ to @-@ head over the distance in 1997 , and Usain Bolt improved Mennea 's record in 2009 .
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= = = = Middle distance = = = =
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The most common middle @-@ distance track events 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 of 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 .
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Runners start the race from a standing position along a curved starting line and after hearing the starter 's pistol they head towards the innermost track to follow the quickest route to the finish . In 800 m races athletes begin at a staggered starting point before the turn in the track and they must remain in their lanes for the first 100 m of the race . This rule was introduced to reduce the amount of physical jostling between runners in the early stages of the race . Physiologically , these middle @-@ distance events demand that athletes have good aerobic and anaerobic energy producing systems , and also that they have strong speed endurance .
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The 1500 m and mile run events have historically been some of the most prestigious track and field events . Swedish rivals Gunder Hägg and Arne Andersson broke each other 's 1500 m and mile world records on a number of occasions in the 1940s . The prominence of the distances were maintained by Roger Bannister , who ( in 1954 ) was the first to run the long @-@ elusive four @-@ minute mile , and Jim Ryun 's exploits served to popularise interval training . Races between British rivals Sebastian Coe , Steve Ovett and Steve Cram characterised middle @-@ distance running in the 1980s . From the 1990s onwards , North Africans such as Noureddine Morceli of Algeria and Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco came to dominate the 1500 and mile events .
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Beyond the short distances of sprinting events , factors such as an athlete 's reactions and top speed becomes less important , while qualities such as pace , race tactics and endurance become more so .
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= = = = Long distance = = = =
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There are three common long distance running events in track and field competitions : 3000 metres , 5000 metres and 10 @,@ 000 metres . The latter two races are both Olympic and World Championship events outdoors , while the 3000 m is held at the IAAF World Indoor Championships . The 5000 m and 10 @,@ 000 m events have their historical roots in the 3 @-@ mile and 6 @-@ mile races . The 3000 m was historically used as a women 's long distance event , entering the World Championship programme in 1983 and Olympic programme in 1984 , but this was abandoned in favour of a women 's 5000 m event in 1995 .
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In terms of competition rules and physical demands , long distance track races have much in common with middle @-@ distance races , except that pacing , stamina , and race tactics become much greater factors in performances . However , a number of athletes have achieved success in both middle- and long @-@ distance events , including Saïd Aouita who set world records from 1500 m to 5000 m . The use of pace @-@ setters in long distance events is very common at the elite level , although they are not present at championship level competitions as all qualified competitors want to win .
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The long distance track events gained popularity in the 1920s by the achievements of the " Flying Finns " , such as multiple Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi . The successes of Emil Zátopek in the 1950s promoted intense interval training methods , but Ron Clarke 's world record @-@ breaking feats established the importance of natural training and even @-@ paced running . The 1990s saw the rise of North and East African runners in long distance events . Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes , in particular , have since remained dominant in these events .
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= = = = Relay races = = = =
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Relay races are the only track and field event in which a team of runners directly compete 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 team mate , 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 wilfully impeded other competitors .
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Relay races emerged in the United States in the 1880s as a variation on charity races between firemen , who would hand a red pennant on to team mates every 300 yards . There are two very common relay events : the 4 × 100 metres relay and the 4 × 400 metres relay . Both events entered the Olympic programme at the 1912 Summer Games after a one @-@ off men 's medley relay featured in 1908 Olympics . The 4 × 100 m event is run strictly within the same lane on the track , meaning that the team collectively runs one complete circuit of the track . Teams in a 4 × 400 m event remain in their own lane until the runner of the second leg passes the first bend , at which point runners can leave their lanes and head towards the inner @-@ most part of the circuit . For the second and third baton change overs , team mates must align themselves in respect of their team position – leading teams take the inner lanes while team mates of the slower teams must await the baton on outer lanes .
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The IAAF keeps world records for five different types of track relays . As with 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 m events , all races comprise teams of four athletes running the same distances , with the less commonly contested distances being the 4 × 200 m , 4 × 800 m and 4 × 1500 m relays . Other events include the distance medley relay ( comprising legs of 1200 m , 400 m , 800 m , and 1600 m ) , which is frequently held in the United States , and a sprint relay , known as the Swedish medley relay , which is popular in Scandinavia and held at the World Youth Championships in Athletics programme . Relay events have significant participation in the United States , where a number of large meetings ( or relay carnivals ) are focused almost exclusively on relay events .
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= = = = Hurdling = = = =
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Races with hurdles as obstacles were first popularised 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 ( 110 m ) with ten hurdles of 3 @-@ foot and 6 inches ( 1 @.@ 06 m ) in height ( each placed 10 yards ( 9 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 ( 2 ft 9 in ) for the 100 m event and 76 cm ( 2 ft 6 in ) for the 400 m event .
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By far the most common events are the 100 metres hurdles for women , 110 m hurdles for men and 400 m hurdles for both sexes . The men 's 110 m has been featured at every modern Summer Olympics while the men 's 400 m was introduced in the second edition of the Games . Women 's initially competed in the 80 metres hurdles event , which entered the Olympic programme in 1932 . This was extended to the 100 m hurdles at the 1972 Olympics , but it was not until 1984 that a women 's 400 m hurdles event took place at the Olympics ( having been introduced at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics the previous year ) .
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Outside of the hurdles events , the steeplechase race is the other track and field event with obstacles . Just as the hurdling events , the steeplechase finds its origin in student competition in Oxford , England . However , this event was born as a human variation on the original steeplechase competition found in horse racing . A steeplechase event was held on a track for the 1879 English championships and the 1900 Summer Olympics featured men 's 2500 m and 4000 m steeplechase races . The event was held over various distances until the 1920 Summer Olympics marked the rise of the 3000 metres steeplechase as the standard event . The IAAF set the standards of the event in 1954 , and the event is held on a 400 m circuit that includes a water jump on each lap . Despite the long history of men 's steeplechase in track and field , the women 's steeplechase only gained World Championship status in 2005 , with its first Olympic appearance coming in 2008 .
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= = = Jumping = = =
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= = = = Long jump = = = =
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The long jump is one of the oldest track and field events , having its roots as one of the events within the ancient Greek pentathlon contest . The athletes would take a short run up and jump into an area of dug up earth , with the winner being the one who jumped farthest . Small weights ( Halteres ) were held in each hand during the jump then swung back and dropped near the end to gain extra momentum and distance . The modern long jump , standardised in England and the United States around 1860 , bears resemblance to the ancient event although no weights are used . Athletes sprint along a length of track that leads to a jumping board and a sandpit . The athletes must jump before a marked line and their achieved distance is measured from the nearest point of sand disturbed by the athlete 's body .
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The athletics competition at the first Olympics featured a men 's long jump competition and a women 's competition was introduced at the 1948 Summer Olympics . Professional long jumpers typically have strong acceleration and sprinting abilities . However , athletes must also have a consistent stride to allow them to take off near the board while still maintaining their maximum speed . In addition to the traditional long jump , a standing long jump contest exists which requires that athletes leap from a static position without a run @-@ up . A men 's version of this event featured on the Olympic programme from 1900 to 1912 .
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= = = = Triple jump = = = =
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Similar to the long jump , the triple jump takes place on a track heading towards a sandpit . Originally , athletes would hop on the same leg twice before jumping into the pit , but this was changed to the current " hop , step and jump " pattern from 1900 onwards . There is some dispute over whether the triple jump was contested in ancient Greece : while some historians claim that a contest of three jumps occurred at Ancient Games , others such as Stephen G. Miller believe this is incorrect , suggesting that the belief stems from a mythologised account of Phayllus of Croton having jumped 55 ancient feet ( around 16 @.@ 3 m ) . The Book of Leinster , a 12th @-@ century Irish manuscript , records the existence of geal @-@ ruith ( triple jump ) contests at the ancient Tailteann Games .
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The men 's triple jump competition has been ever @-@ present at the modern Olympics , but it was not until 1993 that a women 's version gained World Championship status and went on to have its first Olympic appearance three years later . The men 's standing triple jump event featured at the Olympics in 1900 and 1904 , but such competitions have since become very uncommon , although it is still used as a non @-@ competitive exercise drill .
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= = = = High jump = = = =
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The first recorded instances of high jumping competitions were in Scotland in the 19th century . Further competitions were organised in 1840 in England and in 1865 the basic rules of the modern event were standardised there . Athletes have a short run up and then take off from one foot to jump over a horizontal bar and fall back onto a cushioned landing area . The men 's high jump was included in the 1896 Olympics and a women 's competition followed in 1928 .
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Jumping technique has played a significant part in the history of the event . High jumpers typically cleared the bar feet first in the late 19th century , using either the Scissors , Eastern cut @-@ off or Western roll technique . The straddle technique became prominent in the mid @-@ 20th century , but Dick Fosbury overturned tradition by pioneering a backwards and head @-@ first technique in the late 1960s – the Fosbury Flop – which won him the gold at the 1968 Olympics . This technique has become the overwhelming standard for the sport from the 1980s onwards . The standing high jump was contested at the Olympics from 1900 to 1912 , but is now relatively uncommon outside of its use as an exercise drill .
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= = = = Pole vault = = = =
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In terms of sport , the use of poles for vaulting distances was recorded in Fierljeppen contests in the Frisian area of Europe , and vaulting for height was seen at gymnastics competitions in Germany in the 1770s . One of the earliest recorded pole vault competitions was in Cumbria , England in 1843 . The basic rules and technique of the event originated in the United States . The rules required that athletes do not move their hands along the pole and athletes began clearing the bar with their feet first and twisting so that the stomach faces the bar . Bamboo poles were introduced in the 20th century and a metal box in the runway for planting the pole became standard . Landing mattresses were introduced in the mid @-@ 20th century to protect the athletes who were clearing increasingly greater heights .
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The modern event sees athletes run down a strip of track , plant the pole in the metal box , and vault over the horizontal bar before letting go of the pole and falling backwards onto the landing mattress . While earlier versions used wooden , metal or bamboo , modern poles are generally made from artificial materials such as fibreglass or carbon fibre . The pole vault has been an Olympic event since 1896 for men , but it was over 100 years later that the first women 's world championship competition was held at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships . The first women 's Olympic pole vaulting competition occurred in 2000 .
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= = = Throwing = = =
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Track and field contains some of the foremost kinds of throwing sports , and the four major disciplines are the only pure throwing events to feature at the Olympic Games .
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= = = = Shot put = = = =
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The genesis of the shot put can be traced to pre @-@ historic competitions with rocks : in the Middle ages the stone put was known in Scotland and the steinstossen was recorded in Switzerland . In the 17th century , cannonball throwing competitions within the English military provided a precursor to the modern sport . The term " shot " originates from the use of round shot @-@ style ammunition for the sport . The modern rules were first laid out in 1860 and required that competitors take legal throws within a square throwing area of seven feet ( 2 @.@ 13 m ) on each side . This was amended to a circle area with a seven @-@ foot diameter in 1906 , and the weight of the shot was standardised to 16 pounds ( 7 @.@ 26 kg ) . Throwing technique was also refined over this period , with bent arm throws being banned as they were deemed too dangerous and the side @-@ step and throw technique arising in the United States in 1876 .
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The shot put has been an Olympic sport for men since 1896 and a women 's competition using a 4 kg ( 8 @.@ 82 lb ) shot was added in 1948 . Further throwing techniques have arisen since the post @-@ war era : in the 1950s Parry O 'Brien popularised the 180 degree turn and throw technique commonly known as the " glide " , breaking the world record 17 times along the way , while Aleksandr Baryshnikov and Brian Oldfield introduced the " spin " or rotational technique in 1976 .
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= = = = Discus throw = = = =
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As one of the events within the ancient pentathlon , the history of the discus throw dates back to 708 BC . In ancient times a heavy circular disc was thrown from a set standing position on a small pedestal , and it was this style that was revived for the 1896 Olympics . This continued until the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens , which featured both the ancient style and the increasingly popular modern style of turning and throwing . By the 1912 Olympics , the ancient standing throw style had fallen into disuse and contests starting within a 2 @.@ 5 m squared throwing area became the standard . The discus implement was standardised to 2 kg ( 4 @.@ 4 pounds ) in weight and 22 cm ( 8 inches ) in diameter in 1907 . The women 's discus was among the first women 's events on the Olympic programme , being introduced in 1928 .
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= = = = Javelin throw = = = =
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As an implement of war and hunting , javelin throwing began in prehistoric times . Along with the discus , the javelin was the second throwing event in the ancient Olympic pentathlon . Records from 708 BC show two javelin competition types co @-@ existing : throwing at a target and throwing the javelin for distance . It was the latter type from which the modern event derives . In ancient competitions , athletes would wrap an ankyle ( thin leather strip ) around the javelin that acted as a sling to facilitate extra distance . The javelin throw gained much popularity in Scandinavia in the late 18th century and athletes from the region are still among the most dominant throwers in men 's competitions . The modern event features a short run up on a track and then the thrower releases the javelin before the foul line .
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