Every School Going Kid Knows Olympics Originated

HISTORY
Every school going kid knows Olympics originated in ancient

Greece, but few people know that there were athletic sports much
before that too! The first civilizations in Old Egypt and
Mesopotamia, several hundred years before the games in ancient
Greece, had a tradition of athletics. This is proved by literary and
iconographic sources describing athletic scenes as far back as
3,000 BC.
The athletic activity of the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians

are recorded on temples and tombs. Games like wrestling, boxing,
acrobatics, stick fighting, archery, boating, equestrian events and
ball games were played in ancient Egypt. Besides Old Egypt and
Mesopotamia, other civilizations, including pre-classic Greece,
already practiced athletic activities before the Ancient Olympic
Games.
The Olympics, believed to have started by around 776 BC in

Olympia lasted for more than a thousand years. However, the
religious ceremony that followed the Games is even older and
might be even from the 13th century BC. The games were held
every four years, modern Olympics doing justice to the ancient
system. Not exactly justice, as, in the good old days, they
happened only in Olympia, had fewer games, and only men who
could speak Greek could compete.(contestants had to run naked
too!).
Almost all the men in entire Greece (women were forbidden)

flocked towards Olympia to watch the games. The Olympic
stadium had a capacity of around 45000 - 50000. However, the
athletes had to arrive at Olympia one month before the official
start of the Games and they spent the month training morally,
physically, and also spiritually under the judges` supervision. Only
whom those the judges considered qualified, could compete in the
games.
Though it required for the men who competed to compete naked,
that wasn`t the reason why women were forbidden from entering
Olympia. Olympia, the city of Greek God Zeus, was a place sacred
to men.
That is why perhaps, in the chariot competitions, held outside the

sacred area of the city, women were allowed. There were also
female festivals, where males were banned, and the most famous
was Heraean, in Argos, that also included javelin-throwing
competition.
The first 13 Olympics had running as the only sport. The race
length was one "stadia", about 85 meters. Later longer races were
included like the "diaulos" (365 meters) and the "dolichos" (24
"stadias" or 2 km). In 708 BC, pentathlon and wrestling
wereincluded, in 688 BC the boxing, and in 680 BC the chariots
racing.
The winner received a simple crown made by olive branch.

However, the winners turned into celebrities and often had
benefices like free food for the rest of the life and the reservation
for the theaters first accent. They even were given tax-free
concessions, and sometimes, even received cash contributions as
awards.
Olympics was not the only game festival to be held in ancient

Greece; there were the Isthmians, The Nemeans, and The
Pythians. The Olympic Games was by far the greatest event. The
Greeks celebrated through games, in the belief that the spirits of
the departed would be grateful observing such spectacular feats,
as they did during their earthly life.
Initially, such festivals were just sacrifices, which were then

followed by the games. Gradually they grew into religious
festivals, which began to be observed by an entire community and
was celebrated near the shrine of the god in whose honor they
were instituted. The idea then developed that the gods
themselves were present but invisible and delighted in the
services and the contests.
The competition of a single foot race, called the "Stade", was held
for the first 13 Olympiads. The word Stadium arrived from the
word Stade.
Coroebus of Elis, the first recorded victor, from the Olympics was a
cook. This was in 776 BC. The athletes from Elis were undefeated
at the games for 13 Olympiads. In the14th Olympiad a second
race was added. The second race was 2 stades, double the length
of the stadium. An endurance race in the 15th Olympiad, were
athletes run 12 times around the stadium, approximately 4 ½
kilometers. The athletes competed in groups of four, which were
determined by drawing lots with the winners meeting the other
winners until a final race was run. The track was composed of
shifting sand, which gave way under the athletes` feet.
At this time the Pentathlon and Wrestling events were introduced.

And later in 688 BC, Boxing; and likewise in 680 BC, the Four
Horse Chariot Race; in 648 BC, the Pancration (a fierce
combination of boxing and wrestling), and in 580 BC the Armed
Race where the men traversed the stadium twice while heavily
armed.
In the Pentathlon, those who jumped a certain distance qualified

for the spear throwing; the four best then sprinted the length of
the stadium, the three best then threw the discus, and the two
best then engaged in a wrestling match to the finish.
As we saw earlier, rewards were simple crowns of wild olive,

however, by the 61st Olympiad, it was decided to erect statues for
the victors. But in order to deserve this honour, a victor had to win
three times before a statue of him would be erected. Later, it was
often the practice to make a breach in the walls of the city
through which the victorious athletes returned.
During this period the games reached it climax and started to

show the first signs of decay. Thriving for records and
specialization to keep the interest of the crowds was only a short
step away from professionalism.
```6When Macedonian troops invaded Greece, it put an end to
Greek city-states. Greece now relieved of the political controversy,
devoted themselves entirely to the Olympic Games. They stopped
training their youth and just hired professional athletes and
granted them citizenship. During the middle of the second century
BC, Romans conquered Greece, and even though they had little
interest in the games, they let them continue.
The Romans looked on athletics with contempt- stripping naked in

public was something which was disgusting to the Romans. But
they did realize the value of the Greek festivals, however, and
Augustus, who had a genuine love for athletics, staged athletic
games in a temporary wooden stadium erected near the Circus
Maximus. Nero was also a keen patron of the festivals in Greece.
More than 250,000 spectators, witnessed chariot racing in the

hippodrome and horse racing in the Circus Maximus, during the
4th century AD, in Rome. In the amphitheatre with
accommodation for 50,000, animals and human beings were
slaughtered in the name of sport. During the next centuries, the
original ideals of the games were thrown to dust, as they became
more oriented towards profits; but they continued nevertheless.
In 393 AD, the Emperor Theodosius forbade the Games altogether.

They had survived long enough; long enough to be referred to as
immortal. A period of nearly 300 Olympiads or approximately
1200 years, and now that they are back in action, immortal is just
the word for Olympics, which has a glorious past, and now moving
towards an even more glorious future.
The history of athletics in India dates back to the Vedic era.

Although it is indeed a mystery that when exactly athletics in India
made its presence felt as a distinct sports form; however it can be
said that the well illustrated values of the Atharva Veda contoured
the limn of Indian athletics. In the Vedic age or much later in the
period of Ramayana and Mahabharata athletics were typically a
common form of sports. Sports like chariot racing, archery,
horsemanship, military tactics, wrestling, weight lifting, swimming
and hunting made their presence felt quite colossally back in that
era. Later, apart from these other games like hiking, walking,
`gulli-danda` were also being played in ancient India. Almost all
these games were then defined as a `must` in the military training
sessions of the Indian empires.
With the course of time, the nature and formation of sports in

India started to change while leaving space to the up gradation of
sports and athletics in India. The Indian people started to add
some more sports like running, jumping, throwing, walking and
other sports, along with those ancient sports and most of the new
editions of sports were the track and field events of today`s
Athletics. These forms of sports got immense popularity, once
they were introduced in India. The main reason behind their
popularity was that these games were almost equally capable of
improving one`s physical capability, just like the ancient games.
Although, no information can be found about the exact timing

when the contemporary form of Athletics games started its
journey in India, it is generally said that the present day Athletics
started to be played in India, just after the independence of India.
Till then, the Athletics has gone through a number of phases in
India. At the initial period, the Indian people used to play the track
and field games in the grass and cinder tracks. After that, they
started to play on the synthetic surface for most of the major
competitions. The synthetic tracks made the organisers` jobs
easier as there were no needs of manual marking of tracks and
associated definitions for throws and jumps in those tracks. The
introduction of technology in the game of Athletics improved its
status further as keeping the record of players` timing became
easier with the technology.
India has produced a lot of successful athletes in the international

level so far and the most successful and famous Indian athletes
include the names of Jeev Milkha Singh, T.C Yohannan, Gurbachan
Singh, Sriram Singh etc. All of these athletes are considered as the
golden boys for Indian Athletics in its initial period. India has
produced some successful athletes in the contemporary period as
well. Among the most successful athletes of the present day
Indian athletics, there are the athletes like P T Usha, Anju Bobby
George, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Saraswati Saha, Soma Biswas etc.
Apart from them, there are also some other athletes who are
showing the signs to become successful in the international
tournaments in the near future. Keeping in mind all the phases in
the evolution of Athletics in India, it can be said that Athletics has
shown a continuous trend of improvement so far and it is showing
some promising signs for the future as well. Soma Biswas etc. The
sport is commonly known as athletics in most of the world or
track and field in the United States and Canada. The name
"athletics" is derived from the Greek word "athlos", meaning
"contest
The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BC was a
stadium-length foot race, or "stade," run on a track.
There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical

era:
• Panhellenic Games:
o The Pythian Games (founded 527 BC) held in Delphi
every four years
o The Nemean Games (founded 516 BC) held in Argolid
every two years
o The Isthmian Games (founded 523 BC) held on the
Isthmus of Corinth every two years
• The Roman Games – Arising from Etruscan rather than purely
Greek roots, the Roman Games deemphasized footraces and
throwing. Instead, the Greek sports of chariot racing and
wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial
combat, took center stage.
• The Tailteann Games (claimed foundation 1829 BC) – held
near modern Telltown in Ireland, this thirty-day meeting
included foot races and stone-throwing events
Other peoples, such as the Celts, Teutons and Goths who

succeeded the Romans, enjoyed athletic contests. However, these
were often related to combat training. In the Middle Ages the sons
of noblemen would be trained in running, leaping and wrestling, in
addition to riding, jousting and arms-training. Contests between
rivals and friends may have been common on both official and
unofficial grounds.
Annually, from 1796-1798, L'Olympiade de la République was held

in revolutionary France, and is an early forerunner to the modern
summer Olympic Games. The premier event of this competition
was a footrace, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on
display. The 1796 Olympiade also marks the introduction of the
metric system into sport.
In the 19th century the formal organization of the modern events

accelerated - in France, Germany, and Great Britain in particular.
This included the incorporation of regular sports and exercise into
school regimes. The Royal Military College, Sandhurst has claimed
to be the first to adopt this in 1812 and 1825, but without any
supporting evidence. The earliest recorded meeting was organised
at Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1840 by the Royal Shrewsbury
School Hunt. There are details of the meeting in a series of letters
written 60 years later by C.T. Robinson, who was a pupil there
from 1838 to 1841. The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich held
an organised competition in 1849, but the first regular series of
meetings was held by Exeter College, Oxford from 1850.
Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400 metre

running track on which most of the running events take place.
Field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often take place on
the infield, inside the track.
Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896

and has formed their backbone ever since. Women were first
allowed to participate in track and field events in the 1928
Olympics.An international governing body, the International
Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), was founded in 1912; it
adopted its current name, the International Association of
Athletics Federations, in 2001.
The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in

1983. There are a number of regional games as well, such as the
European Championships, the Pan-American Games, and the
Commonwealth Games. In addition there is a professional Golden
League circuit, culminating in the IAAF World Athletics Final, and
indoor championships such as the World Indoor Championships.
The sport has a very high profile during major championships,

especially the Olympics, but otherwise is less popular.
The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) was the governing body in the
United States until it collapsed under pressure from advancing
professionalism in the late 1970s. A new governing body called
The Athletics Congress (TAC) was formed.
It was later renamed USA Track & Field (USATF or USA T&F). An
additional, less structured organization, the Road Runners Club of
America (RRCA), also exists in the United States to promote road
racing.
In modern times, athletes can receive money for racing, putting

an end to the so-called "amateurism" that existed before.
Track and field

athletics
Track and field athletics is a collection of sports events that
involve running, sprinting, throwing, jumping and walking.
Organised athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games
from 776 BC, and most modern events are conducted by the
member clubs of the International Association of Athletics
Federations.
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.
Indoor
athletics
Typical "oval" track consisting of two semicircles joined by straight
segments.There are two seasons for track and field. There is
an indoor season, run during the winter and an outdoor
season, run during the spring. Most indoor tracks are 200
metres and consist of four to 8 lanes. There are also some
150 metre indoor tracks, and others as small as 120 metres
have been used. Some "oversize tracks" (larger than 200
metres) are popular for American collegiate athletics despite
the fact that they are not considered valid for setting indoor
records. Often an indoor track will have banked turns to
compensate for the tight radius of the turns. The banking can
help prevent injuries to the athlete, while also promoting
higher speeds.
In an indoor track meet athletes contest the same track events as

at an outdoor meet, with the exception of the 100 m and 110
m/100 m hurdles (replaced by the 55 or 60 m sprint and 55 or 60
m hurdles at most levels, or the 55 m sprint and hurdles at the
high school level), the 10,000 m run, 3,000 m steeplechase, 400
m hurdles. Indoor meets also have the addition of a 3,000 m run
normally at both the collegiate and elite level, instead of the
10,000 m. The 5,000 m is the longest event commonly run
indoors, although there are situations where longer distances have
been raced. In the mid 20th century, there was a series of "duel"
races on Madison Square Garden's indoor track, some of which
featured two men racing a marathon (42.2 km). However, this is
an extremely rare occurrence, for obvious reasons. In some
occasions, there may also be a 500 m race instead of the open
400 m normally found outdoors, and in many college
championship races indoors both are contested.
In field events, indoor meets only feature the high jump, pole
vault, long jump, triple jump, and shot put (weight throw). Due to
space limitations, these events take place on the infield, within the
circumferential track. The longer throws of javelin, hammer and
discus are added only for outdoor meets, as there is normally not
enough space in an indoor stadium to house these events.
Other events unique to indoor meets (especially in North America)

are the 300 m, 600m, 1000 m, and 35 lb (16 kg) weight throw. In
some countries, notably Norway, standing long jump and standing
high jump are also contested, even in the National
Championships.For multi-event athletes there is the Pentathlon for
women (consisting of 60 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long
jump and 800 m) and heptathlon for men (consisting of 60 m, long
jump, shot put, high jump, 60 m hurdles, pole vault and 1000 m)
indoors.In Secondary school meets the events that are exhibited
are the 55m, 600m, 1000m, 1500m racewalk, 3000m, and 55m
hurdles. There is also shotput, long jump, high jump, triple jump
and 4x200m relay and 4x800m relay
Outdoor
athletics
The outdoor track and field season usually begins in the spring
and lasts through the summer. Most tracks are ovals of 400
metres in circumference. Modern All Weather Running Tracks,
known to many by brand names such as "Tartan tracks" and
"Mondo tracks", are made with a rubberized surface; older tracks
were cinder-covered. Tracks normally consist of 6-10 lanes (up to
12 lanes on the 'front' straight) and many include a steeplechase
lane with a water pit on one of the turns. This steeplechase pit can
be placed either inside or outside the track, making for a tighter
turn or a wider turn. It is common that tracks will surround a
playing field used for American football, association football
(soccer), or lacrosse. This inner field is usually known as the infield
and has a surface of either grass or artificial turf.
All field events can be contested on the infield. However the

javelin, hammer and discus throws are sometimes contested on
fields outside of the track stadium because they take up a large
amount of space, the implements may damage the infield, and the
implements could end up landing on the track. However, some
infields are used specifically for these events, and for the javelin,
an athlete may have a longer run-up by starting it on the other
side of the track, and crossing when there are no athletes passing.
Because the throwing events effectively result in projectiles being
thrown, they are intrinsically more dangerous to spectators.
Deaths and bodily injury have occurred as a result. Rules and
meet organizers are justifiably safety cautious about the proximity
and position of spectators, frequently putting the athletes inside
cages with controlled openings to the landing area.
Events
There are other variations besides the ones listed below, but races
of unusual length (e.g. 300 m) are run much less often. The
unusual races are typically held during indoor season because of
the shorter 200 m indoor track. With the exception of the mile run,
races based on imperial distances are rarely run on the track
anymore since most tracks have been converted from a quarter
mile (402.3 m) to 400 m; almost all record keeping for imperial
distances has been discontinued. However, the IAAF record book
still includes the mile world record (currently held by Hicham El
Guerrouj of Morocco for men and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia
for women) because of its worldwide historic significance.Men and
women do not compete against each other, although they may
sometimes run in the same races due to time constraints at high
school meets. Women generally run the same distances as men
although hurdles and steeplechase barriers are lower and the
weights of the shot, discus, javelin and hammer are less.
All Comers Track

Meets
Track and Field is the most accessible sport for anyone to
participate in. It only takes two people to have a race, or one can
simply race a stopwatch. In events called All Comers Track Meets,
anyone who wishes to participate is welcome. All comers meets
are usually organized by communities, schools, or sports teams.
Some sports teams also use all comers meets for fundraising.
Most meets are low cost or free. All comers meets are fairly low-
key and merely intended for gaining experience or just practicing
for races. There is no exclusion on account of participants' lack of
membership on a team or equipment. While races are usually
seeded based on the entrant's expected level of ability, the most
elite of athletes can and do use these meets for training or
practice.
Track events
The rules of track athletics or of track events in athletics as
observed in most international athletics competitions are set by
the Competition Rules of the International Association of Athletics
Federations (IAAF). The most recent complete set of rules is the
2009 rules that relate only to competitions in 2009. Key rules of
track events are those regarding starting, running and finishing.
Starting
The start of a race is marked by a white line 5 cm wide. In all
races that are not run in lanes the start line must be curved, so
that all the athletes start the same distance from the finish.
starting blocks may be used for all races up to and including 400
m (including the first leg of the 4 x 200 m and 4 x 400 m) and may
not be used for any other race. No part of the starting block may
overlap the start line or extend into another lane. All races must
be started by the report of the starter's gun or approved starting
apparatus fired upwards after he or she has ascertained that
athletes are steady and in the correct starting position. An athlete
may not touch either the start line or the ground in front of it with
his hands or his feet when on his marks. At most international
competitions the commands of the starter in his own language, in
English or in French, shall, in races up to and including 400 m, be
"On your marks" and "Set". When all athletes are "set", the gun
must be fired, or an approved starting apparatus must be
activated.] However, if the starter is not satisfied that all is ready
to proceed, the athletes may be called out of the blocks and the
process started over.
False start: An athlete, after assuming a final set position, may not
commence his starting motion until after receiving the report of
the gun, or approved starting apparatus. If, in the judgment of the
starter or recallers, he does so any earlier, it is considered a false
start. It is deemed a false start if, in the judgment of the starter an
athlete fails to comply with the commands "on your marks" or
"set" as appropriate after a reasonable time; or an athlete after
the command "on your marks" disturbs other athletes in the race
through sound or otherwise.] Any athlete making a false start is
disqualified as of 2010. This rule was already in place in high
school and college.
Running the race

In all races run in lanes, each athlete must keep within his
allocated lane from start to finish. This also applies to any portion
of a race run in lanes. If an athlete leaves the track or steps on the
line demarking the track, he/she should be disqualified. Also, any
athlete who jostles or obstructs another athlete, in a way that
impedes his progress, should be disqualified from that event.
However, if an athlete is pushed or forced by another person to
run outside his lane, and if no material advantage is gained, the
athlete should not be disqualified.
The finish
The finish of a race is marked by a white line 5 cm wide. The
athletes must be placed in the order in which any part of their
torso ( as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or
feet) reaches the vertical plane of the nearer edge of the finish
line.
Ties between different athletes are resolved as follows: In

determining whether there has been a tie in any round for a
qualifying position for the next round based on time, a judge
(called the chief photo finish judge) must consider the actual time
recorded by the athletes to 1/1000th of a second. If the judge
decides that there has been a tie, the tying athletes must be
placed in the next round or, if that is not practicable, lots must be
drawn to determine who must be placed in the next round. In the
case of a tie for first place in any final, the referee decides
whether it is practicable to arrange for the athletes so tying to
compete again. If he decides it is not, the result will stand. Ties in
other placings remain.
Track and field

on coinage
Running
commemorative coin
Track and field events have been selected as a main motif in
numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10
Greek Running commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to
commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. In the obverse of the
coin, a modern athlete figure appears in the foreground, shown in
the starting position, while in the background two ancient runners
are carved in a manner that gives the appearance of a coin that is
"worn" by time. This scene originally appeared on a black-figure
vase of the 6th century BC.
Sprints are events up to and including the 400 metres.

Events commonly contested (as defined by events held in the
Olympics or World Championships) are:
• 100 metres
• 200 metres
• 300 meters (uncommon)
• 400 metres
Sprints are short running races in athletics.
Rules
The start
Starting blocks are used for all competition sprint and relay
events. The starting blocks consist of two adjustable footplates
attached to a rigid frame. Races commence with the firing of the
starter's gun. The starting commands are "On your marks" and
"Set" or "Get Set". Once all athletes are in the set position, the
starter's gun is fired, officially starting the race. For the 100m, all
competitors are lined up side-by-side. For the 200m, 300m and
400m, which involve curves, runners are staggered for the start.
In the rare event that there are technical issues with a start, a
green card is shown to all the athletes. The green card carries no
penalty. If an Athlete is unhappy with track conditions after the
"on your marks" command is given, he must raise his hand before
the "get set" command and provide the track referee with a
reason for raising their hand. It is then up to the Track referee to
decide if the reason is valid. In the extremely rare event that the
track referee deems the reason invalid, a yellow card (warning) is
issued to that particular athlete. In the event that the entire field,
or just that athlete, is already on a warning, the athlete is
disqualified.
False starts
If a sprinter commences their starting motion from the set position
within 0.1 seconds of the starter's gun being fired, it is deemed a
false start. The first false start of a race results in a warning to the
offending runner, indicated by a yellow card shown to the field by
the track referee. Any athlete who thereafter commits a false start
will be disqualified.
The IAAF rules deem that any athlete who commences their
starting motion between 0.00 and 0.099 seconds after the
starter's gun is fired, is deliberately guessing the start of the race
rather than waiting for the signal to start.
100m Olympic Gold and Silver medallist, Linford Christie of Great

Britain famously had frequent false starts that were marginally
below the legal reaction time of 0.1 seconds. Christie and his
coach, Ron Roddan, both claimed that the false starts were due to
Christie's exceptional reaction times being under the legal time.
His frequent false starting eventually led to his disqualification
from the 1996 Olympic Games 100m final in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
due to a second false start by Christie.
Lanes
For all Olympic sprint events, runners must remain within their
pre-assigned lanes, which measure 1.22 meters (4 feet) wide,
from start to finish. The lanes can be numbered 1 through
normally 8 or 9 rarely 10, starting with the inside lane. Any athlete
who runs outside the assigned lane in order to gain an advantage
is subject to disqualification. If the athlete is forced to run outside
of his or her lane by another person, and no material advantage is
gained, there will be no disqualification. Also, a runner who strays
from his or her lane in the straightaway, or crosses the outer line
of his or her lane on the bend, and gains no advantage by it, will
not be disqualified as long as no other runner is obstructed.
The finish
The first athlete whose torso reaches the vertical plane of the
closest edge of the finish line is the winner. To ensure that the
sprinter's torso triggers the timing impulse at the finish line rather
than an arm, foot, or other body part, a double Photocell is
commonly used. Times are only recorded by an electronic timing
system when both of these Photocells are simultaneously blocked.
Photo finish systems are also used at some track and field events.
Common
distances
60 meters
• The 60 metres is normally run indoors, on a straight section
of an indoor athletic track. Since races at this distance can
last around six or seven seconds, having good reflexes and
thus getting off to a quick start is more vital in this race than
any other.
• This is roughly the distance required for a human to reach
maximum speed and can be run with one breath. It is popular
for training and testing in other sports (e.g. speed testing for
American football, although 40 yards is more common there).
• The World record in this event is held by American sprinter
Maurice Greene with a time of 6.39 seconds.
• 60 metres is used as an outdoor distance by younger
athletes when starting in sprint.
100 meters
100 m (one hundred metres) is the shortest outdoor sprint race
distance in athletics. The reigning 100 m Olympic champion
is often named "the fastest man/woman in the world". The
200 m record had often been at a faster average speed than
the 100 m record.
Sprinters typically reach top speed after somewhere between 50–

60 m. Their speed then slows progressively towards the finish line.
Maintaining that top speed for as long as possible is a primary
focus of training for the 100 m.
In the past, athletes often competed over 100 yards (91.4 m)

instead of 100 m, especially in the United States. This shorter
distance is now obsolete. Indoor sprints are often run over 60 m
(sometimes 50 m or 55 m) as few facilities have a 100 m indoor
straight.
On an outdoor 400 metres running track, the 100 m is run on the
home straight, the start being set on an extension to make it a
straight-line race.
 The 100 metres sprint takes place on one length of the

home straight of a standard outdoor 400 m track. Often, the
world-record holder in this race is considered "the world's
fastest man/woman." The current world Record of 9.58
seconds is held by Usain Bolt of Jamaica and was set on 16
August 2009, at the 2009 World Athletics Championships.
The women's world record is 10.49 seconds and was set by
Florence Griffith-Joyner.
 The 4x100 m relay is another prestigious event, with an
average speed that is quicker than the 100 m, as the runners
can start moving before they receive the baton. The World
record in this event is 37.10 seconds, held by the Jamaican
team as set 22 August 2008 at the Beijing Olympics.
Record
performances
Major 100 m races, such as at the Olympic Games, attract much
attention, particularly when the world record is thought to be
within reach.The men's world record has been improved upon
twelve times since the introduction of electronic timing in 1968.
The current men's world record of 9.58 s is held by Usain Bolt of
Jamaica, set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships final on
16 August 2009, breaking his own previous world record by 0.11 s.
The current women's world record of 10.49 s was set by Florence
Griffith-Joyner of the USA, in Indianapolis, Indiana, on 16 July 1988.
Illegal drug use has been seen by some people as a means to gain
a competitive edge; in particular, the scandal at the 1988 Summer
Olympics when the winner Ben Johnson was stripped of his medal.
In 2003, revelations of failed drug tests by sprinting legend Carl
Lewis before the 1988 Seoul Olympics also put the validity of his
achievements into question.
Jim Hines was the first man to break the 10-second barrier in the
100 m, recording the first sub-10 second, electronically timed run
to win the 100 metres at the 1968 Olympics.
Start
At the start, some athletes play psychological games such as
trying to be last to the starting blocks, although direct intimidation
would be considered unsportsmanlike. The starter will keep the
sprinters in the set position for an unpredictable time of around
two seconds and then fire the starting gun.
The time between the gun and first kick against the starting block
is measured electronically, via sensors built in the gun and the
blocks. A reaction time less than 0.1 s is considered a false start.
The 0.1-second interval accounts for the sum of the time it takes
for the sound of the starter's pistol to reach the runners' ears, and
the time it takes to react to it.For many years a sprinter was
disqualified if responsible for two false starts individually.
However, this rule allowed some major races to be restarted so
many times that the sprinters started to lose focus. The current
rule, introduced in February 2003, is that, after one false start,
anyone responsible for a subsequent false start is disqualified
immediately. This rule has led to some sprinters deliberately false-
starting to gain a psychological advantage: an individual with a
slower reaction time might false-start, forcing the faster starters to
wait and be sure of hearing the gun for the subsequent start,
thereby losing some of their advantage. In order to avoid such
abuse, the IAAF will implement a change to the rule from the 2010
season, so that the first false starting athlete is immediately
disqualified. This proposal was met with objections when first
raised in 2005, on the grounds that it would not leave any room
for innocent mistakes. Justin Gatlin commented, "Just a flinch or a
leg cramp could cost you a year's worth of work.".
Finish
The winner is determined by the first athlete with his or her torso
(not including limbs, head, or neck) over the nearer edge of the
finish line.
Climatic conditions
Climatic conditions are a crucial factor for good performances in
the 100 m. Air resistance is the primary climatic factor in
sprint performances. A strong head wind is very detrimental to
performance, while a tail wind can improve performances
significantly.
For this reason, a maximum tail wind of 2.0 m/s is allowed for a
100 m performance to be considered eligible for records, or
"wind legal".
Furthermore, sprint athletes perform better at high altitudes

because of the thinner air, which provides less air resistance. In
theory, the thinner air would also make breathing slightly more
difficult (due to the partial pressure of oxygen being lower), but
this difference is negligible for sprint distances where all the
oxygen needed for the short dash is already in the muscles and
bloodstream when the race starts. While there are no limitations
on altitude, performances made at altitudes greater than 1000 m
above sea level are marked with an "A".
Fastest 100
metres runners
Top thirteen all-time
athletes—men
Ra Ti Wind Locati
Athlete Country Date
nk me (m/s) on
9.5 16 August
1 +0.9 Usain Bolt Jamaica Berlin
8 2009
20
9.6 Shang
2 +2.0 Tyson Gay United States September
9 hai
2009
9.7 2 September Lausan
3 +0.2 Asafa Powell Jamaica
2 2008 ne
9.7 Maurice
4 +0.1 United States 16 June 1999 Athens
9 Greene
Donovan
+0.7 Canada 27 July 1996 Atlanta
9.8 Bailey
5
4 22 August
+0.2 Bruny Surin Canada Seville
1999
Lausan
+1.2 Leroy Burrell United States 6 July 1994
ne
9.8 22 August
7 +0.6 Justin Gatlin United States Athens
5 2004
Olusoji
+1.7 Nigeria 12 May 2006 Doha
Fasuba
25 August
+1.2 Carl Lewis United States Tokyo
1991
Frankie Lausan
−0.4 Namibia 3 July 1996
9.8 Fredericks ne
10
6 Trinidad and
+1.8 Ato Boldon 19 April 1998 Walnut
Tobago
Francis 22 August
+0.6 Portugal Athens
Obikwelu 2004
Tyson Gay also has a time of 9.68 s set on 29 June 2008 during
the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field in
Eugene, Oregon; the tail wind speed was 4.1 m/s, more than
double the IAAF legal limit.[9]
 Obadele Thompson ran a wind-aided 9.69 in El Paso,
Texas in April 1996 which stood as the fastest ever 100m
time for 12 years until Tyson Gay's June 2008 performance
 Justin Gatlin ran 9.77 in Doha on 12 May 2006, which
was at the time ratified as a world record. However, the
performance was annulled in 2007 after he failed a doping
test in April 2006.
 Carl Lewis ran a time of 9.78 seconds at the 1988 US
olympic trials in Indianapolis but it was wind aided.
 Tim Montgomery's time (9.78 at Paris on 14 September
2002) was invalidated following his indictment in the BALCO
scandal on drug use and drug trafficking charges. The time
had stood as the world record until Asafa Powell first ran
9.77.
 Ben Johnson ran 9.79 at Seoul on 24 September 1988,

but he was disqualified after he tested positive for stanozolol
after the race. He subsequently admitted to drug use
between 1981 and 1988, and his time of 9.83 at Rome on 30
August 1987 was invalidated. Carl Lewis's 9.92 in the Seoul
race was therefore recognized as the world record, and his
two prior runs of 9.93 were seen as having equalled the
previous world record.
 Ato Boldon has recorded 9.86 seconds on four
occasions: the one detailed here is the first.
Top ten all-time

athletes—women
Ra Tim Wind
Athlete Nation Date Location
nk e (m/s)
10.4 Florence United
1 0.0 16 July 1988 Indianapolis
9 Griffith-Joyner States
20
10.6 Carmelita United
2 +1.2 September Shanghai
4 Jeter States
2009
12
10.6 United Johannesbu
3 +1.1 Marion Jones September
5 States rg[A]
1998
Shelly-Ann 17 August
+0.1 Jamaica Berlin
10.7 Fraser 2009
4
3 Christine 19 August
+2.0 France Budapest
Arron 1998
10.7 7 September
6 +1.3 Merlene Ottey Jamaica Milan
4 1996
10.7 Kerron
7 +0.4 Jamaica 10 July 2009 Rome
5 Stewart
10.7 Evelyn United 22 August
8 +1.7 Zürich
6 Ashford States 1984
+0.9 Irina Privalova Russia 6 July 1994 Lausanne
10.7
9 19 June
7 +0.7 Ivet Lalova Bulgaria Plovdiv
2004
Florence Griffith-Joyner's World Record has been the subject of
a controversy due to strong suspicion of a defective
anemometer measuring a tailwind lower than actually
present; since 1997 the International Athletics Annual of the
Association of Track and Field Statisticians has listed this
performance as "probably strongly wind assisted, but
recognised as a world record".
 Marion Jones later confessed to using performance

enhancing drugs in setting her 100m time.
Area records
Men's Women's
Area
Time Athlete Nation Time Athlete Nation
Africa Olusoji Nigeri 10.9
9.85 Glory Alozie Nigeria
(records) Fasuba a 0
Asia Samuel 10.7
9.99 Qatar Li Xuemei China
(records) Francis 9
Europe Francis Portug 10.7 Christine
9.86 France
(records) Obikwelu al 3 Arron
North,
Central
America 9.58 Usain Jamaic 10.4 Florence United
and WR Bolt a 9 WR Griffith-Joyner States
Caribbean
(records)
Melinda
Oceania Patrick Austra 11.1 Australi
9.93 Gainsford-
(records) Johnson lia 2 a
Taylor
South Lucimar
10.00 Robson 11.1
America [A] Brazil Aparecida de Brazil
da Silva 7
(records) Moura
200 meters
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor
400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home
straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to
successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the
stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at
the Ancient Olympics. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed
endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes rely on
different energy systems during the longer sprint.
In the United States and elsewhere, athletes previously ran the
220-yard dash (201.168 m) instead of the 200 m, though the
distance is now obsolete. The standard adjustment used for the
conversion from times recorded over 220 yards to 200 m times is
to subtract 0.1 seconds,[1] but other conversion methods exist.
The race attracts runners from other events wishing to double up

and claim both titles. This feat has been achieved nine times at
the Olympic Games, most recently by Jamaica's Usain Bolt in
2008. An Olympic double of 200 m and 400 m was first achieved
by Valerie Brisco-Hooks in 1984, and later by Michael Johnson
from the United States and Marie-José Pérec of France both in
1996.
The men's world record holder is Usain Bolt, who ran 19.19 s at
the 2009 World Championships. The women's world record holder
is Florence Griffith-Joyner of the United States, who ran 21.34 s at
the 1988 Summer Olympics. The reigning Olympic champions are
Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown, both of whom are from
Jamaica.
Because humans use the same muscles for both support and
forward speed, the runners in the inside lanes are disadvantaged
by centrifugal force during the bend phase. Consequently, the
middle and outer lanes are preferred.[2]
• The 200 metres begins on the curve of a standard track

(where the runners are staggered in their starting position, to
ensure that they all run the same distance), and ends on the
home straight. The ability to "run a good bend" is key at the
distance, as a well conditioned runner will be able to run 200
m in an average speed higher than their 100 m speed.
• Indoors, the race is run as one lap of the track, with only
slightly slower times than outdoors.
• A slightly shorter race (but run on a straight track), the
stadion, was the first recorded event at the Ancient Olympics
and the oldest known formal sports event in history.
The world record in this event is 19.19 seconds, held by Usain Bolt
and was set on 20 August 2009, at the 2009 World Athletics
Championships
All-time fastest 200 m

athletes
Men
Ra Res Wi
nk . nd
19. −0. 20 August
1. Usain Bolt Jamaica Berlin
19 3 2009
19. +0. Michael United
2. 1 August 1996 Atlanta
32 4 Johnson States
19. +1. United New York
3. Tyson Gay 30 May 2009
58 3 States City
19. +0. United
4. Xavier Carter 11 July 2006 Lausanne
63 4 States
19. Wallace United 28 September
5. 0.0 Daegu
65 Spearmon States 2006
19. +0. Frankie
6. Namibia 1 August 1996 Atlanta
68 4 Fredericks
19. +0. United
7. Walter Dix 26 May 2007 Gainesville
69 9 States
19. +1. Pietro 12 September Mexico
8. Italy
72 8 Mennea 1979 City
19. −0. Michael United
9. 5 August 1992 Barcelona
73 2 Marsh States
10. 19. +1. United Indianapoli
Carl Lewis 19 June 1983
75 5 States s
+1. Joe DeLoach United 28 September Seoul
8 States 1988
Women
Ra Res Wi
nk . nd
29
21. +1. Florence Griffith- United
1. September Seoul
34 3 Joyner States
1988
11
21. −0. United Johannesbu
2. Marion Jones September
62 6 States rg
1998
13
21. +0.
3. Merlene Ottey Jamaica September Brussels
64 8
1991
+0. East Karl-Marx-
Marita Koch 10 June 1979
21. 7 Germany Stadt
4.
71 +1. East
Heike Drechsler 29 June 1986 Jena
2 Germany
29
+1.
Grace Jackson Jamaica September Seoul
21. 3
6. 1988
72
−0. United 15 August
Gwen Torrence Barcelona
1 States 1992
+0. East
Marlies Göhr 3 June 1984 Erfurt
4 Germany
21. +1. Silke Gladisch- East 3 September
8. Rome
74 2 Möller Germany 1987
−0. Veronica 21 August
Jamaica Beijing
6 Campbell-Brown 2008
400 meters
400 m is a common track running event. It is a sprint distance. On
a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the
track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate
lanes for the entire course. In many countries athletes previously
competed in the 440 yard dash (402.336 m) instead of the
400 metres, though this distance is now obsolete.
The current men's world record is held by Michael Johnson, with a

time of 43.18 seconds. The world indoor record holder is Kerron
Clement, in 44.57 seconds. The current women's world record is
held by Marita Koch, with a time of 47.60 seconds. The reigning
World Champions are LaShawn Merritt and Sanya Richards. The
reigning Olympic champions are LaShawn Merritt and Christine
Ohuruogu. The men's Paralympic world record of 46.25 seconds is
held by Oscar Pistorius.[1]
An Olympic double of 200 metres and 400 m was first achieved by

Valerie Brisco-Hooks in 1984, and later by Michael Johnson from
the United States and Marie-José Pérec of France both in 1996.
Alberto Juantorena of Cuba at the 1976 Summer Olympics became
the first and so far the only athlete to win both the 400 m and
800 m Olympic tles.
 The 400 metres is one lap around the track on the inside
lane. Runners are staggered in their starting positions to
ensure that everyone runs the same distance. While this
event is a sprint (according to some), there is more scope to
use tactics in the race; the fact that 400 m times are
considerably more than four times a typical 100 m time
demonstrates this.
 The world record is currently held by Michael Johnson with a
time of 43.18 seconds.
 The 4x400 m relay is often held at track and field meetings,
and is by tradition the final event at major championships.
 Common tactics include exploding out of the blocks and
continuing to run hard through the curve, relaxing in the
middle 200 meters and kicking hard on the homestretch.
Famous 400 m runners
Top all-time athletes - men
Ra Tim
nk e
43.1 United 26 August
1. Michael Johnson Seville
8 States 1999
43.2 Harry 'Butch' United 17 August
2. Zürich
9 Reynolds States 1988
3. Jeremy Wariner Osaka
5 States 2007
43.5 United Barcelon
4. Quincy Watts 5 August 1992
0 States a
5. LaShawn Merritt Beijing
5 States 2008
43.8 United New
6. Danny Everett 26 June 1992
1 States Orleans
43.8 United 18 October Mexico
7. Lee Evans
6 States 1968 City
43.8 United 28 September
8. Steve Lewis Seoul
7 States 1988
43.9 United 18 October Mexico
9. Larry James
7 States 1968 City
44.0 United Indianapo
10. Angelo Taylor 23 June 2007
5 States lis
Top all-time athletes - women

Ra Tim
nk e
47.6 East 6 October
1. Marita Koch Canberra
0 Germany 1985
47.9 Jarmila Czechoslov 10 August
2. Helsinki
9 Kratochvílová akia 1983
48.2
3. Marie-José Pérec France 29 July 1996 Atlanta
5
48.2 Olga Vladykina- Soviet 6 October
4. Canberra
7 Bryzgina Union 1985
48.5 Taťána Czechoslov 10 August
5. Helsinki
9 Kocembová akia 1983
48.6
6. Cathy Freeman Australia 29 July 1996 Atlanta
3
16
48.7 United
7. Sanya Richards September Athens
0 States
2006
48.8 Valerie Brisco- United 6 August
8. Los Angeles
3 Hooks States 1984
48.8 27 August Paris Saint-
9. Ana Guevara Mexico
9 2003 Denis
49.0 Chandra United 6 August
10. Los Angeles
5 Cheeseborough States 1984
Middle Distance Events are events

longer than sprints and up to 3000 metres. Events
commonly contested are:
• 600 metres (uncommon)

• 800 metres
• 1000 metres (uncommon, but World Record is kept)
• 1500 metres
• 1600 metres (uncommon—used in US High Schools)
• One mile[3] (not an Olympic event)
• 2000 metres (uncommon, but a World Record is kept)
• 3000 metres (not an Olympic event)
• 3200 meters (uncommon—used in US High Schools)
• 3000 metres steeplechase
Middle distance
events
The standard middle distances are the 800 m, 1500 m, mile (in
the United States), and the 3000 m (which is viewed by some as
more of a long distance event). In the United States, the 3000 m is
more common at the high school and collegiate levels (along with
the US two mile). In Japan, the 800, 1500 and 3000 meter events
are competed in both genders for junior high school and high
school, except that high school boys jump to 5000 meters. Both
3000 and 5000 meter distances are sometimes described as long
distance but also frequently as middle distance, depending on the
context. From the perspective of a longer race like a half
marathon, marathon or relays such as the ekiden relay, the 5000
meter race might be viewed as middle distance.What constitutes a
good mark for each event of course varies by gender, age,
individual, intensity of training/competition, point in the
competitive season and many other factors.
600 meters
This middle distance length is rather uncommon, and is mainly run
by sprinters wishing to test their endurances at a longer distance.
The 600 m is also used as an early season stepping stone by 800
m runners before they have reached full race fitness. The record
at this distance is for men:
 Johnny Gray (United States) 1:12.81 Santa Monica 24 May

1986
For women:
 Ana Fidelia Quirot (Cuba) 1:22.63 Guadalajara 25 July 1997
800 meters
The 800 meter race (or 800 meters) is a common track running
event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The
800 meter is run over two laps of the track `(400 meter track) and
has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track 6season
the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring
four laps. It was included in the first woman's track program in
1928, but suspended until 1960 because of shock at the
exhaustion it caused the competitors. By contrast, without today's
training regimes, male competitors of the day were expected to
run themselves to exhaustion in competition.[
The event requires both sprinting speed and physical endurance

to last two laps, therefore combining challenging aspects of both
sprinting and middle distance into a single race.
The 800 m consists of two laps around a standard 400 m track,

and has always been an Olympic event. It was included in the first
women's track programme in 1928, but suspended until 1960
because of shock and the exhaustion it caused the competitors.
Without the benefits of modern training, men of the era were, in
contrast, expected to run themselves to complete exhaustion
during competitions]. The current record is for men:
 Wilson Kipketer (Denmark), 1:41.11 Cologne 24 August 1997
For women:
 Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czechoslovakia) 1:53.28 Munich, 26

July 1983`5
Top ten all-time athletes on the

men's 800 m
Ra Locat
Time Athlete Nation Date
nk ion
1:41. Wilson 24 August Colog
1 Denmark
11 Kipketer 1997 ne
1:41. United Floren
2 Sebastian Coe 10 June 1981
73 Kingdom ce
1:41. 26 August Colog
3 Joaquim Cruz Brazil
77 1984 ne
1:42. 6 September
4 David Rudisha Kenya Rieti
01 2009
1:42. 26 August Colog
5 Sammy Koskei Kenya
28 1984 ne
1:42. 8 September
6 Wilfred Bungei Kenya Rieti
34 2002
1:42. Yuriy 24 August Bruss
7 Russia
47 Borzakovskiy 2001 els
1:42. 17 August
8 Andre Bucher Switzerland Zürich
55 2001
1:42. Atlant
9 Vebjørn Rodal Norway 31 July 1996
58 a
1:42. United 28 August Koble
10 Johnny Gray
60 States 1985 nz
1000 meters
This distance is not commonly raced, though it is more common
than the 500 m event is for sprinters. This is commonly raced as
an indoor men's heptathlon event, or as an indoor high school
event. The record at this distance for men is:
 Noah Ngeny (Kenya) 2:11.96 Rieti 5 September 1999[7]
For women:
 Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) 2:28.98 Munich 23 August

1996[8]
1200 meters
Three laps. A distance seldom raced on its own, but commonly
raced as part of the Distance Medley Relay.
1500 meters
Along with the 800 m, this is a premier middle-distance race,
covering three and three-quarter laps around a standard Olympic-
sized track. In recent years, races over this distance have become
more of a prolonged sprint, with each lap averaging 55 seconds
for the world record performance by Hicham El Guerrouj of
Morocco in 1998 at Rome (two 1:50 s 800 m performances back to
back). Thus, speed is necessary, and it seems that the more
aerobic conditioning, the better. This is a difficult distance to
compete at, mentally, in addition to being one of the more tactical
middle-distance track events. The distance is often witness to
some of the most tactical, physical races in the sport, as many
championship races are won in the final few metres. The record at
this distance for men is:
 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) 3:26.00 Rome 14 July 1998[9]
For women:
 Qu Yunxia (China) 3:50.46 Beijing 11 September 1993[10]
A few states of the USA use this distance, among them Oregon,
Florida and Massachusetts.
Time Time
1500 Coun # of
Age Group Range Range
meters try Athletes
2007 2008
Junior High 3:59.40 -
Boys Japan Top 150
School 4:13.77
Middle 4:21.07 -
Boys USA Top 200
School 5:17
3:51.65 - 3:44.21 -
Boys High School Japan Top 100
3:59.10 3:57.87
Top 31, 3:47.31 - 3:49.51 -
Boys High School USA
Top 100 3:59.68 4:08.0
Junior High 4:23.92 -
Girls Japan Top 200
School 4:45.49
Middle 4:58.73 -
Girls USA Top 200
School 6:01.00
4:20.44 - 4:17.13 -
Girls High School Japan Top 200
4:37.68 4:36.64
Top 28, 4:16.98 - 4:14.50 -
Girls High School USA
Top 200 4:39.92 4:55.0
1600 meters
At exactly four laps of a normal 400 m track, this distance is raced
as the metric mile as a near replacement for the mile (it is, in fact,
9.35 m, about 22 inches, shorter; however, it is still colloquially
referred to as "the mile"). The 1600 meters is the official distance
for this range of races in US High Schools. The 1500 m, however,
is the most common distance run at the college and international
levels.
An accurate way to run an actual mile on a metric track would be

to run the additional 9.35 meters before starting the first marked
400 meter lap. On a metric track, there will be a relay zone 10
meters before the common start/finish line, frequently marked by
a triangle pointed toward the finish. In many configurations, that
triangle is about half a meter wide, making its point extremely
close to the mile start line, which would be slightly less than two
feet from the marked relay zone (the widest part of the triangle, or
line).
Mile
This length of middle-distance race, 1760 yards, (1609.344
metres), is very common in countries that don't use the metric
system, and is still often referred to as the "Blue Riband" of the
track.
When the International Amateur Athletic Federation decided in
1976 to recognise only world records for metric distances, it made
an exception for the mile and records are kept to this day.
Historically, the mile took the place that the 1500 m has today. It
is still raced on the world class level, but usually only at select
occasions, like the famous Wanamaker Mile held annually at the
Millrose Games. Running a mile in less than four minutes is a
famously difficult achievement, long thought impossible by the
scientific community. The first man to break the four minute
barrier was Englishman Roger Bannister at Oxford in 1954. The
term "miler" is sometimes also applied to a 1500 m runner. The
record at this distance for men is:
 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) 3:43.13 Rome 7 July 1999For

women:
 Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) 4:12.56 Zürich 14 August 1996
2000 metres
 Another event that is rarely run, a miler's speed will
generally allow him/her to prevail at this distance over less
balanced challengers. The record at this distance for men is:
 Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) 4:44.79 Berlin September
7, 1999[14]
For women:
 Sonia O'Sullivan (Ireland) 5:25.36 Edinburgh July 8,

[15]
1994
meters
 Truly on the borderline between middle and longer distances,
the 3000 m (7.5 laps) is a standard race in the United States,
though it is not raced at the outdoor IAAF World
Championships. This race requires decent speed, but a lack
of natural quickness can be made up for with superior
aerobic conditioning and supporting race tactics. The record
at this distance for men is:
 Daniel Komen (Kenya) 7:20.67 Rieti 1 September 1996
For women:
 Junxia Wang (China) 8:06.11 Beijing 13 September 1993[
A few states of the USA use this distance, among them Oregon,
Massachusetts and Florida.
3200 m
At exactly 8 laps on a standard 400 m track, this event is typically
run only in American high schools along with the 1600 m. It is
colloquially called the "two-mile," as the distance is only about 18
metres shorter than two miles. In college, the typical runner of this
event would convert to the 3,000 metre run.
2,000 metre
steeplechase
Another race only run in high school or Masters meets. The typical
specialist in this event would move up to the 3000m steeplechase
in college.
In the USA, the steeplechase is still relatively uncommon in high

school. One example is New York state, where high school boys
compete in the 3000 meter steeplechase and the high school girls
compete in the 2000 meter steeplechase. In many states, both
boys and girls compete in the 2000 meter steeple chase.
Time
2000 meter Age Coun # of Time Range
Range
steeplechase Group try Athletes 2007
2008
High Top 5, 5:52.63 - 5:54.58 -
Boys USA
School Top 100 6:03.33 7:48.40
High 7:06.62 and
Girls Japan Top 2
School 7:23.11
High Top 5, 16:36.34 - 6:42.86 -
Girls USA
School Top 100 16:50.47 8:11.0
3,000 metre
steeplechase
 The 3,000 metre Steeplechase is a distance event
requiring greater strength, stamina, and agility than the flat
3,000 metre event. This is because athletes are required to
jump over five barriers per lap, after a flat first 200 m to
allow for settling in. One barrier per lap is placed in front of a
water pit, meaning that runners are also forced to deal with
the chaffing of wet shoes as they race. The world record for
men is:
 Saif Saeed Shaheen (Qatar) 7:53.63 Brussels 3 September
2004
For women:
 Gulnara Samitova (Russia) 8:58.81 Beijing 17 August

2008
1500 metres
The 1,500 metres (or meters) is a premier middle distance track
event.
In modern times, it has become more of a prolonged sprint with

each lap averaging under 55 seconds for the world record
performance by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 at Rome.
The 1500 is three and three-quarter laps around a 400 metre
track. Through the 1980s the event was dominated by British
runners, but through the 1990s the African runners began to take
over, with runners from Kenya, Morocco and Algeria winning the
Olympic titles.
In American high schools, the one mile (which is 1609.344 metres)

and 1600 m, also colloquially referred to as "metric mile," are
more frequently run than the 1500 m, since Imperial units are better-
known in the US. Which is used depends on the state the high school is in, and, for convenience,
national rankings are standardized by converting all 1600 m times to their one mile equivalents.
Top Ten Fastest Athletes

Men
Ra Natio Locat
Res. Athlete Date
nk n ion
3:26. Hicham El Moroc
1. 14 July 1998 Rome
00 Guerrouj co
3:26. 24 August Bruss
2. Bernard Lagat Kenya
34 2001 els
3:27. Noureddine Algeri
3. 12 July 1995 Nice
37 Morceli a
3:28. 11 August
4. Noah Ngeny Kenya Zürich
12 2000
3:28. 13 August
5. Fermín Cacho Spain Zürich
95 1997
3:28. Franc 5 September Bruss
6. Mehdi Baala
98 e 2003 els
3:29. Daniel Kipchirchir
7. Kenya 9 July 2006 Rome
02 Komen
3:29. Bahra
8. Rashid Ramzi 14 July 2006 Rome
14 in
3:29. Vénuste Burun 22 August Bruss
9.
18 Niyongabo di 1997 els
3:29. 24 August Bruss
10. William Chirchir Kenya
29 2001 els
Women
Ra Locati
Res. Athlete Nation Date
nk on
3:50. 11 September
1. Yunxia Qu China Beijing
46 1993
3:50. 18 October Shang
2. Bo Jiang China
98 1997 hai
3. Yinglai Lang China
34 1997 hai
3:51. 11 September
4. Junxia Wang China Beijing
92 1993
3:52. Tatyana Soviet 13 August
5. Zürich
47 Kazankina Union 1980
6. Lili Yin China
91 1997 hai
3:53. 1 October
7. Paula Ivan Romania Seoul
96 1988
8. Lixin Lan China
97 1997 hai
3:54. Soviet
9. Olga Dvirna 27 July 1982 Kiev
23 Union
10. Ling Zhang China
52 1997 hai
Long Distance Events are events over

3000 metres. Events commonly contested are:
 5000 metres
 10000 metres
Long-distance
track event
This article is about long-distance track races. For long track
speedskating, see speed skating. For lengths on the order of 10
kilometres, see 1 myriametre.
Long-distance track event races require runners to balance

their energy. Because these types of races are very energy-
consuming, one requires mental determination and aerobic
conditioning, since stamina is a bigger factor than speed.
•
Standard long-
distance events
5,000 metres
The 5000 metres (approximately 3.1 miles) is a popular running
distance also known as a 5K or 5 km, colloquially "five-K". It is one
of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World
Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a
track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event.
While mainly run as an outdoor event, the 5000 m is sometimes
run on an indoor track. Official records are kept for both outdoor[1]
and indoor[2] 5000 m track events, but not for 5 km road races.
Much of the distance's popularity is due to the challenge it offers

to both novices and accomplished professionals. It is a distance
race that demands a great deal of endurance as well as speed.
Tactics also play a key role, and the combination makes it
attractive to many.
The 5,000 metres is a premier event that requires tactics and

superior aerobic conditioning. Training for such an event may
consist of a total of 60–200 kilometers (37–124 miles) a week,
although training regimens vary greatly. The 5000 is often a
popular entry-level race for beginning runners.
The world record for men:
• Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia 12:37.35 (an average

of 23.76 km/h) Hengelo, Netherlands on 31 May 2004
For women:
• Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia 14:11.15 (an average

of 21.14 km/h) Oslo, Norway on 6 June 2008
All-time top 10
Men
Po Venu
Time Athlete Date
s e
12:37. Kenenisa Henge May 31,
1.
35 Bekele (ETH) lo 2004
12:39. Haile Helsin June 13,
2.
36 Gebrselassie (ETH) ki 1998
12:39. Daniel Bruss August 22,
3.
74 Komen (KEN) els 1997
12:46. Eliud
4. Rome July 2, 2004
53 Kipchoge (KEN)
12:47.
5. Sileshi Sihine (ETH) Rome July 2, 2004
04
12:48. August 18,
6. Isaac Songok (KEN) Zürich
66 2006
12:48. Stephen Ostra June 12,
7.
81 Cherono (KEN) va 2003
12:49. Brahim Bruss August 25,
8.
28 Lahlafi (MAR) els 2000
12:49. Mohammed Bruss August 25,
9.
71 Mourhit (BEL) els 2000
10 12:49. August 13,
Paul Tergat (KEN) Zürich
. 87 1997
Women
Po
Time Athlete Venue Date
s
14:11. Tirunesh
1. Oslo June 6, 2008
15 Dibaba (ETH)
14:12. Meseret Stockh
2. July 22, 2008
88 Defar (ETH) olm
14:22. Vivian June 15,
3. Oslo
51 Cheruiyot (KEN) 2007
14:23. Liliya
4. Kazan July 19, 2008
75 Shobukhova (RUS)
14:24. Elvan June 11,
5. Bergen
68 Abeylegesse (TUR) 2004
14:28. Shangh October 23,
6. Jiang Bo (CHN)
09 ai 1997
14:29. Paula Bydgos June 20,
7.
11 Radcliffe (GBR) zcz 2004
Olga August 31,
Berlin
14:29. Yegorova (RUS) 2001
8.
32 Berhane June 27,
Oslo
Adere (ETH) 2003
10 14:29. Dong Shangh October 23,
. 82 Yanmei (CHN) ai 1997
10,000 metres
The 10,000 metres is a common long distance running event,
also known as a 10K or 10 km. It is one of the track events in the
Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics.
"10,000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "10K" generally
refers to a roadrace or Cross country running event.
The 10,000 metres is the longest standard track event. The metric
distance is equal to 6.214 miles. Most of those running such races
also compete in road races and cross country events. Official
records are kept for outdoor 10000 metre track events.The world
track record for men is held by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia in
26:17.53, posted at Brussels, Belgium on August 26, 2005. The
27:01 10K road race mark by Micah Kogo of Kenya was set in
Brunssum, The Netherlands on March 29, 2009.
For women, the world track 10,000 metres record is held by Wang
Junxia of China in 29:31.78 in September 8, 1993
The 10,000 metres is the longest standard track event. Most of

those running such races also compete in road races and cross
country running events. The world record for men:
• Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia in 26:17.53 (22.96

km/h) in Brussels, Belgium, set on August 26, 2005
For women:
• Wang Junxia of China in 29:31.78 (20.47km/h), set

on September 8, 1993
History
Introduced in 1912, the 10,000 m is the longest standard track
event. Athletes from Finland dominated the event until the 1960s,
at which time African athletes began to catch up.
All-time top 10
Men
Po Venu
Time Athlete Date
s e
26:17. Bruss August 26,
1. Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)
53 els 2005
26:22. Haile Henge
2. June 1 1998
75 Gebrselassie (ETH) lo
3. Paul Tergat (KEN)
85 els 1997
26:30. Bruss September 5
4. Nicholas Kemboi (KEN)
03 els 2003
26:30. Abebe Dinkesa Henge
5. May 29, 2005
74 Negera (ETH) lo
6. Micah Kogo (KEN)
63 els 2006
7. Paul Koech (KEN)
26 els 1997
8. Zersenay Tadese (ERI)
25 els 2006
9. Salah Hissou (MAR)
08 els 1996
10 26:38. Abdullah Ahmad Bruss September 5
. 76 Hassan (QAT) els 2003
Women
Po
Time Athlete Venue Date
s.
29:31. September 8,
1. Wang Junxia (CHN) Beijing
78 1993
29:53. Meselech
2. Utrecht June 14, 2009
80 Melkamu (ETH)
29:54. Tirunesh August 15,
3. Beijing
66 Dibaba (ETH) 2008
29:56. Elvan August 15,
4. Beijing
34 Abeylegesse (TUR) 2008
29.59.
5. Meseret Defar (ETH) Birmingham July 11, 2009
20
30:01. August 6,
6. Paula Radcliffe (GBR) Munich
09 2002
30:04. Paris, Saint- August 23,
7. Berhane Adere (ETH)
18 Denis 2003
30:07. Werknesh Paris, Saint- August 23,
8.
15 Kidane (ETH) Denis 2003
30:07. Paris, Saint- August 23,
9. Sun Yingjie (CHN)
20 Denis 2003
30:11. Florence Jebet
10. Utrecht June 14, 2009
53 Kiplagat (KEN)
Hurdles events require the runner to run over

evenly spaced barriers during the race. Events commonly
contested are:
• 100 metres hurdles (women)

• 110 metres hurdles (men)
• 300 metres hurdles (Youth, High School and Masters age
groups)
• 400 metres hurdles
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.
Distances
There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard
sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for
women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men
and women. Each of these races is run over ten hurdles and they
are all Olympic events.
Other distances are sometimes run, particularly indoors. The

sprint hurdle race indoors is usually 60 meters for both men and
women, although races 55 meters or 50 meters long are
sometimes ran. A 60 meter indoor race is ran over 5 hurdles. A
shorter race may have only 4 hurdles. The long hurdle race is
sometimes shortened to 300 meters or 200 meters, usually for
high school races.
There are two basic hurdle heights: high hurdles and intermediate
hurdles. The sprint hurdle races (60 m, 100 m and 110 m) use
high hurdles, which are 42 inches (106.7 cm) for men and
33 inches (83.8 cm) high for women. Long hurdle races (400 m)
use intermediate hurdles, which are 36 inches (91.4 cm) high for
men and 30 inches (76.2 cm) high for women. Slightly lower
heights (generally 3 inches/7.6 centimetres lower) are sometimes
used in youth or high school events.
In sprint hurdle races for men, regardless of the length of the race,
the first hurdle is 13.72 m (45 ft) from the starting line and the
distance between hurdles is 9.14 m (30 ft). In sprint hurdle races
for women, the first hurdle is 13 m (42 ft 8 in) from the starting
line and the distance between hurdles is 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in). In
long hurdle events, whether for men or women, the first hurdle is
45 m (147 ft 8 in) from the starting line and the distance between
hurdles is 35 m (114 ft 10 in). Any race which is shorter than the
standard distance (like Indoor races) is simply run over fewer
hurdles but use the same distances from the starting line.
There are variations on hurdle height and spacing for the age
groups of athletes competing. See Masters athletics (track and
field) and Youth athletics (track and field).
Technique
There is a technique that is desirable to accomplish efficient
hurdling action during a race. Many runners rely mainly on raw
speed, but proper technique and well-planned steps leading up to
and between each hurdle can allow an efficient hurdler to outrun
faster opponents. Generally, the efficient hurdler spends the
minimum amount of time and energy going vertically over the
hurdle, thus achieving maximum speed in the horizontal race
direction.
When approaching the first hurdle, athletes try to avoid Stutter

stepping (a term used to refer to the cutting of stride length
before reaching a hurdle). This cuts the runner's momentum and
costs valuable time. Athletes attack the hurdle by launching at it
from 6-7 feet away (depending on runner's closing speed). the
lead leg extended yet slightly bent (because a straight leg leads to
more time over the hurdle) so that the heel just narrowly clears
the barrier's height. After launching, the trail leg is tucked in
horizontally and flat, close to the side of the hip. The objective is
to minimize center-of-gravity deviation from normal sprinting and
reduce time spent flying through the air.
In order to hurdle properly and not simply jump over it, a runner
must adjust his or her hips to raise them over the hurdles. Upon
crossing over the hurdle barrier, the runner's lead leg snaps down
quickly landing roughly 3-feet (1m) beyond the hurdle. The trail
leg drives forward at the knee (not swinging, as swinging causes
the trunk to straighten up), and pulls through to maintain stride
length.
In men's hurdles it is usually necessary to straighten the leg at the

top of the flight path over the hurdle, although a partial bend in
the knee gains a faster push off when the athlete hits the ground.
The ability to do this depends on the runners's leg length. As soon
as the foot has cleared the hurdle, the knee starts bending again
to lessen the effect of a long, slow pendulum. In women's hurdles,
the lead leg is usually straight and the center of gravity does not
rise relative to a normal running stride. Another way to view it is
the foot path: "shortest path up and shortest path down". The
opposite arm reaches farther forward and the elbow travels out to
the side and then behind to make room for the trailing leg. The
trailing leg also leads with the knee, but the foot and knee is
horizontal, tucked up as tight as possible into the armpit.
As soon as the lead leg begins its descent, a strong downward

push is exerted to enable the trailing leg's knee to come up under
the armpit and in front of the chest. This enables recovery of some
of the energy expended in the flight.
A modern hurdle will fall over if a runner hits it. Contrary to a

common misconception, there is no penalty for hitting a hurdle
(provided this is not judged deliberate). The misconception is
based on old rules before the hurdles were weighted. There are
now specifications for the tipping weight of a hurdle (the weights
need to be adjusted to correspond with the height of the hurdle)
so hitting a hurdle slows down the rhythm of the hurdler.
However, pushing the hurdle with one's hands or running out of
one's lane as a result of hitting the hurdle is cause for
disqualification. While hitting hurdles is not generally considered
desirable, a few sprint hurdlers have succeeded despite knocking
over many hurdles. Contact with hurdles can decrease speed and
also result in disruption of a hurdler's technique.
Variants
There are also shuttle hurdle relay races, although they are rarely
run. They are usually only found at track meets that consist
entirely of relay races. In a shuttle hurdle relay, each of four
hurdlers on a team runs the opposite direction from the preceding
runner. The standard races correspond to the standard sprint
hurdle races: 4 × 110 m for men and 4 × 100 m for women.
Relay races are events in which four athletes participate as
a team, passing a metal baton in between. Events commonly
contested are:
• 4 x 100 metres relay

• 4 x 200 metres relay (high school & collegiate, a World
Record is kept)
• 4 x 400 metres relay
• 4 x 800 metres relay (uncommon, but a World Record is
kept)
• 4x1500 meters relay {uncommon, but a World Record is
kept)
Some events, such as medley relays, are rarely run except at

large relay carnivals. Typical medley relays include:
• Sprint Medley Relay (SMR): the four legs are two 200 metre
legs, 400 metres, 800 metres; or alternately two 100 metre
legs, 200 metres, 400 metres
• Distance Medley Relay (DMR): the four legs are 1200 metres,
400 metres, 800 metres, 1600 metres
Relay race
During a relay race, members of a team take turns running,
orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or skating
(usually with a baton in the first) parts of a circuit or performing a
certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and
amateur games. In the Olympic games, there are several types of
relay races that are part of track and field.
Based on the speed of the runners, the generally accepted

strategy used in setting up a 4 person relay team is: second
fastest, third fastest, slowest, then fastest (anchor). Each segment
of the relay (the distance run by one person) is referred to as a
leg.
swimming relay
A swimming relay will us ually follow the same strategy, however,
it is not uncommon to see either (1) the slowest swimmer racing
in the second slot, creating an order as follows: second fastest,
slowest, third fastest, and then fastest, or (2) an order from
slowest to fastest: slowest, third fastest, second fastest, fastest.
sprint relays
Each runner must hand off the baton to the next runner within a
certain zone, usually marked by triangles on the track. In sprint
relays, runners typically use a "blind handoff", where the second
runner stands on a spot predetermined in practice and starts
running when the first runner hits a visual mark on the track
(usually a smaller triangle). The second runner opens his/her hand
behind her after a few strides, by which time the first runner
should be caught up and able to hand off the baton. Usually a
runner will give an auditory signal, such as "Stick!" repeated
several times, for the recipient of the baton to put out his hand. In
middle-distance relays or longer, runners begin by jogging while
looking back at the incoming runner and holding out a hand for
the baton.
Badgers
In athletics, the two standard relays are the 4x100 meter relay
and the 4x400 meter relay. Traditionally, the 4x400 meter relay
finals are the last event of a track meet, and is often met with a
very enthusiastic crowd, especially if the last leg is a close race. It
should be noted that it is hard to measure exact splits in a 4x400
(or a 4x100) relay. For example, if a team ran a 3:00 4x400, it
does not mean every runner on the team has to run a 45 second
open 400, because a person starts accelerating before he/she has
the baton, therefore allowing for slightly slower overall open 400
times. A 4x400 relay generally starts in lanes for the first leg,
including the handoff. The second leg then proceeds to run in
lanes for the first 100 meters, after which point the runners are
allowed to break into the first lane on the backstretch, as long as
they do not interfere with other runners. A race organizer then
puts the third leg runners into a line depending on the order in
which they are running (with the first place closest to the inside).
4x200, 4x800, and 4x1600 relays exist as well, but they are more
rare, especially at the high school level, where schools generally
have only one or two competitive strong runners in such events.
A team may be disqualified from a relay for:
• Losing the baton(dropping the baton)

• Making an improper baton exchange
• Making two false starts (or in some cases only one)
• Improperly overtaking another competitor
• Preventing another competitor from passing
• Willfully impeding, improperly crossing the course, or in any
other way interfering with another competitor
The largest relay event in the world is the Penn Relays, which
attracts over 15,000 competitors annually on the High School,
Collegiate and Professional levels, and over its three days attracts
upwards of 100,000 spectators. It is credited with popularizing
Relay Racing in the sport of Track & Field.
The world's longest relay race is Japan's Prince Takamatsu Cup

Nishinippon Round-Kyūshū Ekiden, which begins in Nagasaki and
continues for 1064 km.
Long Distance
Relay Races : Becoming
increasingly popular with runners of all skill-levels, a long distance
relay race typically has runners traveling from 5 to 10 kilometer
distances per leg and several legs per race. A race can be run over
the course of a day, or may span two or more days with
participants running throughout the night.
The largest long distance relay in the world is Hood to Coast relay
race which takes runners from the top of Oregon's Mt. Hood to the
Pacific Ocean in Seaside Oregon (315 km.).
Two of the more scenic, rural relay races are the Wild West Relay
(Fort Collins to Steamboat Springs) in Colorado which passes
through three national forests, and the Green Mountain Relay
(Jeffersonville to Bennington) in Vermont, which travels north-
south through the heart of Vermont and the Green Mountains,
crossing over seven historic covered bridges, with a majority of
the route following or paralleling historic Route 100.
The longest relay race in the United States at 216.6 miles

(348.6 km) is the Cascade Lakes Relay in Oregon that starts at
Diamond Lake Resort and finishes in Bend, Oregon.
Two examples of a long distance relay race include (in Canada)

the Shore to Shore Relay Race which runs 305 kilometers over two
days with six to twelve runners, and (in the U.S.A.)
Other long distance relay race include: Texas Independence Relay

in Texas Sunrise to Sunset Relay which stretches coast to coast
across Florida The 100on100 Heart of Vermont Relay 100 miles
(160 km) on scenic VT RT 100
Shorter long distance relay races have also proven to be popular.

These shorter races range from 40 miles (64 km) to 86 miles
(138 km), but still incorporate the team aspect. The most popular
ones in this category include: River To River Relay 80 miles
(130 km) in Southern Illinois Market To Market Relay 86 miles
(138 km) from Omaha to Lincoln, Nebraska Brew To Brew
43 miles (69 km) from Lawerence to Kansas City, Kansas, Lake
Tahoe Relay which is approximately 70 miles (110 km) around
Lake Tahoe.
Medley relay
Medley relay events are also occasionally held in track meets,
usually consisting of teams of four runners running progressively
longer distances. The Distance Medley Relay consists of four legs
run at distances of 1200, 400, 800, and 1600 metres, in that
order. The Sprint Medley Relay usually consists of four legs run
at distances of 400, 200, 200, and 800 meters, though a more
uncommon variant of 200, 100, 100 and 400 meters (Sometimes
called a Short Sprint Medley) also exists. See also Swedish
relay.
In medley swimming, each swimmer uses a different stroke (in

this order): backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle, with
the added limitation that the freestyle swimmer cannot use any of
the first three strokes.
At competitive levels, essentially all freestyle swimmers use the

front crawl. Note that this order is different from that for the
individual medley, in which a single swimmer swims butterfly,
backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle, in that order.
Relays on
coinage
Relay race events have been selected as a main motif in
Greek Relays commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to
commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics.
In the obverse of the coin three modern athletes run, holding their
batons while in the background three ancient athletes are shown
running a race known as the dolichos (a semi-endurance race of
approximately 3,800 meters distance).
Indoor events
Due to space limitations, indoor races normally shorten the Sprint
and Hurdle races, depending on the available space. Because of
the limited space, many races finish by leaving the arena, into a
drag rope or stopping abruptly at a padded wall. Common
distances are:
• 50 metres
• 55 metres
• 60 metres
• 60 metres hurdles
Other races are run on shorter lap tracks. Two hundred metre
tracks are common, though tracks of many other sizes remain in
use, including Imperial distances (measured in yards). Some
facilities have "oversize" tracks, but in order for an Indoor record
to be valid, it must be on a track of 220 yards (slightly longer than
200 metres) or shorter. Though still a commonly held event, the
Indoor 200 metres has been removed from the World
Championship event list. It was determined that a fair race could
not be held because of the tight indoor turns, favoring runners in
the outside lanes. Many tracks have banked turns to reduce the
disadvantage of tight turns, and there are also many flat indoor
tracks. Most outdoor event distances are common, though the
longer distances (over 5,000 metres) are less common. Even
indoor track Marathons have been held. Indoor Racewalk events
tend to be shorter, as short as 800 metres, or more commonly a
variation on the 1500 metres or Mile. Steeplechase and long
hurdle races are generally not held indoors, though inventive
people have created some unique events. The odd distance races
and Imperial distance races are much more common indoors. Per
rules, Indoor hurdle races are identical to the beginning of their
outdoor counterparts, though over shorter distances, usually using
just five hurdle
Jumping events
• High Jump
• Pole Vault
• Long Jump
• Triple Jump
High jump
A novice jumper demonstrating the he 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 practoce 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 is the current men's record
holder with a jump of 2.45 metres (8 ft 0.46 in) set in 1993 and is
the longest standing in the history of the men's high jump. Stefka
Kostadinova (Bulgaria) has held the women's world record 2.09 metres (6 ft 10.28 in)
since 1987, the longest-held record in the event.
•
History
The first recorded high jump event took place in Scotland in the
19th century. Early jumpers used either an elaborate straight-on
approach or a scissors technique. In the latter, the bar was
approached diagonally, and the jumper threw first the inside leg
and then the other over the bar in a scissoring motion. Around the
turn of the 20th century, techniques began to modernise, starting
with the Irish-American M.F. Sweeney's Eastern cut-off. By taking
off as if with the scissors, but extending his back and flattening
out over the bar, the Sweeney achieved a more economic
clearance and raised the world record to 6 feet 5.625 inches
(1.97 m) in 1895.
Another American, M.F. Horine, developed an even more efficient

technique, the Western roll. In this style, the bar again is
approached on a diagonal, but the inner leg is used for the take-
off, while the outer leg is thrust up to lead the body sideways over
the bar. Horine increased the world standard to 6 feet 7 inches
(2.01 m) in 1912. His technique predominated through the Berlin
Olympics of 1936, in which the event was won by Cornelius
Johnson at 2.03 metres (6 ft 8 in).
American and Russian jumpers held the playing field for the next
four decades, and they pioneered the evolution of the straddle
technique. Straddle jumpers took off as in the Western roll, but
rotated their (belly-down) torso around the bar, obtaining the most
economical clearance up to that time. Straddle-jumper Charles
Dumas broke the elusive 7 feet (2.13 m) barrier in 1956, and
American John Thomas pushed the world mark to 2.23 metres
(7 ft 4 in) in 1960. Valeriy Brumel took over the event for the next
four years. The elegant Soviet jumper radically sped up his
approach run, took the record up to 2.28 metres (7 ft 6 in), and
won the Olympic gold medal in 1964, before a motorcycle
accident ended his career.
Gold medal winner Ethel Catherwood of Canada scissors over the

bar at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Her winning result was
1.59 metres (5 ft 3 in).
Platt Adams during the standing high jump competition at the

1912 Summer Olympics
American coaches, including two-time NCAA champion Frank

Costello of the University of Maryland, flocked to Russia to learn
from Brumel and his coaches. However, it would be a solitary
innovator at Oregon State University, Dick Fosbury, who would
bring the high jump into the next century. Taking advantage of the
raised, softer landing areas by then in use, Fosbury added a new
twist to the outmoded Eastern Cut-off. He directed himself over
the bar head and shoulders first, sliding over on his back and
landing in a fashion which would likely have broken his neck in the
old, sawdust landing pits. After he used this Fosbury flop to win
the 1968 Olympic gold medal, the technique began to spread
around the world, and soon floppers were dominating international
high jump competitions. The last straddler to set a world record
was the late Vladimir Yashchenko, who cleared 2.33 metres
(7 ft 8 in) in 1977 and then 2.35 metres (7 ft 9 in) indoors in 1978.
Among renowned high jumpers following Fosbury's lead were:

Americans Dwight Stones and his rival, 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m)
tall Franklin Jacobs of Paterson, NJ, who cleared 2.32 metres
(7 ft 7 in), an astounding 0.59 metres (1 ft 11 in) over his head (a
feat equaled by Sweden's Stefan Holm); Chinese record-setters Ni-
chi Chin and Zhu Jianhua; Germans Gerd Wessig and Dietmar
Mögenburg; Swedish Olympic medalist and world record holder
Patrik Sjöberg; and female jumpers Iolanda Balaş of Romania,
Ulrike Meyfarth of Germany and Italy's Sara Simeoni.
Technical
aspects
High jump shoes
High jump shoes are different from most other track shoes in that
there are an additional four holes in the heel of the takeoff shoe,
where the user can insert spikes for increased traction. These
extra heel spikes aid greatly in the last four to five steps of the J-
approach, allowing the jumper to run on his or her curve at a fast
speed without slipping. Some high jump shoes are even more
technologically developed and in addition to the extra spikes on
the heel, the shoes are modified to lean the direction of the
approach to provide further support while running their curve. As
well as the approach, high jump shoes also help and support the
jumper's takeoff. The IAAF regulations specify a maximum sole
thickness for both high jump and long jump shoes; competitors in
all other events may wear shoes with soles of any thickness.
The approach
The approach of the high jump may actually be more important
than the take off. If a high jumper runs with bad timing or without
enough aggression, clearing a high bar becomes more of a
challenge. The approach requires a certain shape or curve, the
right amount of speed, and the correct number of strides. The
approach angle is also critical for optimal height.
Most great straddle jumpers have a run at angles of about 30 to

40 degrees. The length of the run is determined by the speed of
the person's approach. A slower run requires about 8 strides.
However, a faster high jumper might need about 13 strides. The
greater the speed of the run, the greater the body's momentum
can be converted upward.
The j type approach, favored by Fosbury floppers, allows for

horizontal speed, the ability to turn in the air (centripetal force),
and good take-off position. The approach should be a hard
controlled stride so that a person does not fall from creating an
angle with speed. Athletes should run tall and lean from the ankles
on the curve and not the hips. Drills can be practiced to solidify
the approach. One drill is to run in a straight line (the linear part of
the approach) and then run two to three circles spiraling into one
another. Another is to run or skip a circle of any size, two to three
times in a row.
Declaring the winner

In competition the winner is the person who cleared the largest
height. In case of a tie, fewer failed attempts at that height are
better. If there still is a tie here, all the failed attempts are added
up, the one with the most is declared the winner. If still tied a
playoff is held. Starting height is the next larger height after the
overjumped one. If all the players clear the height, the bar is
raised 2 cm, if they fail the bar is lowered 2 cm. THat continues
until only one player succeeds in overjumping that height, he is
declared the winner.
Top performers
Men (outdoor)
Po Ma Nationali
Athlete Venue Date
s. rk ty
2.4Javier Salama
1. Cuba July 23, 1993
5 Sotomayor nca
2.4 Stockho
2. Patrik Sjöberg Sweden June 30, 1987
2 lm
2.4 Soviet September 4,
3. Igor Paklin Kobe
1 Union 1985
Rudolf Soviet August 11,
Donetsk
Povarnitsyn Union 1985
Bratisla
Sorin Matei Romania June 20, 1990
2.4 va
4.
0 United August 7,
Charles Austin Zürich
States 1991
Vyacheslav August 5,
Russia London
Voronin 2000
Ebersta
Zhu Jianhua China June 10, 1984
2.3 dt
9.
9 United
Hollis Conway Norman July 30, 1989
States
Women (outdoor)
Po Ma National
Athlete Venue Date
s. rk ity
2.0 Stefka August 30,
1. Bulgaria Rome
9 Kostadinova 1987
2.0 August 31,
2. Blanka Vlašić Croatia Zagreb
8 2009
2.0 Lyudmila
3. Bulgaria Berlin July 20, 1984
7 Andonova
Kajsa Eberst
Sweden July 26, 2003
Bergqvist adt
South August 31,
Hestrie Cloete Paris
2.0 Africa 2003
4.
6 Yelena August 28,
Russia Athens
Slesarenko 2004
Ariane
Germany Berlin June 14, 2009
Friedrich
Tamara Soviet
Kiev June 22, 1984
Bykova Union
August 31,
Heike Henkel Germany Tokyo
2.0 1991
9.
5 September 15,
Inha Babakova Ukraine Tokyo
1995
August 23,
Tia Hellebaut Belgium Beijing
2008
Men (indoor)
Po Ma
Athlete Venue Date
s. rk
2.4 Javier
1. Budapest March 4, 1989
3 Sotomayor (CUB)
2.4 Carlo February 26,
2. Berlin
2 Thränhardt (FRG) 1988
2.4 February 1,
3. Patrik Sjöberg (SWE) Piraeus
1 1987
March 10,
Hollis Conway (USA) Sevilla
1991
2.4
4. Stefan Holm (SWE) Madrid March 6, 2005
0
February 25,
Ivan Ukhov (RUS) Athens
2009
6. 2.3 Dietmar Köln February 24,
Mögenburg (FRG) 1985
9
Ralf Sonn (GER) Berlin March 1, 1991
Indianap
Igor Paklin (USSR) March 7, 1987
olis
Gennadiy Indianap
March 7, 1987
Avdeyenko (USSR) olis
Wuppert February 4,
Steve Smith (GBR)
al 1994
Wolf-Hendrik Weinhei March 18,
2.3 Beyer (GER) m 1994
9.
8 Wuppert February 3,
Sorin Matei (ROM)
al 1995
Matt
Atlanta March 4, 2000
Hemingway (USA)
Yaroslav Stockhol February 15,
Rybakov (RUS) m 2005
Linus February 25,
Göteborg
Thörnblad (SWE) 2007
Women (indoor)
Po Ma
Athlete Venue Date
s. rk
2.0 Kajsa February 6,
1. Arnstadt
8 Bergqvist (SWE) 2006
2.0 Heike February 8,
2. Karlsruhe
7 Henkel (GER) 1992
2.0 Stefka February 20,
3. Athens
6 Kostadinova (BUL) 1988
4. 2.0 Blanka Banská February 14,
5 Vlasic (CRO) Bystrica 2006
Tia Birmingham March 3, 2007
Hellebaut (BEL)
Ariane February 15,
Karlsruhe
Friedrich (GER) 2009
Alina Astafei (GER) Berlin March 3, 1995
Anna Yekaterinbu January 7,
2.0
7. Chicherova (RUS) rg 2003
4
Yelena
Budapest March 7, 2004
Slesarenko (RUS)
Tamara
Budapest March 6, 1983
Bykova (USSR)
2.0 Monika January 23,
10. Bucharest
3 Iagar (ROM) 1999
Marina
Wien March 2, 2002
Kuptsova (RUS)
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is an athletic 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. Pole jumping
competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the
Cretans and Celts. It has been a full medal event at the Olympic
Games since 1896 for men and since 2000 for women.
History
Poles were used as a practical means of passing over natural
obstacles in marshy places such as provinces of Friesland in The
Netherlands, along the North Sea, and the great level of the Fens
across Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk.
Artificial draining of these marshes created a network of open
drains or canals intersecting each other. In order to cross these
without getting wet, while avoiding tedious roundabout journeys
over bridges, a stack of jumping poles was kept at every house
and used for vaulting over the canals. Venetian gondoliers have
traditionally used punting poles for moving to the shore from their
boat.
Distance pole vaulting competitions continue to be held annually

in the lowlands around the North Sea. These far-jumping
competitions (Frysk: Fierljeppen) are not based on height.
One of the earliest pole vaulting competitions where height was

measured took place at the Ulverston Football and Cricket Club,
Cumbria in 1843. Modern competition began around 1850 in
Germany, when pole vaulting was added to the exercises of the
Turner gymnastic clubs by Johann C. F. GutsMuths and Frederich
L. Jahn. The modern pole vaulting technique was developed in the
United States at the end of the nineteenth century. In Great
Britain, it was first practiced at the Caledonian Games.
Initially, vaulting poles were made from stiff materials such as

bamboo or aluminum. The introduction of flexible vaulting poles
made from composites such as fiberglass or carbon fiber allowed
vaulters to achieve greater height. Physical attributes such as
speed and agility are essential to pole vaulting effectively, but
technical skill is an equally if not more important element. The
object of pole vaulting is to clear a bar or crossbar supported upon
two uprights (standards) without knocking it down.
Modern vaulting
Today, athletes compete in the pole vault as one of the four
jumping events in track and field. Because the high jump
and pole vault are both vertical jumps, the competitions are
conducted similarly. Each athlete can choose what height they
would like to enter the competition. Once they enter, they
have three attempts to clear the height. If a height is cleared,
the vaulter advances to the next height, where they will have
three more attempts. Once the vaulter has three consecutive
misses, they are out of the competition and the highest height
they cleared is their result. A "no height", often denoted "NH",
refers to the failure of a vaulter to clear any bar during the
competition.
Once the vaulter enters the competition, they can choose to pass
heights. If a vaulter achieves a miss on their first attempt at a
height, they can pass to the next height, but they will only have
two attempts at that height, as they will be out once they achieve
three consecutive misses. Similarly, after earning two misses at a
height, they could pass to the next height where they would have
only one attempt.
The competitor who clears the highest height is the winner. If two
or more vaulters have finished with the same height, the tie is
broken by the number of misses at the final height. If the tied
vaulters have the same number of misses at the last height
cleared, the tie is broken by the total number of misses in the
competition.
If there is still a tie for first place, a jump-off occurs to break the
tie. Marks achieved in this type of jump-off are considered valid
and count for any purpose that a mark achieved in a normal
competition would.
If a tie in the other places still exists, a jump-off is not normally

conducted, unless the competition is a qualifying meet, and the tie
exists in the final qualifying spot. In this case, an administrative
jump-off is conducted to break the tie, but the marks are not
considered valid for any other purpose than breaking the tie.
A jump-off is a sudden death competition in which the tied

vaulters attempt the same height, starting with the last attempted
height. If both vaulters miss, the bar goes down by a small
increment, and if both clear, the bar goes up by a small increment.
A jump-off ends when one vaulter clears and the other misses.
Each vaulter gets one attempt at each height until one makes and
one misses.
The equipment and rules for pole vaulting are similar to the high
jump. Unlike high jump, however, the athlete in the vault has the
ability to select the horizontal position of the bar before each jump
and can place it a distance beyond the back of the box, the metal
pit that the pole is placed into immediately before takeoff. The
range of distance the vaulter may place the standards varies
depending on the level of competition.
If the pole used by the athlete dislodges the bar from the uprights,
a foul attempt is ruled, even if the athlete himself has cleared the
height. An athlete does not benefit from quickly leaving the
landing pad before the bar has fallen. The exception to this rule if
the vaulter is vaulting outdoors and has made a clear effort to
throw the pole back, but the wind has blown the pole into the bar;
this counts as a clearance. This call is made at the discretion of
the pole vault official. If the pole breaks during the execution of a
vault, it is considered an equipment failure and is ruled a non-
jump, neither a make nor a miss. Other types of equipment failure
include the standards slipping down or the wind dislodging the bar
when no contact was made by the vaulter.
Each athlete has a set amount of time in which they can make
their attempt. The amount of time varies by level of competition
and the number of vaulters remaining. If the vaulter fails to begin
their attempt within this time, they are charged with a time foul
and the attempt is a miss.
Poles are manufactured with ratings corresponding to the vaulter's

maximum weight. Some organizations forbid vaulters to use poles
rated below their weight as a safety precaution. The
recommended weight corresponds to a flex rating that is
determined by the manufacturer by placing a standardized
amount of stress (most commonly a 50 lb weight) on the pole and
measuring how much the center of the pole is displaced.
Therefore, two poles rated at the same weight are not necessarily
the same stiffness.
Because pole stiffness and length are important factors to a

vaulter's performance, it is not uncommon for an elite vaulter to
carry as many as 10 poles to a competition. The effective
properties of a pole can be changed by gripping the pole higher or
lower in relation to the top of the pole.
The left and right handgrips are typically about shoulder width
apart. Poles are manufactured for people of all skill levels and
body sizes, with sizes as short as 3.05m (10 feet) to as long as
5.20 m (17 feet), with a wide range of weight ratings. Each
manufacturer determines the weight rating for the pole and the
location of the maximum handhold band.
Pole vault technology

Competitive pole vaulting began using solid ash poles. As the
heights attained increased, the bamboo poles gave way to tubular
aluminum, which was tapered at each end. Today's pole vaulters
benefit from poles produced by wrapping pre-cut sheets of
fiberglass that contains resin around a metal pole mandrel, to
produce a slightly pre-bent pole that bends more easily under the
compression caused by an athlete's take-off. The shape of the
fiberglass sheets and the amount of fiberglass used is carefully
planned to provide the desired length and stiffness of pole.
Different fiberglass types, including carbon-fiber, are used to give

poles specific characteristics intended to promote higher jumps. In
recent years, carbon fiber has been added to the commonly used
E-glass and S-glass materials in order to create a pole with a
lighter carry weight.
As in the high jump, the landing area was originally a heap of

sawdust or sand where athletes landed on their feet. As
technology enabled higher vaults, mats evolved into bags of large
chunks of foam. Today's high tech mats are foam usually 1-1.5
meters thick.
Mats are growing larger in area as well, in order to minimize any

risk of injury. Proper landing technique is on the back or shoulders.
Landing on the feet should be avoided, to eliminate the risk of
injury to the lower extremities, particularly ankle sprains.
Rule changes over the years have resulted in larger landing areas
and additional padding of all hard and unyielding surfaces.
The pole vault crossbar has evolved from a triangular aluminum

bar to a round fiberglass bar with rubber ends.
This is balanced on standards and can be knocked off when it is

hit by a pole vaulter or the pole. Rule changes have led to shorter
pegs and crossbar ends that are semi-circular.
Phases of pole
vaulting
Although there are many techniques used by vaulters at various
skill levels to clear the bar, the generally accepted technical model
can be broken down into several phases, listed and described
below:
The approach
During the approach the pole vaulter sprints down the runway in
such a way as to achieve maximum speed and correct position to
initiate take-off at the end of the approach. Top class vaulters use
approaches with 18 to 22 strides. At the beginning of the
approach the pole is usually carried upright to some degree, and
gradually lowered as the vaulter gets closer to the landing pit. This
way the vaulter can minimize levered weight of the pole. The
faster the vaulter can run and the more efficient his/her take-off is,
the greater the potential energy that can be achieved and used
during the vault. It is common for vaulters to gradually increase
running speed throughout the approach, reaching maximum
speed at take-off. Vaulters increase stride frequency while keeping
the knees up like a sprinter. Unlike short sprint events such as the
100 m in which a forward lean is used to accelerate, vaulters
maintain a more upright torso position throughout the approach to
counter balance the effect of carrying the pole.
The plant and take-off

The plant and take off is initiated typically three steps out from
the final step. Vaulters (usually) will count their steps backwards
from their starting point to the box only counting the steps taken
on the left foot (vice-versa for left-handers) except for the second
step from the box, which is taken by the right foot. For example; a
vaulter on a "ten count" (referring to the number of counted steps
from the starting point to the box) would count backwards from
ten, only counting the steps taken with the left foot, until the last
three steps taken and both feet are counted as three, two, one.
These last three steps are normally quicker than the previous
strides and are referred to as the "turn-over". The goal of this
phase is to efficiently translate the kinetic energy accumulated
from the approach into potential energy stored by the elasticity of
the pole, and to gain as much initial vertical height as possible by
jumping off the ground. The plant starts with the vaulter raising
his arms up from around the hips or mid-torso until they are fully
outstretched above his head, with the right arm extended directly
above the head and the left arm extended perpendicular to the
pole (vice-versa for left-handed vaulters). At the same time, the
vaulter is dropping the pole tip into the box. On the final step, the
vaulter jumps off the trail leg which should always remain straight
and then drives the front knee forward. As the pole slides into the
back of the box the pole begins to bend and the vaulter continues
up and forward, leaving the trail leg angled down and behind him.
The swing up
The swing and row simply consists of the vaulter swinging his trail
leg forward and rowing, pushing, his top arm down to the hips,
while trying to keep the trail leg straight, once in a "U" shape the
left arm hugs the pole tight to efficiently use the recoil within the
pole. Effectively, this causes a double pendulum motion, with the
top of the pole moving forward and pivoting from the box, while
the vaulter acts as a second pendulum pivoting from the right
hand. This action results in even more potential energy being
stored in the pole, all of which will be returned to the vaulter in
later phases. The swing continues until the hips are above the
head and the arms are pulling the pole close to the chest. From
there the vaulter shoots his legs up over the cross bar while
keeping the pole close.
Alternate swing
methods
Another form of swing is called the double leg drop. After
executing a normal take-off, the vaulter lets his lead leg drop and
swings with both legs together. In doing this, the weight of the
vaulter's lower body is centered further from his rotational axis,
making it more difficult for the vaulter to swing with as great a
speed as with a single legged swing. For the same reason, a
vaulter with constant rotational speed will load the pole with more
energy using a double legged swing than a single legged swing.
Because the slower swing can make it more difficult for a vaulter
to get in position for the rockback, the double leg drop is typically
not taught as the conventional method. A successful double leg
drop is exemplified by French vaulter Jean Galfione.
A third form of swing is called the tuck and shoot. This is

accomplished by tucking both legs in toward the chest rather than
leaving the trail leg extended. This has the opposite effect of the
double leg drop: it shortens the lower body about the rotational
axis, making the swing faster, but lessening the pole-loading
effect of the swing. Because a shorter rotational axis can make it
more difficult to use larger poles than with a longer axis, the tuck
and shoot is also not considered the conventional method. A
successful tuck and shoot is exemplified by former American
record-holder Jeff Hartwig.
The extension
The extension refers to the extension of the hips upward with
outstretched legs as the shoulders drive down, causing the vaulter
to be positioned upside down. This position is often referred to as
"inversion". While this phase is executed, the pole begins to recoil,
propelling the vaulter quickly upward. The hands of the vaulter
remain close to his body as they move from the shins back to the
region around the hips and upper torso.
The turn
The turn is executed immediately after or even during the end of
the rockback. As the name implies, the vaulter turns 180° toward
the pole while extending the arms down past the head and
shoulders. Typically the vaulter will begin to angle his body toward
the bar as the turn is executed, although ideally the vaulter will
remain as vertical as possible. A more accurate description of this
phase of the vault may be "the spin" because the vaulter spins
around an imaginary axis from head to toe.
The fly-away
This is often highly emphasized by spectators and novice vaulters,
but it is arguably the easiest phase of the vault and is a result of
proper execution of previous phases. This phase mainly consists of
the vaulter pushing off the pole and releasing it so it falls away
from the bar and mats. As his body goes over and around the bar,
the vaulter is facing the bar. Rotation of the body over the bar
occurs naturally, and the vaulter's main concern is making sure
that his arms, face and any other appendages do not knock the
bar off as he goes over. The vaulter should land near the middle of
the foam landing mats, or pits, face up.
Terminology
The following are terms commonly used in pole vault:
• Bar: This is the cross bar that is suspended above the ground
by the standards.
• Box: A trapezoidal indentation in the ground with a metal or
fiberglass covering at the end of the runway in which vaulters
"plant" their pole. The back wall of the box is nearly vertical
and is approximately 8 inches in depth. The bottom of the
box gradually slopes upward approximately 3-feet until it is
level with the runway. The covering in the box ensures the
pole will slide to the back of the box without catching on
anything. The covering's lip overlaps onto the runway and
ensures a smooth transition from all-weather surface so a
pole being planted does not catch on the box.
• Drive knee: During the plant phase, the knee is driven
forward at the time of "takeoff" to help propel the vaulter
upward.
• Grip: This is where the vaulter's top hand is on the pole. As
the vaulter improves his grip may move up the pole
incrementally. The other hand is typically placed shoulder-
width down from the top hand. Hands are not allowed to grip
the very top of the pole (their hand perpendicular to the pole)
for safety reasons.
• Jump foot: This is also referred to as the take-off foot. The
jump foot is the foot that the vaulter uses to leave the
ground as he begins his vault.
• Pit: The mats used for landing in pole vault.
• Plant position: This is the position a vaulter is in the
moment the pole reaches the back of the box and the vaulter
begins his vault. His arms are fully extended and his drive
knee begins to come up as he jumps.
• Pole: The fiberglass equipment used to propel the vaulter up
and over the bar. One side is more stiff than the other to
facilitate the bending of the pole after the plant. A vaulter
may rest the pole on his arm to determine which side is the
stiff side.
• Standards: The equipment that holds the bar at a particular
height above the ground. Standards may be adjusted to raise
and lower the bar and also to adjust the horizontal position of
the bar.
• Steps: Since the box is in a fixed position, vaulters must
adjust their approach to ensure they are in the correct
position when attempting to vault.
• Swing leg or trail leg: The swing leg is also the jump foot.
After a vaulter has left the ground, the leg that was last
touching the ground stays extended and swings forward to
help propel the vaulter upwards.
• Volzing: A method of holding or pushing the bar back onto
the pegs while jumping over a height. This takes considerable
skill, although it is now against the rules and counted as a
miss. The technique is named after U.S. Olympian Dave Volz,
who made an art form of the practice and surprised many by
making the U.S. Olympic team in 1992.
6 metres club
The so-called "6 metres club", which consists of pole vaulters who
have reached at least 6 metres (19 ft 8¼ in) , is very prestigious.
In 1985 Sergey Bubka became the first pole vaulter to clear 6
metres; he also holds the current outdoor world record at 6.14
metres, set on 31 July 1994 in Sestriere.
All "6 metres club" members are men. The only woman to exceed
5 metres is Russian women's world-record holder Yelena
Isinbayeva, who reached that height in 2005 and who has in total
broken the women's world-record,,indoor and outdoor, 27 times,
culminating in her current world record of 5.06 metres obtained in
2009 at Letzigrund in Zurich.
Year
first
Name of Outdoor Indoor cleared
Nation
athlete s s 6
metres
Soviet Union /
Sergey Bubka 6.14 m 6.15 m 1985
Ukraine
Steven Hooker Australia 6.00 m 6.06 m 2008
Maksim Tarasov Russia 6.05 m 6.00 m 1997
[3]
Dmitri Markov Australia 6.05 m 1998
[4]
Brad Walker United States 6.04 m 2006
[5]
Okkert Brits South Africa 6.03 m 1995
Jeff Hartwig United States 6.03 m 6.02 m 1998
Igor Trandenkov Russia 6.01 m 1996
Yevgeniy
Russia 6.01 m 2008
Lukyanenko
Renaud
France 6.01 m 2009
Lavillenie
Soviet Union /
Rodion Gataullin 6.00 m 6.02 m 1989
Russia
Tim Lobinger Germany 6.00 m 1997
Toby Stevenson United States 6.00 m 2004
Paul Burgess Australia 6.00 m 2005
Jean Galfione France 6.00 m 1999
Danny Ecker Germany 6.00 m 2001
Long jump
The long jump is an athletics (track and field) event in which
athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to
leap as far from the take-off point as possible.
Competitors run down a runway (usually coated with the same

rubberized surface as running tracks, crumb rubber also
vulcanized rubber) and jump as far as they can from behind a foul
line (commonly referred to as the "board", and usually defined by
the trailing edge of a takeoff board embedded flush with the
runway surface, or a painted mark on the runway) into a pit filled
with finely ground gravel or sand. The distance traveled by a
jumper is often referred to as the "mark" because it is the distance
to the nearest mark made in the sand from the foul line. If the
competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot past the foul
line, the jump is declared illegal and no distance is recorded. At
the elite level, a layer of plasticine is placed immediately after the
board to detect this occurrence. Otherwise, an official (similar to a
referee) will watch the jump and make the determination. The
competitor can initiate the jump from any point behind the foul
line; however, the distance measured will always be from the foul
line. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the competitor to get as
close to the foul line as possible.
Usually, each competitor has a set number of attempts (typically

three) to make his or her longest jump, and only the longest legal
jump counts towards the results. Higher level competitions are
split into two rounds: trials and finals. In competitions containing a
final round, only a select number of competitors are invited to
return for further competition. The number of competitors chosen
to return to the final round is determined before the start of the
meet by a committee composed of coaches and officials. It is
standard practice to allow one more competitor than the number
of scoring positions to return to the final round. For example, if a
given meet allows the top eight competitors to score points, then
the top nine competitors will be selected to compete in the final
round. Taking an extra competitor to the final round helps to allow
that athlete to move into a scoring position if the competitor can
improve on his or her best mark of the competition. Final rounds
are viewed as an additional three jumps, as they do not have any
priority to those scored in the trial round. The competitor with the
longest legal jump (from either the trial or final rounds) at the end
of competition is declared the winner. (For specific rules and
regulations in United States Track & Field see Rule 1859. There are
four main components of the long jump: the approach run, the last
two strides, takeoff and action in the air, and landing. Speed in the
run-up, or approach, and a high leap off the board are the
fundamentals of success. Because speed is such an important
factor of the approach, it is not surprising that many long jumpers
also compete successfully in sprints. A classic example of this long
jump / sprint doubling is performances by Carl Lewis.
The long jump is notable for two of the longest-standing world

records in any track and field event. In 1935, Jesse Owens set a
long jump world record that was not broken until 1960 by Ralph
Boston. Later, Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters (29 feet, 2-1/2
inches) at the 1968 Summer Olympics at an altitude of 7,349 feet,
a jump not exceeded until 1991. On August 30 of that year, Mike
Powell of the United States, in a well-known show down against
Carl Lewis, leapt 8.95 m (29.4 ft) at the World Championships in
Tokyo, setting the current men's world record. Some jumps over
8.95 m (29.4 ft) have been officially recorded (8.99 m/29.5 ft by
Mike Powell himself, 8.96 m/29.4 ft by Ivan Pedroso), but were not
validated since there was either no reliable wind speed
measurement available, or because wind speed exceeded 2.0 m/s.
Lewis himself jumped 8.91m just before Powell's record-breaking
jump with the wind exceeding the maximum allowed; this jump
remains the longest never to win Olympic or World Championship
gold. The current world record for women is held by Galina
Chistyakova of the former Soviet Union who leapt 7.53 m (24.7 ft)
in Leningrad in 1988.
History
The long jump was one of the events of the pentathlon of the
original Olympics in Ancient Greece. Long Jump was the only
known jumping event in these Ancient Olympic Games. All events
that occurred at the Olympic Games were initially supposed to act
as a form of training for warfare. The long jump emerged probably
because it mirrored the crossing of obstacles such as streams and
ravines. The athletes carried a weight in each hand, which were
called halteres(between 1 and 4.5 kg). After investigating the
surviving depictions of the ancient event it is believed that unlike
the modern day event, athletes were only allowed a short running
start. These weights were swung forward as the athlete jumped in
order to increase momentum. It is commonly believed that the
jumper would throw the weights behind him in mid-air to increase
his forward momentum; however, halteres were held throughout
the duration of the jump. Swinging them down and back at the
end of the jump would change the athlete's center of gravity and
allow the athlete to stretch his legs outward, increasing his
distance. The jump itself was made from the bater ("that which is
trod upon"). It was most likely a simple board placed on the
stadium track which was removed after the event (Miller, 66). The
jumpers would land in what was called a skamma ("dug-up" area)
(Miller, 66). The idea that this was a pit full of sand is wrong. Sand
in the jumping pit is a modern invention (Miller, 66). The skamma
was simply a temporary area dug up for that occasion and nto
something that remained over time. The long jump was
considered one of the most difficult of the events held at the
Games since a great deal of skill was required. Music was often
played during the jump and Philostratus says that pipes at times
would accompany the jump so as to provide a rhythm for the
complex movements of the halteres by the athlete. Philostratos is
quoted as saying, "The rules regard jumping as the most difficult
of the competitions, and they allow the jumper to be given
advantages in rhythm by the use of the flute, and in weight by the
use of the halter." (Miller, 67). Most notable in the ancient sport
was a man called Chionis, who in the 656BC Olympics staged a
jump of 7.05 meters (23 feet and 1.7 inches).[
There has been some argument by modern scholars over the long
jump. Some have attempted to recreate it as a triple jump. The
images provide the only evidence for the action so it is more well
received that it was much like today's long jump. The main reason
some want to call it a triple jump is the presence of a source that
claims there once was a fifty five ancient foot jump done by a man
named Phayllos (Miller, 68).
The long jump has been part of modern Olympic competition since
the inception of the Games in 1896. In 1914, Dr. Harry Eaton
Stewart recommended the "running broad jump" as a
standardized track and field event for women. However, it was not
until 1928 that women were allowed to compete in the event at
the Olympic level (See Athletics - track and field).
The approach
The objective of the approach is to gradually accelerate to a
maximum controlled speed at takeoff. The most important factor
for the distance traveled by an object is its velocity at takeoff -
both the speed and angle. Elite jumpers usually leave the ground
at an angle of twenty degrees or less; therefore, it is more
beneficial for a jumper to focus on the speed component of the
jump. The greater the speed at takeoff, the longer the trajectory
of the center of mass will be. The importance of a takeoff speed is
a factor in the success of sprinters in this event.
The length of the approach is usually consistent distance for an

athlete. Approaches can vary between 12 and 19 strides on the
novice and intermediate levels, while at the elite level they are
closer to between 20 and 22 strides. The exact distance and
number of strides in an approach depends on the jumper's
experience, sprinting technique, and conditioning level.
Consistency in the approach is important as it is the competitor's
objective to get as close to the front of the takeoff board as
possible without crossing the line with any part of the foot.
Inconsistent approaches are a common problem in the event. As a

result the approach is usually practiced by athletes about 6-8
times per jumping session (see Training below).
The last two strides

The objective of the last two strides is to prepare the body for
takeoff while conserving as much speed as possible.
The penultimate (second to last) stride is longer than the last

stride. The competitor begins to lower his or her center of gravity
to prepare the body for the vertical impulse. The final stride is
shorter because the body is beginning to raise the center of
gravity in preparation for takeoff.
The last two strides are extremely important because they

determine the velocity with which the competitor will enter the
jump--the greater the velocity, the better the jump.
Takeoff
The objective of the takeoff is to create a vertical impulse through
the athlete's center of gravity while maintaining balance and
control.
This phase is one of the most technical parts of the long jump.
Jumpers must be conscious to place the foot flat on the ground,
because jumping off either the heels or the toes negatively affects
the jump. Taking off from the board heel-first has a braking effect,
which decreases velocity and strains the joints. Jumping off the
toes decreases stability, putting the leg at risk of buckling or
collapsing from underneath the jumper. While concentrating on
foot placement, the athlete must also work to maintain proper
body position, keeping the torso upright and moving the hips
forward and up to achieve the maximum distance from board
contact to foot release.
There are four main styles of takeoff: the kick style, double-arm
style, sprint takeoff, and the power sprint or bounding takeoff.
Kick
The kick style takeoff is a style of takeoff where the athlete
actively cycles the leg before a full impulse has been directed into
the board then landing into the pit.
Double-arm
The double-arm style of takeoff works by moving both arms in a
vertical direction as the competitor takes off. This produces a high
hip height and a large vertical impulse.
Sprint
The sprint takeoff is the style most widely instructed by coaching
staff. This is a classic single-arm action that resembles a jumper in
full stride. It is an efficient takeoff style for maintaining velocity
through takeoff.
Power sprint or
bounding
The power sprint takeoff, or bounding takeoff, is arguably one of
the most effective styles.Very similar to the sprint style, the body
resembles a sprinter in full stride. However, there is one major
difference. The arm that pushes back on takeoff (the arm on the
side of the takeoff leg) fully extends backward, rather than
remaining at a bent position. This additional extension increases
the impulse at takeoff.
The "correct" style of takeoff will vary from athlete to athlete.
Action in the air and

landing
There are three major flight techniques for the long jump: the
hang, the sail and the hitch-kick. Each technique is to combat the
forward rotation experienced from take-off but is basically down to
preference from the athlete. It is important to note that once the
body is airborne, there is nothing that the athlete can do to
change the direction they are travelling and consequently where
they are going to land in the pit. However, it can be argued that
certain techniques influence an athlete's landing, which can have
an impact on distance measured. For example, if an athlete lands
feet first but falls back because they are not correctly balanced, a
lower distance will be measured.
Training
The long jump generally requires training in a variety of areas.
These areas include, but are not limited to, those listed below.
Jumping
Long Jumpers tend to practice jumping 1-2 times a week.
Approaches, or run-throughs, are repeated sometimes up to 6-8
times per session.
Over-distance running
Over-distance running workouts helps the athlete jump a further
distance than their set goal. For example, having a 100m runner
practice by running 200m repeats on a track. This is specifically
concentrated in the season when athletes are working on building
endurance. Specific over-distance running workouts are performed
1-2 times a week. This is great for building sprint endurance,
which is required in competitions where the athlete is sprinting
down the runway 3-6 times.
Weight training
During pre-season training and early in the competition season
weight training tends to play a major role. It is customary for a
long jumper to weight train up to 4 times a week, focusing mainly
on quick movements involving the legs and trunk. Some athletes
perform Olympic lifts in training. Athletes use low repetition and
emphasize speed to maximize the strength increase while
minimizing adding additional weight to their frame.
Plyometrics
Plyometrics, including running up and down stairs and hurdle
bounding, can be incorporated into workouts, generally twice a
week. This allows an athlete to work on agility and explosiveness.
Bounding
Bounding is any sort of continuous jumping or leaping. Bounding
drills usually require single leg bounding, double-leg bounding, or
some variation of the two. The focus of bounding drills is usually to
spend less time on the ground as possible and working on
technical accuracy, fluidity, and jumping endurance and strength.
Technically, bounding is part of plyometrics, as a form of a running
exercise such as high knees and butt kicks.
Flexibility
Flexibility is an often forgotten tool for long jumpers. Effective
flexibility prevents injury, which can be important for high impact
events such as the long jump. It also helps the athlete sprint down
the runway.
A common tool in many long jump workouts is the use of video

taping. This lets the athlete to go back and watch their own
progress as well as letting the athlete compare their own footage
to that of some of the world class jumpers.
Training styles, duration, and intensity varies immensely from

athlete to athlete and is based on the experience and strength of
the athlete as well as on their coaching style.
Top ten performers

Men
Mar Win Nationali
Athlete Venue Date
k* d** ty
United August 30,
8.95 0.3 Mike Powell Tokyo
States 1991
8.90 Bob United Mexico October 18,
2.0
A Beamon States City 1968
United August 30,
8.87 -0.2 Carl Lewis Tokyo
States 1991
8.86 Robert Soviet Tsakhkad May 22,
1.9
A Emmiyan Union zor 1987
Larry United Indianap
8.74 1.4 July 18, 1988
Myricks States olis
8.74 Erick United
2.0 El Paso April 2, 1994
A Walder States
Dwight United
8.74 -1.2 Eugene June 7, 2009
Phillips States
Irving May 24,
8.73 1.2 Panama Hengelo
Saladino 2008
Iván Salamanc
8.71 1.9 Cuba July 18, 1995
Pedroso a
Loúis
8.66 1.6 Greece Kalamáta June 2, 2007
Tsátoumas
Women
Mar Win Nationali
Athlete Venue Date
k* d** ty
Galina Soviet
7.52 1.4 Leningrad June 11, 1988
Chistyakova Union
Jackie Joyner- United
7.49 1.3 New York May 22, 1994
Kersee States
East Neubranden
7.48 1.2 Heike Drechsler July 9, 1988
Germany burg
Anişoara
7.43 1.4 Romania Bucharest June 4, 1983
Cuşmir
7.42 2.0 Tatyana Kotova Russia Annecy June 23, 2002
Yelena Soviet
7.39 0.5 Bryansk July 18, 1987
Belevskaya Union
7.37 N/A Inessa Kravets Ukraine Kiev June 13, 1992
Tatyana
7.33 0.4 Russia Tula July 31, 2004
Lebedeva
Yelena Soviet September 12,
7.31 1.5 Alma Ata
Khlopotnova Union 1985
United August 12,
7.31 -0.1 Marion Jones Zürich
States 1998
Long jump on
coinage
Track and field events have been selected as a main motif in
Greek Long Jump commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to
commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. The obverse of the
coin portrays a modern athlete at the moment he is touching the
ground, while the ancient athlete in the background is shown
while starting off his jump, as he is seen on a black-figure vase of
the 5th century BC.
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, step and jump”
routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and
performs a hop, a step and then a jump into the sand pit.
The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics 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).
History
The triple jump, or at least a variant involving three jumps one
after the other, has its roots in the Ancient Greek Olympics, with
records showing athletes attaining distances of more than 50 feet
(15.24 m).
In Irish mythology the geal-ruith (triple jump), was an event

contested in the ancient Irish Tailteann Games as early as 1829
B.C.
The triple jump was a part of the inaugural 1896 Olympics in

Athens, although back then it consisted of two hops on the same
foot and then a jump. In fact, the first modern Olympic champion,
James Connolly, was a triple jumper. Early Olympics also included
the standing triple jump, although this has since been removed
from the Olympic program and is rarely performed in competition
today. The women’s triple jump was introduced into the Atlanta
Olympics in 1996.
Technique
The athlete sprints down a runway until they reach a takeoff mark,
from which the jump is measured. The takeoff mark is a board
which is commonly implemented as a physical piece of wood or
similar material embedded in the runway, or a rectangle painted
on the runway surface. In modern championships a strip of
plasticine, tape, or modeling clay is attached to the board to
record athletes overstepping or "scratching" the mark, defined by
the trailing edge of the board.
There are three phases of the triple jump, articulated in the

original event name: the "hop" phase, the "step" phase, and the
"jump" phase. These three phases are executed in one continuous
sequence. The hop starts with the athlete jumping from the mark
on his/her takeoff leg, and ends landing on the runway with the
takeoff leg. The hop appears to be more of a "cycling" movement.
The objective is to hop out as opposed to up. In the step, the
athlete immediately jumps with the takeoff leg and lands on the
runway with the opposite leg. The objective of the step is to cover
as much runway as possible so one is as close to the pit as
possible for the next phase. The step is followed by the jump,
where the athlete jumps from that same non-takeoff leg and lands
in a sand-filled pit. The jump phase is very similar to the long
jump.Long jump is a different field event. In the long jump
process, an athlete must hit the mark with his/her take off leg
bringing the opposite leg bent and straight up;both legs must
come in front of the athlete when landing inside the sand-filled pit.
However, in both events if the athlete's takeoff foot lands in front
of the board then,the athlete fouls. A "foul", also known as a
"scratch" or missed jump, occurs when a jumper oversteps the
takeoff mark, misses the pit entirely, does not use the correct foot
sequences throughout the phases, or does not perform the
attempt in the allotted amount of time (usually about one minute).
When a jumper "scratches," the seated official will raise a red flag
and the jumper who was "on deck," or up next, prepares to jump.
To record a "scratch," a video camera is commonly used to avoid
confusion and unfair calls. Triple jump is also involved in school
track-and-fields.
Top ten performers
Men
NB: These are the top 10 performers of all time, not the top 10
performances. Other legal jumps by people on this list that
would exceed the shortest jump on this list are noted below the
table.
MARK WIND ATHLETE VENUE DATE

18.29 Jonathan August 7,
1 1.3 Gothenburg
Edwards (GBR) 1995
18.09
2 -0.4 Kenny Harrison (USA) Atlanta July 27, 1996
June 16,
17.97 1.5 Willie Banks (USA) Indianapolis
1985
August 31,
17.92 1.6 Khristo Markov (BUL) Rome
1987
17.92 1.9 James Beckford (JAM) Odessa May 20, 1995
17.90 0.4 Jadel Gregório (BRA) Belém May 20, 2007
Vladimir June 20,
17.90 1.0 Bratislava
Inozemtsev (UKR) 1990
João Carlos de October 15,
17.89 0.0 Mexico City
Oliveira (BRA) 1975
17.87 June 26,
3 1.7 Mike Conley (USA) San Jose
1987
Charles September 2,
17.86 1.3 Kobe
Simpkins (USA) 1985
1
• Edwards also has legal jumps of 18.16, 18.01, 18.00, 17.99,
17.98, 17.92, 17.88 and 17.86 m. As of October 2008, he has
six of the top 11 jumps of all time. The longest wind aided
jump of 18.43(+2.4) was also performed by Edwards.
2
• Harrison also has legal jumps of 17.99m and 17.93 m.
3
• Conley also has a legal jump of 17.86 m and wind aided
jump of 18.17 (+2.1) in Olympic Games Barcelona 92
Women
NB: Again, these are the top 10 performers of all time, not the top
10 performances.
MARK WIND ATHLETE VENUE DATE

15.50 August 10,
1 1.9 Inessa Kravets (UKR) Gothenburg
1995
15.40 Françoise Mbango August 17,
2 0.5 Beijing
Etone (CMR) 2008
15.34 Tatyana
3 -0.5 Heraklion July 4, 2004
Lebedeva (RUS)
15.32 Hrysopiyi August 21,
4 0.9 Athens
Devetzi (GRE) 2004
15.29
5 0.3 Yamilé Aldama (CUB) Rome July 11, 2003
August 31,
15.28 0.9 Yargelis Savigne (CUB) Osaka
2007
Šárka August 4,
15.20 0.0 Athens
Kašpárková (CZE) 1997
September
15.20 -0.3 Tereza Marinova (BUL) Sydney
24, 2000
August 10,
15.18 0.3 Iva Prandzheva (BUL) Gothenburg
1995
Rodica August 4,
15.16 0.1 Athens
Mateescu (ROM) 1997
1
• Kravets also has a legal jump of 15.33 m.
2
• Mbango Etone also has legal jumps of 15.30 and 15.19 m.
3
• Lebedeva also has legal jumps of 15.33, 15.32, 15.25,
15.23, 15.17 and 15.18 m.
4
• Devetzi also has legal jumps of 15.25 and 15.23 m.
5
• Aldama also has legal jumps of 15.28, 15.27 and 15.21 m.
Other famous
triple jumpers
• Anna Biryukova
• Ashia Hansen
• Yargelis Savigne
• Viktor Saneyev
• Leonid Shcherbakov
• Vilho Tuulos
• Christian Olsson
• Aliecer Urrutia
• Walter Davis
• Nelson Évora
• Dennis Brown
• Adhemar Ferreira da Silva
• Phillips Idowu
• Marija Sestak
• Naide Gomes

Every School Going Kid Knows Olympics Originated

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HISTORY

Every school going kid knows Olympics originated in ancient

The athletic activity of the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians

The Olympics, believed to have started by around 776 BC in

Almost all the men in entire Greece (women were forbidden)

That is why perhaps, in the chariot competitions, held outside the

The winner received a simple crown made by olive branch.

Olympics was not the only game festival to be held in ancient

Initially, such festivals were just sacrifices, which were then

At this time the Pentathlon and Wrestling events were introduced.

In the Pentathlon, those who jumped a certain distance qualified

As we saw earlier, rewards were simple crowns of wild olive,

During this period the games reached it climax and started to

The Romans looked on athletics with contempt- stripping naked in

More than 250,000 spectators, witnessed chariot racing in the

In 393 AD, the Emperor Theodosius forbade the Games altogether.

The history of athletics in India dates back to the Vedic era.

With the course of time, the nature and formation of sports in

Although, no information can be found about the exact timing

India has produced a lot of successful athletes in the international

There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical

Other peoples, such as the Celts, Teutons and Goths who

Annually, from 1796-1798, L'Olympiade de la République was held

In the 19th century the formal organization of the modern events

Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400 metre

Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896

The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in

The sport has a very high profile during major championships,

In modern times, athletes can receive money for racing, putting

Track and field

In an indoor track meet athletes contest the same track events as

Other events unique to indoor meets (especially in North America)

All field events can be contested on the infield. However the

All Comers Track

Running the race

Ties between different athletes are resolved as follows: In

Track and field

Sprints are events up to and including the 400 metres.

Sprints are short running races in athletics.

100m Olympic Gold and Silver medallist, Linford Christie of Great

Sprinters typically reach top speed after somewhere between 50–

In the past, athletes often competed over 100 yards (91.4 m)

 The 100 metres sprint takes place on one length of the

Furthermore, sprint athletes perform better at high altitudes

 Ben Johnson ran 9.79 at Seoul on 24 September 1988,

Top ten all-time

 Marion Jones later confessed to using performance

The race attracts runners from other events wishing to double up

• The 200 metres begins on the curve of a standard track

All-time fastest 200 m

The current men's world record is held by Michael Johnson, with a

An Olympic double of 200 metres and 400 m was first achieved by

Top all-time athletes - women

Middle Distance Events are events

• 600 metres (uncommon)

 Johnny Gray (United States) 1:12.81 Santa Monica 24 May

 Ana Fidelia Quirot (Cuba) 1:22.63 Guadalajara 25 July 1997

The event requires both sprinting speed and physical endurance

The 800 m consists of two laps around a standard 400 m track,

 Wilson Kipketer (Denmark), 1:41.11 Cologne 24 August 1997

 Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czechoslovakia) 1:53.28 Munich, 26

Top ten all-time athletes on the

 Noah Ngeny (Kenya) 2:11.96 Rieti 5 September 1999[7]