| Track and field athletics are sports which involve | | | | *800 meter distance event |
| running, throwing and jumping. For many years, | | | | *1000 meter distance event |
| athletes have been trying to set track and field world | | | | *3000 meter long distance event |
| records to achieve fame and glory. The first | | | | *3200 meter long distance event |
| recorded track race was at the 776 BC Olympics and | | | | *60 meter hurdles |
| was a foot race along the length of the stadium. In | | | | *100 meter hurdles |
| more modern times, most track and field events are | | | | *300 meter hurdles |
| held on a 400 meter running track. | | | | *4 X 100 meter relay |
| The 'track' part of track and field consists of running | | | | *4 X 200 meter relay |
| races and hurdling competitions. The 'field' portion | | | | *5k road race |
| consists of jumping and throwing contests. One of | | | | Field Events |
| the reasons for track and field's worldwide popularity | | | | *Discus |
| is the ease in which events are staged. An area only | | | | *Javelin |
| needs a long stretch of field for participants to | | | | *Hammer Throw |
| practice for the games. Many countries which cannot | | | | *Shot Put |
| excel at other events due to monetary constraints | | | | Jumping Events |
| can win and even set world records for track and | | | | *High Jump |
| field. | | | | *Pole Vault |
| A standard outdoor track is a 400 meter oval. Races | | | | *Long Jump |
| go in a counterclockwise direction and most tracks | | | | *Triple Jump |
| have 8 lanes. Indoor track and field events usually | | | | Some of the most notable track and field world |
| happen in an area which has a 200 meter track. | | | | records have been set within the last 10 years. Usain |
| Indoor track and field events have a different set of | | | | Bolt of Jamaica set a world record in the 100 meter |
| rules and records than outdoor track and field | | | | track event in May of 2008. Sergey Bubka of Ukraine |
| events, since the tracks are a shorter length. | | | | set a world record in the Pole Vault event in |
| Track and field is mainly an individual sport, but many | | | | September of 1992. |
| high schools and colleges have track and field teams | | | | For hundreds of years, athletes have been training |
| which compete against other schools. Teams are | | | | and devoting their lives to achieving track and field |
| scored by points and the school with the most points | | | | world record status. Some runners begin training as |
| wins the meet. | | | | early as the age of 5 years old. Content not only |
| Track and field world records have been set in areas | | | | with winning a gold medal at the Olympics, many are |
| such as the following: | | | | obsessed with setting a world record as well. Some |
| Track Events | | | | records last for decades and some are broken within |
| *60 meter sprints | | | | a few days or even a few hours. Sometimes records |
| *100 meter sprints | | | | are broken by the current record holder and |
| *200 meter sprints | | | | sometimes they are broken in fierce competition. |
| *600 meter distance event | | | | |