Introduction:
Athletics is a sporting event that involves competitions based on individual skills like running, jumping, swimming, throwing, and other activities. Athletic competitions involve track and field, road running, cross-country running, and race walking.
What Are Athletic Sports?
Athletic sport is a competitive event based on individual skills. The result of the event will be decided by the finishing position, time, and measurement. The athletic sport is famous for its simplicity and requires no expensive equipment. All gender types can participate in sports, maybe outdoor or indoor types. Athletic sports are individual sports except for relay races and team games.
What Is the History Behind Athletic Sports?
The word athletics is derived from the Greek word "athlos" meaning combatant in public games or competitions. The oldest sports include- running, walking, jumping, and throwing. Illustrations of running and high jumping were depicted in the tombs of Saqqara. In the first Olympics, running is the only event- running in the stadium length (stadion).
What Are the Events in Athletic Sports?
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Mountain Running - Running off-road in mountainous terrains.
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Trail Running - Running on unpaved surfaces.
- Track and Field Running: The venue where the sports are held- track and field stadium. Athletes can participate in many events, and men and women compete separately. Track and field events occur as outdoor and indoor sports. Indoor sports are conducted during the winter season, and outdoor sports are conducted during the summer season. Track events are classified into three categories. They are- sprints, middle-distance, and long-distance events. A relay is a team race that involves four players- who take turns to finish the racecourse. Running, swimming, cross-country skiing, and ice skating are relay sports. The first person to start the race will pass the baton to the other person after a specified distance to finish first. Hurdle running is a flat running race where the athletes have to clear the obstacles on the track field. Field events are jumping and throwing. Javelin, shot put, discus, and hammer throw comes under throwing. Long jump, high jump, triple jump, and pole vault comes under jumping. Decathlon (competed by men) and heptathlon (contested by women) occur as a combined event (both tracks and fields).
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Road Running: Road running is a long-distance competition on a paved path. Some events often finish on the track in the stadium. Road running can involve any distance- marathon (42.19 kilometers or 26 miles), half marathon (21.09 kilometers or 13.10 miles), ten kilometers, and five kilometers running is an example.
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Cross-Country Running: Competitions that take place on open-air courses are cross-country running and are naturalistic types of sports. It includes both individual and team marks- where runners are judged for their individual skills, and points scoring is allotted for teams. Usually, cross-country running is a long-distance race of three kilometers or more. They are held during the winter and autumn seasons.
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Race Walking: Race walking is a competitive walk that takes place on open-air roads, where running tracks are used occasionally. Here, athletes are judged for their technique usage. Race walkers must have feet in contact with the ground, and advancing legs should be straight and not bent. Athletes not following these rules will be disqualified from the race.
What Are the Categories in Athletic Sports?
The variation in people's abilities in athletic sports leads to the evolution of competitive categories. The primary types are men's and women's divisions, age, and physically disabled athletes' (multiple sclerosis and epilepsy) divisions. Beyond these physical categories, some competitions have eligibility criteria based on community, nationality, or occupation.
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Men’s and Women’s Division: In sports athletics, men and women usually compete against the same sex individuals.
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Age: Age determines the ability to compete in athletics. Athletic ability increases in childhood and adolescent periods and rises to a peak in early adulthood, and then starts to decline around the age of thirty. At the international level, there are three categories for younger athletes- under twenty-three, under twenty (junior), and under eighteen (youth). Some sports do not consider age and are called senior or open athletics. Athletes' eligibility for a competitive age is assessed through birth records and passports.
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Physically Disabled Athletes Division: Athletes with disabilities will compete separately. They are classified according to disability.
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F- Field athletes.
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T- Track athletes.
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11-13- Visual impairment.
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20- Intellectual disability.
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31-38- Cerebral palsy.
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40-46- Dwarfism, amputation, and others.
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51-58- Wheelchair.
What Are the Venues for Athletic Sports?
1. Stadiums:
- Track and Field Stadium - A standard outdoor track should be in the shape of a stadium with four hundred meters in length, eight lanes, and 1.22 meters in width. All weather running tracks should be covered by a synthetic weather-resistant running surface made of rubber and bounded by latex resins. A standard indoor track should be two hundred meters in length, four to eight lanes, and width between 0.90 meters and 1.10 meters.
2. Courses on Grass or Woodland:
- Cross Country Courses - This does not require standardized form and is defined by the type of environment- some may be flat, some with natural obstacles, some with tight turns, and some with undulating grounds. This course uses parks, woodland, and green space.
3. Road-Based Courses: The courses must be along man-made roads, bicycle paths, or footpaths. They are divided into two types: looped and point-to-point. Courses are often designed to cover a measured distance, or they may follow a route set already between two destinations. They offer drinks or refreshments to the participants at some points alongside the course and also provide medical professionals to monitor health risks in long-distance running. Closed loop courses include elite walks.
What Are the Competitions That Are Conducted in Athletic Sports?
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International championships.
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National championships.
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Annual meetings and races.
Conclusion:
Athletics is the backbone of the summer Olympics. The international athletes' meeting is the world athletic championship that includes field and track running, marathon running, and race walking. Finally, coins are given to celebrate the occasion. On observing the coin, there is a foreground with a modern athlete figure in starting position and a background with two ancient runners carved in such a way that gives the appearance of a coin worn by time.
