Track and Field

Track & Field

Running

 Running events include:

 sprints (50m (indoor only), 100m, 200m, 400m),

 middle distance (800m, 1500m)

 long distance (3000m Steeplechase, 5000m, 10,000m)

 hurdles (110/100m, 400m)

 relays (4x100m, 4x400m)

Standing High Jump

The standing high jump was an Olympic Track and Field event held between 1900

and 1912. Unlike the conventional high jump event which is part of the current

track and field program, the standing version does not allow any run up. The

technique is performed from a position with both feet together.

A champion in this discipline, Ray Ewry won the standing high jump (and also the

standing long jump) in 1900, 1904, 1906, and 1908. He set the world record for

the standing high jump of 1.65 m on July 16, 1900.

Running High Jump

The high jump event in track and field athletics has evolved as the technique and

equipment have improved over the years. Significant changes occurred when the

landing pit of sand or sawdust was replaced with foam mats, and the 'Fosbury Flop'

back over technique was able to be utilized. Here are the progressions for the

men's high jump world record.

The high jump world record is 2.45 meters (8 ft 0.46 in), by Javier Sotomayor of

Cuba, who achieved this height on the 27th of July 1993 in Salamanca (see High

Jump Record videos). Sotomayor also holds the indoor world record of 2.43 meters

(7 ft 11.67 in). His outdoor world record set in 1993 is the longest standing in the

history of the men's high jump.

 Jumping events include:

 Long Jump

 High Jump

 Triple Jump

 Pole Vault

High Jump World Records

How high can someone jump? This really depends on the technique used. In track

and field, there is just the high jump event, though in the past there was also

a standing high jump at the Olympics. There are also records for the vertical jump,

running vertical jump and the platform jump.

Men's High Jump World Record Progression

Height Name Date

2.45 m (8 ft 1/2 in) Javier Sotomayor (CUB) 27-Jul-93

2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) Javier Sotomayor (CUB) 29-Jul-89

2.43 m (7 ft 11 3/4 in) Javier Sotomayor (CUB) 8-Sep-88

2.42 m (7 ft 11 1/4 in) Patrik Sjöberg (SWE) 30-Jun-87

2.01 m (6 ft 7 1/8 in) Edward Beeson (USA) 2-May-14

2.00 m (6 ft 6 3/4 in) George Horine (USA) 18-May-12

Women's High Jump World Record Progression

Height Name Date

2.09 m (6 ft 10 1/4 in) Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) 30-Aug-87

2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) 31-May-86

2.07 m (6 ft 9 1/2 in) Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) 25-May-86

2.07 m (6 ft 9 1/2 in) Lyudmila Andonova (BUL) 20-Jul-84

2.05 m (6 ft 8 3/4 in) Tamara Bykova (URS) 22-Jun-84

2.04 m (6 ft 8 1/4 in) Tamara Bykova (URS) 25-Aug-83

2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG) 21-Aug-83

2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Tamara Bykova (URS) 21-Aug-83

1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) Jean Shiley (USA) 7-Aug-32

Pole Vault (Athletics)

Pole vault is a full medal track and field event at Olympic Games, requiring a

competitor to leap over a bar using a long flexible pole made either of carbon fiber

or fiberglass. It is one of the four major jumping events in athletics, the other three

are high jump, long jump and triple jump. The pole vault has a lot of similarities to

high jump.

Pole Vault requires high running speed as an essential requirement for a athlete to

be able to successfully jump over the bar using the pole. The technique requires a

lot of practice and time to be mastered. Inexperienced athletes trying the pole vault

can lead to broken poles and injury.

It is crucial to use a pole in accordance to your body weight. Usually there is a red

band to indicate recommended range of where to grip the pole. There is a specific

area in which pole bends perfectly and the vaulter must take special consideration

of that for efficient bending.

Long jump (Athletics Event)

Long jump is a sport of the track and field discipline in which athletes try to leap

forward as far as possible. The event is known to be part of ancient Olympics, and

has been a part of modern Olympics since its inception in 1896.

To perform a long jump, athletes sprint down a runway and takeoff from a wooden

marker board which is about 8 inch wide, and travel as far as possible in the air,

before landing into a sand pit. No part of the athlete's foot should cross the takeoff

board, if it does, the jump is disqualified. After the jump, the traceable mark on the

sand pit, closest to the takeoff board is used to measure the distance of the jump.

Each athlete gets three attempts in each round.

Triple Jump (Athletics Event)

Triple jump is an athletic sport of the track and field discipline, in which athletes get

to take two steps before making the final jump. The first two steps are also referred

to as hop and step. The objective of the sport is to cover as much distance as

possible in the three leaps.

A triple jump field consist of a runway path, a marker line to start the jump from,

and a sand pit about 14 feet away from takeoff line. To make the jump, athletes

sprint towards the takeoff mark and perform hop, step and jump in one continuous

sequence. All three aspects of the triple jump are required to be performed in the

correct foot sequence. The foot used for takeoff should be used for landing of the

first jump. The second jump should land on the other foot, and the third jump has

to be landed with both feet together.

Multiple Events

The Men’s Decathlon and Women’s Heptathlon include a combination of events,

held over two days each. Points are awarded for each event and the overall winner

is the athlete with the most points.

 The decathlon includes ten events in the following order, for the first day: 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m. The second day events are 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin, 1500m.

 The heptathlon includes seven events in the following order, for the first day: 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m. The second day events are long jump, javelin and 800m.

Walking Events

 Race walking is a special long-distance race event in which the participants must walk as fast as they can, while they are expected to maintain good form. The competitors are penalized for bending the knee as it passes under the body or having no foot-to-ground contact.

 The men compete in both 20km and 50km events, women only in the 20km event.

Marathon

 The marathon is a long-distance running event, taking place over a course of 42.195km or (26 miles & 385 yds.) in length.

 The marathon was originally conceived as a race for the 1896 Olympics in Athens, commemorating the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died.

 The unusual distance of the marathon is a result of the 1908 Olympic Games in London where the race distance was changed to 26 miles to cover the ground from Windsor Castle to White City Stadium, with 385 yards added on so the race could finish in front of royal family's viewing box.

Throwing

 Throwing events include:

 Discus

 Shot Put

 Javelin

 Hammer Throw

Shot Put (athletics)

Shot put is a track and field event in which the athlete will “put” (but more like of

throwing) a shot – a heavy metal ball, the farthest that he can without leaving the

circle that is 7 feet wide. To win this, the athlete should put the shot farther among

its competitors. Size: 12 pounds for High School Men & 16 pounds for

This sport was known to have started by the Ancient Greeks, but the very first

event of it on record was in Scottish Highlands during the first century. In the

Middle Ages, there were known competitions for soldiers throwing cannonballs. With

time, shot put competitions were included in big events like British Amateur

Championships and last 1896, shot put for men became an official event for

Olympics. Eventually, shot put competitions for women were also included from

1948.

How to perform the shot put may sound so simple, but winning it requires great

deal of balance, coordination, power, and momentum. The shot should be held by

the base of the fingers - not the palm, and the hand should be bent back. The shot

should be put in the neck and the palm should be facing the putting direction.

During the throw or put as it is called, there are different styles that you can use to

get the maximum distance. The glide style involves rotating 180 degrees towards

the putting direction and there’s the spin style in which the thrower faces the rear,

then spins to the throwing direction but giving the upper body a hard twist to get

the highest possible throwing momentum.

Discus Throw

Discus or discus throw, is a track and field event. In this event, the athlete will

attempt to throw a heavy disc (called a discus) as far as he/she can.

There are varying weights for international competitions. Men through age 49 will

throw a 2-kilogram discus; 1.5 kilograms for 50-59-year old men’ 1 kilogram for 60

and beyond. For the women through age 74, the discus throw is around 1 kilogram,

for women 75 years old; the discus is around .75 kilograms.

The discus is usually made of plastic, wood, fiberglass, and carbon fiber. For the

athletes to make a throw, they will start in a circle of 2.5 meters in diameter. Then

the athlete will spin counter clockwise around one and a half time through the

circle, then the athlete can release his/her throw.

The discus must land around the 34.92-degree sector. The six key movement of

discus throw are: wind up, move in rhythm, balance, right leg engine, orbit, and

delivery.

Hammer Throw

Hammer throw is one of the events in track and field competitions. A heavy object

on the end of a thin wire is hurled for maximum distance. The game dates back to

the 15th century. Hammer throw is one of the oldest events in the Olympic Games.

For the men’s division, the hammer weighs around 16 pounds and measures

around 3 feet and 11 ¾ inches. For the women’s division, the hammer weighs

around 8.82 pounds and measure around 3 feet and 11 inches in length. A winner

is decided if he or she can throw the hammer the farthest. It was used to be

thought as a strength event, but now it’s more on speed so one can throw the

hammer in a farther distance.

The action of throwing involves two swings, then around three or four body

rotations in circular motion using a heel-toe movement of the foot. This is then

moved in a circular path. It gradually increases its velocity, and then the participant

throws the ball from the circle.

Javelin Throwing

Javelin or javelin throw is part of the track and field event. A javelin or a spear

about 8 feet long is used to throw for maximum distance. The participant runs first

within a predetermined area and then throws the javelin.

The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) stated that non-

orthodox techniques cannot be used in javelin throw. The participants must hold

the javelin at its grip and throw over hands, over the participant’s upper arm or

shoulder.

Like other throwing competitions, the participant is not allowed to leave the area

until the javelin has landed. The participants throw the javelin towards a sector

which has an angle of 28.96 degrees extending outwards from the end of the

runway.

Weight Throw

Weight Throw consist of a family of heavy weight throwing events, in which the

objective is to either throw the weight as far as possible or as high as possible.

Weight throw events are a part of the track and field events and the Highland

Games.

There are two major classifications of weight throw events, which are:

Weight throw for distance : Competitions are conducted both indoors and

outdoors. Indoor weight throw competitions are conducted as part of track and field

events mostly in North America. Men use 35lb weight and women use 20lb.

The outdoor version is mostly a part of the highland games. Both men and women

compete at two different weight classes, light weight (28lb for men and 14lb for

women) and heavy weight (56lb for men and 28lb for women).

Regardless of indoor or outdoor, all throws have to be single handed, and the

athlete to throw the farthest is the winner.

The Steeple Chase

Simply put, the steeplechase is a 3,000-meter obstacle race with four barriers, or hurdles, and a water pit. Everyone loves a train wreck, and the water pit is just that. People flock to it when a race starts, hoping to witness a few good crashes. They’re rarely disappointed.

The pit is 12 feet long and located at the end of the track on the curve before the home stretch, either on the inside of Lane 1 or the outside of the final lane. It’s got a barrier in front of it, a barrier being a really wide hurdle. It doesn’t collapse if you catch a leg on it; you do.

Most runners step up onto the barrier and try to jump as far over the water as possible. The idea is not to clear the water but to land with one foot in the pit and the other about to step out of it. “One foot in, one foot out” is the rule. Others just hurdle over the dang thing and take two or three strides through the water.

Besides the water jump, there are four barriers placed evenly around the track. The standard steeplechase distance is 3,000 meters, or about 1.875 miles for the metrically challenged. That’s seven and a half laps. You’ll

occasionally see a 2,000-meter race run as an exhibition, and juniors and youth athletes typically run 2,000 or 1,500 meters.

In a 3000-meter steeplechase, you skip the water pit and first barrier during the first half lap. The first barrier, which is just after the finish line mark, is wider than the others to accommodate the fact that the field may be bunched up at the start of the race. Hurdling a barrier while running in a group is no small task, because sometimes you can’t see the barrier. There were times when I simply jumped when I saw heads rising ahead of me and hoped I’d make it. Runners sometimes go down, and if they’re in front of you, you’re probably going down too, and you’re probably going to get stepped on. And yes, everyone is wearing spikes.

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