Athletics covers a wide range of running, jumping and throwing events held on a track and in an adjoining field area. It ranges from the 100 metres sprint to the marathon, and from the high jump to the javelin throw, and remains the centrepiece of the Olympic Games every four years.
Objective
The aim varies by event. In track races, the goal is simply to finish first or record the fastest time. In field events such as the long jump, shot put or discus, athletes try to jump the farthest or highest, or throw the implement the greatest distance. Combined events, such as the decathlon for men and heptathlon for women, ask athletes to accumulate points across ten or seven disciplines to find the best all-round competitor.
Rules and regulations
- World Athletics, known as the IAAF until it changed its name in 2019, sets the rules followed across the sport globally.
- One rule that often catches newcomers out is the false-start law: since 2010, a single false start leads to immediate disqualification, with sensors on the blocks measuring reaction time.
- In relay races, the baton must be passed within a marked 20-metre takeover zone or the team is disqualified.
- Race walking has its own judges, who watch for athletes bending the knee or losing contact with the ground, and can issue red cards leading to disqualification.
- Athletes are also subject to anti-doping rules enforced through the Athletics Integrity Unit.
Equipment and playing area
- A standard outdoor track is an oval measuring 400 metres, usually with eight or nine lanes and a synthetic all-weather surface.
- Indoor tracks are shorter, at 200 metres, with banked bends.
- Field events need their own equipment: a sand pit for jumps, a bar and crossbar for high jump and pole vault, and specified implements for throwing events.
- A men’s shot put weighs 7.26kg and a women’s shot 4kg, figures fixed by World Athletics for senior competition.
- Athletes wear spiked shoes, and in recent years the governing body has also placed limits on shoe sole design and thickness, after a wave of highly cushioned “super shoes” began cutting times across distance events.
Scoring
- Track races are decided by time, measured to a hundredth of a second using photo-finish cameras and electronic timing.
- Field events are judged on the single best distance or height recorded across an athlete’s allowed attempts.
- Combined events convert each individual performance into points using official scoring tables, and the athlete with the highest total after all disciplines wins.
- In India, the sport is run by the Athletics Federation of India, and interest has grown sharply since Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
