Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
athletics
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
Daley Thompson at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games Ancient Olympic Games Hurdlers at the Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Games Milkha Singh Sergey Bubka Indoor track facilities Usain Bolt Paavo Nurmi at the Paris 1924 Olympic Games Eliud Kipchoge at the 2020 Tokyo Games Sally Pearson
For Students
athletics summary
Quizzes
horse racing. thoroughbred racing. Jockeys in racing silks race horses on an oval grass race track.
Turn Up the Heat
Former U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program bobsledder Steven Holcomb, front, is greeted at the finish line after teaming with Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curtis Tomasevicz to win the first Olympic bobsleigh gold medal in 62 years for Team USA ,(cont)
The Olympic Games
Usain Bolt of Jamaica reacts after breaking the world record with a time of 19.30 to win the gold medal as Churandy Martina (left) of Netherlands Antilles and Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe come in after him in the Men's 200m Final at the National Stadium during Day 12 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 20, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Summer Olympics, track and field, athletics)
I Am the Greatest (Athlete)
Assorted sports balls including a basketball, football, soccer ball, tennis ball, baseball and others.
American Sports Nicknames
Read Next
Car with a pickle design in the Zagreb Red Bull Soapbox Race, Zagreb, Croatia, September 14, 2019. (games, races, sports)
10 Unusual Sports
Start of Men's 100 meter sprint where Usain Bolt wins and sets a new world record at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games August 18, 2008 in Beijing, China.
How Fast Is the World’s Fastest Human?
Discover
Small, white rat (genus Rattus) on a glass table. (rodent, laboratory, experiment)
Cruel and Unusual Punishments: 15 Types of Torture
earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.
The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950
In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.
6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters
Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece
Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents
Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)
6 Important Mughal Emperors
Sailboat against a beautiful landscape
Which Waters Do You Pass Through When You “Sail the Seven Seas”?
King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)
9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

athletics: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/athletics
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As track-and-field sports • track and field • field event

Photos and Videos

Daley Thompson at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games
Ancient Olympic Games
Hurdlers at the Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Games
Milkha Singh
Sergey Bubka
Indoor track facilities
Usain Bolt
Paavo Nurmi at the Paris 1924 Olympic Games
Eliud Kipchoge at the 2020 Tokyo Games
Sally Pearson
See a comparative study of four Olympic hurling objects - the hammer, the javelin, the discus, and the shot put
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Key People

Eliud Kipchoge: 2022 Berlin Marathon
Eliud Kipchoge
Kenyan distance runner
Su Bingtian
Su Bingtian
Chinese track-and-field athlete
Valerie Brisco-Hooks
American sprinter
Joan Benoit Samuelson
Joan Benoit Samuelson
American runner
Arshad Nadeem aiming for gold
Arshad Nadeem
Pakistani track-and-field athlete
Noah Lyles
Noah Lyles
American sprinter
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Prefontaine
American athlete
Olympic gold medal winner Liu Shiying
Liu Shiying
Chinese track-and-field athlete
Butch Reynolds
American athlete
Sally Pearson
Sally Pearson
Australian athlete
Gong Lijiao at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Gong Lijiao
Chinese shot-putter
2023 world champion
Sha’Carri Richardson
American athlete
Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra
Indian athlete
Nicola Olyslagers at the high jump final in Zürich, 2021
Nicola Olyslagers
Australian track-and-field athlete
“Queen of the Triple Jump”
Yulimar Rojas
Venezuelan athlete
Valerie Adams
Valerie Adams
New Zealand athlete
Usain Bolt at the 2016 Olympics
Usain Bolt
Jamaican athlete
Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius
South African athlete
Yelena Isinbayeva
Yelena Isinbayeva
Russian athlete
Meseret Defar
Meseret Defar
Ethiopian athlete

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Former U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program bobsledder Steven Holcomb, front, is greeted at the finish line after teaming with Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curtis Tomasevicz to win the first Olympic bobsleigh gold medal in 62 years for Team USA ,(cont)
The Olympic Games
horse racing. thoroughbred racing. Jockeys in racing silks race horses on an oval grass race track.
Turn Up the Heat
Usain Bolt of Jamaica reacts after breaking the world record with a time of 19.30 to win the gold medal as Churandy Martina (left) of Netherlands Antilles and Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe come in after him in the Men's 200m Final at the National Stadium during Day 12 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 20, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Summer Olympics, track and field, athletics)
I Am the Greatest (Athlete)
Assorted sports balls including a basketball, football, soccer ball, tennis ball, baseball and others.
American Sports Nicknames
List
Car with a pickle design in the Zagreb Red Bull Soapbox Race, Zagreb, Croatia, September 14, 2019. (games, races, sports)
10 Unusual Sports
Demystified
Start of Men's 100 meter sprint where Usain Bolt wins and sets a new world record at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games August 18, 2008 in Beijing, China.
How Fast Is the World’s Fastest Human?