Olympic Sport since 1896

Athletics is, in many ways, the embodiment of the Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius", meaning faster, higher, stronger.

Sweden's Carolina Kluft competes in the long jump event of the women's heptathlon at the European athletics championships in Gothenburg August 8, 2006. [Reuters]

Today, athletics remains one of the most popular Olympic sports. From the 100m dash to the 42.195km marathon, from the hammer throw to the high jump, it contains many of the Olympic Games' blue-ribbon events and many of the highest-profile competitors.

COMPETITION

Athletics can be divided into four areas: track, field, road and combined events.

Track events
Include sprints (100m, 200m, 400m), middle-distance running (800m and 1500m) and long-distance running (5000m and 10,000m), hurdling (100m and 400m for women, 110m and 400m for men), relays (4 x 100m and 4 x 400m) and the 3000m steeplechase.

Field events
For both men and women, include the long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin and hammer throw. The women's pole vault and hammer throw debuted at the Sydney 2000 Games.

Road events
Consist of the men's and women's marathons, the men's 20km and 50km race walks and the women's 10km race walk.

Combined events
The heptathlon for women and the decathlon for men - athletes compete in a series of track and field events over two days. Points are based upon their finishes in each event, and the person with the most points wins.

LIST OF EVENTS