TRACK & FIELD

INDIVIDUAL SPORT
 HISTORY OF
SPORT
• In the year 776 BC in the ancient Olympia in Greece the first Olympic Games were held and during that
games, only one, to use modern day terminology, track and field event was held and that was the stadium
footrace and the winner of that events and the first ever Olympic winner was Koroibos. Athletics or rather
some of the aspects of athletics were present at the Panhellenic Games that were held in Greece and from
there the ideas and the main concepts of the Athletics spread to Italy around the year 200 BC.
• During the next several centuries Athletics developed in slow steps. However, during the Middle Ages the
new wave of the track and field development began. During that time track and field developed in the
Northern part of Europe. Track and field as we know it today began developing in the 19th century when first
competitions in track and field took places. In that time, those track and field competitions primary were
organized by educational institutions, sport clubs and some military organizations. The events organized by
these institutions were actually the one that included the hurdle races.
• During this period, first national athletics associations have been established and shortly after that first
national competitions took place. Among the first associations who organized such competitions was Amateur
Athletic Association of England who in 1880 organized the annual AAA Championship. Even before
England, the New York Athletic Club from the United States organized the first USA Outdoor Track and Field
Championship back in 1876.
• One of the biggest milestone for the development of the Athletics came back in 1896 at the Summer
Olympic Games. In those Games in Athens, track and field together with a marathon comprised the
majority of the sporting events at that Games. Besides that, those Games are also important because they
for the first time introduced the metric measurement that was used in the track and field competitions.
During the next couple of decades the development of the track and field, or rather, the athletics in
general, put the Athletics on the path of becoming the most important aspect of the Olympic Games for
every games in the future.
• In 1912, the second milestone in the development of the Athletics occurred when the International
Amateur Athletic Federation or IAAF was founded and as such it became the international governing body
for track and field. The officials of the IAAF of that time emphasized the importance of the amateurism
for the athletics and it became of the basic principle on which IAAF will continue to operate. Up until the
early 1920’s, track and field was only a male sport. Women became part of the athletics only after
women’s sport movement organized Women’s World Games back in 1921. However, women for the first
time participated in track and field competitions at the Olympic Games back in 1928 Summer Olympic
Games.
 FAMOUS INDIVIDUALS
• Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Considered by many to be
the greatest female athlete of the 20th Century, her
heptathlon score (which won her the gold medal in
1988) is still a world record.
• Usain Bolt. Chances are, if you could name a single
track and field athlete, it's this guy. He's the fastest
man alive. Seriously, though—the guy's last name is
"Bolt."
•  Jessica Ennis-Hill. Ennis-Hill won the gold in the
2012 London games in the heptathlon. Her
prodigious skills and tireless work ethic are
frightening.
 PROCEDUR
E
• In running events: 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m Relay, the athletes have the option of using or not using blocks. In
these events the commands of the starter shall be “on your marks”, “set”, and when all competitors are steady, the
gun shall be fired.
• In all other running events, all walking events and all wheelchair races the commands shall be “on your marks” and
when all the competitors are steady, the gun shall be fired. A competitor shall not touch the ground with his/her
hand(s).
• The starter may give the commands in English or his/her own language.
• Starting races longer than 400 meters: a) 800 meters distance: Runner will run in the lanes through the first turn as
far as the nearer edge of the breakline where athletes may leave their respective lanes.b)1500 meters and greater
distances: A waterfall start shall be used.
• The starter shall give each competitor a chance to do his/her best by:   a) Giving the competitors ample time to
settle down after taking their marks;  b) Starting the sequence over if any runner is off-balance; and  c) Not holding
the runners too long after the set command.
• False Starts – Only one false start per race shall be allowed without the disqualification of the athlete responsible
for the false start. Any athlete responsible for further false starts in the race shall be disqualified.
3 FUNDAMENTAL
MOVEMENTS
 REFERENCE
S
https://athletics.uchicago.edu/athletics/training/rules
https://www.shmoop.com/ncaa/track-and-field/famous-athletes.html
http://www.carifta2012.com/the-history-of-athletics-track-and-field-history/

BAUTISTA, REY JR H. BSMT-1A