When you hear people discussing "track" they usually are talking about the running events in the sport of track and field. The field events include the jumping and throwing events. Sports such as the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon combine track and field events. Track events include the sprints, middle-distance and long-distance races and relays.
Track Origins
Modern track events have their roots in the ancient Greek Olympics. The first running event was called the stadia and was approximately 200 m long, the length of the arena and the origin of the word "stadium." The 26-mile marathon became the marquee event, but even before the marathon a middle-distance race called the dolichos was held at a distance of between 5,000 and 10,000 m. In the 1800s, running events were common, and the first modern Olympics in 1896 included the marathon, 100 m and 400 m races.
Modern Events
The sprints contested in the Olympics and most major competitions include the 100 m, 200 m, the 110 m hurdles for men and the 100 m hurdles for women, 400 m, 400 m hurdles, 4 by 100 m relay, and 4 by 400 m relay. The middle distances include the 800 m, 1,500 m, 3,000 m steeplechase and 5,000 m. The distance races include 10,000 m, marathon and the walk races, in which athletes walk quickly with a heel-to-toe stride, of distances of 20 k and, for men only, 50 k.
Indoor Track
The earliest recorded examples of indoor track events date to the 19th century, but those meets were not part of an organized series of events or sanctioned by a governing body. In 1863, London's Ashburnham Hall hosted an event with sprints and the triple jump, and an unofficial U.S. national championship was held in 1868. The first World Indoor Championships, sponsored by the International Association of Athletic Federations, were held in 1987. The indoor track season, both internationally and in high school and college in the U.S., is held during winter.
All-Time Greats
Some of the most famous Olympic athletes of all time have been track stars. They include Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, including the 100 m, 200 m, 4 by 100 m relay and the long jump. His four gold medals in one Summer Olympic Games were unmatched until Carl Lewis also won gold medals in the same four events. Other track legends include Wilma Rudolph, who in 1960 won the gold medal in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 by 100 m relay, making her the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Summer Olympics, and Edwin Moses, who won 107 consecutive 400 m hurdle races.
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