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Typical oval track. Not all tracks are oval. Some consist of two semicircles joined
by straight segments.
The outdoor track and field season usually begins in the spring and lasts through
the summer. Most tracks are ovals of 400 meters in circumference. However, some
older tracks are 440 yards in length, while there are some tracks that are neither
oval nor 400m/440y due to geographic considerations. Modern tracks are made
with a rubberized surface, while older tracks may be made of dirt or cinders.
Tracks normally consist of 6-10 lanes and many include a steeplechase lane with a
water pit on one of the turns. This steeplechase pit can be placed either inside or
outside the track, making for a tighter turn or a wider turn. It is common that tracks
will surround a playing field used for American football, football (soccer),
or lacrosse. This inner field is usually known as the infield and has a surface of
either grass or artificial turf.
All field events can be contested on the infield. However the javelin, hammer and
discus throws are often contested on fields outside of the track stadium because
they take up a large amount of space, the implements may damage the infield, and
the implements could end up landing on the track.
Events
There are other variations besides the ones listed below, but races of unusual
length (for example, 300 m) are run much less often. The unusual races are
typically held during indoor season because of the shorter 200 m indoor track.
With the exception of the mile run, races based on imperial distances are rarely run
on the track anymore since most tracks have been converted from a quarter mile
(402.3 m) to 400 m; almost all record-keeping for imperial distances has been
discontinued. However, the IAAF record book still includes the mile world record
(currently held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco for men and Svetlana
Masterkova of Russia for women) because of its worldwide historic significance.
Men and women do not compete against each other, although they may sometimes
run in the same races due to time constraints at high school meets. Women
generally run the same distances as men although hurdles and steeplechase barriers
are lower and the weights of the shot, discus, javelin and hammer are less.
Track events
Track events are running events conducted on a 400 m track:
Sprints: Events up to and including 400 m. Common events are 60 m (indoors
only), 100 m, 200 m and 400 m.
Middle distance: Events from 800 m to 3000 m, 800 m, 1500 m, mile and
3000 m. (Note: In the United States, high school athletes in most states
normally run the 800 m, 1600 m, and 3200 m. In a few states high school
athletes run the 1500 m and 3000 m instead of the 1600 m and 3200 m.)
Steeplechase: A race (usually 3000 m) in which runners must negotiate
barriers and water jumps.
Long distance: Runs over 5000 m. Common events are 5000 m and 10000 m.
Less common are 1, 6, 12, 24 hour races.
Hurdling: 110 m high hurdles (100 m for women) and 400 m intermediate
hurdles (300 m in some high schools).
Relays: 4 x 100 m relay, 4 x 400 m relay, 4 x 200 m relay, 4 x 800 m relay,
and so on. Some events, such as medley relays, are rarely run except at large
relay carnivals. Typical medley relays include the distance medley relay
(DMR) and the sprint medley relay (SMR). A distance medley relay consists
of a 1200 m leg, a 400 m leg, an 800 m leg, and finishes with a 1600 m leg. A
sprint medley relay consists of a 400 m leg, 2 200 m legs, and then an 800 m
leg. Most American high schools run the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 with the
4x400 being the finishing event to the meet.
Road events
Road running: Conducted on open roads, but often finishing on the track.
Common events are over 5 km, 10 km, half-marathon and marathon, and less
commonly over 15 km, 20 km, 10 miles, and 20 miles. The marathon is the
only common road-racing distance run in major international athletics
championships such as the Olympics.
Race walking: Usually conducted on open roads. Common events are 10 km,
20 km, and 50 km.
Throwing events
Shot put: Competitors take their throwing a heavy metal ball (of varying
weights depending on the level of competition) from inside a circle seven feet
in diameter, with a toe board approximately four-inches high at the front of
the circle. The distance thrown is measured from the inside of the
circumference of the circle to where the shot lands at its nearest disturbance
of the soil.
Hammer throw: The object to be thrown is a heavy steel ball attached with
wire (maximum length, four feet) to a handle. The competition is decided by
who can throw the ball the farthest. The men's hammer weighs 16 pounds and
the women's hammer weighs 8.82 pounds. Competitors gain maximum
distance by spinning the hammer above their head to set up the circular
motion. Then they apply force and pick up speed by completing one to four
turns in the circle. In competition, most throwers turn three or four times.
Javelin throw: Involves throwing the javelin, a spear-like object made of
metal, fiberglass and, in some cases, carbon fiber. Competitors take three
throws after which the top eight take another three, their best legal throw is
recorded and the winner is the individual with the longest legal throw,
measured to the nearest foot and inch depending on country of competition. If
the javelin's point touches the ground first, the throw is marked (measured)
from this point.
Discus throw: The discus, the object to be thrown, is a heavy lenticular disc
with a diameter of 8.66 inches and a weight of four pounds, seven ounces for
the men's event, and two pounds, three ounces for the women's, with a
smaller diameter of 7.17 inches. To make a throw, the competitor starts in a
slightly recessed concrete-surfaced circle of eight feet, 2½ inches diameter.
The thrower typically takes an initial stance facing away from the direction of
the throw. He then spins around one and a half times through the circle to
build momentum, then releases his throw.
Jumping events
High jump: In this event, competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed
at measured heights without the aid of any devices. In a competition, the bar
is initially set at a relatively low height, and is moved upward in set
increments (approximately 2 inches), but can be lessened for record attempts.
Each competitor has the option of choosing at which height they wish to start,
as long as the height is greater or equal to the designated starting height for
that competition. The starting height is usually determined by the games
committee for the competition.
Pole vault: An event where a person uses a long, flexible pole (which today
are usually made either of fiberglass or carbon fiber) as an aid to leap over a
bar. Although there are many techniques used by vaulters at various skill
levels to clear the bar, the generally accepted technical model can be broken
down into several phases: The approach, the plant and take-off, the swing and
throw, the extension, the turn, and the fly-away.
Long jump: Competitors sprint down a runway (usually coated with the same
rubberized surface as running tracks, crumb rubber, or vulcanized rubber) and
jump as far as they can off of a wooden board into a pit filled with finely
ground gravel or sand. The distance traveled by a jumper is often referred to
as the “mark,” because it is the distance to which the first mark is made in the
sand. More specifically, a mark is the minimum distance from the edge of the
takeoff board nearest the landing pit, to the first indentation made by the
competitor. If the competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot in front
of the board, the jump is declared illegal and no distance is recorded.
Triple jump: Previously also known as "hop, step, and jump," whose various
names describe the actions a competitor takes, in the triple jump the athlete
runs down a runway until he reaches a designated mark, from which the jump
is measured. The takeoff mark is a board, and in modern championships a
strip of plasticine or modeling clay is attached to the board to record athletes
overstepping the mark. The first landing has to be done with the takeoff foot.
The next phase is a step, landing on the opposite foot, and is followed by the
jump into a sand-filled box, as in the long jump. A "foul," or missed jump,
occurs when a jumper oversteps the launch mark (most commonly), misses
the pit entirely, or does not perform the attempt in the allotted amount of time
(usually about one minute).
Other jumping events, now uncommon, include the Standing high jump,
Standing long jump, and the Standing triple jump.
Combined or Multi-events
Pentathlon: In addition to the Modern Pentathlon, there has also been an
athletics pentathlon event for women in the modern Olympic Games. The
first Olympic competition was at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The
events of the pentathlon, in order, were: 80-meter hurdles, shot put, high
jump, long jump, and the 200 meters. The javelin and the 800 meters were
added in the 1984 Summer Olympics to create the women's heptathlon. The
hurdles race also became 100 meters.
Heptathlon: There are two versions of the heptathlon. The first is an outdoor
competition for women, and is the combined event for women contested in
the Athletics program of the Olympics and in the IAAF World
Championships in Athletics. The IAAF World Combined Events Challenge
determines a yearly women's heptathlon champion. The women's outdoor
heptathlon consists of the following events, with the first four contested on
the first day, and the remaining three on day two: 100 m hurdles, high jump,
shot put, 200 m, long jump, javelin throw, and 800 m. The other version is an
indoor competition, normally contested only by men. It is the men's combined
event in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. The men's
indoor heptathlon consists of the following events, with the first four
contested on the first day, and remaining three on day two: 60 m, long jump,
shot put, high jump, 60 m hurdles, pole vault, and 1000 m. The scoring is
similar for both versions. In each event, the athlete scores points for his/her
performance in each event according to scoring tables issued by the
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The athlete
accumulating the highest number of points wins the competition.
Decathlon: This event combines 10 track-and-field events, which are held
over two consecutive days with the winners determined by the combined
performance in all events. Performance is judged on a points system in each
event, not by the position achieved. The decathlon is contested by male
athletes, while female athletes contest the Heptathlon. The decathlon is a
menu of athletic events, testing an individual’s speed, strength, skill,
endurance, and personality. The decathlon includes five events on each of
two successive days. The first day schedules the 100-meter run, long jump,
shot put, high jump, and 400 meters. It is a day of speedy movement,
explosive power, and jumping ability. Day two consists of the 110-meter
hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500 meters. The importance of this
day is on technique and endurance.