Athletics (sport)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(sport)

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking. The simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, make athletics one of the most commonly competed sports in the world. Athletics is mostly an individual sport, with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes' performances for a team score, such as cross country.

Organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC, and most modern events are conducted by the member clubs of the International Association of Athletics Federations. The athletics meeting forms the backbone of the modern Summer Olympics, and other leading international meetings include the IAAF World Championships and World Indoor Championships, and athletes with a physical disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships.

The international governing body,

 the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), was founded in 1912; it adopted its current name, the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 2001. 

The IAAF established separate outdoor world Championships in 1983. In modern times, athletes can receive money for racing, putting an end to the so-called "amateurism" that existed before.

The Comité International Sports des Sourds had been formed by 1922, to govern international deaf sports, including athletics.

The first organized international competitions for athletes with a physical disability (not deaf) began in 1952 when the first international Stoke Mandeville Games were organized for World War II veterans.

 This only included athletes in a wheelchair. 

This inspired the first Paralympic Games, held in 1960. Competitions would over time be expanded to include mainly athletes with amputations, cerebral palsy, and visual impairment, in addition to wheelchair events.

Official world championship track and field events

Track					Field		Combined events
Sprints	Middle-distance	Long-distance	Hurdles	Relays	Jumps	Throws
60 m 100 m 200 m 400 m	800 m 1500 m 3000 m	5000 m 10,000 m	60 m hurdles 100 m hurdles 110 m hurdles 400 m hurdles 3000 m steeplechase	4×100 m relay 4×400 m relay	Long jump Triple jump High jump Pole vault	Shot put Discus throw Hammer throw Javelin throw	Pentathlon Heptathlon Decathlon

• Note: Events in italics are competed at indoor world championships only

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(sport)

source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(sport)