Athletics is a group of track and field events that covers a wide range of sports, from sprinting to race walking and javelin throw. Most of the athletics events we see today are a part of Olympic history, dating as far back as 776 BC.
Usain Bolt is perhaps the most recognizable name associated with track and field events. The Jamaican sprinter has won eight gold medals in nine Olympic races. He officially retired from competitive sprinting in 2017 after multiple hamstring injuries.
Another notable athlete was the Ethiopian marathon runner, Abebe Bikila, who won back-to-back Olympic marathons in 1960 and 1964. His 1960 win was especially thrilling as he ran the marathon barefoot, and set a record time of 2 hours 15 minutes.
Team USA leads the overall tally with 828 medals (344 gold), followed by Great Britain with 211 medals, and the former Soviet Union at 193.
The Athletics Olympics 2024 consists of 48 events, 23 each for men and women, and two mixed events. Athletes will compete from 1 to 11 August for the medal.
Below, we break down the multiple sports that will be seen at the Athletics Olympics 2024.
Sprints (100m, 200m, 400m)
Sprints showcase some of the fastest athletes in the world going head to head in 100m, 200m, and 400m races. These thrilling short races are one of the most watched Olympic sports.
Usain Bolt still holds the unbeaten world record of 9.58 seconds in 100m. Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, came close to the record when he won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games. He clocked 9.8 seconds, just four seconds short. Fred Kerley from the USA won the silver medal and Canada’s Andre De Grasse secured bronze at the 2020 Games.
The women’s 100m world record is 10.49 seconds, set by Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA) in 1988. In the 2020 Games, Jamaica won all three medals. Elaine Thompson finished first at 10.61s, just over a second more than the world record. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price (10.74s) and Shericka Jackson (10.76s) won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Usain Bolt also holds the 200m record at 19.19 seconds, set in 2009. In the 2020 Games, Canada’s Andre de Grasse finished first at 19.62 seconds. Team USA won the silver and bronze medals in the race.
South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk set the 400m record at 43.03 seconds at the Rio 2016 Games. The women’s 400m world record belongs to France’s Marie-José Pérec at 48.25 seconds.
Schedule:
August 3: Women’s 100m final
August 4: Men’s 100m final
August 6: Women’s 200m final
August 7: Men’s 400m final
August 8: Men’s 200m final
August 9: Women’s 400m final
Middle/Long Races (800m, 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, 3,000m Steeplechase)
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David Rudisha of Kenya holds the record of 1:40.91 minutes in 800m. He retired from running after winning two gold medals at the Olympics. The current 800m men’s Olympic champion is Kenya’s Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir. He finished first at the Tokyo 2020 Games at 1:45.06, followed by fellow Kenyan, Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich (1:45.23 min) and Poland’s Patryk Dobek (1:45.39 min). Team USA’s Athing Mu (1:55.21 minutes) was the gold medallist at the 2020 women’s 800m race.
Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen sprinted through the men’s 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics to claim the gold medal and a world record at 3:28.32 minutes. At the women’s 1,500m event, Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon claimed the gold medal at 3:53.11 minutes. Great Britain’s Laura Muir came second at 3:54.50, and Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan was third at 3:55.86 minutes. Hassan bagged gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m races.
Uganda’s Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei won the men’s 5,000m (12:58.15 min) at the Tokyo Olympics. Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed came second at 12:58.61 minutes and USA’s Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo finished third at 12:59.05 minutes. The current champion for men’s 10,000m is Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega (27:43.22).
Now, coming to the Steeplechase. It’s a 3,000m race with 7.5 laps. Runners have to jump over four 30-inch barriers and a water pit. Uganda’s P. Chemutai (9:01.45 min) and Morocco’s S. El Bakkali (8:08.90) were the winners at the 2020 Games in the women’s and men’s events respectively.
Schedule:
August 2: Men’s 10,000m final
August 5: Women’s 800m final, women’s 5,000m final
August 6: Men’s 1,500m final, Women’s 3,000m steeplechase final
August 7: Men’s 3,000m steeplechase final
August 9: Women’s 10,000m final
August 10: Men’s 800m final, women’s 1,500m final, men’s 5,000m final
Hurdles (100m, 110m, 400m)
Team USA’s Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone won the gold at the 400m, finishing at 51.46 seconds at the Tokyo Games. She set a new world record of 50.68 seconds at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Norway’s Arsten Warholm (45.94 seconds) was the winner in the men’s event.
Schedule:
August 8: Women’s 400m hurdles final, men’s 110m hurdles final, men’s 110m hurdles final
August 9: Men’s 400m hurdles final
August 10: Women’s 100m hurdles final
Jumps (High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump, Triple Jump)
The men’s jumping events have been a part of the Olympics since the very first edition in 1896. The women had to wait for several years to represent in these sporting events of the show.
High jump was added in 1928, followed by the long jump in 1948. The other two events made their debut very recently: the women’s triple jump in 1996, exactly 100 years after the first Olympics, and the pole vault during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela’s jump of 15.67 meters helped her break the 26-year-old world record in the triple jump in the Tokyo Olympics. All the other records are still intact and the athletes will be vying to go past them in this edition of the Olympics.
One of the rarest moments happened in the men’s high jump event in the 2020 Olympics. Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy tied in the lead position. Barshim asked the officials if they both could share the gold medals to which the officials agreed and both close friends celebrated this moment in front of millions of fans.
Schedule:
August 3: Women’s triple jump final
August 4: Women’s high jump final
August 5: Men’s pole vault final
August 6: Men’s long jump final,
August 7: Women’s pole vault final
August 8: women’s long jump final
August 9: men’s triple jump final
August 10: men’s high jump final
Throws (Shot Put, Discus Throw, Hammer Throw, Javelin Throw)
Throws had a similar trajectory at the Olympics as that of jumping. Shot put and discus were a part of the first-ever Olympics. Hammer throw first emerged during the 1900 Olympics, while javelin throw was included eight years later.
Discus throw was one of the five athletics events for women in 1928. Javelin became the second women’s throw event and was added in 1932. The women’s shot put event was added in 1948. In 2000, the hammer throw was first contested by women at the Olympics.
Ryan Crouser had a historical outing in the shot put event. He had already broken the Olympic record in 2016 and had the world record to his name as well. His throw of 23.30 meters helped him break the Olympic record once again.
It was also a historical outing for India’s Neeraj Chopra in Tokyo. He finished with a throw of 86.65 meters in his very first attempt and went on to clinch the gold medal. He became only the second athlete to win an individual gold medal for his country at the Olympics.
Schedule:
August 3: Men’s shot put final
August 4: Men’s hammer throw final
August 5: Women’s discus throw final
August 6: Women’s hammer throw final
August 7: Men’s discus throw final
August 8: Men’s javelin throw final
August 9: Women’s shot put final
August 10: Women’s javelin throw final
20km Race Walk
The 20-kilometre race walk defines itself and is competed by both men and women. Antonella Palmisano of Italy won the gold medal in the event in Tokyo and finished in 1:29.12 hours. Liu Hong, who holds the record of being the third-fastest woman in this event, finished with a bronze medal, while Colombia’s Sandra Arenas won the silver medal.
On the men’s side, Italy’s Massimo Stano finished with the gold medal. He bettered his record by 5:21 minutes at the 2024 World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships. Tokyo Olympics’ silver medalist, Koki Ikeda came close to breaking the world record at the Japan Athletics Championships this year as he finished the 20km distance in 1:16.51 hours.
Schedule:
August 1: Men’s and women’s final.
Relays (4×100, 4×400)
Relay races are the ultimate example of teamwork. A team of four runners run equal distances in the 100m and 400m event, passing a baton to each other. The exchange has to happen within a 20m changeover box. If any member drops the baton during the handover, the team gets disqualified.
The first Olympic 4x100m relay race was held at the Stockholm 1912 Games. The women’s relay made its debut at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam.
The Jamaican men’s team made the world record (36.84 seconds) in the 4×100 relay at the London 2012 Games. The United States women’s team achieved this feat at the same Games, setting a record of 40.82 seconds.
Tokyo 2020 featured a 4x400m mixed team relay. This was the first mixed-gendered race in the Olympic Games. Poland’s Karol Zalewski, Natalia Kaczmarek, Justyna Święty-Ersetic, and Kajetan Duszyński won their maiden gold medal in the event. They also set a record timing of 3:09.87.
Schedule:
August 9: Men’s 4×100 final, women’s 4×100 final
August 10: Men’s 4×400 final and women’s 4×400 final
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