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HISTORY of Track and Field

Track and field originated as athletic contests held in conjunction with religious festivals in ancient Greece from 776 BC to 394 AD. It then largely disappeared during the Middle Ages. The modern sport developed in 19th century England through school and university meets. The first national championships were held in 1866 in England, establishing the code for amateur, non-compensated athletes. As popularity grew, national and international governing bodies were formed, including the IAAF in 1913 to standardize rules and oversee world records. The first modern Olympics in 1896 featured track and field events, growing it into an international sport.

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669 views2 pages

HISTORY of Track and Field

Track and field originated as athletic contests held in conjunction with religious festivals in ancient Greece from 776 BC to 394 AD. It then largely disappeared during the Middle Ages. The modern sport developed in 19th century England through school and university meets. The first national championships were held in 1866 in England, establishing the code for amateur, non-compensated athletes. As popularity grew, national and international governing bodies were formed, including the IAAF in 1913 to standardize rules and oversee world records. The first modern Olympics in 1896 featured track and field events, growing it into an international sport.

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Red Montero
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© © All Rights Reserved
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MOISES, Jocelyn D.

January 27,2020
BA Political Science 1A

History of track and field

Track and field is one of the oldest of sports. Athletic contests were often held in
conjunction with religious festivals, as with the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. For
11 centuries, starting in 776 B.C., these affairs — for men only — were enormously
popular and prestigious events. The Romans continued the Olympic tradition until the
time of the Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, who banned the Games in A.D. 394.
During the Middle Ages, except for a short-lived revival in 12th-century England,
organized track and field all but disappeared. The true development of track and field as
a modern sport started in England during the 19th century. English public school and
university students gave the sport impetus through their interclass meets, or meetings
as they are still called in Britain, and in 1849 the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst
held the first organized track and field meet of modern times.
Not until the 1860s, however, did the sport flourish. In 1866 the first English
championships were held by the newly formed Amateur Athletic Club, which opened the
competition to all "gentlemen amateurs" specifically, athletes who received no financial
compensation for their efforts. This code has lasted to the present day and is the basis
of the rules governing the sport. The Amateur Athletic Club gave way to the Amateur
Athletic Association in 1880, which has conducted the annual national championships
since that date. Although meets were held on the North American continent as early as
1839, track and field first gained popularity in the late 1860s, after the formation of the
New York Athletic Club in 1868. The Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU),
an association of track and field clubs, was formed in 1887 and has governed the sport
in the United States since then.
In 1896 the first modern Olympic Games were staged. Although initially of limited
appeal, the Olympics captured the imagination of athletes and grew steadily, making
track and field an international sport for the first time. In 1913 the International Amateur
Athletic Federation (IAAF) was formed by representatives from 16 countries. The IAAF
was charged with establishing standard rules for the sport, approving world records, and
ensuring that the amateur code was adhered to; it continues to carry out these duties
today.
Growth in the Nineteenth Century. The nature of work and play were
changing by the nineteenth century. In particular, in the second half of the century,
leisure time would get a big boost. Industrialized regions of the world, such as England,
were discovering a revitalized form of leisure experience in the world of sports.
Whether playing or spectating, this new group of sports enthusiasts saw track
and field becoming more organized. Single meetings, or meets, included a variety of
events in one large competition, with field events taking place at the same time as track
events.
Formal groups were established to set the rules and organize the events.
Schools began to offer programs to teach the sport. By the end of the century, the first
modern Olympic Games were held and 12 of the events were track and field.

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