Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION I
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF THE CITY OF BATAC

PHYSICAL EDUCATION 7
INDIVIDUAL SPORTS: RUNNING AND SWIMMING

ATHLETICS
Track and field athletics, commonly known as athletics or track and field, is a collection of
sports events that involve running, throwing, and jumping. The name "athletics" is derived from the
Greek word "athlos" meaning "contest."
Dating back to the Ancient Greeks, athletics was the only competition to be held in the first
Olympic Games which took place in Athens in 776 BC. At that time, the single athletic event was
known as the “stade,” a foot race which covered the length of the Athenian Olympic stadium.
In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games was 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.
Track Events
Track events often involve a field or a running track of varying measurements. These events
are typically held in a 400-meter track. These include sprints, middle distance events, long distance
events, hurdles, relays, road running, and race walking.
a. Short Distance or Sprints - Sprint is a short running race. In a track and field competition,
there are generally three different sprint distances: 100m, 200m, and 400m.
b. Middle Distance - The middle-distance races are 800m, 1500m, and 3000m. These races
require different skills and tactics to win. They rely more on endurance and pacing than just pure
speed. Also, the runners don't stay in a single lane for the entire race. They start out in staggered
lanes, to make the distance the same for each runner, but the race soon becomes open with no
lanes and the runners must pass around each other to gain the lead.
c. Long Distance - There are three main long-distance races: 3000m, 5000m, and 10,000m
races. These races are like the middle-distance races, but the emphasis is even more on correct
pacing and endurance.
d. Hurdles - Hurdles is a race in which obstacles are placed at intervals along the track that
the runners must jump over on their way to the finish line. Typical hurdle races are the 100m and
400m for women and 110m and 400m for men. Timing, footwork, and technique are the key in
wining hurdles events. Of course, you still need to be fast, but jumping the hurdles in stride without
much slowing down is how to win in the hurdles.
e. Relays - Relay races are where teams of runners compete against each other. There are
typically four runners and four legs to the race. The first runner starts with the baton and runs the
first leg handing off to the second runner. The hand off must typically take place within a given area
of the track. The second then hands off to the third and the third to the fourth. The fourth runner runs
the final, or anchor, leg to the finish line. Common relay races are the 4x100m and the 4x400m.
 SWIMMING
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to
move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive
swimming is one of the most popular Olympic, sports, with varied distance events in butterfly,
backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle.
History of Swimming
• Prehistoric times – Evidence of recreational swimming has been found with the earliest
evidence dating to Stone Age paintings from around 10,000 years ago.
• 2000 BC – Some of the earliest references to swimming including the Iliad, the Odyssey,
the Bible, Beowulf, the Quran and others.
• 1880 – The first national governing body, the Amateur Swimming Association was formed,
there were already over 300 regional clubs in operation across the country.
• 1896 – Men’s swimming became part of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens.
• 1908 – The world swimming association, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), was
formed.
History of swimming in the Philippines
• 1900s – Americans introduced swimming as a sport to the Philippines.
• 1912 – Several local swimmers had emerged from different parts of the country who
competed against each other in championships organized by the Americans.
• 1928 – The greatest achievement of a Filipino in the sport. Teofilo E. Yldefonso – nicknamed
the “Ilocano Shark,” won the Philippines first Olympic medal by winning bronze in the 200 m
breaststroke event at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He repeated this feat in
the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where he won his second bronze medal, becoming
the first Filipino to win multiple medals in the Olympics.
• 1951 – The first Asian Games was held in New Delhi, India. Artemio Salamat and Jacinto
Cayco won gold medals for the 200m and 100m breaststroke events, respectively.
• 1985 – Erik Buhain won a gold in the 400-meter individual medley at Southeast Asian
Games held in Bangkok, Thailand.
FOUR SWIMMING STROKES
1. Front Crawl
• It is popularly known as Freestyle. It is also considered as the fastest and most efficient
swimming technique.
• The body must be kept horizontal, stretched, and streamlined.
• Involves alternating over arm strokes and the flutter kick, the up and down movement of the
legs.
• The head remains in the water, the face alternating from side to side.
2. Butterfly
• It is a powerful and graceful technique, the most difficult and exhausting stroke.
• Hands enter the water shoulder width apart.
• Legs move in fishtail or dolphin kick, which the legs move up and down together, with the
knees bent on the upward swing.
• Arms move up and downward shoulder rotate bringing arms around.
3. Breaststroke
• It is the slowest of the four official styles in competitive swimming which requires comparable
endurance and strength to other strokes.
• Strokes begin with the body in a stretched out, horizontal position with the face in the water.
• Upper body lifts as the arms pull and the head lifts to breathe.
• Frog kick takes place under the water and begins with the legs in an extended position with
feet together. Frog kick is leg movement where the knees primarily turned outward, and the legs
alternately separated and closed.
4. Backstroke
• It has the advantage of easy breathing but has the disadvantage of swimmers not being
able to see where they are going. This is the only competition swimming style that has a
different start.
• Push of the wall, on your back, in a streamline position.
• The alternating kick originates from the hip and remains within the body width.
• Toes are pointed with ankles relaxed and the knees bend slightly with each kick.
• The leg kick and arm actions should be controlled and steady while maintaining a fixed
head position.