Athletics Thesis

Athletics is a sport that encompasses numerous disciplines grouped into races,

jumps, throws, combined events and race walking. It is the art of surpassing performance
of the opponents in speed or in endurance, in distance or at great heights.

The number of tests, whether individual or team-based, has varied over time and the
mindsets. Athletics is one of the few sports practiced universally, as already
sea among enthusiasts or in competitions of all levels. The simplicity and the few
The necessary means for its practice explain this success.

The first traces of athletic competitions date back to civilizations

ancient. The discipline has been developing over the centuries, from the earliest
tests until their regulation.

The calendar is dominated by four types of events: meetings, meetings between

clubs, national and the main international events. The Olympic Games are the
the most prestigious international event. They have been held every four years since 1896 and the
Athletics is the most important discipline among them. Since 1982, the International Association
of Athletic Federations (IAAF), the body responsible for regulating the
The discipline has relaxed its rules to end the amateur period of the discipline.
The first World Athletics Championship was organized in 1983 and takes place every two years.
years since 1991.

History
Running, walking, throwing, and jumping are natural movements in humans and, in fact, the
The concept of athletics dates back to very ancient times, as confirmed by some
rock paintings from the Lower Paleolithic (6000 BC - 5500 BC) to the Neolithic that
demonstrate rivalry between several runners and throwers. The sources become more
precise in Egypt in the 15th century before our era, with the earliest written reference
ancient, referred to the foot race, found in the tomb of Amenhotep II (c. 1438-1412 BC
C.)1 At the same time, the Minoan civilization (Crete) also practiced racing,
as well as the javelin and discus throw.

The first encounters in Greece took place in the 8th century BC. In them
the race called stadion stood out, which was a foot race of 197.27 meters,
equivalent to 200 times the foot of Heracles. This is the oldest proof of which is
it has a record, although it was supposed to have been practiced earlier. A little time
Then more evidence appeared, such as the double stadium or dual, the half marathon.
long distance or equestrian and the long distance or dolic race. All these events are multiples of the
distance from the stadium.

The pentathlon, which combines running, jumping, throwing, and wrestling, is another discipline.
of athletics introduced in the Olympic program before the end of the 8th century BC.

Aside from the Olympic Games, there were other sporting events in different city-states.
Greeks, who were overshadowed by the first. No less than 38 Greek cities
they celebrated their own Olympic Games (called isolympics to differentiate them from the
celebrated in Olympia) and 33 were holding Pythian Games.

The Roman civilization practiced athletics in two different versions starting from the year 186.
a. C. The first is of Etruscan inspiration (runners), while the second is a
adaptation of Greek disciplines (athletes). The Stadium of Domitian was built
in the year 86 and dedicated himself to athletics in its Greek variant.
Ireland organized games between the years 632 and 1169 that included unknown trials for
the Greeks, like pole vaulting, hammer throw, and a form of cross-
These disciplines were introduced in Scotland in the 4th century and were modified until
transform into the Mountain Games.

Classical Period (from the Middle Ages to the 19th century)

There are sources that inform us that races were already being held in England since
11th century. The enthusiasm was such that local authorities reserved a space
dedicated only to these contests in 1154 in Lord.1 In the stories of Havelock the Dane
In 1275, there is a description of a stone thrower. On the other hand, according to the
historians, King Henry II of England had sports fields built in the
near London for the practice of throwing the hammer, the bar and the javelin and also
for ball games. At the same time, the youth of London challenged each other in long
races across the city.

In 1365, King Edward III enacted the first in a series of laws to prohibit
practically all sports activities, except archery which could be continued
practicing for military reasons.1 The races and jumps were on the list of the
prohibited sports.1 Nevertheless, competitions continued, as evidenced by the
renewal of the prohibitions, which is why Henry VIII finally allowed the races to
foot in London in 1510.

Henry VIII encouraged the practice of daily exercise, while the theorists of the time,
Like Thomas Elyot, they placed great importance on sports in the plans of
studies. In the 16th century, athletic meetings in the Games are described for the first time.
of Cotswold (Cotswold Games), a kind of "sports meeting" organized in
Gloucestershire is directly inspired by the heroes of ancient Greece.

Athletic competition developed quite a bit in the United Kingdom in the 17th century. The
the most popular sports were then the hammer throw, the high jump, the
long jump and running. With the emergence of puritanism, the Anglican Church
wanted to abolish the sport, claiming that the athletics competitions held throughout
England generally ended in fights and drunkenness. In reaction to puritanism,
King James I encouraged his subjects to practice sports after the services of the
Sunday afternoon. It also promoted sports through the publication of the Book of
Sports.9

The first professional runners appeared in England at the end of the 17th century.
These runners were vendors and competed against local champions in contests
paid.

In Spain, Korrikolaris has been practiced since the Middle Ages. It is a

long-distance running race, held between two runners

In the rest of the world, one of the oldest medieval races outside of the islands.
The British one was celebrated in Rome in the mid-15th century. Pope Andrew II.
authorized the celebration of the annual sports festival that was held for two centuries. The
the program reproduced that of the Greek athletes and the athletes competed in the Greek manner, that is,
naked.

The Republic Olympics was a sporting competition held in 1796, 1797 and
1798 in Paris. The ultimate test of this attempt to rehabilitate the Olympic Games
it was a foot race.
This event marked the transition between the sport of the Old Regime and sport
modern, as demonstrated by the use of the metric system in sports for the first time.
Additionally, for the first time in sports, the races were timed.
using two naval war clocks.

19th century
The first modern athletics meeting in England took place in 1825 in Newmarket.
Road, near London. Numerous tests were still missing, but under the influence of
the matches at Lord's Cricket Ground played since 1826 and in Tara, Ireland
(1829), the program began to expand. The first 100 yards with obstacles were
they contested at Eton College in 1837.

In 1849, the British army created competitions for the London arsenal in Woolwich.
In 1850, a silver cornet was offered as a prize to the winner of the largest number of
tests. Captain Wilmot won the 1850 edition, and that same year the first was created.
athletics track in England. Exeter College in Oxford held its first meeting in
1850, which in 1856 would become the first competition of the University of Oxford.
The first athletics competition between Oxford and Cambridge was held in 1864.

In 1866, the first version of a national athletics federation was created in England.
All professional athletes were automatically excluded from it, as well as the
workers and craftsmen so that only gentlemen could belong to it.

Professional races were held outside of these rigid tests and without
embargo, brought together a large audience. To open athletics to social classes
the less favored the Amateur Athletic Association was created in 1886.

In France, running races had prizes in kind starting from 1853.14 In the middle
from 1880, and in line with the social vision of sport in England, George St. Clair and
Ernest Demay launched a campaign for the 'purification' of French athletics and
they achieved the ban on these professional careers. In response, it was created in Paris
the Union of Professional Athletics Societies.

The Union of French Societies of Athletic Sports, a multi-sport federation

founded on November 20, 1887 by the Parisian clubs Racing Club de France and
Stade Francés, above all, emphasized its willingness to fight against the
professionalization of sports. The USFSA, which is responsible for the renewal of the
Olympic Games, imposed this vision as a model of competition for a long time.
time. In 1888, he organized the first athletics championship in France with four
tests in the program: 100 m, 400 m, 1,500 m and 120 m hurdles. René Cavally won two
titles in 1888 about 100 and 400 m.

In the rest of the world, the United States was an important center of development of
Athletics. The Olympic Club in San Francisco was founded in 1860, and the New York Athletic
The club was founded in 1868. The Intercollegiate Athletic Association was founded in 1876, and it was
who organized the first competition on American soil. Germany was influenced
in 1874 by a group of English students from the University of Dresden who imported
the English tests.1

Germany organized its first national championship in 1891. The Australian championship is
celebrated in 1893, after having organized an Inter Colonial Meet in Sydney on the 31st
May 1890.

In Belgium, the first national championship held in 1889 was limited to two events: the
100 meters and the mile.
With the beginnings of electric timing in 1892 in England and the renewal of the
Games

Olympics, athletics entered the Modern era.

Modern Era
from Amateurism to Professionalism
As amateur sports gradually became organized, competitions were held in both.
Many professional careers on both sides of the Atlantic. Historical encounters that confronted.
the best American and British clubs of the 19th century. On the other hand, inspired by
the steeplechase event, certain betting was established in some Athletics races
forecasts about races, mainly contested on grass tracks
racetracks.21 Like the image of the great boxing matches, the American promoters
they hired the best athletes of the moment in order to challenge other champions in
face-to-face and paid meetings.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin was the architect of the creation of the Olympic Games.
modern whose first edition was held in 1896 in Athens, where, of course, the
athletics was among the events. It then tried, among other things, to put an end to the
money practice in sports, especially in athletics, in favor of the 'show'
"amateur sports." Newly established in 1912, the International Association of Athletics Federations,
establishes in its Constitution the principle of amateurism, in the image of the Committee's creed
International Olympic that protects the purity of amateur competition in racing
professional.

The American Jim Thorpe was one of the first athletes sanctioned for violating the
amateurism rule. Shortly after winning two Olympic titles at the Games of
1912, he was disqualified for life and forced to return his medals for having
received payment from a local baseball team. Another athlete found guilty of
brown amateurism, the Frenchman Jules Ladoumègue was also disqualified for life
by the French Federation, which made him an example, in response to the growing power of
professional sport in France. Football became professional during this same period.
The reaction of the French public was unequivocal: they boycotted athletics, which faced
then to a serious crisis in France during the 1930s.

For more than half a century, amateurism continued to be the fundamental norm of
competitive athletics. Many specialists did not hesitate to abandon their
disciplines to join professional teams, such as American football clubs or
baseball of the United States, or to rugby teams in Europe.

In 1982, the IAAF abandoned the traditional concept of amateurism becoming aware
of the time and resources necessary to train and maintain elite athletes.22 A
Starting in 1985, funds are specifically allocated for athlete training.

Nowadays, athletes are freelance workers. Their main income comes from
part of the fees received in the various meetings, based on their results.
The additional income comes from sponsors and patrons, and varies depending
of the athlete's popularity. On the other hand, some athletes receive compensation
from their club.

Thus, in the United States, the Santa Monica Track Club has a policy of rewarding
some of its headlines, such as Carl Lewis. The remuneration of an athlete
elite is random and depends on the state of form and performance. Recently, they have
true "sets" of races that include the best athletes and
coaches; such as, for example, the management system of African long-distance runners or the
structure of the HSI, a true multinational in the speed racing careers of the
United States.

the globalization of athletics

During the first half of the 20th century, the practice of athletics was essentially
the prerogative of the United States and the nations of Western Europe like the Kingdom
United, France or the Nordic countries stood out in the endurance tests.

Since 1930, African American athletes have excelled over Europeans in races.
of speed, like Eddie Tolan, the first man of color to be an Olympic champion in the 100
in the year 1932.

After World War II, some athletes from the European colonies
they came to stand out in their new country of adoption, while some nations of
the southern hemisphere emerged globally, such as New Zealand. In 1950, the
communist countries invest in Olympic sports to reaffirm their existence and
demonstrate your power.

The world of sports is thus bipolar and there are two rival blocs: the countries
Western countries and the Eastern Bloc countries. The 1960s and 1970s are characterized by the
emergence of the Caribbean nations, like the sprinters from Jamaica, but above all
due to the arrival of runners from Black Africa and North Africa in the middle and long distance
distance.

The Ethiopian Abebe Bikila is the pioneer, becoming the first African to win the
Olympic marathon (in 1960), while France is already aligning long-distance runners.
originating from the Maghreb countries since the 1920s. Alain Mimoun won the marathon
four years before Bikila.

Since the 1980s, athletics has become increasingly universal and continues to evolve.
world geopolitics. The number of national federations and the number of licenses
significantly increases in developing countries.

On the contrary, the practice of sports competition stagnates in the countries

developed, partly due to their level of demand in terms of training, and
also due to the increasing diversity of sports and leisure options.

Today, athletics is the most universal competitive sport. Recently, the

athletes from nations with small populations have reached the top of sports. During
the World Championships of 2003, Kim Collins, sprinter from Saint Kitts and Nevis
won the 100 m race. More generally, the success of most
Caribbean athletes are due to studying at universities in the United States.
that offer better training conditions than their countries of origin.

Since the mid-1990s, some athletes, mostly Africans, have chosen to

expatriation and the change of nationality. Thus, in 1995, the 800 m runner Wilson
Kipketer can be considered a precursor by choosing Danish nationality.

The IOC banned him from competing in the 1996 Olympics, but later the former Kenyan
he was imitated by several of his compatriots. In 2003, Stephen Cherono became a nationalized citizen in
Qatar is now called Saif Saaeed Shaheen.

Another example, Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat chose in 2005 to continue his
career, U.S. citizenship. This talent exodus, justified by the athletes for
the lack of recognition in their countries of origin is mainly a way to enter into
lucrative contracts with federations or sponsors.

Currently, Gulf states such as Qatar or Bahrain offer good...

financial conditions to their new citizens and promise young athletes
finance your education and secure your future.

Tests
The term athletics encompasses a variety of activities grouped into two categories
mainly: outdoor and indoor athletics, which include: races, jumps,
throws, combined tests, and tests outside the stadium such as race walking,
marathon, cross country, and other road races of varying distances

Official athletics tests that correspond to

a World Championship
Careers:

Sprint races:
60m, 100m, 200m and 400m

Middle Distance:
800 m , 1500 m y 3000 m

Background:
5000 m , 10000 m , Campo traviesa, Medio Maratón y Maratón

Jumps:
60m vallas , 100 m vallas , 110 m vallas , 400 m vallas y 3000 m obstáculos.

Relays:

4 x 100 m and 4 x 400 m

March

20 km and 50 km

Jump:

Long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vault

Releases:

Weight

Combined tests:

Pentathlon, Heptathlon and Decathlon

Running Races
Of all sports activities, sprint races are the most practiced, and in
the Olympic Games have been included since their inception. They consist of covering a short
space (from 100 m to 400 m) in the shortest possible time.

The 100 meters is the shortest race on the outdoor activities calendar. It is also
one of the oldest as indications of this race have been found from the 15th century
a.C, if we base ourselves on Homer and the Greek poets.

The original distance started by the British was 110 yards (100.52 m) and later 100
yards (91.44 m) until the meter became the official standard.
century, journalist George Prade defined the 100 meters as "the aristocracy in
movement."32 According to him, little training is needed to achieve good results.
results, since speed is innate in the athlete. Over the years, the 100 m replaced the
marathon as the queen event of athletics due to the increase in the number of competitors and the
interest that arose among the spectators.

The current 200 m race is similar to the length of the stadium in ancient times.
Greece. ('Stadium' literally means the length of the stadium). From it derives the mile.
English and originally it was run over 220 yards. For a long time, it was executed in a straight line.
straight, the 200 with a curve on a 400 m track were officially recognized in 1958. The
specialists of this test must combine the basic speed of a 100 m sprinter
with an estimated acceleration capacity of 130-140 m.

The 400 m originates from the double stadium (384 m), an event held in ancient times.
Quarter mile (440 m) racing in the United Kingdom, the event is considered as
of speed and endurance, to the extent that it demands not only physical strength but also endurance.
the fatigue and pain, and an optimal management of the race pace. Athletes who run the 400
in length are divided into two categories, the pure sprinters, with the characteristics of
the 200-meter runners and the endurance runners, with characteristics of the 800m runners. Today
Nowadays, the vast majority of specialists have a morphology similar to that of athletes.
of short distances.

Long-distance and middle-distance races

Middle-distance races are called that because they are contested over intermediate distances.
between the speed and endurance events (from 800 to 3000 m). Among all the recognized tests.
According to the IAAF, only the 800 m and 1500 m events are included in the program of the Games.
Olympics or World Championships.

The 800 m was originally the 880 yards or half a mile (804.67 m). It is the event
more important between the prolonged speed of pure speed tests and the
resistance of the background tests. Athletes complete the first quarter of the lap in their
own street like in the 400 m, before reintegrating to the cord after 100 m of
race. Competitors must demonstrate, in addition to their physical ability, a tactic of
anticipation and skill.

The 1500 m, a purely continental creation, was born around 1890 in France. It requires in the
competitors of a certain resistance, a tactical sense of the race, and an ability to
reaction and resistance in the last lap. The British mile (1609.32 m) is close to the
(1500 m) and it is to date the only discipline recognized by the IAAF, defined by a
non-metric length. Other middle-distance races are the 1000 m, the 2000 m) and the
3000 m.

Long-distance races are events whose distance is greater than 3000 meters. Of invention
British, the 5000 m is an adaptation of the 3 miles (4828 m) and the 10000 m, 6 miles.
(9656 m).
The first experiments of the resistance tests took place around 1740 in
London, when an athlete ran a distance of 17,300 m in one hour. These tests were
are carried out entirely on the athletics track. The resistance to fatigue and the
pain, associated with a good final acceleration are necessary qualities for the
long-distance runners.

Road races
These races have in common that they take place outside the athletics stadium.
generally through roads or between the streets of cities and towns.

The marathon was not featured in the program of the Ancient Olympic Games, but its legend
it refers to the various stories of Greek mythology, such as the story of the soldier Pheidippides,
that ran the distance from the battlefield to the city of Athens, where he brought the
news of the victory. In 1895, the Frenchman Michel Bréal convinced his friend Pierre to
Coubertin to take advantage of the myth and adapt it to the modern Olympic Games. Thus, in
In the first Games of 1896, twenty-four competitors gathered in Marathon.

The Greek shepherd Spiridon Louis became the first winner of this new event. In
the London Games in 1908, the British royal family wanted the race to start in
Windsor Castle and ending in front of the royal box at the Olympic Stadium. The route
measured precisely 42.195 kilometers and subsequently became the distance of the
official marathon. This endurance race takes place on a rough road, especially on the
streets and on a flat route.

Some competitions take place over intermediate distances, such as 21.195

kilometers of the half marathon. The ultramarathon refers to long-distance running.
to say, all distances greater than 42.195 km of the marathon.

It applies to solo races and the following races or 'raids': 6 hours, 12 hours, 24
hours, 6 days, ultra-trail, stage raids, 100 kilometers and stage races.

Trickster field
Cross country is a long-distance race held on varied terrain. Although this
The event is not Olympic at present, but it was in three Olympic Games since Stockholm.
1912 to Paris 1924, and it was competed in two modalities: individual and team.
distance ranges from 3 to 15 km, depending on age groups and sex. The first race of this type is
celebrated in Ville d'Avray in 1898, between the teams of France and England. Other disciplines
as nature races take place in forests, mountains, deserts or in
any natural environment.

hurdles
Obstacle races, unlike most athletic disciplines, do not have
roots in ancient sports. In reality, they are a modern invention attributed
again to the British, who were inspired by the obstacle races of the
equestrianism. The history of the first official 110 meter hurdles events is in the
120 yard races (109.72 meters) with ten obstacles of 3 feet and 6 inches (1.06 m),
What is the height that is still used today. The 110 meter hurdles, like the 100 meters.
hurdles, its female equivalent, is a speed test that consists of ten hurdles that
You have to jump a distance of 9.14 m for men and 8.50 m for women.

The 400 meter hurdles, a relatively new discipline, was introduced in Oxford around 1860.
in the shape of about 440 yards. It then developed in France, while the
the British and the Americans scorned it for many years. The 400 meters
Hurdles is one of the most technical events in athletics, as it requires physical ability.
of a sprinter and the attention to the rhythm of the race, and in particular the number of steps.
carried out among the ten obstacles.

The 3,000 m steeplechase combines endurance with hurdle jumping. They were also
conceived in a bet among students, in reference to British equestrian sport
very popular in the late 19th century. Athletes have to cover a distance on the track
distance of 3000 m, and also overcome different barriers such as fences and the river.
Recently, the 3000 m steeplechase was opened to female participation and the
The event appeared for the first time in the Olympic program in 2008.

relays
Relay races have their origins in ancient societies, where speed and
the runners' resistance to transmit messages from one city to another was very
important.39 But in the United States, the discipline gained popularity in a
charity race organized by the firefighters of New York. 40 The 4x100 m and 4x400 m
There are four athletes per team.

The goal is to cover the distance as quickly as possible while ensuring the
transmission of a cylinder made of wood or metal called a witness. The specialists in these
races must combine the physical ability of the athlete with the sense of anticipation and the
Coordination for the delivery. The two relay races in their current form made their
first Olympic appearance in 1912. The Ekiden is a form of marathon for six, developed
in the 1980s, primarily in Japan.

march athletics
Race walking is an event of British origin that dates back to the 19th century. Between 1775 and
In 1800, six-day marches were held, generating great popular enthusiasm. The first
The walking championship took place in 1866 over 7 miles, and 1908 marks the beginning of this.
discipline in the program of the Olympic Games over 3500 m.41 Race walking is
a sports discipline in which one must always walk, never run; that is, to the
at least one foot must be constantly in contact with the ground (at first glance), while
that the supporting leg must be straight (not bent at the knee) from the moment when
the foot touches the ground until it passes the vertical line of the bust. The walking distances are
set today at about 20 km and 50 km.

Pole vaulting dates back to ancient Greek societies, but it developed

at the end of the 18th century in Germany during gymnastics competitions. By 1850, the
members of the Ulverston Cricket Club in the United Kingdom decided to establish the test
pole vault.

Pole vaulting involves clearing a crossbar with the aid of a pole.

without making her fall, after a sprint of about thirty meters.43 During the
centuries, the jumping technique and materials have improved a lot. Bamboo poles
used in the games of 1900 were replaced by fiberglass poles in 1956, and
later for the carbon fiber ones that are used today. The test
it was included in the first Olympic Games in 1896 and was not included in the calendar
for women until the Sydney Games in 2000.

The long jump has existed in all competitions since ancient times. We find the
traces of this event in the 9th century Celtic Tailtean Games. The Greeks already included it
in the program of the ancient Games. The discipline developed in the countries
Anglo-Saxons in the mid-19th century. The long jump consists of jumping from the most
next to a "starting board", after a sprint race.
The triple jump is a variant of the long jump. Also born on Irish soil, the
The triple jump originated in America. As its name indicates, the triple jump is to carry out a
series of three jumps after the push: first on one foot, then on the second
jump, always under the same conditions as the first, and is completed as in the long jump.

The high jump has Celtic and Germanic origins. Competitions have been known since before 1470.
of height and are transcribed in the annals of the city of Augsburg. It was incorporated into the
competition for the first time in 1840 and was regulated in 1865. The rule is, after
gain momentum, jump over a horizontal bar as high as possible and without knocking it down. The taking of
impulse is performed on one foot. The jumping technique has developed a lot during the
20th century. The scissors and the roller were widely used by athletes until the arrival in 1968.
of the Fosbury style, used by all jumpers today.

launches
The throw takes place in the area within an oval. The Discobolus of
Mirón symbolized by his famous sculpture of the discus thrower in the Pentathlon, reaches us
since early as a real history of ancient launches. The beginning
the same as throwing is inspired by the ancestral gesture of the hunter.

The shot put has its origins in Greek mythology, where Homer describes the
stone throwers. The first official event took place in the United States in 1876. The
the weight that is thrown is 16 pounds (7.257 kilograms), using the bullet as a reference
cannon, and the throwing technique evolved from the fixed position to throwing with
take off. The idea is to throw the ball as far as possible from a circle that has a
a line located in the launching area that cannot be crossed by the thrower.

The discus throw is the athletic event best described by the Greeks. The techniques
for the launch and the different albums are explained in the Iliad. The solo was an album with
a hole through which a rope passed, while the diskos was flat, made of stone
Bronze. The discipline developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century. In 1907,
the weight of the male disc was set at 2 kg and a diameter of 22 cm.

Traces of hammer throwing have been found in the ancient Celtic legends that
they date from 829 BC, and during the Middle Ages, where the true blacksmith's hammer
replaced the rustic arts of Antiquity. Just like other disciplines of
launch, the hammer has evolved over the centuries, both in form and in
the weight.49 Nowadays, for men, the steel ball weighs 7.257 kilograms (16 pounds) and
is connected to a steel cable with a handle. Authorized to compete only from
1995, women throw a 4 kg hammer.

The javelin, a hunting tool used by ancient civilizations, and also a

weapon used by many ancient armies, is at the origin of the discipline of
javelin throw. Hercules is considered to be one of the first throwers of
javelin. The event was included in the program of the Ancient Olympic Games. Around 1780,
The Scandinavians adopted and developed the discipline. The javelin even became
a symbol of national independence in Finland. The brands have been increasing.
consistently over the centuries, to the point that the javelin has been redesigned
several times in the 1980s to control security and reduce flight time. A
despite these measures, incidents continue to occur today. In 2007, the
athletes Roman Šebrle and Salim Sdiri were accidentally hit by a javelin
during meetings.
Combined tests
Combined tests require all the necessary qualities for practice.
athletics. Since Ancient Greece, multidisciplinary competitions have been held to
reward the most complete man.
The decathlon was born in the 19th century in several European countries before the Irish
they exported the idea to the United States. A championship was experimented with, in English "all
around championship", which consisted of ten successive athletics events. Avery
Brundage, future president of the International Olympic Committee, won the contest three times.
national of the United States. Held over two days, the decathlon consists of four
races (100 m, 400 m, 110 m hurdles and 1500 m), three jumps (long jump, high jump and pole vault), thus
like three throws (shot put, discus, and javelin). Each performance converts into points in
A scale and the sum of these points determine the classification.

The first combined women's events were held for the first time in 1928 under the
pentathlon format. Two additional events were added in the early 1980s,
giving rise to the heptathlon. The latter consists of three races (100 m hurdles, 200
my 800 m), two jumps (length and height) and two throws (javelin and shot put).