Athletics are a variety of competitions in running, walking, jumping, and throwing events. Learn about the history, organization, rules, and techniques of the sport, as well as some of the most prominent athletes and events.

Learn about the different types of athletics events at the Olympics, from sprints and hurdles to marathons and jumps. Find out the rules, distances, techniques and history of each discipline.

Due to its many categories and disciplines, athletics involves the most participants in a single sport at the Olympic Games. The track programme includes sprints, middle-distance and long-distance events as well as hurdles, steeplechase races, and relays for men and women.

World Athletics wins Organisation of the Year at BBC Green Sport Awards. Read more.

athletics, or track and field also track-and-field games, Variety of sport competitions held on a running track and on the adjacent field. It is the oldest form of organized sports, having been a part of the ancient Olympic Games from c. 776 bc to ad 393.

Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and racewalking. In British English the term athletics is synonymous with American track and field and includes all jumping events.

©2024 World Athletics. All Rights Reserved.

World Athletics, formerly known as IAAF, is the organisation that regulates and promotes the sport of athletics worldwide. It oversees world records, competitions, rules, facilities, and has a president, council, committees, and an athletes' commission.

Learn about the history, rules, and organization of athletics, also known as track and field, a sport that involves running, jumping, and throwing. Find out how World Athletics promotes and regulates international competitions, such as the Olympic Games and the World Championships.