History and type of Track & Field

Athletics was the original event at the first Olympics in 776 BC where the only event held was the stadium-length foot race or "stade".

Now Athletics and Swimming is a major of sports must be include in every games e.g. Olympic Games

Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400 m running track on which most of the running events take place. Field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often take place inside the track.

Type of Track & Field

In present we can see the athletics 2 part

1. Indoor track and field There are two seasons for track and field. There is an indoor season, run during the winter and an outdoor season, run during the spring and summer. Most indoor tracks are 200 meters and consist of four to six lanes. There are also some 150 meter indoor tracks, and others as small as 120 meters have been used. Often an indoor track will have banked turns to compensate for the tight bends.

In field events, indoor meets only feature the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and shot put. Due to space limitations, these events take place on the infield, within the circumferential track. The longer throws of javelin, hammer and discus are added only for outdoor meets, as there is normally not enough space in an indoor stadium to house these events.

2. Outdoor track and field The outdoor track and field season usually begins in the spring and lasts through the summer. Most tracks are ovals of 400 meters in circumference. Modern "tartan tracks" or more recently "mondo tracks" are made with a rubberized surface; older tracks were cinder-covered. Tracks normally consist of 6-10 lanes (up to 12 lanes on the 'front' straight) and many include a steeplechase lane with a water pit on one of the turns. This steeplechase pit can be placed either inside or outside the track, making for a tighter turn or a wider turn. It is common that tracks will surround a playing field used for American football, football, or lacrosse. This inner field is usually known as the infield and has a surface of either grass or artificial turf.
All field events can be contested on the infield. However the javelin, hammer and discus throws are sometimes contested on fields outside of the track stadium[citation needed] because they take up a large amount of space, the implements may damage the infield, and the implements could end up landing on the track. However, some infields are used specifically for these events, and for the javelin, an athlete may have a longer run-up by starting it on the other side of the track, and crossing when there are no athletes passing.