The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a group are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". This event has a history in the Ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympic event for men since the first Olympics in 1896 and for women since 1948.
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy spherical object—the shot—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's competition began in 1948.
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin, from δέκα and ἄθλος. Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved. The decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes typically compete in the heptathlon.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded on 17 July 1912 as the International Amateur Athletic Federation by representatives from 17 national athletics federations at the organization's first congress in Stockholm, Sweden. Since October 1993, it has been headquartered in Monaco.
Track and field is a sport which includes athletic contests established on the skills of running, jumping, and throwing. The name is derived from the sport's typical venue: a stadium with an oval running track enclosing a grass field where the throwing and some of the jumping events take place. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running, and race walking.
The 800 metres, or 800 meters, is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of the track and has been an Olympic event since the first games in 1896. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200-metre track, therefore requiring four laps.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons, the race walks, and the shot put. A total of 46 events were contested, of which 24 by male and 22 by female athletes.
The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
The IAAF World U20 Championships is a biennial world championships for the sport of athletics organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations, contested by athletes in the under-20 athletics age category (19 years old or younger on 31 December in the year of the competition.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current president is Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah. The oldest NOCs are from Japan and the Philippines, recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1911; whereas East Timor is the newest, joining in 2003. The headquarters of the OCA is located at Kuwait City.
The term walk-on is used in sports, particularly American college athletics, to describe an athlete who becomes part of a team without being recruited beforehand or awarded an athletic scholarship. This results in the differentiation between "walk-on" players and "scholarship" players.
The 2008 Summer Olympics medal table is a list of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) ranked by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, from 8 August to 24 August 2008. Approximately 11,028 athletes from 204 NOCs participated in 302 events in 28 sports.
The 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held in Saransk, Russia, on 12–13 May 2012. The track of the Cup runs in the central streets of the city. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results was given for the IAAF.
The fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships was held 22–30 August 2015 in Beijing, China. 43 nations won medals, 144 of which were awarded. Kenya topped the medal table for the first time, with 7 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals. The United States won 18 medals, six gold, six silver and six bronze, which was the highest tally. Host nation China, finished 11th on the medals table, while Russia finished ninth.
Cuba competed at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico from October 14 to 30, 2011. Jorge Marrero Gonzalez will be the Chef de mission.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico from October 14 to 30, 2011. Puerto Rico sent 250 athletes in 30 sports. It was the most successful Panamerican games for Puerto Rico, going from a maximum of three gold medals to winning six in these games.
The United States of America, represented by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. U.S. athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow which they boycotted. The USOC sent a total of 530 athletes to the Games, 262 men and 268 women, to compete in 25 sports. For the first time in its Olympic history, the United States was represented by more female than male athletes.
The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in the United Kingdom.
The 2000 South American Cross Country Championships took place on February 5–6, 2000. The races were held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, jointly with the Central American and Caribbean Cross Country Championships.
The 17th IAAF World Indoor Championships was held from 1 to 4 March 2018 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. This was the city's second hosting of the event as it previously did so in 2003.
