Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. 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.
Konstantinos "Kostas" Kenteris, also spelled as Konstadinos "Costas" Kederis is a Greek former athlete. He won gold medals in the 200 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and the 2002 European Championships in Athletics, making him the only European sprinter to win the gold medal in all three major competitions and the only European World Champion in the 200 metres races. Additionally, he has won two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in the European Cup, as well as three gold medals in the 200 metres at the Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria. He is also a 14-time golden medalist at the Greek Athletics Championships and a five-time golden medalist at the Greek Indoor Athletics Championships. He withdrew from the 2004 Summer Olympics, held in his home country, after a doping violation.
Liu Xiang is a Chinese former 110 meter hurdler. Liu is an Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion. His 2004 Olympic gold medal was the first in a men's track and field event for China.
Ekaterini Thanou, also known as Katerina Thanou, is a Greek former sprinter. She won numerous medals in the 100 metres, including an Olympic silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, while she was the 2002 European champion in Munich, Germany. She had also been crowned world and European champion in the 60 metres at the indoor championships.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 21 to 25.
Global Athletics & Marketing is a sports management firm specializing in athletics. Founded in 1993 by Cornell/Boston College Law School graduate Mark Wetmore, Global Athletics has grown to be one of the premier athletics management agencies in the world.
Dayron Robles is a Cuban track and field athlete who specialises in the 110 metre hurdles.
This article contains an overview of the year 2009 in athletics.
In 2010 there was no obvious, primary athletics championship, as neither the Summer Olympics nor the World Championships in Athletics occurred in the year. The foremost championships to be held in 2010 included: the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2010 European Athletics Championships, 2010 African Championships in Athletics, and Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
At the 2005 National Games of China, the athletics events were held at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China from 17 to 22 October 2005. A total of 46 events were contested, 24 by male and 22 by female athletes. The National Games marathon race was held before the main competition, as it was incorporated into that year's Beijing Marathon on 16 October.
Athletics at the 2010 Asian Games was held in Guangzhou, China from 21 to 27 November 2010. A total of 47 events were contested – 24 by men and 23 by women – matching the Olympic athletics programme. The 42 track and field events on the programme were hosted at the Aoti Main Stadium while the marathons and racewalking competitions took place around the city's University Town. Sixteen Asian Games records were broken during the seven-day competition.
Sun Yawei is a female Chinese track and field athlete who competes in the 100 meter hurdles. She is a two-time gold medallist in the event at the Asian Athletics Championships and won the bronze at the Asian Games in 2010. In China, she is referred to as the "female Liu Xiang", in respect of her more successful hurdling compatriot. Her personal best time is 12.94 seconds, set in July 2011.
Su Xiongfeng is a Chinese track and field athlete who competes in the long jump. He became the Asian champion at the 2011 Asian Championships and was the silver medallist at the 2010 Asian Games. His personal best jump of 8.27 metres is the Asian indoor record.
In India, the sport of athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed at national level by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946. Despite its large population, few Indian athletes have won a medal in a global or major championship. This began to change in the 21st century, when Indians started taking greater interest in athletics more generally and improved facilities for the sport began to be built at a local level. At a continental level, it has been among the more successful Asian nations, though some distance behind China and Japan.
Minori Hayakari (早狩実紀) is a Japanese track and field athlete who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. Her personal best of 9:33.93 minutes is the Japanese record and she has won straight Japanese national titles since the first event in 2005, taking her sixth title in 2011. To become producers by born is women's track and field athletes team Running Abs Girls.
In 2013, the foremost competition in athletics was the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow. The International Association of Athletics Federations will hold two other global level competitions this year: the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2013 World Youth Championships in Athletics. The IAAF World Cross Country Championships will return after its move to a biennial format.
The men's 110 metre hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 24 to 27. Forty-seven athletes from 34 nations competed. The event was won by Liu Xiang of China, the nation's first medal in the event. Terrence Trammell and Anier García became the 11th and 12th men to win multiple medals in the 110 metres hurdles.
In 2016, the foremost athletics events will be staged at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The two other major global level competitions in 2016 are the World Indoor Championships and World Half Marathon Championships.
The China National Youth Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event for Chinese athletes under the age of twenty-one. It was first held in 1988 as the China City Games. The competition switched to be held the year before the Summer Olympics in the second edition in 1991. It has been held every four years since then and was given its current name from 2015 onwards, matching the nomenclature for the newly launched Youth Olympic Games.
