The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek 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 World Athletics Championships are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics.
The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes who won specific events at all of the series meetings were awarded a jackpot prize, sometimes given in gold bars, which inspired the series name. The competition began with seven meetings and it lasted for twelve years as the IAAF's top tier of one-day meetings. Within the IAAF's global circuit, athletes received additional points for their performances at the Golden League for the IAAF Grand Prix (1998–2002), IAAF World Outdoor Meetings (2003–2005), then IAAF World Athletics Tour (2006–2009). The Golden League was replaced in 2010 by the Diamond League, which marked an expansion to fourteen seasonal meetings covering all track and field events except the hammer throw.
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland, the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic events, some of which were included as exhibition events. Much of the event was played in extremely heavy rainfall.
60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes. The format of the event is similar to other sprint distances. The sprinters follow three initial instructions: 'ready', instructing them to take up position in the starting blocks; 'set', instructing them to adopt a more efficient starting posture, which also isometrically preloads their muscles. This will enable them to start faster. The final instruction is the firing of the starter's pistol. Upon hearing this the sprinters stride forwards from the blocks.
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federations entered a total of 1,978 athletes, the greatest number of competitors at any World Championships to date. Sarah Brightman, the world's best-selling soprano, performed her single Running at the opening ceremony.
Louis Jacobus van Zyl, better known as L. J. van Zyl, is a South African athlete competing in the 400 metre hurdles. He is the South African record holder in the event with a personal best of 47.66 seconds, which he achieved twice, three months apart. His time ranks him in the all-time top 25. He is a three-time African Champion in the event and competed for his country at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.
The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It was renamed the IAAF World Road Running Championships in 2006 and reduced in distance to a 20K run, but reverted to the half marathon distance the following year and to the original competition name the year after that. The competition was renamed to its current title in 2020 after the governing body rebranded itself moving away from the long-standing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) moniker.
The 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics were held in Marrakesh, Morocco on July 13–July 17. The host stadium was Stade Sidi Youssef Ben Ali.
The 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 12 October 2008.
The men's shot put event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 25, 2007 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan.
The men's hammer throw event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on 25 August 2007 (qualification) and 27 August 2007 (final) at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan.
The women's 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 25, 2007 (heats) and August 27, 2007 (final) at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. The first four of each heat (Q) plus the three fastest times (q) qualified for the final.
The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 28, 2007 (qualification) and August 30, 2007 (final) at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. The qualification standard was set at 71.00 metres.
The Men's Long Jump event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 29, 2007 (qualification) and August 30, 2007 (final) at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. There were a total number of 34 competing athletes from 25 countries.
The women's triple jump event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 29, 2007 (qualification) and August 31, 2007 (final) at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. The athletes originally in third and fourth place were retrospectively disqualified due to doping. Slovenia's Marija Šestak, originally fifth, was upgraded to the bronze medal as a result.
The Women's Javelin Throw event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 29, 2007 (qualification) and August 31, 2007 (final) at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. The qualification mark was set at 61.00 metres.
The women's marathon event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on 2 September 2007 in the streets of Osaka, Japan.
The women's high jump event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 31, 2007 (qualification) and 2 September 2007 (final) at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan.
The Men's Javelin Throw event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 31, 2007 and 2 September 2007 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. There were a total number of 36 competing athletes from 22 countries.
