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.
World Athletics, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering track and field, cross country running, road running, racewalking, mountain running, and ultra running. Included in its charge are the standardization of rules and regulations for the sports, recognition and management of world records, and the organisation and sanctioning of athletics competitions, including the World Athletics Championships. The organisation's president is Sebastian Coe of the United Kingdom, who was elected in 2015 and re-elected unopposed in 2019 for a further four years.
Chaunté Lowe is an American athlete who competes in the high jump. A four-time Olympian, she is the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2005 World Championship silver medalist and the 2012 World Indoor gold medalist. She initially finished sixth in the 2008 Olympic high jump final, but was promoted to the bronze medal in 2016 after three competitors were disqualified. She is the American record holder in the women's high jump with an outdoor clearance of 2.05 m in 2010, and holds the indoor record with a clearance of 2.02 m in 2012.
Dani Stevens is an Australian discus thrower who in 2009 became the youngest ever female world champion in the event. She is the current national and Oceanian record holder.
A total of 433 competitors competed for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The team was Australia's second largest away team after the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which included a team of 482 competitors. Australian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era.
Genzebe Dibaba Keneni ; is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 1500 m at the Beijing World Championships and a silver medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Olympics. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the 1500 m, the indoor 3000 m, the indoor 5000 m, and the indoor mile. Her 2000 m indoor women's world's best time is the absolute world record, as it is faster than the previous women's outdoor mark. Genzebe holds the distinction of possessing the most world records by one individual in track history, with her current haul of seven, plus one world best.
Jennifer Simpson is an American middle distance runner and steeplechaser. She represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics. She is a former American record holder for the 3000 meters steeplechase. In the 1500 meters, she won a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Ben Offereins is an Australian track & field athlete. He became national 400 m champion and also represented Australia internationally.
Lisa Jane Weightman is an Australian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon event. She represented Australia in the marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. She won her first marathon race in 2010, setting a personal best time of 2:28:48 at the Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon.
Jeremy Roff is an Australian middle-distance runner who specialises in the 1500 metres.
The Melbourne Track Classic was an annual outdoor track and field meeting which took place in early March in Melbourne, Australia. Last held at the Lakeside Stadium in 2016, prior to 2012 the meeting was held at the Olympic Park Stadium.
Brianne Theisen-Eaton is a Canadian retired track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon and women's pentathlon. She won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Theisen-Eaton holds the Canadian record for the heptathlon with 6,808 points, as well as the indoor pentathlon with a score of 4768 points. Theisen-Eaton is a heptathlon silver medallist from the 2013 World Championships and 2015 World Championships, as well as a pentathlon silver medalist from the 2014 World Indoor Championships. She is the first and only Canadian woman to podium in the multi-events at the World Championships. Theisen-Eaton won Commonwealth Games gold in the heptathlon at Glasgow 2014 and was the 2016 World Indoor Champion in the pentathlon. She also won a bronze medal as part of the women's 4 x 400 m relay at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
The Sydney Track Classic is an annual outdoor track and field meeting held in February or March at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre in the suburb of Homebush in Sydney, Australia. It is part of the national Australian Athletics Tour, alongside the Melbourne Track Classic.
The Pan American Combined Events Cup is a track and field competition in men's decathlon and women's heptathlon. Organized by the Association of Panamerican Athletics (APA), newly constituted in 2011, it is an annual contest for combined events athletes representing countries in the region. It is typically held in late May or June.
Kibwé Johnson is an American Olympic track and field athlete who specializes in the hammer throw. He has represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics three times. Competed in the 2012 London Olympics where he made the final and finished 9th. No American had made the final since 1996. Johnson competed in 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Dane Alex Bird-Smith is an Australian racewalking athlete. He competes in the 20 kilometres race walk and has a best of 1:19:28 hours for the distance, set in 2017. He competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he was the bronze medallist. Bird-Smith represented Australia at the World Championships in Athletics three times and has appeared four times at the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships/Cup.
