At the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympiad, twelve athletics events were contested. A total of 25 medals were awarded. The medals were later denoted as 37 modern medals. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896. Altogether, 63 athletes, all men, from nine nations competed. This made athletics the most international of the nine sports at the 1896 Games.
Athletics is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America 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. Outside of Canada and the United States, Athletics is the official term for this sport with 'track' and 'field' events being subgroups of athletics events.
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente (five) and -athlon (competition). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the long jump, javelin throwing, and discus throwing, followed by the stadion and wrestling. Pentathletes were considered to be among the most skilled athletes, and their training was often part of military service—each of the five events in the pentathlon was thought to be useful in war or battle.
Finland competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, United States. 86 competitors, 73 men and 13 women, took part in 76 events in 15 sports.
Switzerland competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. 99 competitors, 72 men and 27 women, took part in 83 events in 17 sports.
The People's Republic of China competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. 244 competitors, 117 men and 127 women, took part in 144 events in 23 sports.
Czechoslovakia competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, after having boycotted the previous Games in 1984. 163 competitors, 110 men and 53 women, took part in 97 events in 17 sports.
Bulgaria competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 158 competitors, 105 men and 53 women, took part in 108 events in 14 sports.
At the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens, 21 competitive events in athletics were held. A total of 65 medals were awarded. Now called the Intercalated Games, the 1906 Games are no longer considered as an official Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Canada competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 37 competitors, all men, took part in 30 events in 7 sports.
Eero Reino Lehtonen was a Finnish athlete. He competed at the 1920 Olympics in the pentathlon, long jump and decathlon and at the 1924 Olympics in the pentathlon and 4 × 400 m relay. He won the pentathlon at both Games, but performed poorly in other events. He retired after learning that pentathlon was excluded from the 1928 Olympics.
Eric Otto Valdemar Lemming was a Swedish track and field athlete who competed at the 1900, 1906, 1908 and 1912 Olympics in a wide variety of events, which mostly involved throwing and jumping. He had his best results in the javelin throw, which he won at the 1906–1912 Games, and in which he set multiple world records between 1899 and 1912. His last record, measured at 62.32 m, was ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations as the first official world record.
Norway competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 190 competitors, 188 men and 2 women, took part in 58 events in 14 sports.
Finland competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium for the first time as a fully independent state. It did compete at the previous Olympics, however, only as the Russian-dependent Grand Duchy of Finland. 63 competitors, 62 men and 1 woman, took part in 51 events in 9 sports.
Finland competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. 121 competitors, all men, took part in 69 events in 12 sports.
The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, commonly known by the acronym UIPM, has been the international governing body of modern pentathlon since its foundation in London in 1948. Its headquarters are in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, and it has 115 national federation members in 2018 and 133 members in 2024. Modern pentathlon was introduced at the fifth Olympiad in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1912, comprising the contemporary sports of pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running, which embraced the spirit of its ancient counterpart.
The Ancient Olympic pentathlon was an athletic contest at the Ancient Olympic Games, and other Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. The name derives from Greek, combining the words pente (five) and athlon (competition). Five events were contested over one day, starting with the stadion, followed by the javelin throw, discus throw and long jump, and ending with wrestling. While pentathletes were considered to be inferior to the specialized athletes in a certain event, they were superior in overall development and were some of the most well balanced of all the athletes. Their training was often part of military service—each of the five events was thought to be useful in battle.
The Men's decathlon competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 8–9 August.
Combined events at the Summer Olympics have been contested in several formats at the multi-sport event. There are two combined track and field events in the current Olympic athletics programme: a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon.
The men's decathlon at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 11–12 August.
