| Athletics at the VI All-Africa Games | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13–23 September 1995 |
| Host city | Harare, Zimbabwe  |
The sixth All-Africa Games were held in September 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe. As the track is at an altitude of 1473 metres all performances are considered to be set at altitude, this is believed to assist events up to 400 metres and in the long jump and triple jump. However, for events beyond 800 metres the thinner air is believed to have a detrimental effect on performances.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nigeria (NGR) | 15 | 9 | 8 | 32 |
| 2 |  Kenya (KEN) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| 3 |  South Africa (SAF) | 8 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
| 4 |  Algeria (ALG) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 |  Senegal (SEN) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 |  Ethiopia (ETH) | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| 7 |  Ghana (GHA) | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 8 |  Egypt (EGY) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
 Tunisia (TUN) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| 10 | Zimbabwe (ZIM) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 11 |  Mozambique (MOZ) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 Sierra Leone (SLE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 13 |  Burundi (BDI) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 |  Mauritius (MRI) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 |  Burkina Faso (BUR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 |  Ivory Coast (CIV) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Namibia (NAM) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Tanzania (TAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Uganda (UGA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (19 entries) | 43 | 42 | 43 | 128 | |
BASE jumping is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend to the ground. BASE is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antennas, spans (bridges) and earth (cliffs). Participants jump from a fixed object such as a cliff and after an optional freefall delay deploy a parachute to slow their descent and land. A popular form of BASE jumping is wingsuit BASE jumping.
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 takeoff 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 decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 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.
Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context. Although the term altitude is commonly used to mean the height above sea level of a location, in geography the term elevation is often preferred for this usage.
Frederick Carlton Lewis is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. Lewis was a dominant sprinter and long jumper whose career spanned from 1979 to 1996, when he last won the Olympic long jump. He is one of six athletes to win gold in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Games, and is one of two people to win gold in the same individual athletics event in four Olympic Games, along with USA discus thrower Al Oerter. He is the head track and field coach for the University of Houston.
The first record in the 100 metres for men (athletics) was recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as World Athletics, in 1912.
Track and field 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 heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά and ἄθλος. A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.
Altitude training is the practice by some endurance athletes of training for several weeks at high altitude, preferably over 2,400 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level, though more commonly at intermediate altitudes due to the shortage of suitable high-altitude locations. At intermediate altitudes, the air still contains approximately 20.9% oxygen, but the barometric pressure and thus the partial pressure of oxygen is reduced.
Sestriere is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a comune (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, 17 km (11 mi) from the French border. Its name derives from Latin: ad petram sistrariam, that is at sixty Roman miles from Turin.
Heike Gabriela Drechsler is a German former track and field athlete who represented East Germany and later Germany. One of the most successful long jumpers of all-time, she is a former world record holder and ranks third on the all-time list with her legal best of 7.48 metres in 1988. Her marginally wind-assisted jump of 7.63 metres (+2.1) in 1992 at altitude in Sestriere, is still the furthest a woman has ever long jumped. She is the only woman who has won two Olympic gold medals in the long jump, winning in 1992 and 2000.
The effects of high altitude on humans are mostly the consequences of reduced partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere. The medical problems that are direct consequence of high altitude are caused by the low inspired partial pressure of oxygen, which is caused by the reduced atmospheric pressure, and the constant gas fraction of oxygen in atmospheric air over the range in which humans can survive. The other major effect of altitude is due to lower ambient temperature.
The seventh All-Africa Games were held in September 1999 in Johannesburg, South Africa. As the track is at an altitude of 1748 metres all performances are considered to be set at altitude, this is believed to assist events up to 400 metres and in the long jump and triple jump. However, for events beyond 800 metres the thinner air is believed to have a detrimental effect on performances.
In track and field, wind assistance is the benefit that an athlete receives during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather that can affect sport.
The athletics events at the 2010 South American Games were held from March 20–23 at the Alfonso Galvis Duque Stadium in Medellín, Colombia. The competition also acted at the 4th South American Under-23 Championships. A total of 42 events were contested, 21 by male athletes and 21 by female athletes. The stadium was 1541 metres above sea level, thus some athletes' performances benefited from altitude assistance.
The 1988 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics was the third edition of the international athletics competition between Ibero-American nations which was held in Mexico City, Mexico from 22–24 July. A total of forty events were contested, of which 22 by male and 18 by female athletes. A total of 371 athletes and 20 nations took part in the three-day competition.
At the 1997 West Asian Games. the athletics events were held in Tehran, Iran in November 1997. It had a men's only programme containing twenty-two track and field events. All performances were affected by the altitude of the host city.
The athletics competition at the 2002 African Military Games was held from 24–26 April 2002 at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
The men's long jump world record progression lists records ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) starting in 1912. The inaugural record was the 7.61 m performance by Peter O'Connor in 1901.
