An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, various forms of dirt, rocks, sand, and crushed cinders were used. Many examples of these varieties of track still exist worldwide.
Starting in 1954, artificial surfaces using a combination of rubber and asphalt began to appear. An artificial warm-up track was constructed for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. [1] During the 1960s many of these tracks were constructed; examples still exist today. [2]
In the mid-1960s Tartan tracks were developed, surfaced with a product by 3M. The name Tartan is a trademark, but it is sometimes used as a genericized trademark.[ citation needed ] This process was the first to commercialize a polyurethane surface for running tracks, though it was originally conceived for horse racing. [3] Many Tartan tracks were installed worldwide, including at many of the top universities in the United States. [1] Among that list was a Tartan track installed in the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, home of the 1968 Summer Olympics at Mexico City, which were the first global championships to use such a track. Olympic shot put champion Bill Nieder was instrumental in developing the product and selling it for this first use in the Olympics. [4] An all-weather surface has become standard ever since.
Another Tartan track was installed on a temporary basis for the 1968 United States Olympic Trials held at altitude at Echo Summit, California, before being moved to South Tahoe Middle School, where it survived for almost 40 years.
There are other techniques that distribute small chunks of rubber then adhere them in place with various polyurethane or latex substances.
World Athletics, the governing body for international track and field competitions, publishes very specific regulations for the conduct of Global Championship or International level track meets under their jurisdiction. [5]
Since the early 1980s, the manufacturer of the surfaces selected for most championship meets has been the Italian company, Mondo, again the trademarked brand name becoming used as a genericized trademark. Mondo's track surface is called Mondotrack. The surface differs from the particles stuck in adhesion techniques, in that they are more of a rubber carpet, cut to size then tightly seamed together (in the linear direction along the lane lines). This form of construction gives a more consistent bounce (or energy return) and traction. [6] Because of the tight fit specifications required for manufacture, construction surrounding these sites also has to be of a higher standard, making a Mondotrack one of the most expensive systems to use. Examples of Mondotracks were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics (since removed from the Centennial Olympic Stadium) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States; 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece; 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China; 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [7] [8]
Another player in the marketplace is the formerly BASF-owned company Conica, based in Switzerland, now part of the Serafin Group (Munich, Germany), [9] which can boast the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany (where Usain Bolt improved his 100 metres and 200 metres world records), along with other record hosting venues like Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. [10]
The proper length of the first lane of a competitive running track is 400 m (1,312.3 ft).
Some tracks are not built to this specification, instead being a legacy to imperial distances such as 440 yd (402.336 m), equivalent to a quarter of a mile.
Prior to rule changes in 1979, distances in Imperial units were still used in the United States. Some facilities build tracks to fit the available space, with one of the most notable examples of this being Franklin Field, where the 400 metre distance is achieved in lane 4.
Olympic tracks in the early 20th century were of other lengths: each lane of the track could (by IAAF rules should) be as wide as 122 cm (4.00 ft), [11] though the majority of American tracks are built to NFHS high school specifications that allow smaller lanes. [12] The IAAF also specifies a preferred radius for the turns at 37 metres, but also allows a range. Major international level meets are conducted and world records can be set on tracks that are not exactly 37 meters, provided they fall within the legal range.
| Lane | Total length | Radius | Semi-circle length | Delta | Angle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 400.00 m | 36.80 m | 115.61 m | 0.00 m | 0.00° |
| 2 | 407.67 m | 38.02 m | 119.44 m | 3.83 m | 5.78° |
| 3 | 415.33 m | 39.24 m | 123.28 m | 7.67 m | 11.19° |
| 4 | 423.00 m | 40.46 m | 127.11 m | 11.50 m | 16.28° |
| 5 | 430.66 m | 41.68 m | 130.94 m | 15.33 m | 21.08° |
| 6 | 438.33 m | 42.90 m | 134.77 m | 19.16 m | 25.60° |
| 7 | 446.00 m | 44.12 m | 138.61 m | 23.00 m | 29.86° |
| 8 | 453.66 m | 45.34 m | 142.44 m | 26.83 m | 33.90° |
| 9 | 461.33 m | 46.56 m | 146.27 m | 30.66 m | 37.73° |
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.
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.
Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an opponent. Human physiology dictates that a runner's near-top speed cannot be maintained for more than 30–35 seconds due to the depletion of phosphocreatine stores in muscles, and perhaps secondarily to excessive metabolic acidosis as a result of anaerobic glycolysis.
Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle, landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, the dominant step patterns are the 3-step for high hurdles, 7-step for low hurdles, and 15-step for intermediate hurdles. Hurdling is a highly specialized form of obstacle racing, and is part of the sport of athletics. In hurdling events, barriers known as hurdles are set at precisely measured heights and distances. Each athlete must pass over the hurdles; passing under or intentionally knocking over hurdles will result in disqualification.
A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating. In the Olympic Games, there are several types of relay races that are part of track and field, each consisting of a set number of stages (legs), each leg run by different members of a team. The runner finishing one leg is usually required to pass the next runner a stick-like object known as a "baton" while both are running in a marked exchange zone. In most relays, team members cover equal distances: Olympic events for both men and women are the 400-metre and 1,600-metre relays. Some non-Olympic relays are held at distances of 800 m, 3,200 m, and 6,000 m. In the less frequently run medley relays, however, the athletes cover different distances in a prescribed order—as in a sprint medley of 200, 200, 400, 800 metres or a distance medley of 1,200, 400, 800, 1,600 metres.
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.
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically 3–12 kilometres (1.9–7.5 mi) long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road and minor obstacles. It is both an individual and a team sport; runners are judged on individual times and teams by a points-scoring method. Both men and women of all ages compete in cross country, which usually takes place during autumn and winter, and can include weather conditions of rain, sleet, snow or hail, and a wide range of temperatures.
Track spikes, or just spikes, are a type of footwear featuring protruding spikes on the soles used by athletes when racing on the track. Some spikes are designed for longer-term training on tracks, but generally the shoes are used for racing. The term "spikes" can also refer to track shoes featuring such protrusions, though these are technically called pins. Spikes are similar to studs, which are used for team sports, although generally smaller and with a sharp point.
Tartan Track is a trademarked all-weather synthetic track surfacing made of polyurethane used for track and field competitions, manufactured by 3M. The original production was in 1967, and the product was later reformulated to eliminate the use of mercury. Relative to some other surfaces, it lets athletes compete in bad weather without serious performance loss and improves their results over other surfaces. It also provides a more consistent surface for competition even under optimum weather. Similar tracks have become the standard for most elite competitions.
Denean Elizabeth Howard-Hill is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
Hodges Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the University of North Florida (UNF), and the home field for the North Florida Ospreys soccer, track and field, and cross country teams. It is located on the university's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It is named for George and Kernan Hodges, who donated $2 million to upgrade the facility in 2006.
Cleats or studs are protrusions on the sole of a shoe or on an external attachment to a shoe that provide additional traction on a soft or slippery surface. They can be conical or blade-like in shape and can be made of plastic, rubber or metal. The type worn depends on the environment of play: grass, ice, artificial turf, or other grounds.
Donald Paul Bowden is an American middle-distance runner. He competed in the 1500 m at the 1956 Summer Olympics, and in 1957 became the first American to run a mile within four minutes.
The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland.
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the Games. They were due to be held from 31 July – 9 August 2020, at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021, with the track and field events set for 30 July – 8 August. The sport of athletics at these Games was split into three distinct sets of events: track and field events, remaining in Tokyo, and road running events and racewalking events, moved to Sapporo. A total of 48 events were held, one more than in 2016, with the addition of a mixed relay event.
The sports under the umbrella of athletics, particularly track and field, use a variety of statistics. In order to report that information efficiently, numerous abbreviations have grown to be common in the sport. Starting in 1948 by Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, Track & Field News became the leader in creating and defining abbreviations in this field. These abbreviations have also been adopted by, among others: World Athletics, the world governing body; various domestic governing bodies; the Association of Track and Field Statisticians; the Association of Road Racing Statisticians; the Associated Press; and individual media outlets who receive their reports. These abbreviations also appear in Wikipedia.
Mondo S.p.A. is an Italian company best known for manufacturing and installing track and field and other athletic surfaces. The company was founded in 1948 in Alba, Piedmont by Edmondo Giovanni Stroppiana, who used part of his name to name the organization. Mondo has supplied track and field surfaces for the last ten Olympic Games. The company also produces commercial rubber flooring for schools, hospitals, office buildings, and more.
Mondotrack is a trademarked synthetic track surface used for Track and field athletics. Mondotrack is developed by Mondo, a world leader in Track and field surfacing. Research was done to achieve the best possible surface for track events that will enhance performance and decrease the chance of injury. All Mondotracks come with a woven top layer and a hexagonal base layer. Unlike other tracks, Mondotracks can be different colors. Mondotracks are very prominent around the world.
Maiden Castle sports centre, also known as the Graham Sports Centre and the Durham University Sport and Wellbeing Park, is the main sports complex at Durham University and the home for many of the university's teams. It also stages professional football as the home of Durham W.F.C. since 2020 and is used as an international venue, including hosting one of the four 2023 Women's EuroHockey Championship Qualifiers tournaments in summer 2022 and the 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. It has been used as a training ground by Hartlepool United since 2021, having previously been used by Newcastle United.
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