All About Olympic Athletics - Track and Field

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Athletics is divided into four categories: track, field, road and combined events.

Track events consist of sprints, middle and long distance races, relays, steeplechase and hurdles. Field events include long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw. Road events are marathons and race walks, while heptathlon and decathlon combine elements of track and field.

Athletics accounts for some of the most high-profile events at the Games, including the 100-metre sprint, the glamour event of the Games.

The men's champion will approach speeds of 43 kilometres per hour at some point during the race before finishing in a time under ten seconds. The men's world record is held by Asafa Powell, with a time of 9.74 seconds. The women's world record has been held since 1988 by Florence Griffith-Joyner at 10.49 seconds.

The 200-metre race is also one of the most exciting events on the Olympic program for it pits classic sprinters against the long limbed specialists who can run tight turns with speed.

In Beijing, athletics events will take place at the National Stadium, which seats 91,000 people.


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Track 

The 100m victor earns the title of fastest human on the planet

The 200m event pits basic speedsters against more technical runners

The 800m event takes a combination of speed, endurance and tactical ability

The 10,000m is the longest track event at the Games

Hurdles,competitors face ten barriers before crossing the finish line

Steeplechase, Race covers 3,000 metres with four hurdles and a water jump

Phenomenal book on running, best I've come across 

Lore of Running

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I really can't stress enough how much solid, quality stuff is in this book. He's not simply taking what "everyone knows" about running and making a thousand pages out of it; he does go into meaningful detail.

Field 

Triple jump is a physically demanding event, arguably more than long jump

Pole vault, Event is the most acrobatic of track and field events

Shot putters a misunderstood bunch

Discus leader can change each round of competition

Javelin, last non-European to win gold was over 50 years ago

Hammer throw: It is an event that is one of the most entertaining to watch and one that is often overlooked by viewers.

 

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The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer

The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer

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USA Track & Field Coaching Manual

USA Track & Field Coaching Manual

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Sandvik Men's

Sandvik Men's "Air Glider 800" Javelin - 95M (up to 325')

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Road 

Marathon:
The world's best marathoners carefully choose their races and compete in two, possibly three, marathon events in a calendar year - usually one in the spring and one in the fall. This is because post-race recovery can be lengthy. Even the world's best runners struggle up and down stairs the following day.

Walking:
The late Sunday Times athletics correspondent, Cliff Temple, once said of race walking, "It's like a contest to see who can whisper the loudest." The discipline has, indeed, suffered its share of contempt but make no mistake: these are well trained endurance athletes.

 

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Combined 

Triathlon:
A triathlete has to be a strong swimmer, cyclist and runner, though not every Olympic triathlete can compete at a world-class level in all three disciplines.

Decathlon:
If the Olympic 100m champion is the world's fastest man then the winner of the decathlon is the "world's greatest athlete." Ten events contested over two days, it's as much a mental challenge to stay focused as it is an athletic test.

The heptathlon is a seven-event competition for the world's greatest all-round athletes.

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