The history of track and field events began in 776 BC. The first foot race took place at the first Olympic festival in ancient Greece. Walking, running and throwing things are a natural process in a person from birth. This process gave birth to the track and field events. Many individuals started to compete with each other and the events became more popular as the days progressed. Events began to develop and several new track events were included in the process. Well, let’s take a look at the history of track and field events.
The old track event included the stadium race, which is called the sprint in the modern event. Runners run from one end of the track to the other. The distance covered was about 200 meters, which later led to a 200-meter sprint. The 400-meter race was inspired by two stadium races and the long-distance running was the result of 724 races. Ancient field events such as long jump, javelin, short throw, etc. had a similar appearance as they do in modern times. The history of track and field at the modern Olympic Games began in 1896.
Now, let’s look at the history of track and field events such as vaulting and pole vaulting. Jumping events came from the past and pole vaulting was developed in the Netherlands where people used poles to jump over natural barriers such as canals, streams and marshes. The jumping events such as long jump, high jump, triple jump and pole vault were all included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Entrants had to wait until 1928 and women’s high jump was first introduced in the 1928 Olympics and long jump soon followed in 1948. Women’s triple jump was introduced in 1996 and pole vault was introduced in the next Olympics in 2000.
In the past, the pentathlon had five main events, while the modern Olympic Games in 1912 included the decathlon, which is supposed to consist of 10 track and field events. Women’s pentathlon was included in 1964 and replaced again by the heptathlon (7 track and field). The marathon event has its own history at the Olympic Games. The Marathon is inspired by a legend that ran 26 miles from the plains of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC. The first official marathon in the history of track and field was introduced at the 1896 Olympics. The 5,000m and 10,000m were added in 1912 and the 3,000m hurdles were added in 1920. The 800m was the minimum distance for women in 1928 and the maximum 5,000m was added in the 1996 Olympics.
The history of track and field primarily revolves around the Olympic Games. Also, there are many international events like Common Wealth Games, Asian Games, etc. that include different track and field events. It is said that track and field events in the United States began in 1860. With the passage of time, many new events have been added and the establishment of the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1913 made history in track and field events. Soon, women were allowed to participate in track events. It was only after 1913 that track and field events were treated as a professional sport.