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Athletics at the Summer Olympics facts for kids

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Athletics at the Summer Olympics
Athletics pictogram.svg
Governing body IAAF
Events 48 (men: 24; women: 23; mixed: 1)
Games
  • 1896
  • 1900
  • 1904
  • 1908
  • 1912
  • 1920
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
  • 2020
  • Medalists

Athletics is a group of sports that includes running, jumping, and throwing. It has been a part of every Summer Olympics since the modern Games began in 1896. The idea for Olympic athletics comes from the ancient Greek Olympics. Today, the Olympic athletics program features different types of events:

  • Track and field events (like sprints, hurdles, long jump, shot put)
  • Road running events (like marathons)
  • Race walking events

Cross country running used to be an Olympic sport but was removed after the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Athletics at the Olympic Games: A Quick Look

Athletics has been a core part of the Olympics for a long time. Over the years, the number of events has grown, and more countries have joined in. The United States has often been the top nation in athletics, winning the most events in many Games.

For example, in the first modern Olympics in 1896, there were 12 athletics events. By the 2020 Games, this number had grown to 48 events!

Olympic Athletics Events: What's Included?

The types of athletics events in the Olympics have changed a lot over time. For instance, from 1900 to 1920, even tug of war was considered an athletics event! Today, tug of war is a separate sport.

Men's Athletics Events

The men's athletics program has seen many changes. Currently, there are 23 different events for men. Some events that were once part of the Games are no longer included. These "past events" often had slightly different distances or rules.

For example, early Olympics had:

  • Shorter sprint races like the 60 metres.
  • Different steeplechase distances (like 2500m or 4000m).
  • Team races where runners worked together for a combined score.
  • "Standing jump" events, where athletes jumped without a running start.
  • Unusual throwing events, like the 56-pound weight throw.

The Decathlon is a multi-event competition for men, where athletes compete in 10 different track and field events over two days.

Current Men's Events:

  • Running Races: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, Marathon
  • Hurdle Races: 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles
  • Steeplechase: 3000m steeplechase (a race with barriers and water jumps)
  • Relay Races: 4 × 100m relay, 4 × 400m relay
  • Race Walking: 20 kilometres race walk
  • Jumping Events: High jump, Pole vault, Long jump, Triple jump
  • Throwing Events: Shot put, Discus throw, Hammer throw, Javelin throw
  • Combined Events: Decathlon

Women's Athletics Events

Women's athletics first joined the Olympics in the 1928 Games. Since then, more and more events have been added for women.

For example, the 3000 metres steeplechase for women was only added in the 2008 Games. Women compete in the Heptathlon, which is a seven-event competition, instead of the decathlon. They also run the 100 metres hurdles instead of the 110 metres hurdles.

Current Women's Events:

  • Running Races: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, Marathon
  • Hurdle Races: 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles
  • Steeplechase: 3000m steeplechase
  • Relay Races: 4 × 100m relay, 4 × 400m relay
  • Race Walking: 20 kilometres race walk
  • Jumping Events: High jump, Pole vault, Long jump, Triple jump
  • Throwing Events: Shot put, Discus throw, Hammer throw, Javelin throw
  • Combined Events: Heptathlon

Mixed Athletics Events

Mixed events are newer to the Olympic athletics program. These events feature teams with both male and female athletes.

The first mixed athletics event was the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In this race, teams of two men and two women can run in any order they choose. The Paris 2024 Games will also include a new mixed team event: the Marathon Race Walking Mixed Relay.

Countries in Olympic Athletics

Almost every country that takes part in the Olympics has sent athletes to compete in athletics. Only one country, Bhutan, has not. The number of athletes from each country can vary greatly from one Olympic Games to another.

Olympic Athletics Medal Winners

The United States has won the most medals in Olympic athletics history. Other countries like the former Soviet Union (URS), Great Britain (GBR), and Finland (FIN) have also won many medals.

This table shows the top countries that have won medals in athletics at the Summer Olympics, including any changes made to medal counts over time:

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 344 269 214 827
2  Soviet Union (URS) 64 55 74 193
3  Great Britain (GBR) 55 83 72 210
4  Finland (FIN) 48 36 30 114
5  East Germany (GDR) 38 36 35 109
6  Kenya (KEN) 34 41 31 106
7  Poland (POL) 29 20 17 66
8  Jamaica (JAM) 26 36 25 87
9  Italy (ITA) 24 15 26 65
10  Ethiopia (ETH) 23 12 23 58
11  Australia (AUS) 21 27 28 76
12  Sweden (SWE) 20 23 41 84
13  Germany (GER) 19 28 36 83
14  Russia (RUS) 18 21 19 58
15  Canada (CAN) 16 18 32 66
16  France (FRA) 13 27 30 70
17  West Germany (FRG) 12 14 17 43
18  Cuba (CUB) 11 14 20 45
19  Romania (ROU) 11 14 10 35
20  China (CHN) 11 12 16 39
21  Czechoslovakia (TCH) 11 8 5 24
22  Hungary (HUN) 10 12 18 40
23  New Zealand (NZL) 10 3 13 26
24  South Africa (RSA) 9 13 6 28
25  Greece (GRE) 8 12 10 30
26  Netherlands (NED) 8 7 9 24
27  Norway (NOR) 8 7 8 23
28  Unified Team (EUN) 7 11 3 21
29  Japan (JPN) 7 10 10 27
30  Morocco (MAR) 7 5 8 20
31  Bahamas (BAH) 7 2 5 14
32  Belgium (BEL) 6 5 3 14
33  Bulgaria (BUL) 5 8 6 19
34  Brazil (BRA) 5 3 11 19
35  Czech Republic (CZE) 5 3 7 15
36  Portugal (POR) 5 3 4 12
37  United Team of Germany (EUA) 4 18 8 30
38  Algeria (ALG) 4 3 2 9
39  Ireland (IRL) 4 2 1 7
40  Uganda (UGA) 4 1 2 7
41  Mexico (MEX) 3 6 2 11
42  Spain (ESP) 3 5 8 16
43  Belarus (BLR) 3 5 7 15
44  Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) 3 4 8 15
45  Lithuania (LTU) 3 1 2 6
46  Croatia (CRO) 3 1 1 5
47  Nigeria (NGR) 2 5 7 14
48  Ukraine (UKR) 2 3 13 18
49  Argentina (ARG) 2 3 0 5
 Dominican Republic (DOM) 2 3 0 5
51  Tunisia (TUN) 2 2 1 5
52  Bahrain (BRN) 2 2 0 4
53  Estonia (EST) 2 1 3 6
54  Kazakhstan (KAZ) 2 1 2 5
55  Cameroon (CMR) 2 0 0 2
 Luxembourg (LUX) 2 0 0 2
57  Colombia (COL) 1 3 1 5
58  Austria (AUT) 1 2 5 8
59  Qatar (QAT) 1 2 1 4
 Slovenia (SLO) 1 2 1 4
61  India (IND) 1 2 0 3
62  Grenada (GRN) 1 1 1 3
 Venezuela (VEN) 1 1 1 3
64  Burundi (BDI) 1 1 0 2
 Ecuador (ECU) 1 1 0 2
 Mixed team (ZZX) 1 1 0 2
 ROC 1 1 0 2
 South Korea (KOR) 1 1 0 2
69  Panama (PAN) 1 0 2 3
70  Mozambique (MOZ) 1 0 1 2
 Puerto Rico (PUR) 1 0 1 2
72  Slovakia (SVK) 1 0 0 1
 Syria (SYR) 1 0 0 1
 Tajikistan (TJK) 1 0 0 1
75  Switzerland (SUI) 0 6 2 8
76  Namibia (NAM) 0 5 0 5
77  Denmark (DEN) 0 4 3 7
78  Latvia (LAT) 0 4 1 5
79  Chile (CHI) 0 2 0 2
 Sri Lanka (SRI) 0 2 0 2
 Tanzania (TAN) 0 2 0 2
 Yugoslavia (YUG) 0 2 0 2
83  Botswana (BOT) 0 1 1 2
 Chinese Taipei (TPE) 0 1 1 2
 Iceland (ISL) 0 1 1 2
86  Bohemia (BOH) 0 1 0 1
 Guatemala (GUA) 0 1 0 1
 Haiti (HAI) 0 1 0 1
 Iran (IRI) 0 1 0 1
 Ivory Coast (CIV) 0 1 0 1
 Saudi Arabia (KSA) 0 1 0 1
 Senegal (SEN) 0 1 0 1
 Sudan (SUD) 0 1 0 1
 Zambia (ZAM) 0 1 0 1
95  British West Indies (BWI) 0 0 2 2
 Philippines (PHI) 0 0 2 2
 Turkey (TUR) 0 0 2 2
98  Australasia (ANZ) 0 0 1 1
 Barbados (BAR) 0 0 1 1
 Burkina Faso (BUR) 0 0 1 1
 Djibouti (DJI) 0 0 1 1
 Eritrea (ERI) 0 0 1 1
 Serbia (SRB) 0 0 1 1
Totals (103 entries) 1,027 1,036 1,024 3,087

Related pages

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Atletismo en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

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