Athletics is a sport, comprising a group of athletic events or disciplines, each of which
   involves either running, walking, throwing or jumping.

   It is divided into: track, field.

Track Events

   Men and women do not compete against each other, although they may sometimes run in the same
   races due to time constraints at high school meets. Women generally run the same distances as
   men although hurdles and steeplechase barriers are lower and the weights of the shot, discus,
   javelin and hammer are less.

     o Track events - running events conducted on a 400 m track.

          o Sprints: events up to and including 400 m. Common events are 60 m (indoors only), 100
            m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m.
          o Middle distance: events from 800 m to 3000 m, 800 m, 1500 m, mile and 3000 m
          o Steeplechase - a race (usually 3000 m) in which runners must negotiate barriers and
            water jumps.
          o Long distance: runs 5000 m or over. Common events are 5000 m and 10000 m. Less common
            are 1, 6, 12, 24 hour races.
          o Hurdling: 110 m high hurdles (100 m for women) and 400 m intermediate hurdles (300 m
            in some high schools).
          o Relays: 4 x 100 m relay, 4 x 400 m relay, 4 x 200 m relay, 4 x 800 m relay, 4 x 1
            Mile relay, etc. Each runner must hand off the baton to the next runner within a
            certain zone, usually marked by triangles on the track.

     o Road running: conducted on open roads, but often finishing on the track. Common events are
       over 5 km, 10 km, half-marathon and marathon. The marathon is the only common road-racing
       distance run in major international athletics championships such as the Olympics.
     o Race walking: usually conducted on open roads, but is also a typical event in high school
       meets. Common events are 10 km, 20 km and 50 km.
     o Field events

          o Throwing events

               + Shot put  an athletics  event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion)
                 a heavy metal ball (called the shot) as far as possible.
               + Hammer throw  is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy
                 metal ball attached to a wire and handle.
               + Javelin throw is an athletics  throwing event where the object to be thrown is
                 the javelin, a spear-like object made of metal, fiberglass and, in some cases,
                 carbon fiber.
               + Discus throw is an athletic throwing event competition. The discus, the object
                 to be thrown, is a heavy lenticular disc.

          o Jumping events

               + High jump is an athletics  event in which competitors must jump over a
                 horizontal bar placed at measured heights without aid of any devices.
               + Pole vault is an athletics event where a person uses a long, flexible pole as an
                 aid to leap over a bar.
               + Long jump is an athletics  event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and
                 agility in an attempt to land as far from the take-off point as possible.
               + Triple jump is an athletics  event, previously also known as "hop, step and
                 jump", whose various names describe the actions a competitor takes. The athlete
                 runs down a runway until he reaches a designated mark, from which the jump is
                 measured.

   Combined or Multi events

  Pentathlon :

     o Shooting
     o Fencing
     o Swimming
     o Riding
     o running

   Heptathlon :

     o 100 m hurdles
     o high jump
     o shot put
     o 200 m
     o long jump
     o javelin throw
     o 800 m

   Decathlon

   The decathlon includes five events on each of two successive days. The first day schedules
   the:

        o 100-metre run,
        o long jump,
        o shot put,
        o high jump
        o 400 metres.

   It is a day of speedy movement, explosive power, and jumping ability.

        o Day 2 consists of
        o the 110-metre hurdles,
        o discus,
        o pole vault,
        o javelin, and
        o 1500 metres.

   The importance of this day is on technique and endurance.