The sport of track and field consists of various competitive athletic events usually performed on a running track or in the field associated with it.
These athletic events normally include:
- 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, Mile, 5000m, 10,000m, Marathon
- 100m Hurdles, 110m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles, 3000m Steeplechase
- High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Pole Vault
- Shot Put, Discus Throw, Javelin Throw, Hammer Throw
- Decathlon, Heptathlon
- 4×100m Relay, 4×400m Relay
but may also include events such as:
- 150m, 300m, 600m, 1000m, 3000m, Half Marathon
- 60m Hurdles
- 4×200m Relay, 4×800m
For more information about these events, including history, landmark achievements and biomechanical information Wikipedia is a great place to start.
Most often the term athletics is used to refer to track and field events but is also used more generally to include cross country races, road racing and race walking.
The international governing body for track and field is the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations). The rules and guidelines used by the majority of track and field competitions are taken from the IAAF Handbook.
The national governing body for track and field in Canada is Athletics Canada.
The provincial governing body for track and field in Alberta is Athletics Alberta, a division of Athletics Canada.
