Athletics - History

Athletics is a sport that consists of different types of events and participants take part in them to win medals. The events include jumping, running, walking, throwing, and a lot more. These contests are also known as track and field events or track in the USA while in other countries it is known as athletics.

History of Athletics

There are no records of the early history of Athletics but it is assumed that It was started by Egyptians and Asian civilizations. It is also believed that Greece was the first country to start athletics between the 9th and 10th centuries BC. Athletics was included in 776 BC in the Olympics which was held in Olympia, Greece. At this time, only a single event was part of the game and it was the stadium foot race which was won by Koroibos.

Athletics was developed in Greece and later it was also developed in Italy in 200 BC.

Athletics was a part of the Olympics till 394 AD and then it was banned because of pagan celebrations. The Roman Empire later on spread the sports in Europe and it again became a part of the modern Olympics.

Inventor of Athletics

There is no information about the inventor of athletics but the first person who won a medal in this game was Korobios. He belonged to Elis, a place in Greece and was a cook.

He participated in a stadium race and won it in 776 BC. He has to cover a distance of 600 feet. Historians believe that there was only a single event in athletics for 13 years. In the Ancient Olympic Games held in Ancient Greece. In the last few centuries, athletics again became popular because of the contribution of many sports persons.

Banning of athletics

Athletics was very popular between 776 BC and 394 AD. Theodosius I was a Roman king who banned the sport because of some pagan celebrations. This led to the death of the game for the next 1,500 years. England again infused life into the track and field game in the 19^th century. The first athletics championship was held in England in 1866 after it recovered from its death. This also led to the creation of the Amateur Athletic Club which made rules for different events and these rules are still followed. This club was later renamed as Amateur Athletic Association in 1880. It is the organizer of the annual national championships.

First Modern Olympics

The first Modern Olympics was held in 1896 in which athletics was one of the major sports. The Amateur Athletic Association still makes rules and follows them and it also approves records.

Historical facts at a glance

Korobios won the first medal in the Olympics held in Olympia in 376 BC.
Greece held the Olympic games in Olympia from 376 BC to 394 AD.
Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned athletics which led to its death for 1,500 years.
The first track and field games were again arranged in 1154 in London.
Athletics was again banned by King Edwards III in the 1300s in the British Empire.
Throwing contests were arranged in the 1600s in the Cotswold Olympic Games.
Athletics came back in the 1800s as competitions were held by the United States and England. Both countries also formed governing associations for the game.
Ireland held Lugnasad Festival’s Tailtean games in Ireland and many track and field events were included in this festival
The first competition for amateur people was arranged in England by the West London Rowing Club.
The first modern Olympics was held in 1896 and athletics was a part of it which made it a popular sport.
The International Amateur Athletic Federation was formed in 1912.
1960 was the year when athletics was included in the Paralympic games
Now Athletics is one of the most important sports in the Olympics