The 1900 Summer Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900 ), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad ( Jeux de la II olympiade ) and also known as Paris 1900 , were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closing ceremonies were held.
127-660: Alvin Christian "Al" Kraenzlein (December 12, 1876 – January 6, 1928) was an American track-and-field athlete known as "the father of the modern hurdling technique". He was the first sportsman in the history of the Olympic games to win four individual gold medals in a single discipline at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. As of 2016, Alvin Kraenzlein is the only track-and-field athlete who has won four individual titles at one Olympics. Kraenzlein
254-791: A physical disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the World Para Athletics Championships . The most prestigious glabal season-long leagues in the sport are the Diamond League for track and field athletes, and the World Marathon Majors in marathon runnning. The word athletics is derived from the Ancient Greek ἀθλητής ( athlētēs , "combatant in public games") from ἆθλον ( athlon , "prize") or ἆθλος ( athlos , "competition"). Initially,
381-523: A Sunday. It was said the two had an informal agreement not to compete on Sunday, and when Prinstein learned that Kraenzlein did show up he became violent, allegedly punching Kraenzlein according to some accounts (others claim that Prinstein was restrained before he could land the punch). After the 1900 Olympic Games , Kraenzlein eased down from athletic competition in late 1900, as the owner of six world and four Olympic records. However, he did successfully defend his British AAA title over 120 yards hurdles at
508-462: A bronze won by Guillermo Hayden Wright, Marquez de Villavieja and three brothers: Eustaquio de Escandón y Barron, Pablo de Escandón y Barron and Manuel de Escandón y Barron. Competitions were held on the River Seine . The coxed fours event descended into disarray after the officials changed the qualifying criteria for the final several times, culminating in two finals: the first final was held without
635-524: A competition that involved elements from track and field and weightlifting as well as gymnastic disciplines. Eight separate tournaments were held in 1900 as part of the 1900 World's Fair . Only the Grand Prix Internationale de l'Exposition is counted as an official medal event. Entries were from clubs rather than countries, and the winning Foxhunters club comprised English, Irish and American players. Mexico won its first medal in this sport,
762-422: A competitive advantage or differing cultural perspectives over the eligibility of a category. Beyond the primary categories based on physical attributes, some competitions have further eligibility criteria based on nationality, community membership or occupation. The foremost division of this kind is by sex[ling]: in athletics, men and women almost exclusively compete against people of the same sex. In contrast to
889-527: A competitive age grouping is typically assessed through official documentation, such as birth records or passports. Instances of age cheating have occurred at all of the IAAF's global age category championships. One prominent incident was Olympic medalist Thomas Longosiwa , who provided a falsified passport to compete at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics at age 24. Age falsification for youth categories
1016-451: A disability. Blind Ivy Granstrom set numerous Masters world records while being guided around the track. The disability categories have caused dispute among athletes, with some athletes being accused of exaggerating their level of disability in order to compete in less challenging categories. Athletes with intellectual disabilities were banned from competition in all Paralympic sports in response to verification issues and cheating at
1143-483: A final points tally. The most prestigious track and field contests occur within athletics championships and athletics programmes at multi-sport events . The Olympic athletics competition and World Championships in Athletics , and the Paralympic athletics competition and World Para Athletics Championships , are the highest and most prestigious levels of competition in track and field. Track and field events have become
1270-460: A level at which they can compete against able-bodied athletes. Legally blind Marla Runyan ran in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and won a gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1999 Pan American Games . Oscar Pistorius , a double amputee, was a semi-finalist at the 2011 World Championships and won a silver medal as part of South Africa's 4 × 400 metres relay team . In masters athletics it is far more common to make an accommodation for athletes with
1397-411: A minute to win the underwater swimming event. A high-quality men's tournament saw three past or future Wimbledon champions reach the semi-finals. Laurence Doherty reached the final when older brother Reggie stepped aside and let his sibling advance to the final. The two refused to play each other in what they considered a minor tournament. On the 11th of July a landmark was reached in the history of
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#17328548140161524-575: A mystery; some could have been under ten years old. Three teams competed in the Rugby tournament. A French representative team defeated a team from the German city of Frankfurt and Moseley Wanderers from England. The Moseley team had played a full game of rugby in England the day before they made the journey to Paris. They arrived in the morning, played the match in the afternoon and were back in their home country by
1651-585: A professional track and field circuit in the United States in the 1970s. Athletes used their increasing status to push for remuneration and the IAAF responded with the IAAF Golden Events series and the establishment an outdoor World Championships in 1983, including track and field, racewalking and a marathon event. In modern times, athletes can receive money for racing, putting an end to the so-called " amateurism " that existed before. The global body updated
1778-444: A scorecard in his own writing. The croquet tournament was notable as it marked the first appearance of women at Olympic level. Madame Desprès , Madame Filleul-Brohy and Mademoiselle Ohier were eliminated in the first round of competition. All players were French. A single paying spectator attended the tournament, an elderly English gentleman who travelled from Nice for the early stages. An unofficial two-ball handicap competition
1905-457: A series of attempts. The simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most common types of sports in the world. Athletics is mostly an individual sport, with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes' performances for a team score, such as cross country. Organized athletics are traced back to the ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC. The rules and format of
2032-450: A similar meaning. In many parts of North America, athletics is commonly understood as encompassing sports in general, aligning with its historical usage. The term "athletics" is seldom used specifically to denote the sport of athletics in this region. Instead, "track and field" is the preferred term used in the United States and Canada to describe athletics events, which include race-walking and marathon running (although cross-country running
2159-422: A sports festival which emerged in 17th century England , featured athletics in the form of sledgehammer throwing contests. Annually, from 1796 to 1798, L'Olympiade de la République was held in revolutionary France , and is an early forerunner to the modern Olympic Games. The premier event of this competition was a running event, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display. The 1796 Olympiade marked
2286-454: A winner. The sport became professionalised as footmen were hired specifically on their athletic ability and began to devote their lives to training for the gambling events. The amateur sports movement in the late 19th century marginalised competitions based on the professional, gambling model. The 1896 Summer Olympics saw the birth of the modern marathon and the event led to the growth of road running competitions through annual events such as
2413-481: Is a debate as to whether the live pigeon shooting event was a full Olympic event, Belgian Leon Lunden shot twenty-one birds on his way to the championship. Up to thirty unofficial shooting events were also held, most involving professional marksmen. Research has shown that one of the medal events in the IOC database (25m rapid fire pistol, also called military pistol cat. 6) was contested by professionals. The muddied waters of
2540-426: Is a form of competitive walking that usually takes place on open-air roads, although running tracks are also occasionally used. Racewalking is the only sport in athletics in which judges monitor athletes on their technique. Racewalkers must always have a foot in contact with the ground and their advancing leg must be straightened, not bent at the knee – failure to follow these rules results in disqualification from
2667-427: Is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running , jumping and throwing . The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field , road running , cross-country running , and racewalking . The results of racing events are decided by finishing position (or time, where measured), while the jumps and throws are won by the athlete that achieves the highest or furthest measurement from
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#17328548140162794-578: Is also known for developing a pioneering technique of straight-leg hurdling, which allowed him to set two world hurdle records. He is an Olympic Hall of Fame (1984) and National Track and Field Hall of Fame (1974) inductee. Kraenzlein was born in Minneapolis , Minnesota , a son of Johann Georg Kränzlein, a brewer, and Maria Augusta Schmidt, both of German origin. After his family moved to Milwaukee , Wisconsin , he attended Milwaukee's East Side High School , where he became involved in sports. In 1895, during
2921-399: Is defined by the venue in which the competitions are held – the athletics stadium . A variety of running events are held on the track which fall into three broad distance categories: sprints , middle-distance , and long-distance track events . Relay races feature teams comprising four runners each, who must pass a baton to their teammate after a specified distance with the aim of being
3048-432: Is designed similarly to an outdoor track, but is only 200 metres in length and has between four and eight lanes, each with width between 0.90 m and 1.10 m. Often, the bends of an indoor track will be banked to compensate for the small turning radius. However, because of space limitations, indoor tracks may have other nonstandard lengths, such as 160-yard (146.3 m) indoor track at Madison Square Garden used for
3175-653: Is mostly limited to less developed parts of the world, such as Africa and South Asia, which have less stringent controls on official documentation and many mature athletes engaging in high school competition due to disruptions to education. The same regions of the world also present issues with age verification in masters age categories, with examples such as Indian distance runners Dharampal Singh Gudha and Fauja Singh (both claiming to be over 100 years old) reaching mainstream attention. Athletes with physical disabilities have competed at separate international events since 1952. The International Paralympic Committee governs
3302-704: Is typically categorized as a distinct sport). Athletic contests in running, walking, jumping and throwing are among the oldest of all sports and their roots are prehistoric . Athletics events were depicted in the Ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara , with illustrations of running at the Heb Sed festival and high jumping appearing in tombs from as early as of 2250 BC. The Tailteann Games were an ancient Celtic festival in Ireland , founded c. 1800 BC , and
3429-627: The 1900 Exposition Universelle . The Baron de Coubertin believed this would help public awareness of the Olympics and submitted elaborate plans to rebuild the ancient site of Olympia , complete with statues, temples, stadia, and gymnasia. The director of the Exposition Universelle, Alfred Picard, thought holding an ancient sport event at the Exposition Universelle was an "absurd anachronism". After thanking de Coubertin for his plans, Picard filed them away and nothing more came of it. A committee
3556-500: The 1900 World's Fair . An enormous number of events was held, though many fall short of the standards later required for Olympic championship status. After the several initial editions of the Olympic Games, decisions as to which Olympic events were termed "official" and which had "unofficial" or "demonstration" status were usually left to the Olympic organizing committees and/or the IOC . In
3683-564: The 1900 World's Fair : Scholastic and military events were also held across a range of sports. Four planned competitions were not organized due to a lack of participants: balle au tamis [ fr ] , field hockey , jeu de paume and lacrosse . According to the International Olympic Committee, 26 nations sent competitors to this edition. The concept of "national teams" chosen by National Olympic Committees did not exist at this point in time. When counting
3810-618: The 1901 AAA Championships . He returned to Milwaukee and started a dental practice. He also became a manager of the Milwaukee Athletic Association. In 1902, having returned to Philadelphia, he married Claudine Gilman, whom he knew from his student days. He practiced dentistry in Philadelphia until 1906, when he became the track-and-field coach at Mercersburg Academy , a selective prep school in Pennsylvania. Among his students
3937-402: The 1912 Summer Olympics . One variation on traditional cross country is mountain running , which incorporates significant uphill and downhill sections as an additional challenge to the course. Fell running and Orienteering are other competitive sports similar to cross country, although they feature an element of navigation which is absent from the set courses of cross country. Racewalking
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4064-551: The Great North Run , attract similar attention. An international governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), was founded in 1912. It enforced amateur sport status on competitions during much of the 20th century. Professional competition continued at a low level, becoming increasingly more common as the century progressed. The International Track Association briefly formed
4191-492: The IAAF World Race Walking Cup – which has been held since 1961. The IAAF World Race Walking Challenge forms the primary seasonal competition – athletes earn points for their performances at ten selected racewalking competitions and the highest scoring walkers are entered into that year's IAAF Race Walking Challenge Final . The significant variation in people's abilities in the sport of athletics has led to
4318-609: The Millrose Games . Because of space limitations, meetings held at indoor facilities do not hold many of athletics events typically contested outdoors. 1900 Olympic Games At the Olympic Congress of 1894, which convened in the Sorbonne building , Pierre de Coubertin proposed that the Olympic Games should take place in Paris in 1900. However, the delegates to the conference were unwilling to wait six years and lobbied to hold
4445-530: The Olympic Games . Women took part in the games for the first time, with sailor Hélène de Pourtalès , born Helen Barbey in New York City, becoming the first female Olympic champion. The decision to hold competitions on a Sunday brought protests from many American athletes, who traveled as representatives of their colleges and were expected to withdraw rather than compete on their religious day of rest. Most of
4572-606: The Seine hosted the swimming events in 1900. Run with the current, the races produced very fast times by the standards of the day. John Arthur Jarvis of Great Britain, Frederick Lane of Australia and the German Ernst Hoppenberg each won two titles. Lane received a 50-pound bronze statue of a horse as a prize. A couple of unusual events were held. The obstacle race required both swimming underneath and climbing over rows of boats while Charles de Venville stayed submerged for over
4699-718: The Summer Olympics and most other major multi-sport events . The foremost international athletics meeting is the World Athletics Championships , which incorporates track and field, marathon running and race walking. Other top level competitions in athletics include the World Athletics Indoor Championships , World Athletics Cross Country Championships and the World Athletics Road Running Championships . Athletes with
4826-649: The Summer Paralympics . The World Marathon Majors series includes the six most prestigious marathon competitions at the elite level – the Berlin , Boston , Chicago , London , New York City and Tokyo Marathons . The sport of road running finds its roots in the activities of footmen : male servants who ran alongside the carriages of aristocrats around the 18th century, and who also ran errands over distances for their masters. Foot racing competitions evolved from wagers between aristocrats, who pitted their footman against that of another aristocrat in order to determine
4953-709: The Towerrunning World Association ). Snowshoe running is a winter sport governed by the World Snowshoe Federation , which is similarly to cross country running but has athletes wearing snowshoes to race over deep snow on an obstacle-free course. The International Association of Ultrarunners organises ultra running as an affiliate of World Athletics, but these long-distance forms of competition fit within World Athletics disciplines, albeit with additional distance. Athletics, specifically
5080-797: The USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – first held in 1876 by the New York Athletic Club . Athletics became codified and standardized via the English AAA and other general sports organisations in the late 19th century, such as the Amateur Athletic Union (founded in the US in 1888) and the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques (founded in France in 1889). An athletics competition
5207-600: The Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques ("Union of the French Societies for Athletic Sports" or USFSA) announced that it would have the sole right to any organized sport held during the World's Fair. It was an empty threat, but Viscount Charles de La Rochefoucauld, the nominated head of the organizing committee, stepped down rather than be embroiled in the political battle. The Baron de Coubertin, also secretary-general of
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5334-602: The Wisconsin Interscholastic Championships, he won first places in the 100-yard dash, 120-yard high hurdles, 220-yard low hurdles, high jump, and shot put. He attended the University of Wisconsin where he studied engineering. In 1896, he won the 220-yard low hurdles, the high jump and placed second in the 100-yard dash and shot put at the freshman-sophomore track-and-field meet. During the 1897 Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship, Kraenzlein won
5461-425: The long jump and triple jump are contests measuring the horizontal distance an athlete can jump, while the high jump and pole vault are decided on the height achieved. Combined events , which include the decathlon (typically competed by men) and heptathlon (typically competed by women), are competitions where athletes compete in a number of different track and field events, with each performance going toward
5588-421: The old city wall , the course was poorly marked out and runners often got lost and had to double back on themselves before continuing. On some parts of the course, runners had to contend with distractions from cars, bicycles, pedestrians and animals. Arthur Newton of the United States finished fifth but stated he had not been passed by any other runner during the race. Another American, Richard Grant , claimed he
5715-475: The 120 meter high hurdles and the 220 meter low hurdles, the last standing for quarter of a century. In 1899, Kraenzlein established the long jump world record of 24' 3 1/2". He was a leader of the Penn track-and-field team that won four consecutive team IC4A titles. Kraenzlein was noted for his hurdling technique, as he was among the first to practice the modern method of straight-lead-leg (the first leg over
5842-518: The 1860s, including a meet at Ashburnham Hall in London which featured four running events and a triple jump competition. The Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) was established in England in 1880 as the first national body for the sport of athletics and began holding its own annual athletics competition – the AAA Championships . The United States also began holding an annual national competition –
5969-453: The 1900 Summer Olympics affirms a total of 95 medal events. Weightlifting and wrestling were dropped since the 1896 Summer Olympics , while 12 new sports were added. Among the sports below, only croquet was not an international competition, being contested by French players only. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses. 14 venues were used at the 1900 Summer Olympics to host 20 sports. The standard of competition at
6096-410: The 2000 Summer Paralympics and the intellectual disability athletics programme was only restored twelve years later at the 2012 Summer Paralympics . Professional athletics almost exclusively takes place in one of three types of venue: stadiums , set courses on grass or woodland, and road-based courses. Such venues ensure that events take place in a relatively standardised manner, as well as improving
6223-480: The 220-yard low hurdles and the high jump. He led the Wisconsin team to the team title. He also won the 1897 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) title in the 220-yard low hurdles. In 1897, Kraenzlein set an indoor world record of 36.6 seconds in the 300-yard low hurdles. In 1898, after being recruited by Mike Murphy , the University of Pennsylvania track-and-field coach, he moved to Philadelphia , where he studied at
6350-401: The 60 meters, he ran both the preliminary and final in 7.0 seconds, defeating Walter Tewksbury by bare inches in the finals. In His victory in the long jump, Kraenzlein defeated silver medalist Meyer Prinstein , his great rival from Syracuse University , by a single centimeter. Prinstein's mark had been set in the qualification, and he did not attend the final, because it was held on
6477-595: The Albion Cricket Club and the Standard Athletic Club, two Paris clubs consisting almost exclusively of British expatriates, played a touring team from the southwest of England. The Devon and Somerset Wanderers were no more than a team of competent club cricketers (made up from Blundells School old boys and members of Castle Cary Cricket Club), and only Montagu Toller and Alfred Bowerman were deemed good enough to play at county level for Somerset. The game
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#17328548140166604-648: The Boston Marathon (first held in 1897) and the Lake Biwa Marathon and Fukuoka Marathons , which were established in the 1940s. The 1970s running boom in the United States made road running a common pastime and also increased its popularity at the elite level. Ekiden contests – which originated in Japan and remain very popular there – are a relay race variation on the marathon, being in contrast to
6731-522: The Dental School, graduating in 1900. After winning his first national athletics title in 1897 – the 220 yards hurdles race at the AAU championship, Kraenzlein won five AAU titles in hurdling and long jump events, and eight Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America titles in dash, hurdling, and the long jump. Being a student at Philadelphia University , he established world records for
6858-457: The Games was variable. Despite a poor-quality track, a strong contingent of top-class American collegiate athletes ensured the track and field competitions were of the highest quality. The tennis gold medalists were all former Wimbledon champions; swimming and fencing events were of a good standard; and even polo, a minority sport for the social elite, was well represented by some of the best players in
6985-439: The IOC has never determined which events were Olympic and which were not. All events satisfying all four of the retrospective selection criteria (restricted to amateurs, international participation, open to all competitors and without handicapping) are now regarded by historians as Olympic events, except for ballooning, while croquet, motorboating and boules satisfied three of these criteria (as only French athletes competed). Of
7112-459: The IOC, as recommended by Olympic historian Bill Mallon . To support the recognition of a total of 95 medal events per Mallon's suggestion, one more race in each of 2 other classes (0.5-1t and 3-10t) has been recognized by the IOC. Thus, for five of the eight events, two gold, two silver and two bronze medals were retrospectively awarded. Races were held at both Meulan and Le Havre and medals shared among five nations. France and Great Britain were
7239-429: The Olympic Games with three jumping events being held, plus two other events. The Italian rider Gian Giorgio Trissino won a gold and a silver. He narrowly missed making Olympic history by winning two medals in the same event. Competing with two different horses in the high jump, he jointly won the gold medal and finished in 4th place on his second horse. Nineteen nations were represented in the fencing competition, which
7366-457: The Olympic Games. Charlotte Cooper , already three times Wimbledon champion, took the singles championship to become the first individual female Olympic champion, also winning the mixed doubles event. A combined Sweden/Denmark team, made up of three competitors from each country, defeated the French team to win the title. One of the members of the French team was a Colombian citizen. They were left as
7493-444: The Olympics were the London amateurs of Upton Park F.C. A crowd of around 500 spectators saw them defeat their French rivals. Margaret Ives Abbott , a student of art from Chicago, played in and won a nine-hole golf tournament on an October Tuesday in Paris. She died in 1955 without being aware that the tournament was part of the Olympic Games and she had become America's first ever female Olympic champion. 135 gymnasts took part in
7620-467: The Olympics, even among casual sports fans, but otherwise is less popular though it maintains a dedicate fan base. Big city marathons such as New York , Boston , Chicago , London and Tokyo are major televised events in their respective cities, and often attract thousands of entrants and tens of thousands of spectators, for whom the event is usually free as it takes place on normal city roads. A small number of half marathons and road mile races, including
7747-460: The Olympics. While there is an Official Report of these Games, complete records of results do not exist. De Coubertin commented later to friends, "It's a miracle that the Olympic Movement survived that celebration". Before July 2021, the IOC had never decided which events were "Olympic". In fact, Pierre de Coubertin had ceded that entire determination to the organizers. The IOC webpage for
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#17328548140167874-654: The Paris Summer Olympics. He won the British Amateur Athletic Association Championships in London in the 120 yards hurdles and the long jump at the 1900 AAA Championships . before entering the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he established a world record in the 120 yards hurdles for grass tracks. Kraenzlein became the most successful athlete of the 1900 Olympics. During three days of competitions there, he won four titles, establishing new Olympic record each time: In
8001-625: The U.S. Army as a physical training specialist. When the war ended, he became an assistant coach for the University of Pennsylvania track team. He also coached at summer camps and at the Havana Golf and Tennis Club in Cuba in the winter. In late 1927, he became affected by bouts of pleurisy. Kraenzlein died in early 1928 of endocarditis in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . Athletics (sport) Athletics
8128-453: The U.S. athletics team. Orton ran for the University of Pennsylvania and was therefore assumed to be American, but he always considered himself a Canadian. Michel Théato , the winner of the marathon, competed for the French athletics team. He was a Luxembourger; however, this was only discovered decades later. Francisco Henríquez de Zubiría of Colombia was a silver medal-winner on the French tug of war team. Victor Lindberg of New Zealand
8255-735: The USFSA, was urged to withdraw from active involvement in running the Games and did so, only to comment later, "I surrendered—and was incorrect in doing so." The IOC ceded control of the Games to a new committee to oversee every sporting activity connected to the 1900 Exposition Universelle. Alfred Picard appointed Daniel Mérillon , the head of the French Shooting Association, as president of this organization in February 1899. Mérillon published an entirely different schedule of events, which resulted in many of those who had made plans to compete with
8382-496: The United States). Historically, tracks were covered by a dirt running surface. Modern All-weather running tracks are covered by a synthetic weather-resistant running surface, which typically consists of rubber (either black SBR or colored EPDM granules), bound by polyurethane or latex resins. Older tracks may be cinder -covered. The facilities can be called track and field stadiums or athletics stadiums. A standard indoor track
8509-546: The University of Pennsylvania were among the stars of the Games. Alvin Kraenzlein won 4 individual gold medals, a feat that has never repeated, while Walter Tewksbury took five medals including two golds. The hurdles in the 400 m hurdle race were 30-foot (9.1 m)-long telegraph poles arranged on the track and the race, uniquely in Olympic competition, had a water jump on the final straight. Adolphe Klingelhoeffer, who had Brazilian citizenship in 1900, competed for France in three events. United States dominance in sprinting
8636-525: The age of 30 onwards. As a result, numerous age categories have been created to encourage younger and older athletes to engage in competition. At international level, there are three major categories for young athletes: under-23 , under-20 (formerly junior), and under-18 (formerly youth). Beyond international rules, different youth categories are in use in the sport, often in the form of two-year or single age groupings. Age categories are more extensive for older athletes and these are commonly organised under
8763-567: The competitions in athletics, and hosts the Paralympic Games , which have continued since 1960 . Competitors at elite level competitions, are classified by disability, to arrange athletes with a similar disability in the same event. A classified T12 athlete for example, is a track athlete with a visual impairment. Operating independently of the Paralympic movement, deaf athletes have a long-established tradition of organised athletics, with
8890-447: The creation of numerous competitive categories, in order that athletes are pitted against rivals of a similar kind or ability, and to include groups of people who would otherwise not be competitive in open-to-all events. The eligibility of athletes for a given category is occasionally a source of controversy among the sport's participants, officials and spectators, with disputes typically being rooted in deliberate cheating in order to gain
9017-406: The difficulty of determining the exact performance advantage provided by a given condition, and the moral risk of "gender-engineering" by setting a biological definition for a female athlete. Age is a significant determiner of ability to compete in athletics, with athletic ability generally increasing through childhood and adolescence, peaking in early adulthood, then gradually declining from around
9144-844: The distance running discipline, also forms a significant portion of a number of other organised sports, most notable the triathlon family of sports and modern pentathlon . In both cases, the rules of the sport broadly mirror those of World Athletics, but the details are set by the international federation of the sports themselves. Track and field competitions emerged in the late 19th century and were typically contested between athletes who were representing rival educational institutions , military organisations and sports clubs . Participating athletes may compete in one or more events, according to their specialities. Men and women compete separately. Track and field comes in both indoor and outdoor formats, with most indoor competitions occurring in winter , while outdoor events are mostly held in summer . The sport
9271-574: The division to raise questions of fairness in competition. The dispute reached new heights in 2019 with the United Nations Human Rights Council issuing a statement that the IAAF was breaching "international human rights norms and standards" through its practice of allowing some athletes to compete in the women's division only once they had lowered their testosterone levels through medical intervention. The IAAF and several prominent women athletes, such as Paula Radcliffe , said this
9398-399: The early Olympic Games, however, no decision as to the official status of any event was made at the time of the Games. While a document from 1912 exists, listing results from the 1900 Games, and formed the original basis of the results of the Paris games in the IOC database, the reliability and authenticity of this paper has been questioned by Olympic historians. Further complicating matters,
9525-417: The elite racers consistently beat the runners on foot. The speed of wheel chair racers has caused difficulties for race organisers in properly staggering their start times compared to runners. A collision between Josh Cassidy (a wheelchair racer) and Tiki Gelana (a leading female marathoner) at the 2013 London Marathon brought the issue into the spotlight again. Occasionally, athletes with a disability reach
9652-408: The final, they limited the number of shots on goal to avoid humiliating their opponents. One of its team members, Victor Lindberg , was from New Zealand, while Thomas William Burgess of the bronze medal-winning Libellule de Paris team represented Great Britain in the swimming events. The 1900 Games were not governed by a specific Olympic organizing committee, but were instead held as an appendage to
9779-511: The first athlete to publicly fail the test in 1967 and the humiliation she suffered as a result of the announcement led to sex tests becoming a confidential process. Hurdler Maria José Martínez-Patiño failed a test and was disqualified in 1985, but publicly fought the ban in court and was reinstated in 1988. In 1991, the IAAF replaced the sex chromatin test with general medical tests for athletes of all divisions, due to changes in ethical and scientific viewpoints. The question of eligibility for
9906-499: The first games in 1896. A decision was made to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens and have Paris host the second Games. The Games were held as part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair). In total, 1,226 competitors took part in 19 different sports. This number relies on certain assumptions about which events were and were not "Olympic". Many athletes, some of whom had won events, were unaware they had competed in
10033-580: The first international Stoke Mandeville Games were organized for World War II veterans. This only included athletes in a wheelchair . This inspired the first Paralympic Games , held in 1960. Competitions would over time be expanded to include mainly athletes with amputation , cerebral palsy and visual impairment , in addition to wheelchair events. World Athletics, the sport's governing body, defines athletics in six disciplines: track and field , road running , race walking , cross country running , mountain running , and trail running . Mountain running
10160-543: The first major world competition being included at the 1924 Deaflympics . The primary impediments to the inclusion of deaf athletes in mainstream athletics are sound based elements of the sport, such as the starter's pistol . This can be a disadvantage even in Paralympic sport, as shown in by the example of Olivia Breen who failed to hear a false start in a cerebral palsy class race at the 2012 Paralympics. In wheelchair racing athletes compete in lightweight racing chairs. Most major marathons have wheelchair divisions and
10287-451: The first team to finish. Hurdling events and the steeplechase are a variation upon the flat running theme in that athletes must clear obstacles on the track during the race. The field events come in two types – jumping and throwing competitions. In throwing events, athletes are measured by how far they hurl an implement, with the common events being the shot put , discus , javelin , and hammer throw . There are four common jumping events:
10414-554: The game was played at this, the sport's only appearance at full Olympic level. Two pairs entered and the Spanish partnerships of Amezola and Villota became their nations' first Olympic champions. The mano form of the game and a chistera tournament for professional players were contested unofficially. After the withdrawal of teams from the Netherlands and Belgium, only two teams played in the cricket tournament. A team made up of players from
10541-449: The game. Other sports were noticeably weak in both quality and depth. Only athletics, swimming and fencing had competitors from more than ten nations. The history of the archery competition at the 1900 Olympics is one of confusion. The IOC currently lists six events with Olympic status, but a case has been made that as many as eight other events equally deserve to be considered part of official Olympic history. About 150 archers competed in
10668-543: The governance of World Athletics. The International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) governs high-altitude mountain running, defined as skyrunning , and is affiliated with the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation rather than World Athletics. Competitive stair climbing events, usually hosted in skyscrapers , has two common names: vertical running (as described by the ISF) and tower running (as described by
10795-487: The grassroots of track and field. Road running competitions are running events (predominantly long distance) which are mainly conducted on courses of paved or tarmac roads , although major events often finish on the track of a main stadium . In addition to being a common recreational sport , the elite level of the sport – particularly marathon races – are one of the most popular aspects of athletics. Road racing events can be of virtually any distance, but
10922-407: The hurdle remains straight and parallel with the ground) hurdle clearing. Arthur Croome from Great Britain first attempted the straight-lead-leg style in 1886, however, Kraenzlein perfected it and turned into a mainstream technique. This was a significant development, as it enabled athletes to overcome the hurdles without reducing speed. In 1900, Kraenzlein was training in England in preparation for
11049-880: The introduction of the metric system into the sport. Athletics competitions were held about 1812 at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , and in 1840 in Shrewsbury , Shropshire at the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt. The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich held an organised competition in 1849, and a regular series of closed meetings open only to undergraduates, was held by Exeter College, Oxford , from 1850. The annual Wenlock Olympian Games , first held in 1850 in Wenlock , England, incorporated athletics events into its sports programme. The first modern-style indoor athletics meetings were recorded shortly after in
11176-514: The men's division, the development of the women's division has caused regular dispute in terms of eligibility. Several intersex athletes had success in the women's division in the early 20th century, such as Stanisława Walasiewicz and Mary Weston (later Mark), and the IAAF responded by introducing sex verification for all athletes in the women's category, beginning with the disqualification of sprinter Foekje Dillema in 1950 after she refused to be tested. Olympic champion Ewa Kłobukowska became
11303-457: The modern events in athletics were defined in Western Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th century, and were then spread to other parts of the world. Most modern top level meetings are held under the auspices of World Athletics , the global governing body for the sport of athletics, or its member continental and national federations. The athletics meeting forms the backbone of
11430-471: The most common and well known are the marathon , half marathon , 10 km and 5 km . The marathon is the only road running event featured at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics and the Summer Olympics , although there is also an annual IAAF World Half Marathon Championships . The marathon is also the only road running event featured at the World Para Athletics Championships and
11557-535: The most prominent part of major athletics championships and many famous athletes within the sport of athletics come from this discipline. Discrete track and field competitions are found at national championships -level and also at annual, invitational track and field meets . Meetings range from elite competitions – such as those in the IAAF Diamond League series – to basic all comers track meets , inter-sports club meetings and schools events, which form
11684-458: The most successful of the countries involved. A number of people named as members of medal-winning crews by the IOC have been proved not to have competed; others have their participation seriously questioned by historical research. Switzerland's Konrad Stäheli was the outstanding marksman of the Games, taking a trio of titles and leading his country to the top of the shooting medal table. The medals were shared between six different nations. There
11811-496: The name to the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2001, moving away from its amateur origins, before taking on its current name World Athletics in 2019. The Comité International Sports des Sourds had been formed by 1922, to govern international deaf sports, including athletics. The first organized international competitions for athletes with a physical disability (not deaf) began in 1952, when
11938-573: The next morning. The proposed game between the British and German sides was cancelled, and both are credited as silver medalists. The Franco-Haitian centre Constantin Henriquez become the first black gold medalist. The 1900 sailing regatta differs from every other Olympic regatta in a number of ways. In most classes, there were two distinct "finals", boats were assigned time handicaps according to their weight within each class and cash prizes were handed out to
12065-529: The number of participating countries in the early Olympic Games, the IOC does not take into account otherwise unrepresented countries whose citizens competed for other countries. Modern research shows that at the 1900 Olympics, the athletes of at least four otherwise unrepresented countries competed for other countries in both individual and team sports. George Orton , gold medalist in 2500 metres steeplechase event and bronze medalist in 400 metres hurdles event, and Ronald J. MacDonald , both of Canada, competed for
12192-521: The official report of the sporting events of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The press reported competitions variously as "International Championships", "International Games", "Paris Championships", "World Championships" and "Grand Prix of the Paris Exposition". These poorly organized games, along with those of 1904, were termed decades later by several historians "The Farcical Games." Years later, many competitors were unaware that they had competed in
12319-505: The only participating teams; the United States had entered but were forced to scratch as three of their team were involved in the final of the hammer. Edgar Aabye was a journalist covering the Games for the Danish newspaper Politiken and was asked to join the team when another puller was taken ill. Osborne Swimming Club, representing Great Britain, were unchallenged in the tournament, scoring 29 goals and conceding only 3 in their 3 matches. In
12446-488: The original program withdrawing and refusing to deal with the new committee. Between May and October 1900, the new organizing committee held many sporting activities alongside the Paris Exposition. The term "Olympic" rarely used in sporting events. Indeed, the term "Olympic Games" was replaced by " Concours internationaux d'exercices physiques et de sport " ("International contests of physical exercises and of sport" in English) in
12573-412: The original qualifiers, who boycotted the race to protest the decision to run six boats on a course laid out for four boats. Following this, officials decided to run another final for the boycotting crews. Both events are considered official Olympic competitions. In a number of events, crews saw the advantage of having ultra-lightweight coxswains and recruited local boys for race days. Most of these remain
12700-473: The race. Racewalking finds its roots in the sport of pedestrianism which emerged in the late 18th century in England. Spectators would gamble on the outcome of the walking competitions. The sport took on an endurance aspect and competitions were held over long distances or walkers would have to achieve a certain distance within a specified time frame, such as Centurion contests of walking 100 miles (160 km) within 24 hours. During this period, racewalking
12827-554: The safety of athletes and enjoyment for spectators. At a more basic level, many forms of athletics demand very little in terms of venue requirements; almost any open space or area of field can provide a suitable venue for basic running, jumping and throwing competitions. A standard outdoor track is in the shape of a stadium , 400 metres in length, and has at least eight lanes 1.22 m in width (small arenas might have six lanes). Older track facilities may have nonstandard track lengths, such as 440 yards (402.3 m; 1/4 mile) (common in
12954-551: The scholastic level, particularly in the United Kingdom and United States. At the professional level, the foremost competitions come under the banner of the IAAF Cross Country Permit Meetings . While cross country competitions are no longer held at the Olympics, having featured in the athletics programme from 1912 to 1924, it has been present as one of the events within the modern pentathlon competition since
13081-639: The six events that later had official status conferred. However, as many as 5,000 were involved in archery competition in conjunction with the 1900 World's Fair . Belgian Hubert Van Innis took two gold medals and one silver and would add to his tally twenty years later in Antwerp . The track and field events were held at the home of the Racing Club de France at the Croix-Catelan stadium in Bois de Boulogne . No track
13208-549: The term described athletic contests in general – i.e. sporting competition based primarily on human physical feats. In the 19th century, the term athletics acquired a more narrow definition in Europe and came to describe sports involving competitive running, walking, jumping and throwing. This definition continues to be prominent in the United Kingdom and the former British Empire . Related words in Germanic and Romance languages also have
13335-460: The thirty-day meeting included running and stone-throwing among its sporting events. The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BC was a stadium-length running event known as the stadion . This later expanded to include throwing and jumping events within the ancient pentathlon . Athletics competitions also took place at other Panhellenic Games , which were founded later around 500 BC. The Cotswold Olympic Games ,
13462-495: The three events that satisfied three criteria, only croquet has been accorded Olympic status. In this regard, one of the ten croquet players, Marcel Haëntjens , had been believed to be Belgian, and the croquet events were thus considered as international. Despite the Flemish name, it was discovered in recent times that Haëntjens was French. Like all the Olympic events widely regarded as official, there were other events conducted during
13589-686: The typically individual sport of road running. Cross country running is the most naturalistic of the sports in athletics as competitions take place on open-air courses over surfaces such as grass , woodland trails, and earth . It is both an individual and team sport , as runners are judged on an individual basis and a points scoring method is used for teams. Competitions are typically long distance races of 3 km (1.9 mi) or more which are usually held in autumn and winter. Cross country's most successful athletes often compete in long-distance track and road events as well. The Crick Run in England in 1838
13716-502: The umbrella of masters athletics , which has age groups spanning five years for all athletes aged 35 and above. There is no limit to the number of age groupings, hence Stanisław Kowalski holds a world record for men aged 105 years and over. For competitions where age is not taken into account, this is known as senior or open class athletics; in international rules there remain some restrictions on younger people competing in endurance events for health reasons . Athletes' eligibility for
13843-411: The winner of each race. The IOC initially recognized the winner of the first race in each class as Olympic champion except in the case of the 10-20 ton class, which was decided on aggregate time over three races. However currently the participants of both first and second races in 3 classes (0-0.5t, 1-2t and 2-3t) are present in the as medalists, so the second races in these 3 classes were recognized by
13970-517: The winners in 1900 did not receive medals but were given cups or trophies. Professionals competed in fencing, as was tradition, and Albert Robert Ayat (France), who won the épée for amateurs and masters, was awarded a prize of 3,000 F (equivalent to € 12,867 in 2022 ). Some events were contested for the only time in the history of the Games, including angling , motor racing , ballooning , cricket , croquet , Basque pelota , 200m swimming obstacle race and underwater swimming . This
14097-463: The women's division continued to be a contentious and public issue into the 21st century, with Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand bearing periods of ineligibility and taking the IAAF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over their bans under the hyperandrogenism rules. An increasing number of trans men and trans women began to compete in the women's division in the 2010s, which caused other athletes in
14224-536: The women's event was first held in 1992. The most common events in modern competition are over 10 km, 20 km and 50 km on roads, although women's 3 km and men's 5 km are held on indoor tracks. The highest level racewalking competitions occur at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics and at the Summer Olympics, although the sport also has its own separate major competition –
14351-458: Was Ralph Craig , a future Olympic titleholder in both the 100 and 200 meters in 1912 Olympic Games . From 1910 to 1913 he was the head track-and-field and football coach (in 1910–1911) at the University of Michigan . In 1913, he signed a five-year $ 50,000 contract with the German government to train the 1916 German Olympic track team (this was canceled because of the outbreak of World War I ). With World War I coming, Kraenzlein served in
14478-464: Was added in 2003 and trail running was added in 2015. All forms of athletics are individual sports with the exception of relay races . However, athletes' performances are often tallied together by country at international championships, and, in the case of cross country and road races, finishing positions or times of the top athletes from a team may be combined to declare a team victor. Several further forms of competitive running exist outside of
14605-431: Was also held. This was also the only Olympiad where croquet was part of the official programme, though there was the variant called roque at the 1904 Summer Olympics . The home nation won six of the nine medals available, including one that was initially awarded to Great Britain until this was reversed in 2024. A number of unofficial events were held for both amateurs and professionals. Equestrian sport made its debut at
14732-464: Was also the only Olympic Games in history to use live animals (pigeons) as targets during the shooting event . The host nation of France fielded 72% of all athletes (720 of the 997) and won the most gold, silver and bronze medal placings. U.S. athletes won the second-most in each while fielding the fifth-most participants, 75. British athletes won the third-most in each while fielding the second most participants, 102. The 1900 Games were held as part of
14859-423: Was even greater in the field events than the track events, with outstanding performances coming from Ray Ewry and Irving Baxter . Ewry started his Olympic career with a sweep of the three standing jumps, while Baxter finished second to Ewry three times and won both the regular high jump and pole vault . Meyer Prinstein became the first Jewish Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump . The chistera form of
14986-686: Was formed for the organization of the Games, consisting of some of the more able sports administrators of the day, and a provisional program was drawn up. Sports to be included at the games were track and field athletics , swimming , wrestling , gymnastics , fencing , French and British boxing , river and ocean yacht racing , cycling , golf , lifesaving , archery , weightlifting , rowing , diving , and water polo . British and Irish sports associations and several influential American universities and sports clubs announced their desire to compete. Competitors from Russia and Australia also confirmed their intentions to travel to Paris. On 9 November 1898,
15113-472: Was frequently held on athletics tracks for ease of measurement, and the 1908 Summer Olympics in London saw the introduction of the 3500-metre and 10-mile walks. Racewalking was briefly dropped from the Olympic programme in 1928 , but the men's 50 kilometres race walk has been held at every Olympic Games but one since 1932. The men's 20 kilometres race walk was added to the Olympic athletics schedule in 1956 and
15240-437: Was held in a field near the cutlery exhibit at the 1900 World's Fair . French fencers dominated the proceedings but both Cuba and Italy also took titles. The early rounds of the foil competitions were judged on style rather than the actual result of the contest. This meant that some fencers were eliminated without losing a contest while others were defeated and still progressed to the next rounds. The first football champions at
15367-425: Was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and it has been as one of the foremost competitions at the quadrennial multi-sport event ever since. Originally for men only, the 1928 Olympics saw the introduction of women's events in the athletics programme. Athletics is part of the Paralympic Games since the inaugural Games in 1960 . Athletics has a very high-profile during major championships, especially
15494-487: Was laid and races took place on an uneven field of grass littered with trees. Additional events were held for professionals and a series of handicap races also took place. These are not considered official Olympic events. In the seven events contested over 400 metres or less, the United States took 13 out of a possible 21 medals. Athletes from Columbia University , Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania all won gold medals. Indeed, two would-be dentists from
15621-458: Was matched in the longer track races by United Kingdom. Only George Orton , who won Canada's first Olympic title in the shorter of the two steeplechases , ruined a perfect record for the British. Orton won his title less than an hour after placing third in the 400-metre hurdles. The most contentious of all the events in these Games began and ended in the Bois de Boulogne. Intended to follow the track of
15748-462: Was played before a small crowd at the Vélodrome de Vincennes . An emphatic second innings bowling performance from Toller captured victory for the visitors as time appeared to be running out for them. If the French had held out for five more minutes the game would have been a draw. Knowledge of the game would have been lost but for the forethought of John Symes , a member of the victorious team, who kept
15875-409: Was required in order to prevent a situation where countries deliberately sought out athletes who were intersex, transgender or had a difference in sex development in order to succeed in women's sport. Others have argued for the abolition of gender verification testing, with academic Maren Behrensen citing the harm to tested athletes' social and emotional well-being, the inaccuracy of the medical tests,
16002-513: Was run down by a cyclist as he made ground on the leaders. French honour seemed to have been satisfied when Michel Théato crossed the finish line and a military band struck up La Marseillaise . However, modern research has revealed that Théato was born in Luxembourg and maintained Luxembourgian citizenship throughout his life. The Hungarian discus thrower Rudolf Bauer was the only non-American crowned as Olympic Champion. American domination
16129-629: Was the first recorded instance of an organised cross country competition. The sport gained popularity in British, then American schools in the 19th century and culminated in the creation of the first International Cross Country Championships in 1903. The annual IAAF World Cross Country Championships was inaugurated in 1973 and this remains the highest level of competition for the sport. A number of continental cross country competitions are held, with championships taking place in Asia , Europe , North America and South America . The sport has retained its status at
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