Athletics is one of the king disciplines of each edition of the Olympic Games : made up of 5 sports categories, it includes more than a dozen specialties, classified into families (throws, jumps, runs, race walking and combined events). From pentathlon to marathon, shot put to hurdling, race walking to pole vaulting: discover the events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games!
Athletics has been practiced sinceancient times: in fact, it's possible to find champions in the discipline as far back as 776 BC, during the Ancient Olympic Games! Over the centuries, certain disciplines have remained, such as discus throwing, long jump, javelin throwing, etc. The first athletics competitions were held in England in the 1840s. Since then, and from the 1880s onwards, more and more championships have been held in the country, and exported to Europe and the USA. World Athletics, the international athletics federation, was founded in 1912: today, athletics is the individual sport with the highest number of participants in the Olympic Games.
Ever since the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, athletics has been considered the "king sport" of the summer Olympics, which explains its growing popularity over the years. Over the years, various events have been added to the already extensive program: the men's 20 km walk (in 1956) and a large number of events in the women's program, of which there were only 17 until 1992! It should also be pointed out that women's athletes were not allowed to take part in the events until 1928, whereas the first modern Games were held in 1896.
The events will take place at various Olympic venues: the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, for all the track events, theHôtel de Ville, from where the start of the marathon events will be fired, and the Pont d'Iéna, from where the 20 km walk events will start.
Among the most illustrious records, those for the 100 m and 200 m sprint are held by the famous Jamaican Usain Bolt (in 9s 63 and 19s 30), while the marathon record of 2h06 is held by the Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru.
On the women's side, the women's 100 m was won by Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah (who then dethroned Shelly-Ann Fraser Price and her numerous records) in 10s 61 and the 200 m by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 21s 34. The women's 400 m world record has been held by a Frenchwoman, Marie-José Perec, since the 1996 Games: in fact, it's the only French Olympic record in any discipline!
Official website
www.paris2024.org
