Athletics

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Athletics - the perfect expression of the Olympic motto: ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ (‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’) – the competition requires athletes to run faster, throw further, jump higher and leap longer than their rivals." It is the largest single sport at the Games (2,000 athletes compete in 47 events). Click on the links below to see the individual sporting event infographic. Basics What to watch for Judging Loading

The Basics - four main strands:

1. Track Events:

2. Field Events:

Jumping:
Throwing:

3. Combined Events (both track and field)

Decathlon for men (10 events)
Heptathlon for women (7 events).

4. Road Events:

Athletics Jargon:

Anchor – a team's final runner in a relay race
Cage – the area from which competitors throw a discus or hammer. The mouth of the cage is 6m wide, and sits 7m in front of the center of the throwing circle
Countback – the process used to determine the winner of a high jump or pole vault competition in which two or more athletes are tied for the best jump
False start – when an athlete moves off the starting blocks either before the gun has fired or within 0.10 sec of the gun firing
Sprint – a track race of 400m or less

What to watch for:

While the concept of most Athletics events is simple – faster, higher, stronger - the winning margins can be tiny. Athletics is such a technical sport that every aspect of the athletes' performances must be perfect on the day to ensure they finish ahead of their rivals. The smallest of mistakes or loss of strength or technique can result in the loss of a fraction of a second or centimeter.

^2012 Summer Olympic Poster

What the Judges look for :

False start on the track
Dropped baton
Illegal changeover in the relays
Foot fault in the jumps or throws
Illegal technique in the race walks

More... if you'd like to hold some mini events that mimic the big Olympic Games try these gymnastics in your own backyard or game room. We found some great infographics for the summer games (click on the links above). For many of the winter games, you'll find in-depth explanations at this site with more fun visuals.

CHART BELOW: We added these winter "one-pagers" to our Sports Know-How category in time for the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) that were held in January 2012. We got inspired by the 2012 London Summer Games to add to our Summer Sports category. We'll be adding sports periodically so keep checking back. If the titles are shining brightly in white text, they're ready for you to click on! ^.^

Summer Sports
Archery	Water Sports ( + Triathlon- Pentathlon)	Barrel Racing	Trampoline - Artistic - Rhythmic	Martial Arts
Athletics	Beach Volleyball - Table Tennis	Equestrian	Soccer	Cycling

Winter Sports

Curling Long Track Speed Skating Luge Ski Jumping Cross-Country Skiing

Figure Skating Short Track Speed Skating Bobsleigh Alpine Skiing Nordic Combined Skiing

Ice Hockey Snowboarding Skeleton Freestyle Skiing Biathlon

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