An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, various forms of dirt, rocks, sand, and crushed cinders were used. Many examples of these varieties of track still exist worldwide.
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and race walking. Though the sense of "athletics" as a broader sport is not used in American English, outside of the United States the term athletics can either be used to mean just its track and field component or the entirety of the sport (adding road racing and cross country) based on context.
The foot racing events, which include sprints, middle- and long-distance events, race walking, and hurdling, are won by the athlete who completes it in the least time. The jumping and throwing events are won by those who achieve the greatest distance or height. Regular jumping events include long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vault, while the most common throwing events are shot put, javelin, discus, and hammer. There are also "combined events" or "multi events", such as the pentathlon consisting of five events, heptathlon consisting of seven events, and decathlon consisting of ten events. In these, athletes participate in a combination of track and field events. Most track and field events are individual sports with a single victor; the most prominent team events are relay races, which typically feature teams of four. Events are almost exclusively divided by gender, although both the men's and women's competitions are usually held at the same venue. One exception are mixed relays, in which two men and two women make up the four-person team. If a race has too many people to run all at once, preliminary heats will be run to narrow down the field of participants.
Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully assess that this is maintained throughout the race. Races are typically held on either roads or running tracks. Common distances range from 3,000 metres (1.9 mi) up to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi).
The current race walking contests at the Summer Olympics are the 20 kilometres race walk (men and women) and the marathon race walk mixed relay, the latter of which debuted at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The 50 kilometres race walk (men only) was discontinued after the 2020 Summer Olympics. The biennial World Athletics Championships also features both 20 and 50 kilometer events, the 50 km walk for women being contested until 2019. The 50 km race walk was replaced by the 35 kilometres race walk as standard championship discipline in 2022. The IAAF World Race Walking Cup, first held in 1961, is a stand-alone global competition for the discipline and it has 10 kilometres race walks for junior athletes, in addition to the Olympic-standard events. The IAAF World Indoor Championships featured 5000 m and 3000 m race walk variations, but these were discontinued after 1993. Top-level athletics championships and games typically feature 20 km racewalking events.
Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, the dominant step patterns are the 3-step for high hurdles, 7-step for low hurdles, and 15-step for intermediate hurdles. Hurdling is a highly specialized form of obstacle racing, and is part of the sport of athletics. In hurdling events, barriers known as hurdles are set at precisely measured heights and distances. Each athlete must pass over the hurdles; passing under or intentionally knocking over hurdles will result in disqualification.
Accidental knocking over of hurdles is not cause for disqualification, but the hurdles are weighted to make doing so disadvantageous. In 1902 Spalding equipment company sold the Foster Patent Safety Hurdle, a wood hurdle. In 1923 some of the wood hurdles weighed 16 lb (7.3 kg) each. Hurdle design improvements were made in 1935, when they developed the L-shaped hurdle. With this shape, the athlete could hit the hurdle and it will tip down, clearing the athlete's path. The most prominent hurdles events are 110m for men, 100m for women, and 400m (both sexes) – these three distances are all contested at the Summer Olympics and the World Athletics Championships. The two shorter distances take place on the straight of a running track, while the 400m version covers one whole lap of a standard oval track. Events over shorter distances are also commonly held at indoor track and field events, ranging from 50m hurdles upwards. Women historically competed in the 80m hurdles at the Olympics in the mid-20th century. Hurdles race are also part of combined events contests, including the decathlon and heptathlon.
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the 100-metre (109.36 yd) dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1928 for women. The inaugural World Championships were in 1983.
On an outdoor 400-metre running track, the 100 m is held on the home straight, with the start usually being set on an extension to make it a straight-line race. There are three instructions given to the runners immediately before and at the beginning of the race: "on your marks", "set", and the firing of the starter's pistol. The runners move to the starting blocks when they hear the "on your marks" instruction. The following instruction, to adopt the "set" position, allows them to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles: this will help them to start faster. A race-official then fires the starter's pistol to signal the race beginning and the sprinters stride forwards from the blocks. Sprinters typically reach top speed after somewhere between 50 and 60 m. Their speed then slows towards the finish line.
Khalifa International Stadium (/kəˈliːfə/, Arabic: استاد خليفة الدولي, ALA-LC: Istād Khalīfah al-Duwalī) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Doha, Qatar, around 9 kilometres (6 miles) west from the centre of Doha. Its ground comprises a running track and a grass pitch. Opened in 1976, the stadium was named after then Emir of Qatar Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani. Under the ownership of the Qatar Football Association, it serves as the primary home ground of the Qatar men's national football team. Its current fully-roofed, 45,857-seat configuration was opened in 2017, following a previous reconfiguration in 2005 that incorporated the stadium into the Aspire Zone complex and added a roofed grandstand; boosting its capacity from 20,000 to 40,000.
Khalifa has hosted numerous international association football and athletics events throughout its history. Track and field events at the 2006 Asian Games, 2011 Pan Arab Games, and 2019 World Athletics Championships were held at the stadium, and World Athletics has since organised the annual Doha Diamond League event there as part of its Diamond League series. In the future, Khalifa is planned to host track and field events at the 2030 Asian Games. In association football, the stadium hosted matches during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2011 and 2023 AFC Asian Cup, and three editions of the Arabian Gulf Cup. The final of the Emir of Qatar Cup is also occasionally played at the stadium.
The Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC /ˈkjuːzæk/ KEW-zak, formerly known as the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility in Nathan, Queensland, located 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) south-east of the Brisbane CBD. Its main stadium – formerly known as QEII Stadium, and later ANZ Stadium under a naming rights agreement with ANZ – accommodates 48,500 spectators, while its smaller State Athletics Facility accommodates 2,100 spectators. Both stadiums feature Rekortan running tracks and natural grass fields. The Queensland Academy of Sport, Queensland State Netball Centre, and a complex of beach volleyball courts are also housed at the facility. QSAC is owned by the Queensland Government, and its main stadium and State Athletics Facility are operated through its agency, Stadiums Queensland.
As a track and field venue, the main stadium hosted competitions at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, 2001 Goodwill Games, and eleven editions of the Australian Athletics Championships; most recently its 2022–23 edition. It is currently planned to be renovated to host competitions at the 2032 Summer Olympics. As a rugby league venue, the main stadium was home to the Brisbane Broncos from 1993 to 2003, when the club left Lang Park and subsequently returned following its redevelopment. During this tenure, it hosted the 1994 World Club Challenge and the only Super League Grand Final in 1997, amid the Super League war. The main stadium has also hosted numerous concerts, occasional soccer matches, and a semi-final of the 1999 Davis Cup in tennis.
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440-yard dash (402.336 m)—which is a quarter of a mile (1,760 yards) and was referred to as the "quarter-mile"—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.
The current men's world record and Olympic record is held by Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa; his time of 43.03 seconds is the fastest 400 m ever run, in either an open 400 m or a relay split (excluding reaction time). While Michael Johnson holds the fastest 400 m relay split with a time of 42.94, relay splits are typically faster because athletes have a running start and do not need to react to the gun if they are not the leadoff leg. Considering van Niekerk's reaction time of 0.181 seconds in his run of 43.03, van Niekerk covered the 400-metre distance itself in 42.85 seconds, therefore being 0.09 s faster than Johnson's relay split.
Track and field is a sport that includes many different kinds of athletic contests that are based on running, jumping, and throwing. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and race walking. Though the sense of "athletics" as a broader sport is not used in American English, outside of the United States the term athletics can either be used to mean just its track and field component or the entirety of the sport (adding road racing and cross country) based on context.
The foot racing events, which include sprints, middle- and long-distance events, race walking, and hurdling, are won by the athlete who completes it in the least time. The jumping and throwing events are won by those who achieve the greatest distance or height. Regular jumping events include long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vault, while the most common throwing events are shot put, javelin, discus, and hammer. There are also "combined events" or "multi events", such as the pentathlon consisting of five events, heptathlon consisting of seven events, and decathlon consisting of ten events. In these, athletes participate in a combination of track and field events. Most track and field events are individual sports with a single victor; the most prominent team events are relay races, which typically feature teams of four. Events are almost exclusively divided by gender, although both the men's and women's competitions are usually held at the same venue. One exception are mixed relays, in which two men and two women make up the four-person team. If a race has too many people to run all at once, preliminary heats will be run to narrow down the field of participants.