Athletics

S1&S2 course work

Athletics
 Task:  Track and field athletics
is a collection of sports
events that involve running,
 Name 5 events jumping, throwing and
walking. Organised
within athletics. athletics are traced back to
the ancient Olympic games
from 776 BC, and most
 Can you name any modern events are
conducted by the member
top international federations of the IAAF.
athletes?? The athletics meeting forms
the backbone of the
modern summer Olympics
and other leading
international meetings.
Athletics
 Track events:  Field events:
 100m  Jumping:
 200m  Long jump
 400m  Triple jump
 800m  High jump
 1500m  Pole vault
 3,000m
 5,000m
 Throwing
 10,000m
 Javelin
 Marathon  Shot putt
 Steeplechase  Discus
 Hurdles  Hammer
 Power walking
Meets/competition

 Olympics every 4 yrs

 Commonwealth games every 4 yrs
patterned after the Olympics.
 World championships every 2 yrs (odd
yrs)
 World indoor championships
Track events
 See BBC sport website for
some running highlights.
 Track events cover lots of
different distances.
 Sprints anything up to 400m
 Middle distance 800m- 3000m
 Long distance events 3000m+
Sprints
 Athletes use starting blocks to
begin a race
 The starter will say ‘Take your
marks’, ‘set’….Then fire the starting
gun.
 Athletes must remain in their own
lane at all times.
 The first runner to pass the
finishing line with their torso wins.
 Starting a race before the gun has
went off will result in a false start.
A race is only allowed 1 false start,
whoever causes the 2nd false start
will be disqualified.
 200m and 400m races start
staggered to allow for the curve of
the track.
Sprint technique
 On balls of feet
 Push hard off the ground
 High knees
 Fast stride
 Arms backwards and
forwards action
 Drive elbows back
 Elbow bend 90 degree
 Appearance of being Tall,
Relaxed and Smooth with
maximum Drive.
Middle/long distance
 Middle:
 Competitors do not use
starting blocks. Runners
may not touch the ground
with their hands at the
start. In the 800, starting
positions are staggered to
equalize the length of each
lane on the curved track.
Runners must remain in
their lanes until the end of
the first turn. Stamina is
important in all middle
distance events, as is
strategy, as runners must
conserve some energy in
order to finish strong.
 Long distance:
 Is all about pacing yourself
 Having enough energy to last for
a long period of time.
 Arm action slower
 It is important to have a
comfortable stride and rhythm
 The foot strikes the ground less
on the ball of the foot and more
to the back of the foot.
 The knee has some flex.
 Leg movement is smooth.
 Swing arms from shoulders in a
comfortable back and forward
movement. Arms and shoulders
should be relaxed.
 Head straight; focus ahead ten
to fifteen meters.
Relay race
 Is one of the most exciting
races to watch in the
Olympics. This is the only
team event in athletics.
 4 runners in a relay team.
Runners exchange a baton
over 4x100m or 4x400m
distance.
 Can you name 3 countries
that have won gold in this
event??
Field events

 Comprise of the jumping and throwing

events:
 Name the events below:
Jumps
 Jumping for
distance:
 Long jump
 Triple jump
 Jumping for height:
 High jump
 Pole vault
Long jump
 The long jump is a power
event that comprises of the
following four phases:
 Approach run up
 Take off
 Flight through the air
 Landing
 To achieve maximum distance
in the long jump the athlete
will have to balance three
components - speed, technique
and strength.
 Run up should be rhythmic and
very fast.
 You must determine your take
off foot before you start, sink
hips and next to last stride
must be long, explode
vertically by swinging free
limbs upwards
 Hips high
 Swing legs through
 Extend heels as far away from
take off line as possible
 Sink heels into ground on
landing
 Continue to land forward, don’t
fall back!
 Long jump techniques
 In the stride jump style the athlete maintains the take off position for
as long as possible and only as the athlete comes into land does the
take off leg join the free leg for a good landing position

 The hang style -On take off the athlete drops the free leg to the
vertical, which is then joined by the take off leg. The arms go
overhead to slow down the rotation about the athlete's centre of
gravity. The legs are then lifted upwards and forwards whilst lower the
trunk. The arms swing past the legs during the landing phase to
ensure a good leg shoot.
 The Hitch-Kick -Following take off the free leg is straightened and
swung back and down as the take off leg folds up beneath the hips
and comes forward bent. The take off leg then continues forward,
straightening for landing. The free leg completes its backward swing
behind the hip and then folds up and moves forwards bent, to join the
take off leg ready for landing
Long jump technique
Triple jump
 Comprises of 4 phases: approach phase, hop phase, step
phase and the jump phase.
 The approach run for the Triple Jump is similar to that of the
Long Jump and the objective is to create the greatest amount
of speed that can be controlled throughout the triple jump
hop, step and jump phases.
High jump
 event in which competitors
must jump over a horizontal
bar placed at measured
heights.
 Each competitor get 3
attempts to clear each
height, if unsuccessful they
get knocked out of the
competition.
 The technique used to get
over the bar is called the
Fosbery flop
 Record is 2.45m men
(Cuba)
 2.09m women (Bulgaria)