1. ATHLETICS
London 2012 and the Olympics

2. • The ancient Olympic Games featured the
stadium race, a sprint of roughly 192m.
• Winners in this event have been recorded
as far back
as 776 BC.

3. • The first modern Olympic Games in 1896
included a Marathon, which was designed
specifically to pay homage to Ancient Greece.
• Women have been
competing in Athletics
since the Amsterdam
1928 Olympic Games.

4. The basics
There are four main strands
to the Athletics competition:
• 1. Running events: sprints,
middle distance and
long distance events,
as well as those that
include obstacles such
as the Hurdles and Steeplechase.

5. • 2. Field events: can be divided into
throwing (for example, Discus throw) and
jumping (Pole vault).

6. • 3. Combined events: are a combination of
both track and field. These are the
Decathlon for men (10 events) and the
Heptathlon for women (seven events).
• 4. Road events: Marathon and Race
Walks.

7. Athletics facts
• 2,000 athletes competing in 47 events.
• The Athletics track at the Olympic Stadium
is a 400m oval.

8. • Competition dates:
Friday 3 August – Sunday 12 August
• Competition venue:
Olympic Park –
The Mall, near
Buckingham Palace
in central London,
provides the finish for
the Marathon as well
as the 20km and 50km
Race Walks

9. • Roberto Parra was European champion in
800m in Stockholm 1996.
• He was in Atlanta 1996.
• He started running in our
school.

10. • To know more about athletics, link here
and enjoy the video.