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Macau 2007

Athletics
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Athletics

Athletics

Athletics is derived from the Greek word "athlos" meaning "contest and may refer to Track and field athletics.

It is not a singular sport and the term is used comprising a group of athletic events which normally involve running, walking, jumping or throwing. 


The Asian Track and Field Championships were originally planned at the 1962 Asian Games through the initiative of Major General Aziz Salleh the Chief of the Indonesian Federation (PASI), but went a-begging by the "emergence" of the ill conceived first and last Games of the Emerging Forces (GANEFO).

The idea to hold the Championships was revived by the Malaysian A.A.U. President, Tan Sri Mohamed Ghazali Shafie, at the 1966 Asian Games at Bangkok, which again met no better fate as circumstances outside the control of athletics idealist intervened.

At the 1970 Asian Games, the Punjab State Sports Minister, Sardar Umrao Singh, took up the Challenge and plans for the First Asian Championships at Delhi were finalized with Mr. R.L. Anand appointed Director of the Organisation when political developments in the sub-Continent thrust the plans not only out of gear but out of sight for another two years.

However, they kept up the tempo and though unable to hold the Championships, they called for a meeting of the Asian Athletic Team officials at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. It was there that Governor Jose C. Sering, President of the Philippines Track and Field Association (PATAFA) took up the challenge and history was made when the First Asian Track and Field Championships got off the launching pad and was held at the Marikina Stadium near Manila in November 1973.

Athletics was incorporated into the Asian Games in 1951 and is a compulsory sport.

List of disciplines

  • Athletics, Indoor

There are two seasons for track and field. There is an indoor season, run during the winter and an outdoor season, run during the spring.

Most indoor tracks are 200 meters and consist of four to six lanes. There are also some 150 meter indoor tracks, and others as small as 120 meters have been used.

Some "oversize tracks" (larger than 200 meters) are popular for American collegiate athletics despite the fact that they are not considered valid for setting indoor records. Often an indoor track will have banked turns to compensate for the tight radius of the turns.

The banking can help prevent injuries to the athlete, while also promoting higher speeds.[citation needed] In an indoor track meet athletes contest the same track events as at an outdoor meet, with the exception of the 100 m and 110 m/100 m hurdles (replaced by the 55 or 60 m sprint and 55 or 60 m hurdles at most levels, or the 45 m sprint and hurdles at the high school level), the 10,000 m run, 3,000 m steeplechase, 400 m hurdles.

Indoor meets also have the addition of a 3,000 m run normally at both the collegiate and elite level, instead of the 10,000 m. The 5,000 m is the longest event commonly run indoors, although there are situations where longer distances have been raced.

In the mid 20th century, there was a series of "duel" races on Madison Square Garden's indoor track, some of which featured two men racing a marathon (26.2 miles).

However, this is an extremely rare occurrence, for obvious reasons. In some occasions, there may also be a 500 m race instead of the open 400 m normally found outdoors, and in many college championship races indoors both are contested.

In field events, indoor meets only feature the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and shot put (weight throw). Due to space limitations, these events take place on the infield, within the circumferential track.

The longer throws of javelin, hammer and discus are added only for outdoor meets, as there is normally not enough space in an indoor stadium to house these events.

Related links

Sports Committee

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Sports and Environment Committee

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Sports Federations