Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Athletics |
AthleticsNoun1. An active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition. 2. A contest between athletes. 3. Participation in sports events as an extracurricular activity. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "athletics" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1749. (references) |
Synonyms: AthleticsSynonyms: athletic competition (n), athletic contest (n), sport (n). (additional references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Athletics (in the US also known as track and field or track and field athletics) is a collection of sport events, which can roughly be divided into running, throwing and jumping.
Athletic events are usually organised around a 400 m running track, on which most of the running events take place. All of the field events, jumping and throwing, take place in the field in the centre of the running track.
Many athletic events have an ancient origin and were already conducted in competitive form by the ancient Greeks. Athletics was included in the Olympic Games in 1896 and has been part of the program ever since. An international governing body, the IAAF was founded in 1912. The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in 1983. The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) was the governing body in the United States until it collapsed under pressure from advancing professionalism in the late 1970's. A new governing body called The Athletics Congress (TAC) was formed, it was later renamed USA Track and Field (USATF or USA T&F). An additional, less structured organization, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) also exists in the USA to promote road racing. Both organizations allow athletes to receive money for racing putting an end to the "shamateurism" that existed before.
Men and women do not compete against each other and often times their events differ.
Events
This is not an exhaustive list of events. There are many variations not listed. For example, running events have many variations: races of unusual length (e.g. 300m) or using imperial measures.World Records
| Event | Performance | Athlete | Date, Place |
| 100 m | 9.78 | Tim Montgomery (U.S.) | Sept. 14, 2002, Paris, France |
| 200 m | 19.32 | Michael Johnson (U.S.) | Aug. 1, 1996, Atlanta, Ga. |
| 400 m | 43.18 | Michael Johnson (U.S.) | Aug. 26, 1999, Seville, Spain |
| 800 m | 1:41.11 | Wilson Kipketer (Denmark) | Aug. 24, 1997, Cologne, Germany |
| 1,000 m | 2:11.96 | Noah Ngeny (Kenya) | Sept. 5, 1999, Rieti, Italy |
| 1,500 m | 3:26.00 | Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) | July 14, 1998, Rome, Italy |
| 2,000 m | 4:44.79 | Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) | Sept. 7, 1999, Berlin, Germany |
| 3,000 m | 7:20.67 | Daniel Komen (Kenya) | Sept. 1, 1996, Rieti, Italy |
| 5,000 m | 12:39.36 | Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) | June 13, 1998, Helsinki, Finland |
| 10,000 m | 26:22.75 | Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) | June 1, 1998, Hengelo, Netherlands |
| 20,000 m | 56:55.6 | Arturo Barrios (Mexico) | March 30, 1991, La Flèche, France |
| 25,000 m | 1:13:55.8 | Toshihiko Seko (Japan) | March 22, 1981, Christchurch, N.Z. |
| 30,000 m | 1:29:18.8 | Toshihiko Seko (Japan) | March 22, 1981, Christchurch, N.Z. |
| 3,000 m Steeplechase | 7:55.72 | Brahim Boulami (Morocco) | Aug. 16, 2002, Zürich, Switzerland |
| 110 m Hurdles | 12.91 | Colin Jackson (U.K.) | Aug. 20, 1993, Stuttgart, Germany |
| 400 m Hurdles | 46.78 | Kevin Young (U.S.) | Aug. 6, 1992, Barcelona, Spain |
| High Jump | 2.45 | Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) | July 27, 1993, Salamanca, Spain |
| Pole Vault | 6.14 | Sergey Bubka (Ukraine) | July 31, 1994, Sestriere, Italy |
| Long Jump | 8.95 | Mike Powell (U.S.) | Aug. 30, 1991, Tokyo, Japan |
| Triple Jump | 18.29 | Jonathan Edwards (U.K.) | Aug. 7, 1995, Göteborg, Sweden |
| Shot Put | 23.12 | Randy Barnes (U.S.) | May 20, 1990, Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Discus | 74.08 | Jürgen Schult (E.Ger.) | June 6, 1986, Neubrandenburg, E.Ger. |
| Hammer | 86.74 | Yury Syedikh (U.S.S.R.) | Aug. 30, 1986, Stuttgart, W.Ger. |
| Javelin | 98.48 | Jan Zelezný (Czech Rep.) | May 25, 1996, Jena, Germany |
| Decathlon | 9026 (10.64, 8.11, 15.33, 2.12, 47.79, 13.92, 47.92, 4.80, 70.16, 4:21.98) | Roman Sebrle (Czech Rep.) | May 27, 2001, Götzis, Austria |
| 20,000 m Walk | 1:17:21 | Jefferson Pérez (Ecuador) | Aug. 23, 2003, Paris, France |
| 30,000 m Walk | 2:01:44.1 | Maurizio Damilano (Italy) | Oct. 3, 1992, Cuneo, Italy |
| 50,000 m Walk | 3:40:57.9 | Thierry Toutain (France) | Sept. 29, 1996, Héricourt, France |
| 4x100 m Relay | 37.40 | Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis (U.S.) | Aug. 8, 1992, Barcelona, Spain |
| 4x200 m Relay | 1:18.68 | Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Floyd Heard, Carl Lewis (U.S.) | April 17, 1994, Walnut, Calif. |
| 4x400 m Relay | 2:54.20 | Jerome Young, Antonio Pettigrew, Tyree Washington, Michael Johnson (U.S.) | July 22, 1998, New York City |
| 4x800 m Relay | 7:03.89 | Peter Elliott, Garry Cook, Steve Cram, Sebastian Coe (U.K.) | Aug. 30, 1982, London, England |
| 4x1,500 m Relay | 14:38.8 | Thomas Wessinghage, Harald Hudak, Michael Lederer, Karl Fleschen (W.Ger.) | Aug. 17, 1977, Cologne, W.Ger. |
| 4x110 m Hurdles Relay | 54.40 | University of Tennessee (U.S.) | May 22, 1981, Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Marathon | 2:04:55 | Paul Tergat (Kenya) | Sept. 28, 2003, Berlin, Germany |
| Event | Performance | Athlete | Date, Place |
| 100 m | 10.49 | Florence Griffith Joyner (U.S.) | July 16, 1988, Indianapolis, Ind. |
| 200 m | 21.34 | Florence Griffith Joyner (U.S.) | Sept. 29, 1988, Seoul, S.Kor. |
| 400 m | 47.60 | Marita Koch (E.Ger.) | Oct. 6, 1985, Canberra, Australia |
| 800 m | 1:53.28 | Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czechoslovakia) | July 26, 1983, Munich, W.Ger. |
| 1,000 m | 2:28.98 | Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) | Aug. 23, 1996, Brussels, Belgium |
| 1,500 m | 3:50.46 | Qu Junxia (China) | Sept. 11, 1993, Beijing, China |
| 2,000 m | 5:25.36 | Sonia O'Sullivan (Ireland) | July 8, 1994, Edinburgh, Scotland |
| 3,000 m | 8:06.11 | Wang Junxia (China) | Sept. 13, 1993, Beijing, China |
| 5,000 m | 14:28.09 | Jiang Bo (China) | Oct. 23, 1997, Shanghai, China |
| 10,000 m | 29:31.78 | Wang Junxia (China) | Sept. 8, 1993, Beijing, China |
| 20,000 m | 1:05:26.6 | Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) | Sept. 3, 2000, Borgholzhausen, Germany |
| 25,000 m | 1:27:05.8 | Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) | Sept. 21, 2002, Mengerskirchen, Germany |
| 30,000 m | 1:45:50.0 | Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) | June 7, 2003, Warstein, Germany |
| 100 m Hurdles | 12.21 | Yordanka Donkova (Bulgaria) | Aug. 20, 1988, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria |
| 400 m Hurdles | 52.61 | Kim Batten (U.S.) | Aug. 11, 1995, Göteborg, Sweden |
| High Jump | 2.09 | Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) | Aug. 30, 1987, Rome, Italy |
| Pole Vault | 4.82 | Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) | July 13, 2003, Gateshead, England |
| Long Jump | 7.52 | Galina Chistyakova (U.S.S.R.) | June 11, 1988, Leningrad, U.S.S.R. |
| Triple Jump | 15.50 | Inesa Kravets (Ukraine) | Aug. 10, 1995, Göteborg, Sweden |
| Shot Put | 22.63 | Natalya Lisovskaya (U.S.S.R.) | June 7, 1987, Moscow, U.S.S.R. |
| Discus | 76.80 | Gabriele Reinsch (E.Ger.) | July 9, 1988, Neubrandenburg, E.Ger. |
| Hammer | 75.97 | Mihaela Melinte (Romania) | May 13, 1999, Clermont-Ferrand, France |
| Javelin | 71.54 | Osleidys Menéndez (Cuba) | July 1, 2001, Rethymno, Greece |
| Heptathlon | 7291 (12.69, 1.86, 15.80, 22.56, 7.27, 45.66, 2:08.51) | Jackie Joyner-Kersee (U.S.) | Sept. 23-24, 1988, Seoul, S.Kor. |
| 5,000 m Walk | 20:02.60 | Gillian O'Sullivan (Ireland) | July 13, 2002, Dublin, Ireland |
| 10,000 m Walk | 41:56.23 | Nadezhda Ryashkina (U.S.S.R.) | July 24, 1990, Seattle, Wash. |
| 4x100 m Relay | 41.37 | Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr (E.Ger.) | Oct. 6, 1985, Canberra, Australia |
| 4x200 m Relay | 1:27.46 | LaTasha Jenkins, LaTasha Colander-Richardson, Nanceen Perry, Marion Jones (U.S.) | April 29, 2000, Philadelphia, Pa. |
| 4x400 m Relay | 3:15.17 | Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, Olga Bryzgina (U.S.S.R.) | Oct. 1, 1988, Seoul, S.Kor. |
| 4x800 m Relay | 7:50.17 | Nadezhda Olizarenko, Lyubov Gurina, Lyudmila Borisova, Irina Podyalovskaya (U.S.S.R.) | Aug. 5, 1984, Moscow, U.S.S.R. |
| Marathon | 2:15:25 | Paula Radcliffe (U.K.) | April 13, 2003, London, England |
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Athletics."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Contention | Wrestling, greco-roman wrestling; pugilism, boxing, fisticuffs, the manly art of self-defense; spar, mill, set-to, round, bout, event, prize fighting; quarterstaff, single stick; gladiatorship, gymnastics; jiujitsu, jujutsu, kooshti, sumo; athletics, athletic sports; games of skill. |
Strength | Athletics, athleticism; gymnastics, feats of strength. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Athletics |
| English words defined with "athletics": athletic ♦ -ics ♦ physical education. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "athletics": DIRECTOR, ATHLETIC ♦ McGRAW. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Athletics and Women (1922) Artful Athletics (1913) BBC Athletics (1999) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Periodicals | |||
High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Athletics. High bar jump. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Athletics at Central High School. Crowds at athletic field. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | World's Series, Braves 5 - Athletics 4, 12 Innings, Fenway Park, American League Grounds, Oct. 12, 1914. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Philadelphia "Athletics", American League pennant winners, "1929". Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Steroid abuse has become so widespread in athletics that it affects the outcome of sports contests. (references) | |
It is recommended that patients with those conditions remain active but not participate in vigorous or competitive athletics. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Gerald Ford | In a subjective sense. You know, I had a fairly good record in athletics at the University of Michigan. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Athletics" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 45.04% of the time. "Athletics" is used about 483 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 45.04% | 218 | 20,478 |
| Noun (plural) | 42.56% | 206 | 21,208 |
| Noun (proper) | 12.4% | 60 | 43,597 |
| Total | 100.00% | 483 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "athletics": amateur athletics ♦ athletics badge ♦ branch of athletics ♦ fond of athletics ♦ track and field athletics. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "athletics": athletics-cross, athletics-oriented. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "athletics"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Afrikaans | atletiek. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | atletikë (track-and-field), sport (sport). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | الالعاب الرياضية. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | занимаване със спорт, атлетика. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 竞技. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | atletika. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | handicapsport (athletics for the disabled), handicapatletik (athletics for the disabled). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | krachtsport, atletiek. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | atletismo, atletiko. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | yleisurheilu (track, track-and-field sports), urheilu (sport). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | athlétisme (athletic sport). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frisian | atletyk. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | leichtathletik (track and field athletics). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | αθλητισμόσ (sport, sports). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | אתלטיק". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | atlétika (athletic sports, track and field events, track-and-fields). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | atletik. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | atletica. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | "育 (gymnastics, physical education), アスペルギルス症 (acetylcholine, ASEAN, aspergillosis, ASROC, assessment, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, athlete, athlete fund, athletic, athletic club, leisure facilities). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | たいいく (gymnastics, physical education), アスレチックス . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 운동경기. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | roortaghys. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Papiamen | atletismo. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | athleticsay atletismo, esportes atléticos. (various references) atletism (athleticism), atleticã. (various references) атлетика (atheletics). (various references) atletika. (various references) atletismo. (various references) idrott (games, physical training, sport, sports), allmän idrott. (various references) การกีฬา. (various references) atletizm (athleticism), atletízm, sporculuk (sportsmanship). (various references) atletika (r). (various references) гімнастика (callisthenics, gym, gymnastics), заняття спортом, атлетика. (various references) thể thao. (various references) mabolgamp (feat, game, sport). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Misspellings | |
"Athletics" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: althetic, atheletic, athelitc, athetics, athetosis. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "athletics" (pronounced athle"tiks) |
| 5 | -e" t i k s | aesthetics, anesthetics, asthmatics, cosmetics, diabetics, diuretics, genetics, kinetics, Magnetics, phonetics, prosthetics, synthetics. |
| 4 | -t i k s | acoustics, acrobatics, aerobatics, aeronautics, analytics, antibiotics, antics, astronautics, attics, automatics, ballistics, batiks, characteristics, charismatics, Criminalistics, critics, diagnostics, domestics, exotics, fanatics, geopolitics, gymnastics, hypnotics, informatics, linguistics, logistics, mathematics, mystics, narcotics, numismatics, onomastics, optics, orthodontics, plastics, robotics, romantics, semantics, semiotics, skeptics, statistics, systematics, tactics, therapeutics, thermoplastics. |
| 3 | -i k s | academics, acrylics, aerobics, aerodynamics, affix, alcoholics, analgesics, anorexics, apparatchiks, appendix, astrophysics, atmospherics, avionics, basics, beatniks, bioethics, biologics, biophysics, bishoprics, calisthenics, Calix, calyx, catholics, ceramics, cervix, civics, classics, clerics, clinics, comics, conics, cynics, demographics, dynamics, eccentrics, econometrics, economics, electrics, electrodynamics, electronics, epics, epidemics, ergonomics, ethics, ethnics, eugenics, fabrics, forensics, generics, geometrics, geriatrics, gimmicks, graphics, harmonics, helix, hemodynamics, heroics, hieroglyphics, histrionics, hydraulics, hysterics, ionics, italics, kibbutzniks, limericks, lyrics, macroeconomics, matrix, mavericks, mechanics, medics, metaphysics, metrics, microeconomics, microelectronics, micrographics, mimics, mnemonics, mosaics, Nucleonics, obstetrics, onyx, oryx, panics, paramedics, Pediatrics, Phenix, Phoenix, phonics, photovoltaics, physics, polemics, prefix, psychics, publics, pyrotechnics, refuseniks, relics, reprographics, republics, sonics, specifics, sputniks, stoics, suffix, Technics, tectonics, theatrics, tonics, topics, toxics, tropics, workaholics. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-h-i-l-s-t-t" | |
-1 letter: athletic, chattels, ethicals, latchets, lathiest, lattices, tachiste, thetical. | |
-2 letters: achiest, aitches, atheist, catties, cattish, chalets, chattel, chitals, elastic, ethical, halites, heliast, laciest, latches, latchet, latices, lattice, lithest, satchel, staithe, statice, stealth, tachist, tactile, thistle. | |
-3 letters: atelic, attics, castle, cattie, cattle, chaise, chalet, chaste, cheats, chelas, chiels, chiles, chisel, chital, cleats, eclats, ethics, halest. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-h-i-l-s-t-t" | |
+1 letter: theistical. | |
+2 letters: aesthetical, atheistical, athleticism, cholestatic, theatricals. | |
+3 letters: athleticisms, catholicates, ethicalities, schmaltziest, theistically. | |
+4 letters: aesthetically, anthelmintics, atheistically, catholicities, pantheistical, scholasticate, straightlaced, synthetically, theatricalism, thermoplastic, tritheistical. | |
+5 letters: anesthetically, catachrestical, erythroblastic, hatchabilities, monotheistical, polytheistical, prosthetically, scholasticates, stretchability, technicalities, tetrachlorides, theatricalisms, theatricalizes, thermoplastics. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Quotations: Spoken 10. Usage Frequency 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
