Going for Gold The Olympics is the greatest sporting event on Earth More than 10,000 athletes Olympians flock to one country every four years to compete in their sport during 17 action-packed days Winning an Olympic gold silver or bronze medal for finishing first second or third in an event is the highlight of many athletes sports careers The U S 4 x 400m relay team from left to right LaShawn Merritt Angelo Taylor David Neville and Jeremy Wariner with their gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Ancient Athletics The ancient Olympics began in Greece in 776 BC At first there was just one event a race over a distance called a stade about 623 ft or 190 m from which the word stadium comes Over time other events were added Most were track and field events such as races run over varying distances or throwing and jumping events including the discus and long jump Modern Games The ancient Olympics were held for more than 1,000 years before they were banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius He was a 4
Most Olympic athletes train for years to take part in the Olympics American Bob Mathias began training for the decathlon event just four months before the 1948 Olympics Amazingly he won the gold medal He repeated the feat in 1952 Superstar Christian who believed that the games were pagan Then in 1896 the Olympics were revived at the first modern Olympic games held in Athens Greece Athletes competed in swimming and other sports but track and field was center stage and has remained so ever since Track events include running and racewalking and field events involve jumping throwing and vaulting competitions Decathlon and Heptathlon Athletes compete on both track and field in two events The seven-event heptathlon for women and the ten-event decathlon for men are both held over two days of intense competition Each athlete’s time in a race or distance covered in a jump or throw is converted into points and the winner is the athlete with the most points British athlete Jessica Ennis competes in the long jump at the 2010 World Indoor Championships As a leading heptathlete Ennis is trying for a medal at the 2012 Olympics 5 FEATS AND RECORDS The first modern Olympic games event was a field event the triple jump The winner American James Connolly came in second in the high jump and third in the long jump
Sprint Races The fastest men and women on the planet compete in races over distances that range from 60 meter sprints held indoors to 400 meters or a complete lap of the track To become the Olympic champion in the 100 meter is one of sport’s greatest prizes In 2008 Jamaican Usain Bolt wearing number 7 drives out of the blocks at the start of the 100 meter Olympic final where he shattered the world record with a time of 9 69 seconds Quick Off the Blocks Competition is fierce in sprinting and athletes run a number of races called heats Only the fastest eight reach the final Athletes begin in a crouching position with their feet on angled supports called starting blocks When the starter pistol fires they power off their blocks False Starts Sprinters need a fast start but if they move too soon the electronic sensors on their starting blocks signal a false start In the past a sprinter with two false starts was disqualified In 2010 the starting rules were changed Now the first athlete to make a false start is disqualified 6
7 British sprinter Linford Christie won silver at the 1988 Olympics and gold at the 1992 games but in the 1996 100 meter final he was disqualified after two false starts Race Pace As they leave their blocks sprinters drive forward from a low position and gradually straighten up until they are upright and reach their top speed This can be as fast as 25 mph 40 km h Sprinters concentrate on a smooth and flowing running style and try to maintain their top speed or pace right to the finish line Athletes complete a race when their chest crosses the finish line rather than their legs or head Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser third from right wins gold in the women’s 100 meter sprint at the 2008 Olympics A total of 85 sprinters took part in the women’s 100 meter competition Photo Finishes Some races are amazingly close and officials use high-speed cameras to look at photo finishes to decide on a runner’s position At the 2008 Olympics Jamaican sprinters Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart both finished the 100 meter sprint with the same time of 10 98 seconds and could not be separated into second and third so they were both awarded silver medals FEATS AND RECORDS At 16 American Betty Robinson became the first women’s track gold medalist when she won the 100 meter at the 1928 Olympics These were the first games to include track and field events for women
